Morning
I've been swamped with school and presenting at a conference, but this past Sunday may have been the best day of my life. My birthday was Monday (age 60) and Mrs Bio agreed to take a 3 hour \drive to Two Rivers Treads, a minimalist shoe store owned by Dr Mark Cucazella, the author of Run for your Life. He's a physician but also has broken 3 hours for 30 straight years.
Mrs Bio said we were meeting my oldest daughter for lunch en route, but when we arrived at a super nice farm to table restaurant overlooking the Potomac River and walked in- Bam! My whole family was waiting, youngest daughter had flown in from Wisconsin, etc. Great day.
We did make it to the show store. Tried on 3 pairs and left with a pair of Topos. They felt better than the OnCLoud and Altras. The oddest thing was the TruForm treadmill. Concave running surface and no motor. Supposed to encourage good form. I could barely keep it moving.
Recap:
JLynne started the thread and started the day at 5am with 4.5 miles plus weights.
anneb got out for 5.6
Dave59 had 2 on the treadmill
BTY had a swim workout and chiropractor appt.
Jay was out early for 7.8 miles.
deaf had some dog walking and yoga.
fatozzig reports elliptical training and an appt with the oath
Henrun gets in a variety pack workout
Joe has quesadillas for lunch and 7 miles
Tammy- glad David is ok
Tramps- 19 mile ride
tetsujin does 5
RunnerKSA deals with the aftermath of a shingles vaccination but still does 3.8
mrrun- walked and biked in the wind
Twocat got close inbox zero and an hour on the elliptical
SurlyBill beat the storm for 5.25
Wild child did some interval snow shoveling
roch- numerous errand and E-bike test ride
Falcon 7 plus spin class
Tailwinds!
Mornin' everyone.
Welcome back, and thanks for the start/recap, Bioguy, and Happy Birthday! Sounds like a great surprise lunch and then running shoe shopping. Which Topo's did you get? I've been in ST-2s (now ST-3) for a few years, and like them a lot.
Close call for David, Tammy, and I'm glad he's OK. Truckers are usually very good about checking before changing lanes, so I wonder what that guy was up to?
Musically, I have Spotify on my laptop and phone, and listen to it at home through our old (but still sounding good) Bose system. I also have a box of old vinyl and my turntable is in the basement. Both have gone untouched for at least a decade.
Busy day yesterday with a long conversation with our Town Manager about flooding issues and how to address them, then a trip to pick up a load of cut/shaped plywood that I delivered to a fabricator who makes some of our products. I worked on a grant application, and went several rounds of refining a layout with a sign maker on a sign that will go on a kiosk we had built near a historic pond. I also worked on designing a plaque for a 9 year-old girl who ran a 1:56 at our half marathon a little over a week ago (fastest in the state by a girl her age), and also used the race to raise money for disadvantaged girls in Africa. I also did the bulk of the grocery shopping for our Thanksgiving dishes, shared a quick salad with DW, and then chaired our conservation commission meeting last evening.
I'm going to head home around noon today, and start cooking a bunch of stuff for tomorrow that can be made early. I have a Turkey Trot 5K in the morning, and DW will head out for her annual Thanksgiving walk. She'll get the turkey (which she brined yesterday) going, and we'll finish the cooking together. It'll just be the 2 of us for Thanksgiving, so we'll also spend some time relaxing in front of a fire with some wine.
I woke up a few times last night, and at one point, though I wasn't going to get back to sleep until I did. I woke up a little late this morning, but still got out for 4.4 decent RW miles in 30° temps under clear skies.
Have a greta Wednesday and a greta Thanksgiving!
