Fun run for me this morning, as dog and I had my husband along for the run. My parents are visiting (that says it all) and they "watched" the children. We put in just a little over 4 mi at a fairly easy pace, once I got my showboating dog under control. Apparently having the male alpha out with us for a run means we must show everything we've got in the first 3/4 mi! Vista, sorry to read of your brother's health troubles. I can only say my Dad has most of the same issues and has been trying to die since I was 8. I'm 43 now, and he's still around. So, I hope your brother is like my Dad in that way! Thinking good thoughts for your family... Good runs everyone!

Good morning everyone! Is it really only Tuesday? I'm ready for Friday already. from yesterday... dromedary- Aren't those lung capacity tests fun? I'd rather run 2 hours on a treadmill than do those. How did yours go? And how did your run go? enke- Your training for this marathon has been nearly flawless. Come race day, with your taper and the race day excitement, you will float through those miles. Run a smart race like you did in your half, and you'll be smiling all the way to the finish line. I hope your daughter feels better soon, poor kid. Teresa- In a well balanced training program, it's more beneficial to spread your mileage out throughout the week rather than stacking them in favor of any single run. This guideline is hard to follow though for a beginner on a low mileage program who is training for a marathon or half marathon. You do what you have to do though, those long runs are very important for building the aerobic engine you need for those longer races. evanflein- I was wondering how your knee was after your fall. If a bruise and torn tights is the worst of it, then you got away lucky. Yay! Funny you mentioned it being in slow motion and thinking about how to fall... while in cycling camp, we were actually taught how to fall in case of a crash in order to minimize injuries. You were smart to do what you did. Yep, winter ice baths are definitely a challenge, thus the hot tea, the space heater blasting and the hooded sweatshirt. Oh, the silly things we runners do. Wow, you must've been a gym rat to get down to 6% body fat. I'll bet you can show those youngin's a thing or two still. deez4boyz- it's often a good idea to do some light activity after a race or hard workout. Helps speed recovery. Careful with the spring speedwork though. The amount of stress put on your body by speedwork goes up tremendously. Start slowly and gradually please. Henry- great job on your 11 miler, and how cool that you could do a point to point run. Send my best to Marj please. PJH- thanks for the history lesson. So how did the beer drinking tradition come about from all of this? charleygross- good to see a post from you! This is a horrible time of year for allergy sufferers, you are not alone. I'm glad the claritin is working. You ever try a saline wash for the sinuses? wildchild- tell us about your upcoming trip! Work? Pleasure? Sushi? You bringing your run stuff? from today... WRFB- Thanks for the kick off, and thanks for the reminder to throw in striders now and then. Where is PDR? breger- yay, you found the right thread today! Are you ready for your big week ahead? hopeful4ever- good job getting your run in in icky weather. I'll bet Brinkley didn't mind. I know what you mean with the headlamp and a hat. Will your headlamp fit around your waist? I do that on the days I need to wear a cap. biketm- knowing when to back off is not easy, stubborn runners that we are. Good job. Jlynne- time for a day off for you. PeterNC- don't get too antsy to get back to training. Enjoy the next few weeks of getting out and running how you feel. Ribs- I'm happy your foot is happy! I hope the trip doesn't set you back any. Good luck. SueT- harumph on not disclosing your breakfast place! I have this incredible ice cream place by me... I'll bet you'd love to know where it is. I'll trade you. Rochrunner- I'm glad the PT seems like it'll help. If the bike works, get on it! Biking is great for strengthing the hip flexors and glutes, so hopefully it'll help with your issues. Good luck. vista- thanks for checking in and for the updates. Your brother is in good hands, if he has the will, he will get through this. Congrats on the basketball championships, but that just means more busy-ness for you. Good to hear you are getting your runs in for the most part. If you are lucky enough to get swooped up by a tornado and survive it, you could make a career out of telling the story! Holly- impressive perserverance this morning with your run. I liked the part about staring out from the garage. Reminds me of sitting at the end of the swimming pool before my swims, not wanting to get into the chilly water. perchcreek- now with your cold out of the way, nothings gonna get in your way between now and April 21st. Not that your cold kept you down much though. nonoruns- woohoo on getting a run in with your husband! Life's little pleasures. Now figure out how you can harness some of your dog's energy. Prayers to your dad. lyndenrunner- happy happy anniversary! Good excuse to get a cake! “If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.” - Winnie the Pooh I had fluff in my ear this morning on my run. It was a beautiful morning, crystal clear and cold, stars everywhere, birds chirping everywhere, the eastern sky starting to show signs of the coming day. But I let all these negative thoughts into my head that kept me from seeing and experiencing what was out there. So much to do at work. I'm leaving town for a while so I'm thinking of all the things I need to do before leaving, including packing. My body hurts, how am I gonna get through the next 5 weeks. Around mile 3 is when I realized what I was missing. There's nothing I could do about any of those things right now anyway, and that's when all the wonders of the morning finally made themselves present. Live in the moment. That's something I need to constantly remind myself of. Finally the fluff was gone and the rest of the run went well. We so often get wrapped up in our own "stuff" that we miss all there is to see around us, including wonderful people and what they have to say. Listening is a art, something that needs to be practiced. 5 miles nice and easy. On the way to work, a seagull swooped down in front of the car to get some roadkill stew for breakfast. There was nothing I could do to avoid it. It looked like a scene from one of my childhood pillowfights... feathers everywhere. I don't think he made it. Off to the podiatrist again in another attempt to get things fixed. Enjoy your Tuesday all.

