Mornin' everyone!
TW, I'm sorry about your ongoing pain (and the big lady at the pool), and about your running buddy's brother. I hope the Evil leaves you alone from now on.
Ribs, that's a lot of shoes! Good for Hudson for collecting/donating.
Nothing scared me more in yesterday's forum than Steve's observation that our government is a reflection of our society: I would like to believe that our society as a whole is not that disfunctional. Yes, I have, based on simple observation, become very cynical about the federal government's ability to even get out of its own way. However, I also voted yesterday, as I do in every election. I figure if I don't vote, I give up my right to complain about the results. Some of my choices won, some didn't. I hope to be pleasantly surprised by some of the people who elected even though I didn't vote for them. I can be an optimistic cynic, can't I?
5.9 RW fartlek miles at 4 o'dark. Yesterday, I had on tights and a windbreaker; today it was shorts and a l/s shirt. DW is leaving this morning for a trade conference in NC - she'll be back on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I have way too much on my plate to get into any mischief. What a waste...
Have a greta Wednesday!
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
MM#209 / JapanJoyful#803
Me too Jay. The problem with having worked for state and federal government when you love your job helping others is having to work with others who don't and just love the salary, benefits, retirements, etc. It's almost akin to loving running when others will never understand. . .
.
I knew there would be something good about yesterday's elections.
Last night at our local city council meeting others had the privilege to exercise their voting power to vote for three candidates for a vacant city council seat, me being one of candidates. The vote was tied between me and an older candidate. The Mayor of our City broke the tie by voting for the other candidate who has served as a city council member in yesteryear ( the good old boy club). People in town are still in shock that the vote went the other way, but I am fine with the decision. I have other places to invest my energy to make community changes.
.Congratulations Mariposai
I'd say Mr. Old-boys-club bettter watch out for his temporary seat if the position comes up for a popular vote sometime instead of a City Council vote rewarding one-of-their-own. In fact, maybe Mr. Mayor should watch out too.
"Enjoy yourself. Your younger days never come again." 100yo T. Igarashi to me in geta at top of Mt. Fuji (8/2/87)
Hey all. Busy day as usual yesterday but I did vote. Interesting discussion about how dysfunctional things seem to be. I work with the Federal government for my business and the sheer size is mind boggling. Lots of good people working there but the system seems to grind them down. My kids were asking me about why I vote and I mentioned that it was my civic duty to do so and to be as informed about the candidates as possible. What I seem to see anymore is not a true servant but people on a career path regardless of the party. This is sad to me. Mariposai's example seems to fit that mold and Jay is certainly the exception to what I see. Good for you guys and keep trying.
Well enough politics. Got an early run in advance of my trip to NYC for business. Going to be in Queens mostly so no idea what the running is like. I hope ok.
Cheers all.
"He conquers who endures" - Persius "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel
http://ncstake.blogspot.com/
Sayhey! MM#130
Good Morning,
Mari, I am so mad, that just reeks. I hope you run again. I'd like to see community reaction to the Mayor's old-boy move. You can build on your coalition; this is just the type of action that can generate reaction, in a meaningful fashion. Yes, and what tet said: Look out mr. Mayor!
I went to law school with your governor, Jay; she was very a regular person, smart, compassionate and down to earth.
Yes indeed deez! We get in Friday morning, so I'll prolly want to go to the expo Friday. I think it opens at noon. Any chance you'll be there? BTW, it could be your knee issue is caused by tight adductors. I have this problem all along my legs if I don't stretch them on a regular basis. It may also be connected to weaker glutes. I do a routine of stretches and also have an exercise band for wide leg/resistence walking. Good luck with that.
Ran the bridge last night with Speedsters; it's been a while since I've run the bridge! The bridge in the race Sunday was very different, steeper and /-\ shaped (with the bar atop the sides) instead of a gradual arc. My warmup and cool down were meh but the 3 total miles of work were 7:30 pace. The marathon Sunday feastures a lot of crossings of this and similar bridges. Very convoluted course.
Anyway, 8 miles total at 8:21 pace overall. So 8 easy this am in leisurely 9:23 pace. And back to seeing the sunrise!
grins and happy hump day,
A
ps: my workplace had "Gooey Dessert Day" yesterday. At 2:45, we all got to go to the conference room with our boss and enjoy a buffet of desserts. There at least was a token bit of fruit for we few "health nuts." Why is it ok and encouraged for people to eat junk and for those same people to ostrasize and ridicule those of us who just prefer not to? I go out of my way to be discrete about what I eat and DO NOT proselytize. (And don't get me wrong, I love chocolate, cookies, etc...just not in the middle of a work day, especially when I'm going to be running in a few hours.)
https://agratefullifedotnet.wordpress.com/ (for a piece or two of my mind)
Trails are hard!
I like "optimistic cynic". Hope you don't mind if I steal it, Jay.
6.1 slow taper-type miles in spring like weather. One drawback of the advancing season is that the town has shut off the water fountains until spring. Now I'll have to carry when I do more than one loop. Small price to pay for a nice, convenient course.
Mari--If there's any feeling of disappointment, I hope it doesn't last for long. I think you're doing a lot more than the politicians when it comes to positive change in your community. (does that count as an optimistic cynic?) I think this may be sort of a corollary to Groucho's quote--"I wouldn't want to be a member of any club that wants me as a member".
Happy runs, all.
eta: the compulsive forecast checking is underway and the 10 day forecast is up to Friday before the race and it's showing 40's. The folks in Richmond will freeze, but I sure hope it holds.
Need a fast half for late fall. Then I need to actually train for it.
My kids were asking me about why I vote and I mentioned that it was my civic duty to do so and to be as informed about the candidates as possible.
