There's a young man over in the Off the Beaten Path form. He started a thread "Life is Miserable." He could definitely use some positive thoughts, if you feel so included. Nite, All

Hey 40s + ... Nice chatter here. I've been (still am) away from my usual station and haven't checked in long enough to visit. I've read the banter........let's see, we've got work and more work, higher utility costs, snow boarding activities (I'd love to give that a go) inspirational motivational thoughts and statements, massages, gym work, school work, 2700 miles for the year (very nice), three legged dogs, cold weather, rainy weather icy weather,humid weather, injuries in various stages of healing (good discussion on injury treatment/prevention btw), sprucing up the running log, running, biking, tapering........man.....the life of a runner. Arla... wind makes cold temperatures feel colder, humidity makes warm temperatures feel warmer. It causes you to sweat much more and this results could result in dehydration and loosing electrolytes. As mentioned drink plenty of water and take some additional electolytes. The sport drinks have e.l. (sodium pottasium etcand there are othr e.l. supplements out there. I don't know if gu has them or not. Bananas are great for me as well as the sports drink. Some of the aid stations may have bananas and most will have sports drink. But be prepared for this. Some runners will adjust the pace down to compensate for the humidity. This is a good idea and for a first marathon (or any long distance in first time humidity) I would advise it. You've all but met the goal of starting the race, now be smart and prepare yourself to reach the goal of finishing. Don't underestimate the humidity factor. But at the same time, don't get all worried and uptight about it either. Just take care of yourself and enjoy! I bit off a little too much last Sunday on my long run. An easy pace, but I must have over extended the distance a bit. Tender knees have surfaced. Nothing a little rest, and ice won't take care of. So I missed my scheduled tues and wed run. Verdict is still out on the Friday run. So I won't meet the mileage goal for the week, but don't sweat the minor set backs....patience grasshopper! This is the nature of things when you're a runner. Someone...maybe Carol, asked about race plans. Yes, I'm planning to run the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April. I ran it last year for my first marathon. I ran the 1/2 M there a few years back. Somewhere in the far depths of RA is my race report from last year. I"m not gonna look it up, but if your interested, it was posted toward the end of April or maybe early May '07 in this Masters group forum. But the past is the past and I'm looking forward to things that can be! I'll be back at my usual station this evening. The Sooners of OKLAHOMA taking on a team from Florida for the National Championship of College Football. My OSU Cowboys did not fair that well in there bowl game.....let's see how OU can do. BOOMER SOONER! MTA......fatozzig....how's the Monkey butt powder working for you? Let me know if it works....I might need to know someone who needs to try some!

Two of the greatest qualities in life are Patience and Wisdom:

Hi All! Arla- Good luck!!! We are all really excited for you! Remember; run your own race, conserve energy, and the most important of all, Have Fun !!!!! So far , as I'm sure you know, Orlando on Sun is "Partly sunny, breezy and not as warm". Hope that holds for you!!! I had a hard time sleeping the night before, so try to be rested on Fri and Sat. We'll be rooting for you!! Evrday- I'm also rooting for your Sooners. I'll usually go with the underdogs,(unless they're a Giant opponent).It's looking like a great game. Rest up for now and good going on your marathon goal. I'm thinking about a spring race as well. Kelly- Seems like a good ski season up there for you and your boys.As a skiier,did you try ever snowboarding? I have done a lot of skiing,and even skateboading as a kid, but have yet to ride a snowboard. Leslie- hope your shoes get there soon. Sounds like you're doing well working around not running.Cute pic too. Jewels- sounds like you're acclimating quickly to the gym life, good for you. Been working about an hour north for the past 5 days or so and finally got to run today on the Deleware + Raritan Canal. It's an excellent trail/ dirt road. It was a canal in the 1800's that ran for about 60 miles across NJ to bring coal from Pa. to NYC. Flat and straight with water on both sides,it's pretty neat. http://www.dandrcanal.com/history.html Did 8m , 35*/ windy/occasional snow showers. Thoughrougly enjoyed myself.

Hey All - Our own Kelly has been recognized for her performance at her first 100-miler. Way to go, Kelly! http://blog.irunfar.com/2009/01/best-debut-100-mile-effort-of-year.html Pushed off working out this a.m. to come to work early and do some much needed cleaning of my work area. It's an absolutely disaster. Will chat with ya'll later ~ Iiiiiiit's FRIDAY!!!!!

