Happy birthday, Sue.  Hope you are Queen for a day. 

Plan is an 8 miler on some lesser used trails.  I like to explore, and after studying some maps, looks like I can link up 2 sections. We will see.

QOTD:  Do you  use any old or new technologies when planning a run, or just hit areas that you already know?  I look at maps (old school) and use AllTrails (new school) to see what new areas I can find to get lost in the woods.  Sometimes it doesn't work well and I have to backtrack or bushwhack a bit to get back to a more established trail.

Happy Birthday, Sue!!!

Another short loop this morning. It felt fast, but it wasn't that fast. I slept like crap last night. I stayed up with the game last night, which is late for me. I was watching other things and realized I could stream it on YouTube in the last 37 seconds of the game. After that, I was too excited to go to sleep.

QOTD: Not really. If I was going on some adventure, I would use a topo, aerial photos, and a compass to figure some routes and destinations out. But on a day to day basis, I run the same area, so no big deal.

Happy Birthday Sue!

4 miles on the trails with DW and Tiny Elvis- another glorious 60-ish degree day!  Going to get out after work for a few miles, might load up my hunting pack with some sand- it’s getting that time of the year

qotd: local trails I have down pretty pat, but occasionally I’ll see an old spur trail (sometimes ends up being a well worn game trail) and will follow it out in the hopes of a new loop. I have several routes now that have sections that aren’t on any maps. Outside of local, I use caltopo and google earth extensively (my phone has Gaiagps that I use in the field)

Taking a URD today. I was planning on getting up early to run, but hit the snooze button instead.  Can't run after work today since DW and I are meeting our DD to do some stuff, then dinner.

Happy Birthday QoN !!!!!  Hope you're Queen of Something today.

qotd: So funny you asked this question, I currently have another window open at the moment trying to figure out which hotel to stay at near Dulles Airport because I have meetings there next month.  Most important factor.... proximity to trails. Looks like I can hop on the Washington-Old Dominion hike/bike rail trail.  Unfortunately it's paved, straight and it'll be boring, but it'll be ok and free of cars and trucks. I'll have a rental car so I might head North to the Potomic River and run along that instead. We'll see. (Warning to runtraildc, I'll be hitting you up for info at some point.)

Oh yeah the question....  I tend to use Googlemaps to search out the basic info on areas I'm traveling to.  I either search some more or just wing it. I hardly ever use old school maps unless I'm going to some remote place and need topo and rivers to navigate, but I have Gaia on the phone for that too.

Happy Birthday Sue!!! and Tim (belated)!!!

Congrats to Gatsby and Gator over the weekend!

QOTD:  I love paper maps (topo) even when getting lost a bit.  Part of the adventure is to get yourself "found" again and where you end up.

Doing a quick drive-by update since I can actually sit at my laptop right now.  The cancer saga has taken way too many twists and turns to detail them all.  Thanks to AT for sharing major updates with the group.  I spent the past 5 days back in the hospital and all cancer treatment (radiation and chemo) have prematurely stopped as of Wednesday last week.  After an endoscopy, bronchoscopy, and stent replacement, the doctors found a fistula (hole) was burned through the esophagus and into the trachea.  The old stent also had holes burned through it, so fluids flowed into my lungs, hence the pneumonia.  The fistula is now the biggest threat that needs attention and treatment.

The pneumonia is gone with antibiotics, but I am still coughing up a lot of lung gunk and I need to regain weight, lost nutrition, and some strength.  I'm now 127 lbs which is about 20 lbs below my healthy running weight.  I've been on stomach PEG (tube) feeding only for the past couple weeks but I hope the new stent works well enough to allow me to take in something in by mouth again soon.  Pain management is also a challenge in that I'm at a constant 7 or 8 24/7 with spikes to 9 during coughing fits and I can barely talk.  The one good thing is that I now have a legal weed card for NY.

The good news is that the doctors didn't see any tumor left when they did the stent procedure, so they decided it was best to cease cancer treatment and not risk making the fistula bigger or risk creating another one.  They'll re-assess the nature of the cancer in a few weeks or so.  Anyway, that's where things stand right now, but the way things have been going, there's no real prediction as how things will play out.  At least I can get high, right?  Legally, of course :-).

Oh Bert I'm sorry this has been such a struggle for you.  I'm still holding you and your family in my thoughts and I so want to hear you've beaten this.  Glad you could get the weed for pain management.

 

What !!!! Not so great ending....  if the Texan player didn't touch the guy who caught the last pass while laying on the ground - time would have ran out. Instead he tapped the guy, stopped the clock w/ 2 sec .....  walkoff field goal.   

 

(Brees is great by the way. I do have a soft spot for the Saints since my parents lived there for a while during the dark days of the Aints.)

I was only marginally interested in the game last night. I actually thought it was going to be a 42 to 17 type thing with the Saints winning. There is some big controversy right now about Drew Brees doing a spot for "Focus on the Family". I don't know a whole lot about their agenda, but the claim is that they are anti-LGBTQ. So, I have been referring to Brees as the anti-LGBTQB. Maybe he shouldn't have done the spot; I don't know. But, Drew Brees is just a genuinely good person, not "against" anyone. I think people are too sensitive about everything these days. If I was Drew, I would just "Focus on the Football".

Hi all, Did not row yesterday as I said I would but got in a long walk with Chowder (more fun) instead. I'm skipping a back to school meeting tonight so I can run 6 with the brewery group.  This would be year 6 so I think I am due for a year off.

Bert-- so good to hear from you! I will take the tumor news as good news, but I'm sorry about the fistula and pain.

Sandy- that rail trail will work in a pinch, but depending on your work days and sunset, I would highly recommend heading out to the PHT along the Potomac. VHTRC (virginia happy trails running club) has a good trail guide

qotd: both. I'll bring a paper map when I'm exploring someplace new, if the system seems complicated.