I woke up this morning feeling very sad for Shan. Never even met her in person and I feel very sad for her. I sure hope things work out ok... whatever that may be. I'd like to have my DH be more active, whether that be running or not. He was very athletic when he was young. Cross country skiing, running (he ran the Equinox when he was 8 or 9), basketball, football, etc, etc. Now he's 47, two knee surgeries and two shoulder surgeries behind him and he feels like whenever he tries to get back out there to do stuff, he gets hurt again. Now he's recovering from a nasty fall on the ice where he hurt his head and his back... We did some running together in Florida, which was fun. But by "together" I mean we went to the start together, compared plans and then took off. He does the run/walk thing and I do my run. He ran three days in a row down there, and did ok but was achy afterwards. Now I can't even get him to the gym. We have a treadmill and a bike at home; he rarely uses either. We also have weights at home, and a stability ball... Nada. I don't want to nag, but I do want him to do something. I invite him to the club, or even just a walk with the dog, and he rarely wants to do either. So... I don't know. He is signed up for the full marathon in Seattle in June... but I'm not sure what he plans on doing there. Cash, I'd just ignore her. But like Lou, I'm wondering what she does that got her the broom comment? Kimmie, echoing others here... I'm sure you'll be fine. Get some rest, run a little when you feel up to it, and have a good race! I'll run later tonight after DS2's basketball game. Dinner will be late again.

Upshot of the visit to the cardiologist is a. my home BP cuff is reading high -- this is a good thing -- still my blood pressure is high normal or stage 1 b. my meds stay the same for now -- no need to go on diuretic or other at this point c. I'll get an echo cardiogram to make sure no damage is being done to heart -- he said no rush, but I'm schedule to do this in a couple of weeks -- I'm not worried d. I should watch sodium but not go on sodium restriction -- he worries that I may need more salt than the average joe, and doesn't want to muck with my blood chemistry too much So all in all a good visit. I'll get a new BP cuff so I can get good metrics for the future.

Lou, that sounds like very good news at the doctor. I've been borderline hypertensive for years now but have avoided medication by running at least to this point. Probably with the stress of the new job, I should think about getting on some light meds. Always nice to have a good example of someone who's proactively managing their health. Got a VERY good 5.6 miles in today at lunch. Huge runners high. Ran with the HRM and it let me pick up the pace to get to my 144HR ceiling. 8:32 pace and it felt effortless. I took 3 of the last 4 days off before it though so it may just have been getting some needed rest and recovery time. Makes me wonder if there isn't something to be said for cutback weeks. Back to the spouses exercising discussion, DW is in pretty good shape but doesn't really push herself running. She'll do various inclines on the TM mostly walking, some jogging but she hasn't really caught the bug. I've just got to let her come to it in her own time. She's in good shape though so I don't complain.

There's a smart man.

i agree!

Lou, It amazes me you run so fast but yet have high blood pressure. See I run slow and have low. This makes no sense.

Better run for me today. 6-miles, 8:49 avg pace, 149 avg HR. WRFB: Glad the BP news was good. What time of day do you take your readings? I've felt that post run afterglow can push readings to the high side. Bugs: Tried the butterknife Graston and it helped. My forearms have been hurting lots lately. Pam: Nice running! I can't run the National but there is a 1/2M I can do on 3/21. Looking forward to it!

Yay Lou ! Glad to hear its the machine and not you. Pam, I think you have close to 20 minutes for 5k in you. And it is often easier to have faith in someone else than in yourself. Bugs I hear you on the cost of races.

Bugs I hear you on the cost of races.

I think it's a high priority for me though. However I have tons of running friends, I need to use and abuse them for a good workout. Do any of you not use a garmin? I've been told to ditch the garmin for awhile. Run by feel, take the pressure of myself. I don't know, when I did that with the scale it didn't workout so well. Maybe it's the same with running by time.