Hey folks.

Enke - cool idea about the solo backpacking trip.  I'm not sure I would be brave enough to do that.  Gosh, it's been nearly 30 years since I have been alone, and actually able to do whatever I wanted in my free time, with no consideration of anyone else's priorities.  Hmmm.  I'd probably just mess it all up....

4.3 miles for me today in a windy 49 degrees, just ahead of the storms.

Thanks, Holly.  It does sound like you could use a solo vacation or girls' trip!

4.5 miles over on the path on a (finally) beautiful morning- 51 and sunny.  Got it done.  Have a 10K tomorrow and I am not optimistic about how it will go.  I haven't felt particularly good running lately.

Holly - thanks for the start.

Though I was alone during business travels back in the child-rearing days,  I'd go to wherever I had to go and then get back as fast as I could to enjoy the precious weekends together skiing, hiking, fishing, etc. with the family before it became like now and everyone scattered to different states but any family "vacation" travel usually reminded me of a four frame cartoon in a Japanese newspaper in those days of (1) the father wearing a big packsack lugging two rolling carry-on size suitcasres behind him through the train station along with the same several over-the-shoulder totes, duffles, gyms, etc. I often did too and probably the fanny pack I always relied on, then (2) on lounge chairs on a beach almost as crowded as the train stations with blankets and towels spread out under beach umbrellas with the kids making a mess of it all until (3) finally getting back on the train looking even more haggard than in frame no. 1 but, finally, (4) sitting peacefully back at his office desk with a big sigh of relief,  "phew, back to work where I can get some rest."

Then, voila! I found out that empty nesting era business trips to Japan could be timed to arrive for, at least, a free weekend before and another one after doing anything I wanted to do, sometimes more, after the business week .

ps - maybe check with Lealie on how to get alone without the business travel excuse. Good luck.

 pps - nothing wrong with messing up if you're by yourself but what did you do 30 years ago to make you worry about it three decades later? 

Gosh, it's been nearly 30 years since I have been alone, and actually able to do whatever I wanted in my free time, with no consideration of anyone else's priorities.  Hmmm.  I'd probably just mess it all up....

KSA - have fun in tomorrow's 10K even if you don't win but I know you will.

Jeanne - wow, sounded good to me but then I realized, like running, low is good.

Jordan Spieth just took a 9 on the 15th hole at Augusta in the Master's Tournament this morning. Heck - even I can do that! 

enke -  there's definitely occasional unsavory tales in some of the running logs but most I've seen have been in the highly popular and overpopulated nearby trails on the PooPoo's so you should be fine.  However, do you take some bear/cougar spray or mace to be sure.  

ps - other than you, have you? but I've never heard of going hiking to read a book but it sounds like a good, relaxing and motivating goal.   Any chance to let a fish line float around from shore?.  .

Holly - with the incentive of your start to today's daily and, thinking of Jay's busy schedule, I hurried to get out the door, at least, before the after  6:00 am's I'm getting accustomed to and just missed by one minute.  It was worth it, though, as I went down by the Safeway enclave that was being so raucous yesterday that the store's two security guards were already working with police from two patrol cars that had been called to quell a big argument with more foul language than I'd ever heard concentrated on a street corner but today was quiet and, even though it will just contribute to the mess of litter that gets worse every day, I surripticously left some food items and two still brand new socks I got in a package of four I can't used all of them.

Hey Tom - with your new shovelling prowess, maybe you could do the shoveling and I'll handle the litter. We'll make Seattle clean again, . . . unless the City cracks down on us as they've done against other ad hoc groups who do it in their neighborhoods for free because, unlike the city's brigades, they weren't properly trained to pick up litter, refuse and the rest.

Work has been busy so I missed a couple days here. I ran 3 on Wednesday and 4 on Thursday. Rest day today.

Next week I will be going into the office to work. It's been at least 4 years since I've been in the office, but this project is crazy and it has been decided to get people together in person. Not just local people but folks will be flying in to join. We used to have 4 full floors of an office building downtown but now there is just one small group that still goes in there to work. They are going to lend us their conference room.

It's 1+ hour commute each way for me but I don't mind doing that a few times. Kind of break up the monotony of sitting in the basement everyday.

Great hockey game last night. Sabres beat the Capitols and then they have a nice multi-player fight at the end. Sorry about that Tramps, but with a -42 goal differential, your Caps don't belong in the playoffs. 

Dave- do you have to go into Charleston for work?

Oh and did I hear there is talk of a RA women masters road trip????? I'm in!!!!! 

Me too!!!

planned run today cancelled; my knee was in rough shape earlier in the day but almost painless now. I'm having a hard time diagnosing, it presents mostly like "jumper's knee", but started as ACL or maybe Meniscus tear. Now it's below the knee and center-to-medial side. Odd thing is that it almost disappears when running, but is painful at times when walking. And will oddly disappear at times, and then come back later. I'll throw some KT tape on it again. Going to rains cats + dogs tomorrow, so I have a forced rest.

Well wait a darn minute here... Holly was at our house for a few days in 2012 for the 50th Equinox, and we had a great time together but she had the run of the house in the morning when we slept in on Sunday (and Friday, race was Saturday). And in Hawaii, she did whatever she wanted when we were there for the marathon and half with our DS and DIL. But maybe she's thinking alone-alone? In which case, a gals weekend wouldn't cut it. But hey, let's figure out what she wants/needs and figure out what to do!

Belated Happy Birthday greetings to Henrun! 90!!! That's awesome.

Jlynne, sure hope your back is just having a glitch and nothing is working up to a real problem there.

Well, our warmer than normal March turned into a colder than (I'd like it to see) normal April. We had another inch of wet heavy snow that I cleared off the upper driveway and stairs. I'm starting to look at articles at not only how to increase the value of your home if you want to sell, but also how to configure an "as is" sale if you need to sell. I'm just finding more sense in what my brother said when he bailed out saying he couldn't stand another Fairbanks winter. I can see that. But I'm not abandoning my sister/parents in what they need. And then there's my kids. And Riley. *sigh* I guess I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

19.5 miles on the bike today, finished "The Mist" by Stephen King. Sort of an unsatisfactory ending, if you ask me. I guess it's also a movie? With a much different ending? Neither one sounds like a good finish, IMO. Anyway, reading the "teaser" of the next book at the end, and it's longer than the "novella" that "The Mist" was. Turns out it's a collection of short stories being published in May. So far, so good.