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
Thanks for the start, Bioguy, and for sharing your big day with us! Up at 2:30 this morning - seems like if I don't take a Tylenol PM to stay asleep for 7-1/2 hours, I get 4 or 5 hours and am up by 2:30 or 3:00. Too early, even for an early bird like me. The good news is that I was able to be in the pool by 5:57 AM giving me a few minutes to adjust my goggles and cap for today's time trial workout. Man, what a workout! I mentioned finding a webpage that provides a pace calculator for swimmers that is similar but not exactly the same as the McMillan Pace Calculator, which was my all-time fave when running and training others for race prep. Over a span of three days, this series of workouts will test me at 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 yards. Today was the 50, 100, and 800. Tomorrow is a rest day, then Friday, provided I don't eat too much on Thanksgiving, is the 200 and 400. What I learned today was that 1) the workout protocol doesn't assume that the trainee is 55 years old and needs some additional recovery between repetitions - even rest between the warmup 50 yard reps. In fact I think 25 yard warmup reps would have been better for me. My first two 50's were 38 seconds each and the last two were 41 seconds each - a 10% fall off.
I had guessed my 50, 100, and 800 times would be 0:32; 1:25; and 14:00 respectively. They were 0:35, 1:27, and 14:49 instead. The 14:49 is a 100 yard pace of 1:51, but I thought I'd be able to handle 1:45's. Not in this sequence. I was huffing and puffing at the end of the pool after every 50 or 75 yards, trying to catch my breath. What said it all, though, was that after a 3:00 rest, I did a 300 yard cooldown and swam just about the same pace. I will probably re-visit the 800 yard portion of this workout on another day to find a more reasonable basis for the calculation of my regression.
After my workout I stopped at Burger King and had 2 ham egg and cheese croissan'wiches. I never do that. I may go get a 3rd cup of coffee, too.
Short day at the office today - out at 12:30 to go home and start cleaning the fan blades and baseboards. It's a long tradition. My wife's Mom, brother and sister-in-law are coming up tomorrow to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. Last night while I slept, my youngest son came to the house and made his famous gourmet Cream of Mushroom soup, our main appetizer for tomorrow to go along with the plate of cheeses, crackers, and pepperoni. I only swam a mile today - I maybe better get back in the water and do another one before I sit down to dinner tomorrow afternoon!
Have a greta Thanksgiving, everyone!
Morning, all.
Bio - Happy Birthday! Sounds like a wonderful surprise day. Family/food/running shoes... all bases covered. I've only seen those concave treadmills - I was at a resort once that had one, but the only times I checked it was always occupied. They do look challenging.
Windy, wet day but temps were mild (although dropping) so I got out for a nice 5.6 miles around the neighborhood. Just when you think you cannot see any more leaves... BAM we are covered with them again, from the high winds and rain taking out the last of them, and plenty from neighbors who didn't see the need to clean up previously
I treated myself to a bacon/egg/gouda Starbucks sandwich today (in the building) - only 1 though. Quiet morning in the office but I do have some things to get done, so I should get to it!
Anne
Morning all!! Bioguy, great to hear from you and Happy Birthday! Your family did a lot of planning to pull that off and, indeed, made it a day to remember! That is so cool Happy for all of you.
And thanks for the recap!! Good work all of you yesterday.
Jay, you are one busy guy...very cool. Sounds like a good day.
Cream of mushroom soup, BTY, wow...a staple of my youth...my Mom made everything out of it or with it. Haven't eaten it in years!! Guess I tired of it...and moved on to burritos....which I never had growing up
AnneB, we have a similar "ghost town" at our shop today. Will get caught up on a LOT of stuff. Hope you do as well.
Super windy here today...steady wind at 30mph, with gusts to 60. Glad I'm indoors. Ab work tonight. Made a pan of fresh muffins last night to drop off at two neighbors later today. I try to get some small gift to them each Thanksgiving to say "Thank you" for letting me cut through their yards for my running....our neighborhood is landlocked and it's unsafe to run out the way we drive in...but with this 35m cutthrough, I can get on quiet streets which connect to the rest of the town's trails, safely. So, appreciate these people being OK with it. One guy is from Boston and he was very excited I ran there last April, even though he's not a runner.
Two Turkey Trots for me tomorrow, one at 8am, one at 9am. It'll be a fun day, I'll tell you about it tomorrow.
Enjoy your Wednesday and Thanksgiving all!!
________
I have nothing particularly clever or profound to add as a tag to each message...I just like to run.
