Well done C-R.  Speedy!

We're having a nasty weekend here.  Mid-30's, high winds and rain.  Went out at 8 a.m. this morning and did just 3.4 which gives me 43.4 for the week.

After the run I changed and drove out to Grapevine where they are having the annual UltraCentric race.  People come from all over the country for it and I saw some pretty good ultra runners. You sign up for a specific number of hours to run:  6, 12, 24, 48, or 72.  The 72 hour people started Thursday morning and I have no idea how they endured last night's violent thunderstorms.

One 65 year old woman told me she had 116 miles in but was concerned because a younger man was running well 8 miles behind her. It's a 2-mile figure 8 loop so the runners can see each other often.  One aid station, two timing mats, almost no spectators, and a wicked wind coming off the Lake to make it even more fun.

My friend and colleague on the Dallas Morning News running blog, who is a trail and ultra runner, is doing the 24-hour and I stayed long enough to see her three times. I'll go out there tomorrow morning and see her again just before she finishes.

What amazed me was the great attitude of all the runners. It was "Thanks so much for coming out here,"  "you must be freezing standing there like that," and "it's not too late to get a number and join us." I asked everyone I cheered for which event they were doing.  Those doing anything less than the 72 always put a "just" before it, as in, "I'm just doing the 24."  Amazing stuff.  Spareribs

 

On purpose?  Pretty sure I could survive without FB.  sort of scary how essential a smart phone feels, though

yes, on purpose ... for both!

CNY, happy birthday to Super Granny and your husband.  C-R, impressive 5K with your son and places 3 & 4.

Nice long runs for Mike, Holly, and lame.

This morning, I did a 5K Turkey Trot in Bad Axe.  This is my 14th consecutive year for this race.  The temperature and wind were both in the mid 20s.  I was 3/4 in my AG (63+).  The results haven't been posted yet but I think I was about 40/60 OA.

A good day and good runs for all.

TomS

C-R - nice 5k for you and your very speedy son!   Don't let the flying monkeys get you tomorrow!

Mike - have a fun run with Ryan!  Sorry about the car troubles.

I agree with Enke - I'm avoiding getting a smart phone because I know I'd get as addicted  to them as everyone else.  Plus, my dumb phone is provided and paid for by work, and I'm cheap. 

Cold and snowy here today.   I kept putting off my run - not sure if I thought it would warm up, or what...  anyway, at about 3:45 I finally went out with Tazzie and Ladybug  - it was in the mid 20's, but it had stopped snowing.  I should have driven out to make tire tracks to run in, since we got about 3-4" of new snow, but it was runnable, and my neighbors had driven out today, so when I got to their driveway I had tire tracks to run in.  That's only about 1/4 mile from my  house.  And after 3/4 mile I got to the part where the county had plowed.  (Yeah, I don't exactly live in civilization!)   It turned out to be a really fun 5 mile run, and the snow was squeaky underfoot!   And there was a really pretty sunset, although then the temperature started dropping.  It was 19°F when I got home.

A comment to Twocat and to all who cook.  I went to my big supermarket, the one where my son works. Pretty snazzy place. No tamarind paste. So I found an Indian market a couple of miles south of us and they were so helpful, bought a jar of the paste, about 5 bucks.

I'm nowhere the cook TC is, but I know enough not to put anything into a dish if I haven't tasted it, so I put this big tablespoon of the paste into the marinade and of course licked the spoon.  The flavor is sweet, as expected, but what was interesting was the flavor. It was the most interesting flavor for a fruit....pear, mango, citrus?  I don't know, but it is extraordinary.

So interesting that I may Google "tamarind paste in recipes."

Many years ago I was doing the NY Times Sunday acrostic, and I saw this 8 letter clue:  "The fruit that flavors Worcestershire sauce"

I had no idea, but I finally got it filled in.  Tamarind.  I'm now thinking of adding a teaspoon of it to various dishes, just to add a piquant sweetness and have people think, "That was so good; wonder what that unique flavor was."

