Morning gang, just a quickie ( I always say that) I wish my running was quick. Did the exact same hilly 5.33 as yesterday, took a pic with my phone which I will try to find on the phone and post. It was sunny with a nice breeze. Anyway 5.33 57:00 @ 10:42 pace AHR 156 74% That was 2mins 46 secs quicker than yesterday but 4 beats AHR higher. Good runa All Roy

Larry, it's a tough ten-miler too. We won't hold you to any high standards or PR's. Remember, "Crim doesn't pay." Spareribs

(groan) Roy - a quickie is better than nothing... Wildchild ran topless! Truthfully Carolyn, when it’s hot, go with what’s comfortable. I see lots of people of all shapes and sizes out there in sports bras and shorts, and very few of them qualify as underwear models – they’re just regular folks, trying to beat the heat. And you have a lovely figure – I can’t imagine anyone being offended. Fitness center this morning (Erika, still no one at the front desk), mixing it up: 20 minutes elliptical 10 minutes crossrobics machine 1 mile run on the treadmill 35 minutes elliptical 1 mile run on the treadmill 10 minutes stationary bike What I love most about the gym is that I can read books while on the machines. My life is so busy these days, time for reading is a precious commodity. Today I divided my time between Dr. Andrew Weil’s Healthy Aging and Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (a gift from CNYrunner). Today’s agenda: soccer practice this morning, then the water park, and then a local Asian Festival after dinner. Maybe I’ll squeeze a nap in there somewhere…. Happy Saturday!

Why did we get completely shut out in all the canoeing events? Didn't any of the mothers send their sons to summer camp? One of the things that has been bugging many of us is the fact that many of the competitors are not really from the country they represent...The Final Straw: During a men's beach vball game, Brazil was playing Georgia (originally they were supposed to play Alabama...not sure what happened). Anyway, all 4 players were actually from Brazil. The announcer called the Georgia (Bulldogs) guys a "rent-a-team". In all fairness, however, the guys from Georgia chewed tobacco and swigged 'shine during the entire match. After the (yawn) men's bball game, they switched to another event...I am not making this up...some girl comes out in a hot pink ballet costume with a pink ribbon in her hand..I immediately panicked because I thought NBC had preempted the Olympics in order to cover cheerleading tryouts. I am BEGGING for Tramps to call an emergency meeting of ROAR. Twocat:

My DW has a tennis tournament to go to tonight with some friends of ours. It is a pretty good one that many use as a warm up for the US Open. I hope she has fun.

Is that the Pilot Pen tourney?...if so, pretty good field. Carolyn:

I think the athletes at the Olympics have a lot of class for how they deal with on-air interviews right after their races. The announcers are such doofuses! "How do you feel about dropping that baton?" It shows real class to answer coherently and show team spirit, and not assign blame or tell the interviewer what you really think about their lame questions.

Very well said...and I assume you'll be posting pix of your semi-nude run? Ribs:

Nothing worse than trying to run up a steep hill and having a guy right behind you singing Disco Duck. File that tactic away somewhere DickyG.

About all I can do is file it away...if you've looked at my daily run posts, there's no way I could run up a hill and breathe, much less sing...hmmm...I do have an old boom box...and I do have Disco Duck on a CD...hmmmm. Glad to hear you're in better spirits, pal. Enke: Your HMP improved by about 30 seconds/mile...wtg! Jeanne:

promptly hit my first drive into the water.

I bet if you looked in the water close enough, you saw about 99 of my drives sitting next to yours. Dave59: Go get 'em... Roy: Good run, man...you're gettin' good in your old age... Ran a slow 4 miles on a pretty flat course..didn't worry about my time too much...just wanted to run the entire distance without walking. Did 37:44 (9:26) but ran the whole course. 22 miles for the week which is 2 miles more than normal...overall, decent week. Golf today & tomorrow.. DickyG

We had a greta dinner with hally and mariposai last night. They were kind enough to take the metro (the DC subway) and meet us halfway in Bethesda. We ate at a Rock Bottom, which is a small chain of brewpubs -- I don't know how far it extends, it's at least on the east coast.

