I've decided to do the half - whether i'm prepared or not. I will walk parts if I have to. I think for my mental-ness I need to. I think this is this mental road block which I will keep letting get me down... so i'm just going to zen run from now until then (by zen i mean without a real set plan) and just see where it takes me. (i know you guys must be thinking i'm nuts because i'm all over with my decisions, but i wasn't happy thinking i wasn't going to run anymore and so I assessed the issue and have decided I need to try some things to fix it!) Bugs - hey i'm off to a slow start in Bug-yness! Cash - you are very wise Erica - oh to pish on 50mi/wk like it's nothing... hehe

Erika dahling, as a former business owner I advise you to delegate. Oldest son cleans the bathroom on the odd weeks, younger on the even weeks. They are trying to frustrate you into saying ok I will do it. Kids are smarter than you think. I don't suck at swimming as badly as I thought. 83 out of 155. And 42 of those were college kids on college tri teams. And I even beat some of them swimming and overall. Best swimmer in the age group. Won't say that the next higher age groupers top 3 kicked my azz on the swim and overall. Doesn't say much about our age group. Finished best runner and swimmer in age group second on the bike and only 15 seconds behind the leader in the age group on the bike. 7:17 first mile 8:07 second mile ( uphill) 7: 43 last full mile down hill. Got a little bit of speed. Now if Erika would just show me how to carry that speed for 26 miles even I might get to Boston some year. Did finish ahead of 3 college men and 6 college women overall.

Well i did my 19k last night but felt a few creaks in the bones so my tempo became a steady run. I'm a bit sore today, not sure if its real or i'm just getting super sensitive to all the aches and pains. 15k planned tomorrow so i'll wait til the evening to run and see how the body feels before deciding how far and fast. It amazing how obsessive you become about a schedule. In the scheme of things does 1 or 2 ks over a six month plan really matter................ bloody hell it does!! Shan, i know how you feel about - being in then out, will i, won't i??? sometimes we just need to take time to come to a realisation, at least in a forum like this you are surreounded by people who actually know what it feels like. Happy training.

Erika, I'm with Cash on the cleaning stuff. Don't underestimate the intentional or unintentional conspiracy of children to get out of housecleaning duties. My brother and I took it to an art form. Shan, great news on your half. I've got one schedule in 2 1/2 weeks and I haven't run in 2 1/2 weeks. I'm going to run it anyway (hopefully). Very close to running again. Leg improving daily. Got good news back on DW's skiing injury. Even though the MRI was read as a complete ACL tear, the orthopedic surgeon didn't agree after examining her. MCL was torn but has now mostly healed. Meniscus damage was small enough that he won't scope it until she goes into at least 3 weeks of PT. For now at least, no surgery.

2 miles today! No music... and it felt really nice! I'm liking my zen state - I turn garmie so all it shows me is distance and I just go and run and stop when i feel the need. It's so easy with very little pressure I really like it!! Higa - smart to take it easy if the body tells you too. Nice job on your run! Dave - great news for wife! And glad you are feeling close to running! I'm sure it will go well!!! Salad - finish building or finished climbing?? I think going with the stop at first sign of pain is only a good idea if you are good at actually recognizing pain.

Dave that is good news on your wife's knee. Seems like it's usually worse than predicted, nice to have it go the other way. Shan, nothing like 180 degree swings, eh dear? Go for it, but be smart about it. No hero stuff, ok? I know what you mean though about needing to get it done. Huge confidence booster... if it goes well. Like you said, even if you have to walk part of it, right? Bugs, sucks when the losers get ahead, doesn't it? Chin up and all that... Work is what allows us to do all the other stuff we love, although it does get in the way all too often. Except for Cash, who has the luxury of not working... poopie head. RE: boys and cleaning... don't get me wrong, guys. We've been doing the week thing for awhile. One boy has the dishes week, the other has the "rest of house" week, which usually means setting the table, vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms. Problem is, somehow that "vacuuming and bathrooms" thing got interpreted as only needing to be done once a week. So they picked Saturday to do it. Well, Saturdays can get kinda busy, so they procrastinate and don't do it till Sunday. Then it's into the other boy's week... then they argue about whose week it really is. Drives me crazy. We got into the current snafu because we went to Boston before Vacuum/bathroom boy did his thing, got back middle of following week when things should have switched around, but they seemed to agree (on the dishes front at least) to continue the week prior. But vacuum/bathroom boy (DS2) insisted he didn't have to do his stuff because DS1 didn't do his part the week prior. So now, we've switched again, DS2 is doing dishes, never did his "house" stuff, and DS1 says he doesn't have to because DS2 didn't do it (i.e., he has to do it to catch up). At this rate, with breakup going on outside, the house is full of dog hair, dirt, gravel, birch seeds, hay scraps from dog house, and the bathrooms are a disaster. And DS2 asked if a friend could spend the night. I said no, not till the house gets cleaned up. Know what he said? "But it's not my week to do that!!" I could've killed him. Instead I said "No" to the overnight thing. That's my only trump card. And I'll play it over and over again...

My tests results from Mayo were negative. I don't like going there, too many sick people. I would like to work there, help the sick people, and lots of smart people. IMO, this heart thing is done. Erika, It takes my entire will power not to spit at this guy. If I knew a way out I would take it. Your kids are funny. I don't have advice, I clean all the toilets in my house. Shan, I'm probably more of an evil necessity than valued. When is your HM?