Happy Easter 9 miles yesterday in the rain and I didn't melt, must not be that sweet. had to stop and find a snowbank to scrape my shoes in once so I wasn't dragging half of Perkins County in the form of mud with me. Sped up a min/mi when I hit the pavement in town. better get back at it, have a good week

Hi Folks- Funny pic Jim , that bunny musta laughed his ass off! Way to trudge through the muck. Leslie- hope the AT feels better.My right one has been tender for a while.I read that if you quit running on it after a while it shortens? Nailed my last long run yesterday. Embraced it all with 35* ,25mph winds and a crystal clear cerulean (where's Cindy been?) blue sky. 21.5m @ 9:35 per. Celebrated getting through the heavy lifting of this training period with a couple of ice cold Becks. mmmmmmm....

Thanks for the info, Jim. I think this all started with wearing my last pair of shoes too long. I am rotating 2 new pair (got them a couple of months ago), but the damage had been done. I was very surprised at the knots, etc., in my calf and will work diligently on heat and massage. I know there's inflammation after running for a length of time 'cause I can "feel" it spread to the bottom of my foot and up into the calf area. In the foot, sort of feels like something's trying to cut off the circulation. One positive thing - every problem I've had (with the exception of the hip flexor) has been on the right side, so at least that's consistent.

Nailed my last long run yesterday. Embraced it all with 35* ,25mph winds and a crystal clear cerulean (where's Cindy been?) blue sky. 21.5m @ 9:35 per. Celebrated getting through the heavy lifting of this training period with a couple of ice cold Becks. mmmmmmm....

Veeeery nice, indeed. Carol - The kid with the rifle in the park - is it just me or does that sound like a stupid thing to do, regardless of the fact it was a pellet gun? And what's he doing with it in the park? Shooting birds?

Hey 40s+ Nice 9 miler in the rain Jim....The mud would have probably definately deterred me. You da man! Leslie....my AT will talk gently to me sometimes....especially after long run. Massage and ice are what works best for me. I've been able to satisfy it's hunger so for now it's just another one of those niggly things. Hope you get your's under control. Joe....35F and 25 winds....now that's a RAW day. 21 miles in that does wonders for your mental toughness. Not that you need any more of that. Rest and relax into your taper weeks. You've got your body into marathon shape, now it's time to work on your mind. Carol....any races in the future? Hey Jewels....

Mornin', folks - Just one of the little buggers we saw. They are so dang cute! We even say a baby, a "joey," in its momma's pouch, but couldn't get close enough for a pic. Since my AT's messed up, no hill work for me between now and my run on May 10, except for the trails. So it was just a nice 5.15-mile run this a.m. at a 9:24 ap. It felt good to run with no objective (well, except to build back up my stamina). Did the heat and massage thing last night to my calf, and iced while eating this a.m. after my run. Hope it all works out. FJ- Nice little recovery run, but with all the mud, I bet you could actually knock that up to 2 miles just from the extra exertion.

Morning folks.... Joe, glad your boys are O.K. What's a few more gray hairs, right? Spring break was last week so I'm back at it this week but I only have 3 weeks left and the semester is over! All the universities have spring breaks at different times but I think they are all over with now. Leslie, finished up looking at your pics.....really pretty and looks like you certainly had a great time. Love the picture of all the keys layed out on a towel. That Sydney Strider dude looks like he could take anyone for one heck of a run! Congrats on keeping up and running over 10 bridges. Whew! Gym workout yesterday with a 2 mile run. Skipped my knee appointment last week and really kicking myself for doing that because even with all this down time I've had, the knee just wasn't right yesterday. Hello to Ev, Jim, Carol and Cindy. Later guys n' gals..... Jewels

Skipped my knee appointment last week and really kicking myself for doing that because even with all this down time I've had, the knee just wasn't right yesterday.

Jewels - Do you feel the swift kick in the butt I gave you after reading that? Now go get that knee checked out.

Was it hot? It's summer now right? Were the people real friendly? Did you see any native Australians? Many sailboats in Sydney Harbor?

Joe - No, it wasn't hot as they were at the beginning of their fall. In fact, on Sunday, April 6 at 3:00 a.m., they set their clocks back on the East coast like we do here. Parts of the rest of the country do, as well. Closer to the coast, it was definitely humid. Not horrible, but definitely more than what we're used to here. The last couple of days, when were in Sydney, it was even cool enough to wear jeans. The people were very friendly, and everyone wanted to listen to our "American accent." Our young waitress at a cafe one night was very enthralled with the fact we were from America. She was a real sweetie. Then she says, "I want to visit America really bad. I love hip hop music and want to go to Compton." What? Holy he!!, no you don't! The Hub says, "I wouldn't even go to Compton in the day time, let alone the night." Her, "Really?" Him, "You know the gangs they talk about? They're real. Believe me, you do not want to go to Compton." Me to her, "It's a crap hole, honey." She was stunned. (And yes, for those of you who don't know, Compton is one of the absolute worst parts of Los Angeles. Do not, I repeat, do not ever go there.) Re native Australians - I'd say that most of the people we saw were caucasian. I have a feel the more you get away from coast and go inland, there would be more Aboriginal folks. There were a few sailboats in Sydney Harbour, but more ferries. However, coming up the coast, all those bays and inlets had tons of sailboats about. FJ - Here's keeping the fingers crossed the weather cooperates for you. An hour of strength/core this a.m., and will do 3 miles after work. I hate running after work, but I couldn't drag myself out of bed early enough to get them in this a.m. The Hub's been sick, so I've been sleeping in the guest room on the good bed = no snoring Hub and only 1 or 2 cats = most excellent nights of sleep, unlike last week. {sigh} Who knew sleep could feel so good.