Mary, congrats on taking the plunge and signing up! I've been thinking of signing up for my first half, but at this point haven't committed to one yet. I'm skeered... Teresa, Happy Trails to you on your Texas trip. Perch, Go Tory!!! I like your idea of writing Tory on your arm at Boston. Biketm, Are cyclists really such snobs? The ones in Colorado seem friendly enough, they usually wave or nod back to me. Jlynne, Don't worry about the kids being cold. You know how kids never want to wear coats in the winter anyway! This morning it was 15 degrees and I passed a kid waiting for the bus in a t shirt! Tall, I can't believe you know a lady who runs faster than you! Holly , nice sproinky run today! Sue, Have fun fly fishing. My DH is a fly fisherman, but I catch more bushes and trees than fish... Erika and WRFB, 3 time zones is small potatoes! Japan is 8 time zones away, and across the date line. The flight over from San Francisco took 12 hours, after the 3-hr flight from Denver. Anyway, enjoy Texas and Nevada! Spareribs, what do you mean, "we're getting some weather down here?" Don't you usually get weather every day? Glad your run went well today. Enke, I missed the original story about Creepypants, but I'm intrigued by the name! Bill, Happy Anniversary! Going golfing to celebrate? BCMorant, your dad's friend actually ran 20 miles in his basement?? That would be 1000 laps! How would you ever keep track? Btb, I remember Jack LaLanne! Good luck with your ankle surgery - hope that fixes the problem. Wish you could get it fixed before Boston! Oh, and that pooh quote is a classic. Don't eat so much you get stuck in the doorway... JJJ, nice technekkid run! Pretty much all my runs are like that, as I don't own a garmin or hrm, and only recently had a battery put in my watch for my Japan trip. Your runs always sound like such an adventure. Aamos, we're supposed to be getting more snow here this week, too. Enjoy it while it lasts - soon folks will be complaining about the heat! Craneium, you are such an inspiration to the kids! You still have to bike home after running 18.5 miles? Hope its not too long a ride. I ran a sproinky 4.4 mile tempo run at a 9:46 pace, followed by a cooldown mile. It was IRC - 50 degrees and sunny, light breeze. Shorts and tee shirt, at least for a day till the snow comes again!

AAmos--now it's the bottom of the 7th and they're still winning!!! Dice-K seemed to have had a good game. Now I'll listein to the rest on the way home. teresa--if you get a chance to read--Richardson's is on route 114 in Middleton. great family outing as they have mini golf and driving range right nextdoor. Almost time to go hit a bucket of balls and eat icecream. Kevin

btb I had a cyst in my back removed surgically. It is really minor surgery! Alas, mine was apparently not 100% removed and surfaced again so I need a second "operation" next month. But calling this surgery is like calling a skinned knee a major injury. I hope it is a cyst since it is so easy to fix and once fixed is really and truly gone! Good luck.

Today is one week of no running for me, but plenty of cross training. A couple elliptical sessions (set at a cardio mode that keeps my HR in the training zone), a few spinning classes and a 20 mile bike ride. But I'm ready to start running again and my doc today said I could . . . but very cautiously. I updated the visit in more detail in my blog, so won't repeat it all here. I can run the 10 miles this Saturday (oh, I didn't put it on the Intrepid but I'm signed up for a race on Saturday - Pear Blossom 10 mi) but only if a couple of shorter runs this week aren't bothering me. And I should ideally stay off hard surfaces for another week, but said Pear Blossom was okay . . . provided the next days of running are okay. I most likely did do some damage to the tibia and I just need to be real careful as to what I attempt over these next few wks. good thing I'm only running this marathon for the enjoyment factor and am willing to readjust my thinking that my time doesn't mean squat to me. it does, but it doesn't.

Yeah Mary #6106!!!! Biked to work??5 runs today Craneium? Then biked home?? Yikes!! You feel as though life is taking you in circles??? 24 years Bill!!! Sweet... It was raing when I got out of work. I want to make sure I've thrown what ever I had before I get out in that crud again. I may be having an over load of good days. First thing this AM, I found a love letter from DW! Sweet.

Oh Rose - are you serious!!! Grand Rapids is 1/2 hour away from "home" and I've done the 1/2 marathon there twice . . . with our Boomer friend Rochrunner! I just decided I wanted a bigger venue for the first time out.

Mary, Good choice! I think you need a new route to run the new distance. We were going to to run Detroit but Grand Rapids is closer to Ralph's cousins in Kalamazoo... and the race director is a friend of a friend, so one thing led to another and Grand Rapids it is! We are going to arrive Friday and leave on Monday...are you staying in Detroit? Oh, wait, I guess this is half a year away... let's talk later! And... only because Aamos is feverish... Go Sox! (But... I wonder how Grady and the Tribe are doing?)

Like Otis Campbell as the town drunk on the Andy Griffith show, I am checking in as the forum lurker. I feel like I owe someone some money for the entertainment you all provide. First came the "blank" thread and then the "test" thread which was even funnier. I am down working in Charleston, WV for a few days. I lived here from 1981-1999 so I know my way around. I ran 5 miles last night and 4 tonight along the Kanawha River. There is a 15 mile race held here every Labor Day weekend that some of you may have heard of or even ran. I only ran it once (1989) in my years here and one year I worked as a volunteer. The rest of the years I sat at the 20k mark and cheered on the runners. The 20k mark was at the bottom of the hill I lived on. (Modified to add that my tiny avatar is a picture of me coming down the home stretch of that 1989 race. Just a coincidence that I had stuck that out there.)