Oh, and I'm starting to fear that whooshemmama will appear on my tombstone .

Farmer Jim - I think I forgot to answer a question you had re my Turkey Trot. I did a one-mile warm up run (which, coincidentally took me up to my work and back ) about 30 min before the run started, and then did a couple of extra easy jogs in between. Guess it worked! Re your child, er, dog - In the a.m. and p.m., our cat, Oscar, gets a wild hair up his butt and wigs out for awhile. He's his own best friend during those times, running through the house at break neck speeds. He also likes it when I chase him. So since we got the tree upright, he's been using it as his personal playground to run through. We just finished up with the ornaments last night, and had our ladder leaning against the wall. He misjudged a run through and ran head on into the ladder. You could almost see the birds flying in a circle over his head. He decided to lay off the running the rest of the night. The clouds cleared for a short time last night, and I got to see the show. Alas, I don't know how to take night pictures with my camera, so didn't get any pics. Sure was an incredible sight, though. Went to the dentist for a tooth cleaning yesterday, and wouldn't you know it - I just about have her paid off from the last load of work she did, and now I have to have another tooth worked on. I have been a steady stream of income for her for a couple of years now. . . .. yeah . . . . Since I'm in taper mode, it was suppose to be an easy 3 miles this a.m. Guess I must still be inspired by my Turkey Trot, 'cause I finished them in 28:02. Of course, this takes into account some decline and the flats, but there was a fair amount of incline involved, as well. Not real steep, but steady. Unbelievable enough (well, maybe only to me), my road shoes are about done. They have over 420 miles on them. It seems like I just bought them!

What a voice..... Carol, great job on the hub finishing up with his classes. Kelly as well.... Arla, have fun grading papers. Everyone seems to be getting their runs in......except me. Hope to get out tomorrow inbetween work and class. Wed. usually works out pretty good for me. My sis was even happier when the official results came in.....66:47 (10k)=10:45 pace. Anyhow......anyone heard of the Dances with Dirt runs? They run one in Indiana, Michigan and another place or two. Well.....Florida is now part of the series to be added. First one is in Feb. 09. I've seen the website and these runs are WAY out of my league, but....Florida will have the usual 50 mile run, the 50k run and the 50 mile relay run but are also going to include a half and a full marathon to the list. I'm not good at keeping goals but I sure would love to try something like that. Maybe Feb. 2010....jeez that seems like a loooong way away. Later......Jewels

Great pics, Cindy! Do you have to do anything special to protect the dogs' feet in the snow? Just curious. Jewels - Loved the "Dance With Dirt" web site. As far as working toward a HM or marathon - aren't you in training for a half right now??? And yes - go for it on the marathon!! MTA - Maybe I didn't check their web site close enough. Is the half and full suppose to be on the same course as the 50k, etc.? Woo hoo!

I could do the half and you can plan a trip to Florida in Feb. 2010 and run the 50k. I'll pick you up at the Orlando Airport the day before the race and we'll head over to Dade City and......blah, blah, blah,........O.K.?

Now, wouldn't that be a hoot! Think I could find a team for it? Cripes, sounds like I'd have to hang out for a week afterward to recovery. That would suck.

Hello Evryone! I wussed out on a scheduled 6 miler yesterday. The weather was perfect but then a glitch at work threw me a curve. Stayed at work later than I had intended. Most times I would have adjusted. But the laziness surfaced and I blew off the run. But, hey, I woke up this morning and evrything is still the same (except my running log is not as full)! Mtnchck....love the pictures. I'd like to be there to play. Fatozzig....good luck on the 30K this weekend. What is that like 18 miles plus? Wow! Arla does indeed have it going on with the marathon training. Arla will this be your first M? I see your scheduled for Disney World. That should be a fun one. Jim...I'm roughly 90 miles south southeast of Dodge City. (I think). A few years back we went up there several times over the course of about 2 years. My son raced motocross and they've got a track there. I thought it was windy here in NW OK. But what I remember about Dodge is the blowing dirt. Of course, at a dirt motocross track what do you expect?! Joe....Your Giants are reminding me of the Cowboys a few years back. On top of their game and then off the field shennanigans begin to creep in. I'm thankful he didn't hurt himself (or someone else) any worse than he did. Hey are you still up for a friendly wager on the Cowboy/Giants game? Nice runs so soon after your marathon. Be careful. Look for another post from me later this evening. With any luck, I'll be posting a run. By publicly annoucing it, the pressure is on!

Morning, Evryone ~ Joe - I had to laugh at your last comment are the Cheesequake Hills (is that the real name??). I, too, have given many hills the ceremonial finger salute many times. Somehow it makes me feel better. Weather.com says it's suppose to be 64 w/a few showers in Ridgecrest on Sunday. I hope it cools off. I'd be happy with temps around 58-60 with a cloud cover. Not so cold I need my winter running tights, but not so warm that after awhile I would wish I was wearing shorts instead of my thin running tights. Me in shorts this time of year- well, it's rather a blindingly, shocking sight. I'd be afraid that other runners would follow me thinking that the blinding whiteness was some kind of beacon leading them to the promised finish line. And I'd be like, "Dudes! Don't follow me behind this sand dune! I gotta go to the bathroom!" My target finish time is 4.5 hours (knock real hard on wood). Power walk the hills like crazy, and make up as much time as possible on the downs and flats. Depending on how much gas is left in the tank toward the end, hopefully run (albeit slowly) some hills. The last 8 miles is mostly downhill, so that will help a lot. I've been ending all my Saturday training runs with a long downhill stretch, so hopefully my quads won't feel like totally jelly halfway down. Hey - Your photo on your "about me" page - you look like a poster child for running a marathon! Evryday - 30k is 18.64 miles. Arla - When's the marathon? I know I've asked before, but bear with me. Your mileage is looking really good. Have fun at the half this weekend! It was a rest day for me today, which is good, since last night I managed to slightly strain a muscle in my lower back. Right side, right in the dang love handle area. Ice and ibu are on the ticket today. The Hub is borrowing a friend's TomTom to use while he's in Texas next week. I plugged in the distance from here to Ridgecrest - 13:35 hours, 649 miles. I knew it was a long way, but actually seeing it in front my face - Ugh! And we're going to try and make it all the way back on Monday? Somehow I'm seeing an overnight stop in Santa Rosa. That would be leave us 4 more hours, which would be a piece of cake early the next morning. Get my dad home in time for him to get some sleep before going to work that night, and I could just come straight to work for at least the afternoon. Seriously considering this. Okay - I've blabbed enough. Later!

I just keep thinking of Stevie Ray, what I'm trying is wimpy in comparison.

Oh, no no no. Not at all wimpy. Those 20 milers are HARD WORK. You'll do great. Tell us how that half goes; I'm really interested in that race. And next year, I'm going to run a lot more halves, methinks.