Morning! WRFB... sounds like you're ready for some good running t is weekend! 8 mi GA in 1:05:35 (8:12 pace, AHR 155). Lots of deer. Tory first 2 mi @9:03, rest sub 8's. GA, or general aerobic is a nice "just get out there and run" pace, pushing it some, but not needing to concentrate much. Feel refreshed with loose legs when done.

Got out for a 3.5 miler in brand new shoes this morning. Ran on all surfaces here and they are quite acceptable for what I really wanted: sand shoes for when it gets colder or when I want to go longer than my bare feet prefer. It was terrific -- exactly what I needed. No aches or pains from the car accident yesterday, but didn't get to go for the 7 miler like I was thinking last night. My husband reminded me of several appointments we have early today, so I knew before bed that wasn't going to happen. Evanflein, Dr. Landshark means I was telling my troubles to my beer last night (a Landshark). On of my psychologist friends uses that term when he needs to sit, think, and decompress, and I guess I've picked that up!

Easy 7 @ 8:40 (131 AHR / 66%). A little too fast for an easy day. Humidity’s back and warmer (66F) too. (WRFB ,you guys missed the really cool weather last week.) Nonoruns—tough day for you yesterday; glad there are no lingering effects. (You may be right about “art.”) WRFB--- No doubt referees can sometimes influence the outcome of real sports—and the fans are outraged when it happens! In many non-sports, though, judges’ discretion is built into the system. That’s why the definition is: “Any event whose outcome is determined entirely by subjective judging is not a sport.” Wildchild—I had forgotten about trampolines; good catch there. Obviously, not a sport. From Dave:

I agree 100% with Tramps view on what is a sport.

From Dicky:

regarding Tramps' rant about Olympic events...I happen to agree with most of his points

Coincidentally, I’ve always thought Dave and Dicky as two of the brightest and most gifted people posting here. And Dicky’s absolutely right about figure skating. It’s just a combination of dance and gymnastics on ice and neither of those are sports. As Dicky suggests, though, it is possible to transform non-sports into sports. Archery and shooting competitors could aim for each other. Last person left wins. It would be a deadly and barbaric sport but it would be a sport. This raises the point that just because something qualifies as a sport doesn’t mean it’s good. Weightlifting, for example, has never had me on the edge of my seat but I concede it’s a sport and I have no objections to it being in the Olympics. On the other hand, things that are not sports, such as gymnastics, ballet, and figure skating can entail astounding athletic ability and be entertaining to watch but as non-sports, they do not belong in the Olympics. But that is not the trend. Instead, we live in perilous times in which baseball and softball—perfectly good sports—are being dropped from the Olympics. It’s unconscionable, really. Alas, my tireless and thankless quest to protect the world from non-sports continues. Sure, some scoff and call me a "sport Nazi" ( muttering “No sport for you!” behind my back). But I don’t care. My determination is steadfast. And for those of you who don’t see the profound importance of drawing a clear line between sports and non-sports, let me just add two more words: Olympic poker. Don’t scoff; no one believed it would ever be broadcast on ESPN either...until it happened. Finally, for my last piece of evidence regarding the significance of this issue, let me note that when you allow “sports” that involve no exertion, you get Olympic “athletes” like this (Yes, this is real.): “BEIJING (Reuters) - For most athletes in Beijing, the Olympic Games mark the culmination of years of sweat and sacrifice. Few will come looking to Jay Lyon for training tips. Lyon is Canada's best hope for an archery medal, although the 96-kilogram [212 pound] Winnipeg native admits he is probably not the archetypal Olympian."I'm not much of an athlete, I eat a lot of McDonalds," said the 22 -year-old on Tuesday." Mr. Lyon advanced from a field of 64 contestants into the final 8 and came very close to winning a medal. I rest my case. Have a great weekend!

