Bin - Happy Autumn.  We see a man in the moon, a bunny is not all that weird.  Nice run.  Do you leave spare clothes at your mom's so you can change when you do long runs there?

Dave - hope the coffee woke you up.

Jerry - did you get a chance to use your pirate voice?

Kristin - enjoy your run and yoga tonight.  Hope the heartburn is finished.

Jimmy - enjoy the run tonight.

Scotty - I was hoping you were getting some of that tropical moisture.  Hope it cools off this afternoon.

Traci - hope you find a good feather for his cap.  At least pirates are pretty easy to create.

HopesMom - I'm glad your cat is feeling better.  Enjoy your singing tonight.

Jack - I like what you wrote about every day being wife appreciation day.  Fortunately my husband has the same attitude - most of the time, anyway.   Hope it cools off for you soon.

AFM:  we never did get a hike yesterday.  Our errand to find a part for the camper took too much time, and now needs to be done again since we got the wrong piece after all.  Nearest RV repair shop is about 40 minutes away.  Today we'll bring the dog and find a place to hike  down there, instead.  I did manage to do a few miles on the stationary bike, before I had to help my husband deal with the flood in the bathroom.  It was one of those days.

Bin - I will still be doing progress pics but it will be more of my weight lifting progress rather than the Shred in 30.

Congrats on the miles, Dave, hope the coffee infused safely.

Dang, I forgot you don't have to work Fridays, Jerry, you lucky dog.  So happy Thriday to you!  Your boss does not have a sense of humor?

No getting heartburn at your age, Kristin!    Hope you're feeling better.

Good luck with the 5 today, Jimmy, that will be a 'long' run for you these days, right?  Same for me, lol.

Enjoy the 9 miles, Damaris, the lovely warm weather we both seem to still be having.

I am already balmy enough, PAD.   Happy miles!

Same thing here with Krispy Kreme, Traci.  You go to a Kristi Kreme and place an order in a pirate voice and you get a free donut.  What does donuts have to do with pirates?  Umm, gee, Traci, if you get him a pimp hat, then what would YOU go as, when you have to escort him trick-or-treating?  

I'd rather have rain than earthquakes, Jack!   Tomorrow we are supposed to get some MAJOR rain all day long!  Which is good for the drought  but bad for commuters cuz San Antonio natives just do not know how to drive in heavy rains, usually the city ends up with lots of accidents.  I may have to stay home from work tomorrow, I feel a cold coming on...ACHOO!    Good luck with your 8 later, hopefully no more earthquakes while you are out there.

Good news about the kitty, HsM.  Enjoy your chorus tonite.

Glad your cough is nearly done, Bin.  A fairy and a bunny on the moon...okay...I guess that's no stranger than some big guy in a red suit traveling around the world in a sleigh....

Maybe she has the bunny with her so she can get some beer from his hops....

We did get some, Ginny, but not a lot. Tomorrow is supposed to be the day for us to get a lot.  We shall see.  Meanwhile, watching the Weather Channel and feel sorry for those folks in Acapulco...tourists got trapped there from the hurricane, about 80 people dead, flooding everywhere, very sad.   I don't get it though...why would you go vacation in a hurricane area DURING hurricane season?  Probably cheaper but even so.  Anwyay, sorry about your 'one of those days' days for you yesterday.  I hope today your quest goes better for you.

Good luck with your plan, Lauren.  And don't worry about what others are doing, can do, etc., that's not good for your perspective or your mental health.   Just keep doing what you know is right for you.  I've been a runner for 30 years but now I'm at a point where I can't run beyond 6 miles anymore - just way too painful for my back - and I can't run nonstop anymore, have to do run/walk ALL the time now because of my back.  But that's okay.  Things happen to each of us individually - illness, injury, getting older, slowing down, etc - and there will come a time for each of us when we realize we just are not the same runner we used to be.  It will come sooner for others, later for some.  You just have to be realistic about,  take a step back for a moment and then honestly assess where you are and then you just get out there and do what you know is right for you, regardless of what anyone else may think about it.

And try to always think positively about it, Lauren.  I know you're bummed from all the work you've done and where you are now, but get those thoughts out of your head.   Negative thoughts are not productive.  For example, from my personal perspective, I don't think I'm a worse runner now because of my impairments, I'm just now a different TYPE of runner than I was before.  I used to love doing halfs, so am I a little disappointed that I can't do distance running anymore?  Of course I am, that's only natural.  But I look at this part of my left as 'the next stage' in my running life, with new goals and new opportunities.  For example,  I can't actually RACE anymore or do distance running anymore, well then, okay, what does this mean for me.  It means that I now have the opportunity to be a FUN runner at my events, stop and 'smell the roses' along the way, take some photos, interact a lot more with others at the back of the pack,and actually SEE some of the courses and course scenery that I used to go past as fast as I could go.   And because my runs and races are now pretty easily paced, I may not be able to race or go long, but that just means I now have the opportunity to do a lot MORE events over the year (50 so far this year).  I actually am really enjoying this 'toned down' stage of my running life.

Attitude, baby, it's all about attitude!  Stay positive.  If you stay a runner through the years, you are going to go through all different kinds of stages in your running life, some worse, some better, but no matter what stage you're in, try to keep in mind all the positives you can get from that stage.  And then set yourself some realistic challenges and goals for whatever stage you're in, and then go for it.  Run so many minutes; run so far;  run so many hills; do so many events; run a certain pace for so many seconds; or whatever.  Be imaginative.  No matter what stage you are in, there are always goals you can set yourself to give you the opportunity to make yourself a better runner within that stage. And then, eventually, you will probably move on to a higher stage.  How long that takes is different from person to person.  Some take longer to go from stage to stage, others go quicker.   And some (like me, who is probably at the LAST stage of my running life)  like to stay just where they are, and IMHO that's just fine as long as they are content with that and feel they have a good quality running life for themselves.    We're all different, so quit that comparing with others, Lauren.  You are "racing" against yourself in an effort to get better.   Sure, get feedback from other runners, experiment, see what works, see what doesn't for you.  But in the end, after you assess everything, only you know yourself best, mentally and physically. So, as said, do what you know is right for you and stay positive about it, regardless of what anyone else thinks.....and NEVER GIVE UP!

You can do this, and you have a whole forum of people here to help whenever you need it.  Run on!

Weekend starts.... time to run.   

that is true HsM, especially  after 3 miles @ 10:04.  Last mile 9:35.  Did not even have my pacer DW today.  Looking forward to seeing the honeymooning DD and DSIL this weekend.

Hey guys!  I just got home, and went for a quick 5 mile run.  It's been a busy day, and I thought I'd be in Detroit tonight.  Now, it's a busy evening here.  Woohoo!!!

Lauren, what Scotty said.. I just finished Jeff Galloway "Running until you are 100" is a pretty good read.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/store/books/running-until-100.html