Mornin' Masters.

Sorry, but I have no time for a recap today: I still have to pack for out weekend away and we're targeting getting on the road in about 45 minutes.

I woke up early this morning to pelting rain and howling winds, which made it easy to choose to stay inside for this morning's workout. So 85 minutes of knee and core work, plus a little bit of weights and some stretching. I hope to get out for a walk this afternoon after we arrive in NY (a bit south of Newburgh, for those who know the state).

Hampton got slammed with Wednesday's storm with a lot of tidal flooding, waves easily overtopping seawalls, huge rocks from seawalls blown across roads like they were pebbles, and many homes and roads flooded. Unfortunately with the ground already saturated, more rain and wind, and today's high tide (a little after noon) expected to be around 3 ft. above normal, people are bracing for more of what the saw and felt on Wednesday. There are times like this that I'm very glad we don't live too close to our barrier beach.

Have a greta Saturday.

Jay

Thanks, Jay, and safe travels.  The flooding is terrible!

Believe it or not, I am here to report that I had a really good run.  Maybe I'm back to my old self.  I did 9.3 of the planned 8- even though it was really cold.  29 degrees to start, a little bit of wind, but sunny!  I didn't look at my splits, but watched my heart rate.  I kept adding on a little since I felt pretty good.  I figured I was at about 11:40 pace since it felt so comfortable, but it was 11:12!  It's going to get much colder and nastier here- maybe even snow- so I'm glad I got this in.  Our houseguests left this morning.  It was fun having them and they are easy people.  We already ticketed to go visit them in Palm Springs in March!

I want to relax, watch my basketball game and some football and just be home today!

SNOW DAY!! Seriously, even though we probably wouldn't go anywhere in particular today, being "snowed in" brings back fond memories of days like this when our DS was in school and an unscheduled day off was full of fun stuff to do around the house. My DW is spending the day making a hugh batch of bean soup utilizing the hambone from Christmas dinner (it's been in the freezer) and I'm also looking for something to do this afternoon. Bake cookies, maybe?

Ordinarily I'd have cleared our driveway by now even though the street is pretty bad and the plow hasn't come yet. But this year we contracted with a new guy to do our major snow removal so we're going to sit tight and see how long it takes for him to get around to us and what kind of job he does.

This morning I did a good ride on the trainer, 15.8 miles and 650 ft of climbing in 1:01:09. The route was along the western shore of Lake Como in Italy and it brought back fond memories of driving around over there in the 1990s (not in that area but a similar look). And here's how realistic my simulator app is at times:

I actually came to a full stop a couple of times before the rider managed to get past the bus! All that was missing was the smell of diesel fumes.  A couple of towns along the way reminded me of towns I passed through in the mountains outside Torino where they had stoplights at opposite ends of the town to control the one-way-at-a-time traffic flow through the center. Anyone else been places like this?

Jay - thanks for taking some of your early morning time for us later risers to have your inspiring posts to help us get the lead out too, especially when your this Saturday seems to be as busy, if not more so, than your weekdays that are even busier than mine were even when I wasn't retired.  

Sorry you have to drive though the current weather chaos to get away from it but hope it's worth it for a relaxing Sunday tomorrow you have more than earned thousands of time over.  Incidentally, having worked for the USFWS in the early sixties even meeting SI Udall in Yukon River days, I googled up the Thursday visit by the Secretary and FWS Director that you casually mentioned the other day that, with their emphasis on mobilizing "partnerships among schools, communities, and government" to promote "youth engagement with the outdoors," especially "restoring and cultivating core salt marsh areas" apparently with a two million dollar grant to the one you've already been doing all the ground work on, I'm surprised you got away without being named the state, if not national, coordinator, . . . or were you?  You put a whole new meaning on "retirement." Simply fantastic. I wish I could be there and be your Gunga Din.  

Steve - are you there?

KSA - maybe his DW didn't believe it was a typo, after all.

With still being blessed with wonderfully clean atmospheric flow of pure air from Canada that Seattle rarely sees, Mts Baker (10,871') and Rainier (14,410') stand out 80 and 100 miles to the north and south, respectively, like pure white jewels jutting up into the deep blue sky, I didn't even want to go down to street level where I couldn't see them through all the buildings in the way so stuck to the hallways for my daily morning perambulation only getting a brief taste of the nippy 14F temps at the stairways at either end that I'll try going up to the 13th, . . . I  mean "penthouse floor, tomorrow morning to the fitness room as PT wants a picture of all the equipment they have so it looks like he might be getting me back on a TM, after all, for the first time since the first (and last) time at the end of the previous century when the apts I was in had a fitness room too but I immediately found out I liked the outside better. 

 

. Anyone else been places like this?

Doug - for sure. Check out if you have Hakone Pass where I ran the Hakone Pass Marathon on a similar no-shoulder climb of several miles with the same left flow of traffic nearly having our left shoulders bumping into the rock cliffs blasted out of the moutainside and trucks and buses whooshing by so close to us on the right side we could have touched them if we'd've accidentally stuck our right arm out too far.   I was scared spitless but everyone else trusted the drivers' professionalism as I eventually did (or had) to too to keep from freezing in fear in place..

Our houseguests left this morning.

KSA - whew. Did you send them up to Jay's?

While most of the country was struggling with frigid temps and snow we have been enjoying near 60 sunny temps with gusty winds. Just returned from my second walk of the day- 40 minutes along the local river. People were wearing anywhere from tshirts and shorts to heavy winter coats. And we’re just an hour south of Jay. Weird weather😎.

Party tonight at friends as we face a busy weekend with family and friends.

Here in SW Louisiana the temperature is forecast to drop to +19F on Tuesday night so the Governor has declared a State of Emergency for the whole of next week!

Marathon training report - I ran 2 hours 10 minutes on the TM today, basically as a VERY long tempo. 13.2 miles @ 9:51 pace

Hello everybody!  

I went 8 miles, today—4 with the dog and 4 on my own.  His stupid poop bag had a hole in it and I got poop all over my mitten.  I also lifted weights before going out with some friends and Debbie to celebrate Debbie’s birthday… that makes 2 birthday dinners for Debbie, now…

Okay—that’s all I got.  See ya!