WRFB pretty good clip for simply stretching your legs. perchcreek another fast morning run! biketm my problem is I want to eat big meals and all those snacks! Good double digit run yesterday. mainerunnah I do not know about where you are but down here in SW CT it has been the summer of thunderstorms. Great weather if you are a plant. Not so hot for the sentient creatures around here. The weekend looks good though, although the report for Saturday is starting to deteriorate a bit. pdr nice mid-week 8 miler. hopeful4ever to tease dogs! Holly S. six miles, followed by a total absence of a what "happened" post-run response! This is so good to hear! Now ramp back up slowly! breger1 I was glad to hear your secret to enjoying your running again. Good recover run. Dave59 yes, and today is TGIF! I hope your weather continues to hold out. Now change your avatar before you fatten up the rest of us . . . yum doughnuts . . . going out now to the bakery . . . must get car keys . . . Tramps 12 miles, hills, convicts . . . sounds like an interesting run! nonoruns next time tell the kids they have to run with you if they wake you up. Bet they start going to the other side of the bed and yelling DAD! SueT48 nice intervals yesterday. About the heart rate unless this happens more often than once in a blue moon I would write it off as one of those things. If you measure something often enough you will get an odd reading every now and then even if nothing is wrong. Bodies and gizmos just produce erratic readings sometimes. Jlynne nice 7. Hope the leg finishes healing up and the cold heads off into the sunset. I got my DW a copy of an article that listed a day's meals for Phelps. I am not sure I could even stuff all of it into me in one day let alone want it! But that pizza sure sounds good. lyndenrunner good 8 yesterday. tselbs for not posting since Monday you now owe, you now owe . . . I guess . . . well . . . nice to see you had time to post again yesterday! Do be careful about the hamstring. I have never had one go but the reports from others here make it seem like it is slow to heal once it does. Tramps on "Sport" I basically agree about the judging part. But not the requirement that you not involve a mechanical device. What about skis for ski racing? I think that if the goal is objective and if you can standardize the tools then it is a sport. So, yes I would consider something as stupid as "battle bots" or more classically chess as sports. Mental as well as physical skill can be involved. Not that I would watch or more importantly pay to watch or participate in either battle bots or chess! BCMorant nice 8. Let me know if you manage to get the cookies. Spareribs just keep that recovery going! Nearly at 3 miles - great to read! mirko nice 5 w/ hills. evanflein sorry I tried to follow your story but in the end I have no idea what you ended up doing yesterday! I do hope your DS's issues with his coach work out. Just saw post #2 from which it looks like the issues with DS's coach have been resolved! Ok, I also figured you you got in a 5+ mile TM run. Yech! Sounds like a pretty exciting day otherwise! DickyG my DW used to love tennis! She would be totally jealous! Alas, her shoulder needs replacement surgery if she ever hopes to play again and she is not willing to get an operation just to do that. CNYrunner always an amazing run! Nice tempo run! Sarge nice 10K run yesterday. enkephalin some days running goes better than others. Still a not so hot run beats a cannot run day any time. Sorry to hear about your neighbor. Very sad. wildchild when I read your quote from the comic about the "hide-and-seek" event I totally cracked up. My summer assistant who I make work in my office while I am there (helps insure that what needs to get done, gets done) no doubt thought I had lost it when I literally started chuckling out loud at my desk. henrun maybe I will see you at the New Haven 20K. It is one of my favorite races of the year. Nice 13+ mile run yesterday! halllar good 5 yesterday, enjoy your no running day today. nonoruns you are right, lucky for all the driver that ran the stop sign did not injure anybody. I hope you get your 7 miler in today. Twocat today is my no running day. Tough sledding but I made it! Tonight it is off to a comedy club with my DW and her BFF and her BFF's DH. It should be fun even if it costs me in tomorrow's race. Alas, the prognosis for DW's participation in this weekend's race is quickly deteriorating! Not only will we back late tonight but she has not run this week. Sigh. Well, it was close. Oh yes, I also want to thank everybody for the various BD present suggestions. You have no idea what a good idea the spa package was! So good, I got one for her a few years ago! She liked it so much that she now has a house account at the local spa. What this means is that a spa package as this year's present is, alas, out. Due to her house account it is cheaper for her to buy any spa treatment or item than for me to do so. Such is life. I am going off today to get her that necklace she will undoubtedly put in the safe and never wear. I am also going to make her a strawberry shortcake BD cake which last week she asked for and last night said she did not want. Then I am going to go slit my wrists . . . just kidding, just kidding . . . but this is one reason women outlive men by 8 years on average!

Like all of you, I was extremely disappointed that the U.S. failed to medal in doubles fly-fishing (which this year featured a mandatory pit stop to re-bait the hook). Sarge:

Hamstring loosens up much easier now but starts talkin' to me at a 8 minute pace, so kept things under control & didn't push it too hard.

Hammies must not have talked very loudly because your race time was about 7:44 pace..that's terrific. Dave59:

Does it matter how many people watch or attend at this point? I saw a recent story that said NBC passed the $1 billion mark in ad sales for the Olympics. (I think they paid $800 million for the rights.) So they have the profit in the pocket already whether we watch or not.

There's a little more to it than that. During large-dollar advertising events (Super Bowl, Oscars, World Series, etc.) the networks are "guananteeing" a certain rating to the advertisers. If the ratings are lower, there are usually rebates, discounts for future advertising, etc. So its possible that if ratings fall, the NBC might have to rebate some of that profit. As far as poor attendance goes, it just looks bad to see all those empty seats. Ribs:

DickyG, I think one of the best quotes on the subject came from Emil Zatopek, the great Czech runner who was known as 'the man who runs as though stabbed in the heart'. He said once, "Running is not like figure skating. It isnot necessary to smile to impress the judges."

What a cool dude! I think he also once said: "Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to do that." Carolyn: Hmmm....Olympic hide & seek...Homer Simpson has got to be involved in there somewhere... Perch: If "GA" means feeling refreshed with loose legs when done, I don't think I've ever done one...I'm always exhausted when I finish. Tramps: Olympic Poker? Brilliant! I also can't believe they show it extensively on every channel from ESPN to the Game Show Channel. My friends from Atlanta are totally addicted...they play at various bars almost every night and when they're not at the bars, they're playing on-line. Next thing you know we're gonna turn on the TV and watch them pulling slot machines...I can't wait. Didn't really feel like running today but I did 4.1 miles in 37:42 (9:12 pace)...sort of loafed through the 5K part and then ran the last mile in 7:58 which is pretty good for me. Hope all the racers kick some serious butt this week-end. DickyG

Rest day for me today. I'd like to see chess added to the summer games. (Or winter, it doesn't really matter if it's indoors.) For all my talk of not being a competitive person, I still have the desire to lose weight, get my miles up, and continue to improve. And there is no better feeling then to zip by some youngster in the last half mile of a race, heaping shame on them to be beaten by someone twice their age. I've run on and off for over 30 years now, but never anything above a 10k until I was in my 40's, so I have room to improve on the longer races.

What started out to be an easy 5 miler became a very tough outing...Felt like I was dragging my right leg the whole time...never felt comfortable at all...8:28 pace. TGIF Fair day...