Hello everybody!

After taking 2 weeks off from running, I went for a nice easy 3.8 miles, today.  For the weeks leading up to the marathon, my left glute felt tight and hurt on every run.  I never felt it one time during the race.  I've taken 2 weeks off and, right away, my glute started hurting.  I guess, I'll just have to have a sore left glute.

I have never seen a happy clam but I'm sure tet is enjoying his day...I think tet enjoys every day.

Okay--gotta get back to helping Debbie with the Christmas decorating.  See ya!

Clams never seemed particularly happy to me.  Maybe "content" but not happy.

Took advantage of the nice day for a longer ride.  Not quite 42 miles with steady wind but nice sunshine.

 

Holly - surprised that is OK in this day and age of worrying about offending someone.  Maybe a poster of the Grinch?

 

You know, I was just talking about this to DH.  A week ago, the admin staff spent a huge amount of time picking out the Christmas cards that the firm would send out, coming to all of us to get our votes/opinions.  It had to be a card that did not mention Christmas or have Santa on it, only Happy Holidays, so as to be PC, and it had to be really boring and plain, so as to be businesslike.  So, with all that fuss over the firm's Christmas card choice, now I get the chance to put Santa and/or other Christmas stuff on my door?

I think that holiday PC has gotten ridiculous, even the schools are not allowed to have Christmas parties, but rather "holiday" parties.  Personally, if someone sent me a Happy Hanukkah card, I would think, "Yay, and a Happy Hanukkah to you as well!"  Even if I am not Jewish, I can certainly be happy that others are celebrating.  I would not be offended - why do people get offended?

BTW, Opus, that sounds like an awesome vacation break.

If clams are not happy, why do they always look like they are smiling?

Got all the Christmas stuff up, now time to relax...

Hey y'all, woke up early (car was mostly already packed) and headed back to NC.  About 10 hours and 40 minutes.  After unloading the car, went for an easy (no watch, no Garmin) 2 mile run to stretch my legs some.  Will go to bed fairly soon.

WRT the group runs, the group(s) in northwest Alabama are pretty friendly and supportive.  A large group may start together, but we know we'll "self-segregate" as the run goes on.  If someone has a hard run planned, he or she will run with a faster group (and vice versa as needed).  The Thanksgiving run definitely starts as a social run (someone took a picture, I should see if it was posted anywhere) and people catch up with each others goings ons (and moon pies.....and Goo Goo Clusters!  How could no one mention Goo Goo Clusters!) until we naturally spread out.

Holly, how about a large picture of "a major award" leg lamp and a Red Ryder BB-gun?  Although I like the Grinch idea.  If I ever had that opportunity it would be Linus reciting Luke to explain to Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about.

Opus, safe travels tomorrow.

Have a great night everyone!

Hi all. I'm once again restarting dedicated training. For my WE 11/25 I had 14.2 miles in 4 sessions. I started this week off with an easy 4 miler. Falconfixer, is this your primary hangout now?

So Catwhoorg ran my run today. Good thing, cuz I just didn't want to do it. Yep, totally skipped the run thing today so this week is just under 30 miles. Oh well. I did spend a couple hours visiting with my parents today, and that was definitely time well spent. Made turkey soup this evening for dinner, from stock I made the other day from the Thanksgiving turkey. Yum.

Feeling a little burned out already on the whole running in the winter thing. But it seems harder this year with all the snow we've gotten and then the cold temps. It looks like it'll warm up a bit this week and not much snow till Saturday (figures) so we'll see how it goes. In the meantime, my 2017 in 2017 team took a bit of a hit from me today.

26.2 rainy/sunny SM miles - Erika/Mike - all the mega-marthon old-timers who’ve were running their current 580th (Marvelous Mel), 592nd ("Road Kill" Rick), 680th (Monte-the-Magnificent) and 1,999th (Texas Larry) 26.2 miles agreed that, with clearing skies and warm sun bringing temps up to the high fifties for the middle miles, it was the warmest SM ever, . . . . . unfortunately, it only lasted for a couple of hours with light rain mixed with heavy rain for the starting miles and heavy rain mixed with heavier rain, deep puddles and flowing rivulets coho salmon could have negotiated up to the spawning grounds in the final miles.  However, it's Seattle so not a single person complained.  Of course, most were from here or Canada.
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NOTICE: twocat - do not read the following under penalty of having to come out and run with Tammy, . . . or worse yet, me: “Even running 100 miles in the rain is better than 12 miles on a TM.”  Author: me, based on personal experience for the former but, admittedly, since I won’t train,* I’ve never run on a TM, . . . and never will.  *^{no wonder I’m not a member of a running group}.
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-30: Opus/Bioman - when we purchased our first house in 1973 ($29,500) after getting a job in Anchorage, we moved in in a truck-garage-house progression also at -30^o.  However, the Northern Lights delighting us and moose in the yard delighting the kids plus a backyard sledding hill down into the park, great job, etc. were worth it. .   I’m lucky too to never have had a job I didn’t like, if not love, . . . but sure could have done without all the complaining employees who came up from milder climes almost solely for the more generous pay scales and didn’t like Northern Lights, moose, snow, skiing, ice-skating, or anything else Alaska.
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ps hoarders - why throw anything out when there’s plenty of room in the garage and there might just be a use for it sometime, . . . . e.g. Expo paraphernalia, in-line skates, treasured t-shirts (1977 Mayor’s Marathon / 1987 Ironman / 1991 Equinox / Pigtails 100, etc., . . . even though chances of going back and wearin’ ‘em are zilch), etc.