Outstanding pic...you guys look terrific! Have been to that Rock Bottom a few times...cool place. #1 daughter lives in Chevy Chase & goes there all the time. DickyG

Rest day..well kinda of I have to clean the house, do laundry and clean the garage!!! Moving to a condo at the end of September and I have to downsize (actually looking forward to doing that). Will run two hours tomorrow at least... Take care everyone. Tall

Nice pic of Mariposai, Hally, and the Beers…oh, and PDR and WRFB, too. What I’ll miss most when the Olympics are over are Dicky’s rants the day after. Priceless. No run for me today. I was up late trying to get caught up processing all the new ROARS membership applications. “Synchronized diving” created a real surge in applications but the tsunami started when they broadcast “rhythmic gymnastics.” (BTW, I hear they’re adding pole dancing to that event next time around.) Speaking of Olympics, if you want some unique perspective on the achievements of different countries, check out the medal count sorted by population, GDP, GDP/population, etc. Very interesting. It's a reminder that there’s a lot more going on at the Olympics than just individual talent and effort. http://www.symworld.com/medals/index.php?sort=totalnormal

Great picture WRFB!! WoW!! I had trepidations about this run. Supposed to be 16 miles with 12 at MP and I wanted to do some big hills but not just a climb up and then back down so I chose an out and back route that gives 250+ ft of climb and 8.54 miles total. By running this twice I get a good hilly workout. My goal was to try for 8:00 pace (MP) by maintaining a heart rate of 160 bpm. First out and back (8.54 miles) came in at 1:08:17 (8:00 pace!!) Drank 32 oz poweraid and back out Second out and back (8.54 miles) came in at 1:07:56 (7:57 pace!!).. negative split! Total: 17.08 miles in 2:16:12 (7:58 pace AHR 160) Woohoo.. all at MP!! ETA: Elevation profile: http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y246/lateboomer/17mileMPKerleyhills.jpg I'm really happy about this one so here's the details. Can you see the hills? Split Dist. Time Pace AHR Split 1 1 Mile 8:41 8:41 152 Split 2 1 Mile 8:29 8:29 157 Split 3 1 Mile 8:47 8:47 161 Split 4 1 Mile 8:00 8:00 161 Split 5 1 Mile 7:49 7:49 159 Split 6 1 Mile 7:41 7:41 161 Split 7 1 Mile 7:12 7:12 160 Split 8 1 Mile 7:40 7:40 160 Split 9 0.54 Miles 3:58 7:20 159 Split 10 1 Mile 8:09 8:09 154 Split 11 1 Mile 8:05 8:05 158 Split 12 1 Mile 8:47 8:47 161 Split 13 1 Mile 8:09 8:09 159 Split 14 1 Mile 7:47 7:47 160 Split 15 1 Mile 7:50 7:50 162 Split 16 1 Mile 7:23 7:23 162 Split 17 1 Mile 7:46 7:46 164 Split 18 0.54 Miles 3:59 7:22 166

The Jogger sounds like a nice run. Spareribs glad to hear you seem to be back on the recovery track. Wishing you well. Holly S. actually what you should like best about your gym is that it is apparently FREE! WillRunForBeer nice pic! Sounds like you all had a great time. One guy and three gals! I am sure jealous! DickyG yep it was the Pilot Pen. She had a great time. Good week getting in 22 miles. I believe they are considering adding square dancing to the next Olympics. Have you heard anything? mainerunnah I had totally forgotten about the men's marathon tonight! What am I going to do? We are going to a dinner party at 7! Help! Oh yea, nice looking progression run. hopeful4ever long runs are always tough. Sort of why they are on the schedule. But in high humidity they are really tough. On the bright side it will no doubt make the marathon seem a lot easier. Tramps in case DickyG has no news on the upcoming Olympic square dancing competition I am wondering if you do? perchcreek 17 miles at MP! [Editor: Twocat has fainted away. Hold on we will see if we can revive him.] Ok, they managed to revive me. Mariposai sounds like a great run. I hope your flight back is uneventful and your luggage manages to arrive at the airport with you! Sarge nice 10K with your DW and a double digit total for you for the day. Twocat I am totally ecstatic about my race! I beat, yes finally(!), beat one of my times from last year! The race was 9.37 miles (again, I DO NOT set these courses up I just run them) and I knocked 39 seconds off my time from last year! I also managed to beat one of my local "rivals" for the first time this year! Anybody who doubts how important weight is to race times should see my home log. (I do not log my weight here at RA where everybody can see it. What you think I am that dumb! ) Last week I started the race 5 pounds heaver than this week. It sounds like that is impossible but it was the result of a two day eating binge from two BD celebrations. This week I took it off and then some. The result? In last week's 8.44 mile race I ran a 6:55 pace, and this week in a longer race a 6:49 pace. Ok back to spending the day happy as a clam! Good runs all! MTA: Can clams be happy? Do they even have anything one might call a brain? [Editor: Not after you steam them and dip them in butter. Twocat: True but they sure do taste good after that!] Who thought of putting happy and clam into an expression anyway?