Have been lurking a lot, posting little. Time for a lengthy update. Two greta runs last week - 5.0 and 5.1, both on school nights, felt good during and after both. Had lost 2.5 pounds in time for Friday's first weekly weigh-in. Then started birthday mania, found 2.0 of the pounds again in less than 18 hours (grrr!), and staggered through 2.3 dreadful miles yesterday. Oh, and searing pain in my left ear started during family birthday dinner on Saturday evening, so I'm pretty sure I have a sinus and/or ear infection. The weather gods failed to give me the much-needed and hoped-for snow day today, so I'm taking a sick day tomorrow. Maybe Wednesday, too, since I can't get a dr's appointment until Wednesday evening. Sinus symptoms come and go, so I'm going to at least take a walk tomorrow if I don't feel any worse than I do now. Tomorrow's plan also includes some serious work on my resume and grad school admissions essay. Linda - good work on the TM this weekend. You asked for motivation, so here goes - go get on that TM, girl! Deb - keep at the running/walking/elliptical combo. Kevin - your daughter is beautiful; looks like a really nice kid, too. Sorry about the knee. We've both been hanging pretty close to the 1,000K pace bunny. Hope your knee and my sinuses don't slow us down too much. Jem - speaking of pace bunnies. Wow! You're neck and neck with the 1,000 MILE one, right? Wow! Roberta - sorry about mom. And the unpleasant NFL results. As a lifelong Philly-area resident, I got over being disappointed by our home town teams long, long ago. Teresa - sorry about your cold. Secretary told me that at least 10 kids were sent home sick from one of the schools where I teach today. Tis the season, it seems. Mike - YIKES!! In spite of being in my 8th year teaching middle schoolers, each of whom has the potential to morph into a little monster at a moment's notice, I have no clue what I'd have done in that situation. Verbal taunts I could and probably would ignore. But a slap shot to your calves?!?!? A few of the kids and/or I would probably be in jail and/or the hospital. I would definitely talk to the parents. Trash-talk is bullying. Slap shots to the calves are assault. Laurie - my podiatrist (the god!) taught me a great ITB-problem preventer: Not sure if I can describe it without pictures, but here goes. Stand beside a wall, right side closer to the wall. Tuck your right foot behind and sort of around your left foot so that they're both facing forward and almost parallel, with the outsides of both feet closest to one another. Lean toward the wall to stretch. Turn around and switch feet to stretch the other side. (Disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional, although I do watch them on TV!) Hope those of you who got (more) snow today (and a snow day, grrr; is it June yet?) are keeping safe and sound. Greta runs, all. Eliz

Hello Everyone, Roberta, I'm glad to hear that your mom is doing better. Eliz, Sorry you didn't get your snow day. Sick days might be approppriate, ie: sick of work. Schools are closed today in Port Clinton, where I work. Laurie, I think that spareribs posted a nice thread on running hills on CR before it's collapse. I don't have any hills here, so I can't help in that area. I hope you and Kim are feeling better. I got in 4 miles this morning in the snow. We had about a half inch on the ground while I was running, and it was still coming down. It was beautiful. I love snow. It takes me back to when I was a kid, how excited we used to get whenever it would snow. Mike

Took my sick (of the bonehead administrators at my school) day to work on my resume and rest - and threw in a terrific 6-mile run for good measure. Started during a snow shower, which was pretty magical, and ended while watching a glorious red sunset. Had to watch for black ice in the parking lot by the end, too, so I'm even more grateful to have been able to start earlier than if I'd gone to school. Legs felt good and right foot, which has been sort of an issue since the sledge-hammer-like incident at the podiatrist's last week, felt OK until mile 6 and not all that bad even then. Lungs feel a little full. There's definitely something going on with my sinuses, so tomorrow's doctor appointment is still a go. Staying neck and neck with the 1000K pace bunny. Now if only I burned enough calories to be happy with tomorrow's biggest loser weigh in . . . . . Good runs, all, Eliz