Ok, I'll start.... 7.77 miles of hills @ 9:07 pace. Spring has arrived!

Nice run this morning Peter. Good morning Mary - you had a nice run also. I love new shoes! After I'm done with my pair of Foundation 7's, I'll be in the market for a new shoe. Asics is actually making the 8's now, which I've tried and they don't work for me. The 7's have been discontinued for quite some time, so I might have to try out a new brand as well. Enjoy the Home and Garden show. I haven't been to one of those since I lived up in Seattle and they had a great one there. Down here in lilttle Grants Pass, the Home & Garden show pretty much looks like my average visit to the Grange Co-Op My husband has been in So Cal all week and last night my son spent the night at my parents since I have a race this a.m. . . .so I"m up early, listening to music to get me going, have my coffee, and checking in here. All things I normally don't do when I get ready for a race, since DH and DS are still sleeping, so I just quietly get up, ready and leave. I think I like this routine have a good day everyone!

Deez4boyz wrote:

should have run outside today but promised a friend i'd take her to the gym and she walked on the treadmill next to me to talk for awhile ..........then we went for a manicure and pedicure .........

What fun! Mary – I wear the Saucony Progrid, too, although I wear the Ride, not the Guide, but I have loved them for years. Tammy - good luck! Temps ranged from 55-60 degrees for my run today – Yippee!! Skirt and short-sleeves! I don’t think my 20-oz. water bottle was quite enough, though, considering how much I was perspiring in the new warmth (not that I’m complaining AT ALL about the heat). I’ll be glad when they turn on the water fountains on the river trail next month, though. 20.50 miles for me today, with miles 11-18 aimed at BQMP (8:47). Actual paces for those miles were: 8:48 8:44 8:46 8:46 8:44 8:40 8:39 8:32 I did have a short stop about mile 13.7 to get my water bottle from where I had stashed it and take a GU, but otherwise the MP miles were non-stop. While today showed great progress for me, I still don’t see being able to do 26 miles at this pace yet. After the 18th mile I was wiped out. I turned the Garmin off and took a 2-minute walking break, then slowly trudged through the last miles home. Ave pace for running time was 9:32 - best yet. Last night DS and I had so much fun! He begged to do it again soon, and I will be happy to oblige. DH picked up DD from her "Girl's NIght Out" this morning and she greeted him with, You're here ALREADY?" Guess she had fun, too. Tonight the kids are spending the night with friends and DH and I are going out for dinner and a show. We'll be seeing The Chieftains - a grammy-winning Irish musical group playing as part of the Celtic Series in Dayton. The tickets were actually my Christmas present from my boss.

While today showed great progress for me, I still don’t see being able to do 26 miles at this pace yet.

Holly - nice running today and good MP pacing. You've admitted that you're showing great progress and it's not race day yet. You'll get there. Keep at it! Speaking of Home & Garden ... now that the snow's melted I took a look in my backyard to see a huge gaping hole left from last fall when I dismantled our above ground pool after 20 years. Lots of work ahead come spring. Group run this morning. Most of my friends were doing a 21 miler today (4 -13MP - 4). I managed 11.8 mi ... 1:56 ... 9:51 pace ... 142 ave hr. I was happy with the fact that miles 8 -10 saw my HR fall into the 135 range. Still pretty sore after the run though. Probably should have cut it off after 10 mi. Tramps - lots of chores on the list today too. Been procrastinating too long. First on the list is the light fixture in the hall which just decided to stop working. This should be a 10 min job .... any bets on that happening? Safe running everyone! PJ

For my final long run before the 1/2 next Sat. I did 11.9 at about a 10:50 pace, which is good for me for that distance. Maybe it was the new shoes (seems to be a theme here today) - mine are always Aasics....love 'em. I was dragging the last mile though and was so glad to hit the pool for another mile. Can't wait for a taper week Holly you never cease to amaze me. Tammy - hope you had a great race! Tramps, I'm w/ you on the crazy temps. Last Sunday i ran in a 10K race w/ 4 mph winds and freezing temps. I dread warm weather as far as running goes, but am so ready to get on my John Deere... Sparerib - a 40 mile week - wow! Off to do Saturday kinds of things....

Thanks, folks, for the encouragement. Your feedback helps my training immeasurably. Ribs, I just signed up for a 5K next Saturday. I’m hoping that will give me an idea of where my fitness is right now, to help me choose a goal pace for my April 5 marathon. Nice 40, btw.

wow Holly - those are consistent miles - nice job!! hope everyone is able to enjoy some nice weather today -- a treat for us in the 50's so i did get myself outside!! 5.2 miles following my plan of walk 5min/run 5 min x 6 sets.......looking forward to running more than walking, but just added one more segment so will stick to this for awhile 20 minutes spinning bike!! now need to tend to sick hubby before i head out for some fun!!

Photo of DS's team yesterday - they came in 4th place out of 30 teams at the New England meet, a great showing for a team from Maine. Each boy set a personal PR for their 800 split, and their overall time was a PR by almost 7 seconds. There are some FRICKING fast runners in New England. The winning time in the 2-mile was 9:02 by Andrew Springer from Rhode Island. That's the fastest high school time in the country this year. It was fun to watch him run! DS had a rough 2-mile, coming in 18th at 9:51. My son is on the left.