One more comment on unusual but powerful flavors.  Nutmeg. I have a special nutmeg grinder, and it only takes a few turns to add this perfumed spice to a dish, an apple cobbler for example.. In one of her early TV shows Julia made this comment about the spice. "You don't want to add so much to a dish that someone would say, 'Oh, nutmeg!'"

To me, that was the most professional and useful tip I ever heard.  Spareribs

I'm really not much of a cook...but I enjoy eating.

Well...today was a weird day.  I really wanted to get my run done as early as possible so I could relax and enjoy the rest of my day.  But, I received a text from my DD last night that my granddaughter had a basketball tournament right up at the middle school...so, I went to her 8:00 game.  I came home just in time to see my DW get in her car to head off to work...except the car wouldn't start...dead battery.  So...I gave he the keys to my car and away she went.  I put the charger on the battery for 10 minutes and it started right up.  Which was good, because I had to get back up to the school for DGD's next basketball game by 10:20.  Luckily, the car started after the game and I drove home.  As I pulled into the driveway, I noticed Ryan had his spare tire on his car.  Hmmm....so, I went up to his room...of course he was still sleeping...I woke him up and asked him about the tire.  Yep--he had a flat last night...and, of course drove on it and wrecked it...that's the second time he's done that.  the good thing was that he didn't have to work, today so he had some time to get a new tire.  I asked him about running and he said he would like to go.  But--the tire place closes at 5 on Saturdays and isn't open on Sundays. So...after watching the DII National CC championships...Augustana men took 3rd...he got himself ready to go get his tire fixed.  And, since I had to wait for him anyway, I decided to go to and get a new battery.  I asked the guy how long it would take and he said an hour.  So, instead of just taking the battery home and putting it in myself...I said okay.  TWO hours later, I was still sitting there.  At one point the guy who had helped me, came and said, "do you know you have a headlight out?"  I looked in the shop and, not seeing my car, I said, "I do?"  He said...isn't that your red car?  No...that was not my car.  I asked him when he would be done with my car and he said they would be bringing it in in about 15 minutes.  I was fuming.  About 10 minutes later, he came back to me with my paperwork and keys for my car...it was already done!  They were done in 30 minutes!  I sat there for over 2 hours!  He apologized but I was ticked and he knew it....which did me a whole lot of good.

Anyway...I got home and got ready to run.  Ryan was not liking the idea of going out in 15⁰ temps, but we headed out....at 6:00.  My headlamp went out at about 7:00.  Now we're in the dark on a path where we could barely see...trying to maintain a 7:17 pace...and our fingers were frozen.  At about mile 12, Ryan started having some issues.  His knee was hurting and his hip flexors were sore.  We did mile 13 in 7:25 and he was slowing down.  He told me to ho on because he knew I was trying to maintain my pace but I couldn't leave him.  We did mile 14 in 7:27.  So...I got this bright idea to run ahead aways--turn around--run past him---turn around and catch him--and repeat all the way home.  I figured, this would allow me to maintain the pace I wanted and still be able to be with him.  Well...he didn't take it so well.  The second time I did it I was running to try to catch him and I wasn't catching him.  I was going under 7 minutes a mile trying to catch him but I couldn't see him anywhere.  I thought maybe I had passed him and didn't see him, so I turned around and ran back trying to find him.  I was really getting worried.  It was dark out.  i was imagining him falling in the ditch and I just couldn't see him.  So I picked up my pace to get home to see if he had made it.  Sure enough, his shoes were in the entryway.  Well...I had only gone about 17 1/2 and I wanted 19, so I went back out and finished my run.  I ended up with 19  miles in 2:17:03...which works out to be a 7:13 pace.  So, I asked Ryan if I had made him mad or something.  He said, "Yeah, I figured if you wanted to chase me, I'd give you something to chase."  Of course, he felt pretty bad when I told him how worried I was.  I usually love running with that kid.

Okay--it's 10:00 and I still haven't showered and eaten...I'm hungry and I stink.