Joe/Tramps - with having seen two huge, two-floor vinyl shops of old albums and records, I realized that my two boxes of ancients probably aren’t worth much. However, is it just people like me with old record players who can play and listen to them? I’ve never seen any for sale. ps - I’ve never heard that vinyls are better quality than CD, . . . and didn’t know that CD’s are dying out to downloads, either. No wonder I love running so much. Thanks all. Tramps - thanks. I kind of look forward to trying to set up my own playlists in personalized category folders but’ll probably wait until I’m watching Thanksgiving football or something to distract me from getting too frustrated and stressed as usually happens when people who program these things like to show how smart they are by making them as complicated as possible, like having to buy a Boeing 747 to drive down the road to the next town, and never testing on someone like me who’d tell them to have a link to genre, singers, titles and then just click them into whatever order is desired. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Joe/Tramps - with having seen two huge, two-floor vinyl shops of old albums and records, I realized that my two boxes of ancients probably aren’t worth much. However, is it just people like me with old record players who can play and listen to them? I’ve never seen any for sale. ps - I’ve never heard that vinyls are better quality than CD, . . . and didn’t know that CD’s are dying out to downloads, either. No wonder I love running so much. Thanks all.
Tramps - thanks. I kind of look forward to trying to set up my own playlists in personalized category folders but’ll probably wait until I’m watching Thanksgiving football or something to distract me from getting too frustrated and stressed as usually happens when people who program these things like to show how smart they are by making them as complicated as possible, like having to buy a Boeing 747 to drive down the road to the next town, and never testing on someone like me who’d tell them to have a link to genre, singers, titles and then just click them into whatever order is desired. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Tet, yes, people with old turntables can play vinyl...and now, you can buy a new turntable. But without a turntable, without that old crabby needle, no play. And give yourself some time to get used to the playlists. It will come to you. I regularly update and add to mine...it's kind of organic, slowly shifting and updating and flowing. You'll be fine.
In fact, I often pretend I'm like a big blue whale cruising along the surface.... I'd love to be dropped off in the middle of the ocean to swim/float around for a couple of hours.
I can see the headlines now: "Swimming in Ocean, Man Attacked by Boatload of Inuit Whale Hunters".
Apple pie just came out of the oven and I'll be heading over to Planet Fitness this afternoon. Lots of rain this morning, but we might be done for the day. In any case, it'll be more than a little muddy on the trails tomorrow.
Doug, runnin' cycling in Rochester, MI
"Think blue, count two, and look for a red shoe"
Marathon Maniac #957
Tammy - that could have been so much worse - glad David did not get hurt.
So, I went to see the surgeon yesterday to talk about the surgery (ding my insurance one more time) and I have to go back for an other visit on Monday to get the prescriptions for antibiotics/pain meds (ding my insurance again) - seriously?
Super busy here with end of the month deadlines and trying to be caught up so I can relax (sort of) tomorrow. We are having the meal at my house, so I am cooking a ham, turkey breast, pumpkin pie, sauteed carrots with brown sugar, Red Lobster cheddar biscuits, Broccoli salad, banana pudding, mashed potatoes, gravy, plus snack trays with cheese and crackers and fruit and hummus, etc., and the other folks will be bringing additional sides. I signed up for the local turkey trot, but since I am nowhere near race shape and have lots to do, I will likely forego it this year. At least I will get a nice sweatshirt...
3.4 miles for me this morning in a blustery 54 degrees.
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."
Thanks, bioguy. That does sound like an awesome day for you.
Jay--you're making some of that stuff up. Nobody's that productive in a single day!
Joe--I can fill in many of those bingo squares myself! "Used to run...knees are shot...too much impact...ruin my joints..."
Surly--I'm with you on the vinyl, especially since my collection was mostly used anyway. Lots of pops and scratches. Remember those? Yuck. And one of my few splurge purchases a decade ago was a sweet pair of Dali Ikon 6 speakers that I still love every time I use them. Sit down in front of them for some dedicated listening of well-produced music on CD and I'm in heaven.
Tammy--from a safe distance, that snow is pretty. Just glad I don't have to shovel it. Great neighbor to have, though.
Glad Carolyn didn't get hit too badly, as well.