Easy 3 in windy but not real cold conditions. I had an all day class to recertify my commercial pesticide applicators liscense yesterday. It was in a town 80 miles so had to leave before 6 so skipped my weights yesterday. Maybe work it in today. Better get back at it. More later.

I need to get to the gym like you, jewels. Nice 3 miler yesterday. Sorry about school starting up.....embrace the suck! Joe, nice couple of 8milers last last few days. Interesting about the canal....I'll check out the link for more info. fatozzig....what kind of shoes did you get? What color are they? Are they comfortable? Are they 4 wheel drive? How many miles per gallon do you get with them? (that's my "Home Alone" bit) Jim...glad the temps have warmed up for you. It's dern near summertime weather here. It's been a beautiful day, no wind....until just a few minutes ago. Now it's picked up pretty good... 25+ ...I'd say. Good runs. Ultra doin' the 100 miler....... That's very impressive. 9 miles for me this afternoon. 10:23 pace. Mrsday and I went out together....she did 7 miles. Will Arla be trackable?.....I'll try and find out.

Got the weights in tonite. My achilles were barking some this morn so cut the run a mile short, usually do 2-3 on Sat but may skip it or else do a cutback week next. I think its just something that I have to manage and live with for awhile. Jonathan told me it will eventually pass but it has been frustrating. I need to be more consistant with my stretching, rollers and stuff the pt taught me. There is a half in Pal Springs CA 2 days before our marketing seminar in February but don't know if we can be gone that many days. Farm wise I can set it up to where it wouldn't matter but hate to leave my dad totally on his own that long. He does really good but he is almost 89 and he gets nervous when we aren't around. Someone had asked about Lynda's running, she is still getting some in but really sick with a cold/flu crud for the last week so mileage is down quite abit. She caught the brunt of the year end paper avalanche workload. On the fun side she is part of the newly organized womens running club in our town. They meet next week for the first time. Leslie any word on your tests yet? New shoes yipppeeee!!! what did ya get? I been looking at these sportivas for trail shoes http://www.sportiva.com/products/prod/536 Ev bummer bout the Sooners, I was rootin' for em also. Nice runs for u and the missus. You are not gonna like the weather I am sendng ya but really not bad for January. Joe that trail looks pretty cool. Your weather today was almost the same wind, precip, and temp as ours! As far as windpower, I think it will help some but storage technology is lacking. Our biggest irrigation loads are at our calmer times of the year. We have pretty high demand for only a few months of the year. We are down to one diesel powered well I was going to convert to electricity until crude crashed and now operating costs are about a wash and it costs about 35k to convert so maybe buy a bigger fuel tank and sit on this one this year. Jewells take it in small bites ....the chewing your way thru your classes that is WTG on the gym, does your daughter always go with? Jewells as for the questions, easiest first, our weather moderated so kinda put the treadmil on the back burner. We don't have alot of room in our house. The shop is kinda dirty and usually full of equip to repair. Been thinking of adding on to the shop, a kind of clean room for parts, a small office etc..A perfect place for a treadmill. Ahh the pesticides and that is a pretty big topic. I have had a commecial license since I graduated college as I took a 2 credit hour class and subsequent testing while there. It was a Wyoming license and we had reciprocity for awhile, then Nebraska decided they wouldn't accept it so I went and took the Nebraska test. The initial testing takes most of a day and many study pretty hard and there is a pretty high failure rate. For me with the training I had in college and practical experience I passed without studying but it was harder than I imagined. Once you get it you have to attend so much continuing ed training to get recertified. You get to pick from about 20 short classes with a few required, ranging from new products, studies on effectiveness of practices, and operator and public safety (required). My risk (exposure x duration) is much greater than the general public. In spite of that operators as a group are healthier than the general public. The classes are put on by University of Nebraska phd's with Nebraska Dept of Ag enforcers looking on. The Ne dept of Ag is under the direction of the EPA and needless to say they take their job very seriously. Buy US product if possible, they are looking out for you. Not much for new chemicals, alot of reformulating the old stuff and label changes. Alot of the hot stuff is gone. I think my response was alot longer than your Questions. Feel free to ask any more. Kelly nice recognition. Hope things are working out on the job front. Hi to Carol and anyone else out there. Tis a busy time for accountants around here. Wishing Arla a cool, dry, day, I think she can handle the rest!!!