Met some of the Brooks-Hanson team last night,My race is at 11:30...they will be running at 1:30...the speed is dripping off the walls here in Spokane

A rare predawn run for me this morning. 3 miles before a busy work day and then another Christmas party tonight.I had a company party last night .This time of year is very counter productive to my diet. Good luck Racers and fun runs for everyone else Larry

hopeful, I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's tire/being stranded problem. I'm glad all turned out well but understand the parental concerns. dg, sorry to hear you got your husband's "bug". I hope it doesn't last long. DickyG, sorry to hear you are under the weather. I hope you recover quickly. It was neat hearing about, and seeing pictures of, the gathering at Franc's with the fantastic sounding lasagna. bike, you've sure had your share, and more, of bad news with your foot/ankle. You've every right to be frustrated but seem to be handling it better than most of us could. Healing vibes and patience going your way. Keep us up to date. Walt, that ice storm and power outage sounds bad. Many years ago, I went through one of those and don't envy you. You're lucky to have a woodstove. We also have one which we almost never use but think it's good insurance in case we have another ice storm. Holly, neat pictures of Daisy and Dexter. Nice long runs for enke and peter. Good job on the speedwork for ribs and The Saint and evan. This morning, I should have gone out since the temp was up to the high teens, not too much wind, and my Yaks seemed to do the job on the icy roads for yesterday's walk. Alas, I wimped and did another 8 miles on the TM at 1% and 6.2 mph (9:40/mi). This afternoon, I'm going to Lansing to see a Michigan State basketball game with the kids. It should be fun. A great day and good runs for all. TomS

Morning, folks - Trying to get up the gumption to go to Arcata and put in a 7-mile trail run. It's been hailing here in Eureka, so who knows what it'll be like there, but I keep telling myself, "I'm not a wuss!" Good luck to all the racers! And those of you with extreme weather - I don't envy you. Stay safe. Holly - Great pics!

Good morning! Careful up there in all that ice and snow and frigid temps! Brrrrrrr Good luck racers!! We'll be following the action! 4 Magical Healing Miles with Tory in 37:54 (9:28 pace, AHR 145). The Garmin HRM was reading high like it normally does before sweat builds up. To prove that it is due to static, I rubbed my gloved hand up and down on the outside of my synthetic tech tee where the HRM is and the HR increased from 150's all the way to 180 just with rubbing to generate static electricity! Next thing I'll try is static dissipation film to cover the top of the HRM strap. Garmin reccomends wearing cotton shirt to avoid this issue! Talk about dogs... we are fostering a blonde sheperd/husky mix (3 yo .. Sadie) and a yellow lab mix (1 yo.. TJ). They have now acclimated to our house so they get along great and play.. but shouldn't. TJ was nuetered on Tuesday and Sadie is on heartworm treatment so both should be quiet. Try to tell them that. TJ jumps all over Tory to play and Tory loves it. He'll be sad when these guys get adopted...(if). Oh.. and both TJ and Saie have pee accidents in the house. I need to steam clean all the carpets today!

So how do I dress for a -3C race with 16mph winds and a feel like temperature of -8C? Out of habit, I always think in Celcius when the temps drop to zero, you know when water freezes, kind of makes it easy to know when it will snow instead of rain. I don't want to freeze, but I don't want a bunch of stuff tied around my waist either. I tend to overheat easily so I am thinking short-sleeve shirt, thick longsleeve, thin long-sleeve (will that be enough? or should I add my thin wind/rain jacket?) And what about my ankles? Will they get cold if not covered? I had my coat on in that picture at Franc's because I was trying to slip out before someone suggested a photo. I am sure it was Tetsujin. I have a pasta maker too. I think we should have a pasta making party pre-Seattle RnR! Another rest day...however I might tackle DS's room...which could be exhausting. Lynden! Good Luck running against the BIG DOGS!

Enke--it sounds like plenty to me without the wind shirt. for that temp (17-18F--I had to translate back ) I would use heavywieght tights with a thin longsleeve and then heavy longsleeve. and then either a hat or balaclava, glove liners, and maybe fleece socks. this has worked for me for up to 7 miles and 13f actual temp. Also always lotion up my face when it's below freezing. Of course as my beard freezes in place, it blocks the wind on my chin, so you may need some extra insulation there Kevin