Indeed. I will always remember watching the people of South Africa lining up peacefully and waiting for hours, days even, in some places, to be able to vote once they got the right to do so.
.......not to mention the Freedom Riders and other folks who were killed and injured in my lifetime in my country to win voting rights for every citizen. Humbles me to think of it, so I try and think of it every election day.
I'm a "big picture" optimist. I always cite MLK's "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." I think that's been true for a long time. Despite many people's impressions (perhaps because of media), most societies are much less violent than in the past. On the whole, there is much greater gender and racial equality. Even extreme poverty has been significantly reduced worldwide in recent years. I'm aware of the many counter-examples and setbacks but the big picture is better than we often realize. None of it is inevitable or guaranteed or shared equally or easy, of course. At a minimum, people need to show up. Speaking of which, one chart is worth a thousand words:
Tom--hang in there. Understandably grumpy, yes, but "evil"? I doubt it very much.
Mari--what others have said. Interesting opportunity to build for the future.
I just assumed those were all Ribs' shoes. You know, matching various outfits and all...
Easy 4 today.
Be safe. Be kind.
King of PhotoShop
Well, they missed the boat not electing my Mariposai is all I can say!
Sorry about your running buddy TW.
My son Hudson turned 18 in June and he wasn't going to miss his first opportunity to vote. Researched all the candidates and went down to the polls and voted. Proud of him.
Enke, what country are you from if you don't mind my asking?
Still tired from Sunday. Ran 3.2 by myself through the rain at the park. The Saint works early at the yarn store on Wednesdays. Spareribs
Why is my phone so quiet today? Oh, yeah -- the election! It has sometimes shocked me when some adult that I know proudly states "I've never voted." It certainly permanently changes my opinion of them, although around here, with the way the districts have been gerrymandered, it even makes me question why I bother some times.
TW, I'm afraid to ask who "TheDevil" on your ballot might be...
Jlynne, congrats on the apparent domicile downsizing you're doing. I can almost see that around the bend for myself, but my DW is still too attached to our house and her garden, etc.
Carolyn, I always get an attack of SAD right after the time change when suddenly we're eating supper at 5:30 and it's dark outside already.
TwoCat, around here both sides attack each other, so it makes no difference.
Been feeling a bit meh lately when running and I'm not sure why -- I just seem to lack energy and spring in my legs. Anyway, I didn't want to waste what looks like the best morning for running for at least the next 4-5 days, so drove out to the park and did a nice run 50/50 on the bike path and through the woods on trails. It gets a bit tricky back in there because the trails have a lot of trip hazards that can be hidden by the fallen leaves at this time of year, and I've done a face-plant in there a couple times. But I made sure to wear my glasses today and avoided all that even if there was no way to avoid a couple of wet sections (hey, I almost cleared it on that jump!).
6 miles in just over an hour. What did you do today?
Doug, runnin' cycling in Rochester, MI
"Think blue, count two, and look for a red shoe"
Marathon Maniac #957
Exactly!
No run for me today. A 7am ortho appointment for DD didn't leave me time for more than a few minutes of weights before heading out.
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."
CNY, nice windy marathon with friends. mari, your mayor messed up and it's your community's loss. Nice long run, Mike.
This morning, it was in the low 40s and there was some wind. I got in 5 miles at an 11:16 pace.
A good day and good runs for all.
TomS
...mornin' guys//......well, The Evil-ness has been expurged.........
a lady almost backed a car over me whist bike riding,
and
W0W I managed to stop the damn thing without landing on my bad leg.
just the way I had practised.
==========
so I got THAT working for me.
......40-min bikeride 50's pouring rain.....
and, no, it wasn't the same lady that stole my lane. yesterday
..nothing takes the place of persistence.....
Mari, this is why you need to run for Mayor, next time that position is up for renewal!!
SR - I am from Venus.
No, seriously, I am Canadian. I have no intention of getting American citizenship, but if I did, the only reason I would get it would be so that I can vote.
Tramps - loved MLK the quote.
My knee is hurting a little just walking, shoot! I think I should look into some exercises to help it, this has been going on too long.
"During a marathon, I run about two-thirds of the time. That's plenty." - Margaret Davis, 85 Ed Whitlock regarding his 2:54:48 marathon at age 73, "That was a good day. It was never a struggle."
Alright. I just landed at JFK and saw someone wearing a NYC marathon medal. What's the expiration on that? I thought one day tips but I've never been accused of having proper couth
Greetings from O’Hare where I am awaiting a connecting flight to CO. One of these times I need to plan better so I can go and see wildchild! This trip is focused on a client’s trustee meetings and I’ll be back in MA on Friday---so fairly quick, although not like Twocat’s global treks!
I ran more errands during today’s run. Yesterday it was voting in the midst of a four mile run and today it was four miles with the post-office in the middle. My legs are less sore today and the pace was gentle. I’ll run easy for awhile yet then race as best I can on 12/7 at the Hot Chocolate 5k for Safe Passage with 25 members of my team (men and women). The Boston training will begin in earnest after that if all goes to plan.
Big hugs to you TW and the loss of your friend. And wow on the save!
Good on you Maraposai for your public service and running with heart. Next time for sure!
Aamos, the next marathon will be Boston ’15 and maybe, just maybe a marathon as a training run in Baton Rouge, La on 1/18. Charlevoix is out since I’ll be in Europe then, but it looks like a great RA group is gathering there!
The kiddo voted for the first time as well and was very proud to do so. Super-granny was nine years-old when women won the right to vote in August 1920. She tells quite a tale of that day as her long term memory is still razor sharp. Frankly, who cares if she can't remember what today is.....the memories are sweet and wonderful. My mother is not an American citizen and I get that completely too. She does tell who she would vote or though and we never agree. Always interesting!