Moving us up again. Last thread was getting lengthy. L'swife, I think a running training team is a great idea. If you want to become a better runner, run with better runners. $35 is well worth it. Got a diagnosis on Kim's knee today. Pettella femoral pain syndrome. In other words her knee caps are worn out and in pain. Common among girls her age. I notice it at PT too. Lots of young female athletes there with knee injuries. She has to get better shoes. She runs around in overly worn out skate boarding shoes that dont offer any support at all. I've been trying to make her get new ones but she refuses. Last time I had to throw out her old shoes while she slept forcing her to get new ones. And she has to do 4-6 more weeks of PT and go easy on the running. I hope she is fixed soon so we can get back to training for the 7 sisters trail race. My leg was getting better until I went swimming. Seems that the breast stroke iritated it. So I make one step forward and one back. Hope all is well out there. Laurie

Hey Laurie, thanks for the update. Sorry to hear about dd's injury, but it's good to have the diagnosis, and then take it from there. Yeah, you wouldn't think swimming would aggravate your injury Another good run for you, Mike. I thought I ran 7 today, but measured it afterwards and it was about 6.8. Oh well. Still happy. I guess Debbie is under the weather with a tooth thing? Hope you're okay. Greetings to all - Jem

eliz--I always posted. have to have someone in the lower percentiles I'll be down in Stafford, NJ this coming Wednesday. anywhere near where you hang out? Only a day trip, so no chance to run down there. Don't know if you noticed in the daily of yesterday, but DW is up in NH visiting her uncle in the hospital. he was diagnosed with a brain tumor this fall and it has quickly turned to what looks terminal not a very pleasant reason for a trip, but she wanted to see him while he was still a little like she remembered. He was a very energetic guy, so the decline must be awful to see. One of my favorite relatives, even if only by marriage. he was a master electrician who became a bank president, all without the benefit of college. Really smart guy. he helped me a lot with the wiring in our house and I learned an awful lot from him. sad times. On a lighter note, because I am now the adult in charge at home, DD is giving me a little taste of what DW goes through most days. I was at the cross street neighbors for their daughter's birthday party and got a call from her at work--"I need $50 for the cake for the dance team party tonight and I need it now" So off to drop that off and back to the party. 2 hours later, a call from said party, "Can you bring my secret Santa present, I forgot it" (they're a little slow) So off to another delivery. It's a sleepover, so hopefully will be able to sleep early, as I will have to get up at 6am tomorrow to pick her up to go back to work. The good part of that is that I'll get my run in early. Not quite sure I'll be up to Mike and Jem's levels, but will go as long as possible. the knee seems to have been behaving well, but haven't done a whole lot more than my lake loop lately (3.2miles) it's supposed to be pleasant--mid 20's and less wind than today. great totals for several of our group. teresa is kicking the pace bunny's tail. Deb--hope you're recovering from your tooth--I think I must have missed at least part of that--was that the cracked root canal and abscess--or am I confusing you with someone else? (that never happens with me ) Laurie--guess we have different opinions about running groups of course, I'm forming my opinion based on never having run in one. Just seemed that putting a beginner in with a bunch of faster runners with different priorities could be a recipe for rapid discouragement. But I could also see group encouragement being a big help to motivate. Guess I'll sit firmly on the fence I could see the frog kick being a lot more stressful on sore muscles than the basic flutter kick. happy Sunday to all. Kevin

Happy Sunday to all. I'm praying for your dw's uncle, Kevin. Sounds like a very cool man. So sorry. That's a hard way to go. Sympathies to you, Mike, even though it was a while back. Eliz, praying for that job. WTG on the long run! Debbie, prayers for your tooth (hope that's right - I missed something here, too. Is this how rumors start?). Hope you're feeling not too bad. And prayers for our various injured and ailing. SuperBowl Big Game greetings to all. Jem

I figure I'm proud of my mileage, so I will post it! When I told folks at church today how much I ran in January, they were very impressed! It's all relative. You have to remember that the runners on this website are pretty diehard! We're doing great. I can tell that for me, because my weight is staying constant even though I'm eating a lot, lol. Good job on the 6.2 miles, Eliz! Same distance I did Friday. A friend at church saw me running it. She wanted to know where I got my bright yellow windbreaker because it was so visible. Thanks for noticing that I'm actually beating the bunny, Kevin! I'm excited, but I know the year has barely started. Good luck with the full-time parenting duties. I'm glad you can do that for your wife. Whenever I leave for a trip, I give DH a list of things that HAVE to be done while I'm gone. Inevitably, when I return he will proudly say, "Well, I got ALMOST all of the things on the list done!" Uh, hon, there really weren't any optional items on there! Have a great week, everyone! Run safely on the ice! Teresa

Teresa--I know that guy!! I probably am that guy and I'm sure my DW would recognize him, too. Kevin PS thanks for the good wishes from all.

"game? what game?" *&%&^ *&(*&#*() Pats! Grrrr.

As I approach my 2nd "runniversary" in a just a few weeks, and my base is almost 800 miles, I "stuck my toe in the water" of speedwork today. (Like how I slipped in a beach/ocean/shore reference?) No, no, no, I'm not pushing too much. Just ran 3.1 miles and played with four 0.1-0.15 mile repeats at slightly-faster-than-slug speed with equal-length walks in between during the second mile. Of course, slightly-faster-than-slug speed feels like flying to me - which felt GREAT. I had to force myself not to over do it. I'm a little sore between running a little faster this evening and not enough stretching after the 6.2 on Saturday, so I'm being a good little girl and doing ALL of my stretches, some of them several times, this evening. Want to soak in the tub, too, but stupid me turned on the dishwasher and it takes forever and is probably sucking up all the hot water anyway. Kevin - our place is about 40 miles south of Stafford, but our main drag - Route 9 - is the same as theirs. At home, I live about 2 miles from Route 1, and when I turn north on the way to work every morning, I try to imagine turning south instead and driving all the way to Key West! I have a mile 0 sign from there on my desk at work. (Yes, it IS all about the beach.) So sorry to hear about DW's uncle - your family is in my prayers. Mike - good job on the 6. Glad the break last week made it feel good. Teresa - I don't have a bright yellow windbreaker, but I did wear my reflective shirt this evening. You look great in your photo; I'm afraid I look like a glow in the dark, yellow, female version of the michelin man! Laurie - your walk with your women's group sounds fun. Sorry about the game, er, uh, that thing last night. As a lifelong Philly-area resident, and often-disappointed former Phillies fan, I can honestly say I feel your pain. My new approach to sports is to do them myself (as long as they don't involve a ball) more and watch others do them lots less. Leads to more muscle aches but less heartache. {{Deb's tooth}} Hope it's on the mend. Lots o' rain predicted for tomorrow and I have a meeting in the evening, so rest-day-fat-Tuesday for me. Eliz