Tet--like anything new, it takes a little time to learn the conventions of the platform but it's well worth it and really not difficult. Like Joe says, start simple and enjoy. Don't get me started on all the fun possibilities...
Waited for the rain to stop to get a 5-mile run in. Now the wind's picking up big time. We're trying to get as much of our oven-based cooking done today (including Maple Bourbon Pumpkin pie...yum), anticipating a power outage at some point. We have a gas cooktop and a gas grill out on the porch for the turkey, tomorrow.
Enjoy your holiday!
Be safe. Be kind.
Hey, All - Yesterday's weather was cr-AZY around here! It freaking poured and the wind - whoochee! The news reports are saying we had an honest to God cyclone sitting just off shore. All I know is our house was getting pounded last night. The cats were not amused.
On my short drive to work, there were downed fences, a few downed trees, branches everywhere, a downed light pole in the grocery store parking lot, power lines down. The roof was ripped off the Ace Hardware Store in Crescent City (about an hr north of us). One of our office workers passed a trampoline on the highway coming to work, along with tons of other debris. It was nuts. It hit up and down the West Coast, and I-5 is closed due to snow.
Anyway, today it's supposed to just rain.
Holly - When's your surgery scheduled for?
Bioguy - Very cool!! And Dr. Cucazella has been a guest on Trail Runner Nation a number of times. He's very interesting to listen to. Tet, you'd like him. He's the Barefoot Doctor!
I got nuthin' else so far, but plan to hit the gym after work. Everyone is hoping we close early. It's just The Hub and me tomorrow, so nothing special going on. Although I will roast some Brussel sprouts I got. I haven't done that in quite awhile.
Have a Happy Turkey Day ~~
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
MM#209 / JapanJoyful#803
Roch - thanks a lot.I’ve thought about a lot of ways to depart this mortal coil but that’s definitely a new one. Thanks.
.
Bio - Happy birthday.Thanks for the recap. Glad you got a new pair of shoes, . . . I guess.
Jay/Joe/Tramps - I haven’t touched our turntable for at least four decades. I wonder if they’ll take it too whenever I finally take the boxes of records over.
Another fiver at 38F and under clear skies along the lake and up/down and around the Hillside trails and stairs. Gettin' kind of weary running a mile up there only to face a thousand stairs the next 2.5 miles of trail running so, to make them a little more manageable, at least in my mind, to say nothing of solidifying my reputation as a stair nerd, broke them down into seven groups of from 97-305 stairs with from one to 6 stairways each)
. . 1 - 105 (1)
. . 2 - 305 (1),
. . 3 - 110 (1),
. . 4 - 95 (2),
. . 5 - 204 (6),
. . 6 - 97 (2),
. . 7 - 88 (6). Whew.
comin' off Hillside back down towards lake.
asdf
"Enjoy yourself. Your younger days never come again." 100yo T. Igarashi to me in geta at top of Mt. Fuji (8/2/87)
Good (late) morning, y'all and thanks for the start, bioguy! I'm off today - sort of. Lots is going on that I have to address, but at least I'm not at the office. Got over to the path (couldn't face the high winds and rolling hills from the house) for 5.2 miles. I am finally mainly recovered from the shingles vaccine- not quite 100% but getting there. Had a fever last night- and I hardly ever get fevers.
We have those winds, too- they should be calming down soon. The male doggie is afraid of rain- not lighting/thunder, but regular rain if he can hear it. I wonder if he got left outside or something. He got Ken up about 3 times last night just to "visit". I slept through it all.
Will check in later- gotta get moving. Have a happy pre-Thanksgiving Day.
Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth
Mia is so scared of hard rain/wind storms - but luckily only when she has to go outside, not scared in the house. (Which wouldn't be often... but sometimes she has to go out to the bathroom during a hard rain and she is so scared it's hard to get her to go!) The only other thing that gets her that scared is garbage trucks, so we wonder if she was left outside somewhere noisy as a little puppy (she is only 15+ months now and has been with 5 months) I don't know what her history is (Oklahoma City humane society). I can only imagine how hard it is for older doggies to get over things like that.
The cats were not amused.
Leslie - Friday the 13th of December - not superstitious here or anything....