Sometimes stubborness and a slavish attitude towards a schedule is what gets me through a run.

Words I live by..... TomS – sorry about your MIL, but it sounds as if it was her time. I hope your BIL is okay. BTB – hang in there, my fren, and the next 5 weeks will fly by. Gordon – Happy Anniversary!

Moved the workouts around a bit this week, so Tuesday is big workout day this time around. Out the door at 8:15 AM after most of the school busses had ferried their charges—22F at the start and 33F at the finish and a very little bit of a wind. Thin clouds and a few rays of weak sun. One mile easy pace and then 4 X 25 minutes at 7:35-40ish pace with 5 mins rest in between and then cd for the distance back to my house. 16 miles and the whole deal in 2:13 again even with tweaks that Coach made in the plan. She called last night to say increase the rest interval and drive down the speedy part if I felt like it …HA! I was so stiff at first and this was a curse word workout, but it’s done. The rest of the week is just running and some fartlek stuff later in the week. I am turning into Miss Cranky Pants and Coach knows it and also knows how tough it is to keep the solo fast stuff going….thank goodness she called. I am totally tired now and can’t wait to feel fresh legs again. Some good posts here about the nature of training and how this is voluntary after all. The last speedy section takes me up over Hospital Hill and then Burt’s Pit Hill (Aamos---remember those?) My quads were burning, but I held my head up, straightened up, fixed my eyes on a point ahead so it could reel me in (a mailbox) and I made it. Take care of yourself Btb …..Try not to let the “t-do” list get in the way of joy either. I’ll keep your brother in my prayers Vista. It’s clear you are both very caring people. Great news on the foot Spareribs. Erika----6%?! You are gorgeous now as you are. Happy anniversary lyndenrunner. Sue’s breakfast place sounds marvelous and if you are looking for others come to Northampton and I’ll take you to Sylvester’s---line out the door on Sundays. It’s named after Sylvester Graham----the father of the graham cracker and a Northampton native. Does anyone know which presidential library is here in Northampton, MA? Anyway, off to Syracuse later today----runs with SkipAZ and then Holly to look forward to and home in time to dye eggs. Good days to all, CNYrunner

Thanks for the update on your brother Vista Is the collar for JJJesse????

If the weather holds up I might cut the lawn this afternoon... DW and I have been married 13 wonderful years today...

