I'm too tired to think of a catchy title or saying, but . . . . . My "if the stars are all aligned" goal today was to finish in 4 hours (with fingers crossed). My realistic goal was 4.5 hours. I finished around 3:52!! I forgot to turn off my Garmin, and it read 3:55:something. Finished in under 4 hours! Woop woop!! I am definitely going to do this run again. Gorgeous terrain (if you like the desert), perfect weather, overcast and cool. Just about everything when perfect. I'll tell you guys more later, but I'm so tired and sleepy right now that it's beddy bye time. We have to get up around 4:00 a.m. if we're going to make it back up north in one day. But under 4 hours! Ack!

Jim and Lynda....5Ks are fun to run. Nice work. fatozzig....INCREDIBLE!! Enjoy and rest up...you deserve it. flajewels...enjoy you time off, I'm sure you've deserved it. I'm icing down the legs after yesterdays run. No running for me today.

Way to go Arla.....whatever plan you're following, it's working! What a fabulous 20 mile run you had. Congrats! Mojo was in the air this weekend for Leslie and Arla...... Jewels

Hearty congradulations to Leslie, it all seems to be coming together for you now. Arla consistant training is sure workin' for you, nice race/20 miler. We did a race in Colorado one time with a bunch of Denver at risk youth, same experience, they went blowing by me huffing and puffing but it didn't last. Jewels enjoy your break, you have had a busy fall!! Ev hope your not too sore after yesterdays long run. You sure been consistant. I enjoyed your thought of the day, but didn't always comment 'cause I'm still somewhat of a newb at this sport. 'Spose Kelly is deep in finals week now. Hope Cindy is doing well with the Summit County gig. Joe hope you had some good trail outings this weekend. Carol hope you are feeling better now. I was a little sore yesterday from sat race despite running a slow first mile. I tried to run the next 2 at a pace faster than my 5k pr race pace, couldn't do it. Anyway got in 6.5 yesterday at a whopping Twa Elve pace, legs just wouldn't move for the first 3 or 4. Rest day today on the run front. Spent most of the morning watching the grain market quote screen trying to manage grain hedge positions . We have erased nearly all of the gains of the last 2.5 years of a bull market in 4 short months. Hauled in the final part load of corn we finally got to harvest from muddy spots that froze up last week this afternoon. Was going to change oil in that truck while it was hot but got lazy and called it a day, and got ready for the nite markets.

Hello 40s+! Arla, what a great way to get your 20 miler in....coupling it with a fun HM. Nice job. And your paying attention and practicing your hydrating and fuel....very smart. That will come in handy at DW. Having it all planned out prior to will allow you to concentrate on other things. Ultra....great article! Thanks so much for pointing to it. You need to put that link on your website. How's that going by the way? I need to stop by there occasionally. And remember YOU have the magic wand. Hey I've always wanted to ask someone in the know....is the knee bone really connected to the shin bone? (ref. your mention of anatomy class) Jim....I don't know if you're interested or not....I toured a biodiesel plant the other day. This plant starts out with a "animal fat" stock to end up with their fuel. Some plants start out with a "vegetable based" stock. Either way it's has an agriculture source. fatozzig....I haven't missed your RR have I? Looking forward to it. The legs feel greta! I nearly always ice them especially after long or hard runs. I figure it's preventative. Ice is a runners friend. (plus I can lay around for awhile with the ice pack and tell DW, "Sorry, Honey, can't < insert="" least="" favorite="" activity="" such="" as="" mow="" the="" lawn,="" paint="" the="" house,="" trim="" the="" trees,="" clean="" the="" gutters,="" shovel="" snow="" /> just yet....gotta ice the legs.") Speaking of snow, it's coming down here. Maybe this afternoon I'll get my first snow run of the season in. Good runs to all.

Morning, Friends! Kelly - Great article! Was that published in a local newspaper? Hopefully, you'll get some clients out of it. Carol - I musta missed the part about you not feeling well. Sorry. I'm glad you're feeling better, though. Ev - Loved your "inserts" of what you cant' do because you need to ice your legs. I finally got to work at 9:30 this a.m., although no one's here, so it's no big deal. It was brrrr cold this morning, and the first time I've seen frost everywhere. Guess I'll get to try out my new winter running shirt I bought in July! The Hub's gone 'til the 15th. Went to Texas on a solo vacation - San Antonio, Austin, and some loop he figured out. LOTS of questions from family as to why he went. "Because he had a week of vacation he needed to use." "Why Texas?" "Why not?" "Is he doing something there?" "Vacationing." (for some reason that's been hard to understand.) "Why did you go?" "I didn't have a week of vacation left." "Oh . . ." I keep telling people, our time apart is what keeps us from killing each other, which is why we're still married. So it's just me and the kiddo cats, and a clean house for a week. (((sigh))) My vacation.

Hi Kids- such a busy bunch we are!! Not quite the same without Cindy around tho.... Leslie- Great Race!!! Sounds like your training leading up to it really paid off.Hopefully you kept a log and can repeat what made it work.Happy the weather worked out for you .Enjoy your solo time! Arla- Great Race! for you too!Negative splits!Awesome! How did you feel after? Sounds like your full should go well. I think that you can use more gu's over a 20? Might give you more energy. I use them about every 5 miles. Jewels- Happy for you that your time off is coming up! You deserve it! A whole month off,you'll have plenty of running time to get ready for your half! Kelly- nice write up for you! Very impressive about your 100 miler.Do your boys run with you on those 5k's?Can't help you with the losing weight part but just look around at the average Americans in your life.Bet that makes you feel better. Carol- Glad that you're feeling better and out walking.Hub's probably happy that you don't share everything with him! Good luck easing back into it. Ok Evryday-things are looking quite dramatic for Sunday's war game. Both teams coming off of losses though it certainly means more for the Cowboys than Giants. My team doesn't seem to handle prosperity very well and has a way of keeping things interesting. Jim- Nice going with your pacing the race for Lynda last week! Did you tell her that "you're as young as you feel" ?You're a braver man than me if you spend any time watching the market! For me, my 401k is now a .401k and the market's a treacherous roller coaster ride! I'm just really thankful every morning that I'm still going to work. Been having more fun running than should probably be legally allowed. Ten on Fri night including over a mile on the beach sand with Buddy(water temps in the 40's and he still jumped right in the ocean).After about 8-10 days stretched out since summer, finally finished clearing land at the in-laws for them on Saturday. That cross-training is brutal but managed 11m on the snowy trails on Sunday morn. Out for 8.5m of hills at lunch today and am closing in on 2000m for the year!

You marathoners - how many gels do you consume over the course of a marathon?

I carry four. I usually eat 2 or 3. M12 to start. The second one somewhere between M16 and M20. If I took it at M16, then the third one pops out at M20-21. During an 'uh oh' race where I eat all 4, I know that something's up because I feel the need to eat the first one M8ish. In Seattle a couple weeks ago, I had a particularly yucky race foodwise and grabbed a couple spares from the aid stations that had them. Six is a record for me in a marathon. I know a lot of people that take more. And a great many people that eat none. It's something that has to be tested and adjusted through trial and error. Alas, 'error' can not be pretty sometimes.