40s+ on the Run - Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow! (Read 1089 times)

TGIF! Nice little bunch of folks here. Joe, cute puppy! And it sounds like you've had a pretty good holiday week! btw, I'm posting this from NJ, here visiting family. Jewels, I've heard that that part of Florida is really neat. Never been there, but you've given me another reminder to get there some day. Carol, seeing the joy on your mothers face while she runs will hopefully keep you motivated to keep at it. Getting good at running takes persistence and patience, but the end result is worth it, especially if you like food, as many of us do! Jim, thanks for the great picture! Sorry to hear about the hip and the SI joint. If you are worried about taking anything before running, how about icing the area before your runs? I've done that with success. I've also been known to pop an Advil here and there before runs... Marci, you aren't alone in feeling fat this time of year. 'Tis the season. Brian, I am the king of cold ==> sinus infections. Just got done with 10 days of Biaxin. (sp?) Catch it before it leads to bronchitis. Kathy, nobody says you have to do a race. How about just a mileage goal, or a days run in the year goal instead? Racing is fun and motivating, but it's not for everyone, so don't feel pressured or intimidated into doing one if you don't want to. Leslie, those are some goals! Do you ever run anything under 20 miles? Wow! Cindy, I'd take snowshoeing and skiing over running on a treadmill anyday! Those things will keep you in plenty good shape inbetween the times that you can run! I got out for a predawn 10 miler this AM. Some of the miles were done at a faster pace, which was part of the plan as I prepare for Disney in a couple of weeks. But black ice on the roads made it pretty tricky, so my faster portions of the run kept getting interruped by slipping and sliding sections. But I am proud to say I stayed upright! A bright beautiful moon in a crystal clear sky lit my way. Nice morning and nice run.

Leslie, you aren't alone in feeling fat this time of year. 'Tis the season. Leslie, those are some goals! Do you ever run anything under 20 miles? Wow!

Um, I don't think I was the one feeling fat . . . although I did just polish off more than my fair share of a bag of Doritos . . . hmmmmm 30k is only 18.64 miles!! Speaking of miles and races, I just got my training schedule for the next 3 mos. Coach Bill finally realized that it's too hard to keep track of miles when running in the trees (trails), so he has us running specific hours on the weekends now. That's much more in line with how trail races/runs are for me. Like the 30k in March, I'm hoping to finish in 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Well, I've left a room full of attorneys alone watching a DVD about Elimination of Bias for their continuing education requirements, so I must get back and gather their attendance records. . . . . wonder if any of them will actually have stayed for the entire hour. . . .

Wow! It's like 82* in Orlando right now! as opposed to my "real feel temp" of 10* here!! Yah, tha'd be a shock to my system...unless of course I went down there a week or two in advance to "acclimate" ~ as they do here! & it's all sold out anyways, so I'd have to go as a spectator at this point......

Sorry! It's fixed now! And you had to go and mention Doritos, didn't you!

Yep, I did. Doritos, Doritos, Doritos! I love 'em! And now I'm hung up on 2 of the new flavors: Buffalo Wings and Blue Cheese and some new Spicy Ranch thing. YUMMO! Made a huge pot of potato soup tonight to take for after our run tomorrow. We'll need it. It's suppose to be cold and raining. Soup: red, white, and sweet potatoes and turnips cooked until soft and becoming mush. Don't drain the water! Chop up and then saute in olive oil onion, garlic, leeks, and carrots (cut the carrots small) until carrots are soft. Add to your pot of potatoes. Add a package of dried vegetable soup mix (like Knorr). Add one cup or so of fat free half & half. If you have one of those hand blenders that can be submerged, use that to sort of puree the soup, but leave some chunks. If you don't have the hand blender, either use a potato masher to mash it up, or blend it in a blender. BUT REMEMBER! It's hot and will need room to expand. Therefore, don't fill the blender to the top or it will explode, and don't put the lid on tight. Set the lid on and just sort of hold it in place. Once you have blended the soup to a consistency you like, put it back in the pot. Add about 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese and stir and until melted. Salt/pepper to taste. Serve w/fresh sourdough bread. 3 med. sweet potatoes 6-7 large red potatoes 2 med. turnips 3 large carrots 1 whole leek 1/2 yellow onion (though I prefer sweet onions) 1 head of garlic (I love garlic!) Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix Fat Free Half & Half ( Cheddar Cheese Salt/Pepper Good night!

9 miles in 3:04. We had a blast! We started at the Prairie Creek Campground and ran to the ocean, as opposed to in the opposite direction, which we did last time. I didn't take my camera 'cause I didn't want to chance it getting soaked and ruined. Ended up being a smart move, 'cause it rained pretty good on us. The trees helped dissipate it somewhat, but we were both pretty wet when we were done, and my pack is soaked through. We had a major storm here about a month ago, and it uprooted quite a few trees along the trail. About the first mile of the trai there's been so much work done to move trees out of the way (big redwoods), that the ground is pretty well ate up and MU-DDY! Some treacherous, slippery footing, but loads of fun. I've always tried to keep my long runs at a slow, easy pace, but Karen has always had a tendency to be a speed demon. She got a heart rate monitor awhile back, and between that and her following my lead, we've slowed down considerably, trying to keep her heart rate in the 140-145 range. It's amazing how much better we both feel going slower. We only saw 3 people on the trail - scared the crap out of one guy when we popped around a corner running at him. Didn't see any elk on the trail, but saw poop signs that they'd been there. Once we were done, we changed clothes and sat in the car with the heater going eating some nice, hot soup. Yum! On the drive home, we saw 6 bull elk. One had a HUGE rack. We have a couple of large groups of Roosevelt Elk in our area, and there are a couple of places on the road that you can usually get a good view of them. On the drive home, we saw the remains of a terrible wreck. Looked like a full size truck had come around the corner too fast, slid into the path of a Ryder truck, which hit it in the cab, and a vehicle (like a Bronco) slid up under the back of the Ryder to its windshield. The people in the truck were killed. The bodies hadn't been removed yet, and there were blankets draped over the passenger and driver side of the truck. Looked like the people from the Ryder and Bronco had been taken to the hospital. Karen and I both looked at each other and voiced the same thought: If we hadn't spend about 45 minutes in the parking lot when we were done running . . . . Kind of a sobering end to a really great morning. So now I get to work on my transcription so I'll be done for the weekend. Have a great one!

Oh but I did have to ask what a leek was. Jim

You cut off the tough tops and the bottom, cut them in half, then set them in water for a few minutes, halved side down, so that all the sand, etc., can wash out of them. The have sort of an onion-ee taste, but not strong. I really like them.

Candy Dixonthighs