Sweet Gordon, may you have many years of happines together. If the weather holds up I might shovel the snow off the lawn this afternoon.. BTB, you'll get through the next 5 weeks one day at a time. Hope you get things fixed real quick like. I'm sorry to head about your family's loss Tom. Having a stubborn streak gets me into the tights and on the trail. Other thimes it's joy. S'all OK. 4 miles with the dog today. It's a freezing drizzle wintery mix. "Wintery Mix" sounds like a side dish on a menu. It's ain't. At one point, I stopped and the dog pulled me over 10 ft before she wondered what was up.

Here I am. No time to post this morning before work, and have just come up for air what with stoopid meetings and annoying problems and impossible schedules. We leave for Boston one month from today, and I can't wait to get away for awhile. Sorry about your MIL TomS, and healing thoughts for vista's brother. Congratulations to lyndenrunner and lyndenwife on 13 years of marriage. We're in our 13th year too! thanks for the lesson btb. Winnie-the-Pooh was very wise (and so are you). 7 miles this morning at 10:05 pace.

We have a group of 10 teachers in my school who have formed a running/exercise group. After dangling the carrot 3 of the 10 did a St. Pat's day run or workout. One teacher in particular, who is just starting to run, was beaming when I handed her a shamrock token this morning. For me my right calf was feeling tight today so I decided to take it easy during my lunchtime run. I started out very slow and finished very comfortably with a 7:00 mile which shows me what happens when I take my time in the beginning and let my body warm up properly. Go figure! Lunchtime runs are so energizing, I may have to do more than just one per week. Now excuse me while I go take a nap. btb good reminder to enjoy your runs. I am as guilty as the next at letting life enter my runs, although sometimes it is very creative thinking time.

Hopeful, sorry about the mud puddles! A dog's life would be pretty cool - after I take my dogs for a run, they promptly lie down and take a nap. Evryday, I didn't know I was on page 1 of the 1000 mile club - haven't checked for a while. Thanks for pointing it out! SueT, we call those dog collars "cone heads". It's kind of funny to watch dogs crashing into door frames because they're not used to the width of the cone. So Jesse's an "it" now? Vista, best wishes to your brother. Schedule that trip to Maine! Holly, way to cowboy up for a run in the rain! One advantage to living in the semi-arid west is that it doesn't rain like that here. We get thunderstorms in the summer in the afternoon but they pass through in an hour and the sun comes out again. Regarding your radon test, it has to be at floor level or in a basement, as radon is heavier than air. If he puts it up high it won't get a proper reading. Dave, sorry about the bronchitis. Rest up. Nono, I think that would be a good way to get my DH to run with me (he's not a runner) - invite my parents for a visit! My mom drives him crazy. He usually just disappears out to his wood shop when she's around. Gordon, Happy Anniversary! Btb, thanks for the reminder to be present in our lives. Hope the podiatrist fixes you up. When you're feeling bad, I'm sure you get strength from thinking about the little girl you're running Boston for. TomS, Sorry to hear about your MIL. Way to be stubborn and get 8 miles in on the TM. CNY, I like the term "curse word workout". I never knew Sylvester Graham was the father of the graham cracker. My maiden name is Graham, and I was called Graham Cracker all the time when I was a kid. Fortunately, that's not a very hurtful thing to be called. I LIKE graham crackers! Craneium, I agree that lunchtime runs are energizing. I plan to go out today at lunch, as I do most days. Great break from the computer. Thinking about life on your runs doesn't mean you're not experiencing the moment. Running really helps to sort things out sometimes. We're off to Japan for spring break. Actually we're stretching spring break to two weeks - we leave tomorrow and get home on Wed. April 2nd. It's a family vacation, just for fun. DH worked in Japan last year, and wanted to take me and DD there because he liked it. I actually lived there when I was a kid, because my dad worked there for a year. We will celebrate DD's 15th birthday there next weekend.