pps clams - “only happy people eat clams.”
Author: Ivar Johan Haglund (1905-1985):
Owner "Ivar’s Acres of Clams" Restaurants
No wonder I miss the Ivar’s clam chowder
that used to be offered at the SM finish/warm-up pavillon.
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Christmas - I wonder about henrun/marj-land but, before the chain stores and malls came into vogue and there were mostly just little local stores, everything Christmas, including light/tree/etc. at our house was after Thanksgiving.  
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At the end of September this year, a hapless clerk in RiteAid apologized to me for their early Christmas decorations but I said, “I don’t care, they’re kind of nice, . . . as long as Christmas carols are on hold until after Thanksgiving.”  Now Seattle has three 24-hour/day caroling stations and I can’t decide which one to listen to so just switch to another one when they have commercials.
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ppps - the older I get the more it seems I like Christmas.
Maybe just another of the similarities
between old age and infant-dom.
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pppps - the older I get the less I mind annoying people who wish me “Happy Holidays” with my own cheery “Merry Christmas.”  They don’t seem to mind, though, and some have even responded with a pleasantly nice “nice.”  I’m sure glad I’m old and don’t care, though, . . . so are my kids (the “old” part, that is.).
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ppppps - did posie get to Paraguay for Thanksgiving, . . .

and a chance for another southern Hemisphere 26.2 miles

one-way-or-the-other, if possible?

I’ve been looking for a video online for the past hour with no such luck. Our local high school band “The Spirit of Worthington Marching Band: was invited to play and march in the 86^th Annual Holiday Parade in Hollywood. There are only 19 bands that are invited each year, including the Marine Band and the Air Force Color Guard. What an honor that they chose our band from this tiny diversified town of 12,000 out on the prairie. I’ve been following their preparations leading up to this huge event in the kids’ lives. They performed in Disneyland on Friday and have been doing fun stuff the rest of the time. I thought they were having a live feed on the school’s website. It was frustrating that it wasn’t there. Facebook had a nice video of Friday. I’ve found a few news feeds on the network sites but not the whole parade. They just talk about the traffic, I hear that they do that a lot in California. Oh well, I will have to wait until it’s on National Networks on the WE and the Hallmark Channel. Wednesday, December 22, 3PM/2PM CT

I still don’t know what a moon pie is or if I would like one (probably). Jay, we don’t have a shed but we just use our neighbors, then do nice stuff for them throughout the year. I am sure you’ll post a picture of the shed when it is done (or try to). Holly, I don’t know what I think about mandatory decorating. Kinda takes the fun out of it. As does running when it is -15. Huh, Erika?

I went for my easy 2 ½ mile run around the bay this afternoon. Before I got going I had to figure out my new wireless headphones. Good thing for the youtube video to get me going. Yikes, I can’t believe I bought another gadget but it was $70 off and really works. In the meantime I am going to search high and low till I find my Bose corded earbuds. The new ones are Jaybird Freedom Sport. I’ll post a full review when I get all the parts connected and a full battery charged.

Yesterday I sent MrStarr to the store to buy a platform bed from Slumberland. It looked gorgeous in the ad, a Broyhill that was marked down from $1800 to $300! He got a mattress too which is fine. This is a first that I trusted him to purchase something like this with going along. I did stop to see it today and it is gorgeous, and ordered the night stands ($100 each) and the dresser/mirror too.

The run was awesome and cleared my head. MrStarr had quite a time getting the visions out of our heads and onto the walls for the electrician to understand. He thought that I was most of the problem. I came out better than the metal tape measure that hit the wall. Now I have the plan drawn on paper, apologized for not explaining myself very well. I sure hope I figured right. 17” apart seems like a nice distance for just decorative shelves.

It's getting late and I will read tet's post tomorrow.  I took my sleeping pill too early to concentrate on what he has to say.  I really like to read what he has to say. I am the queen of packrats, and MrStarr is the King.  We are a good team.  There is always a use for something,  If they build things right they will last forever.  The marshmallow forks we used out on the bonfire tonight are at least 60 years old -- I remember using them when we were kids, and where they hung in the garage too.