Arla, that looks like so much fun! You should frame that group picture. If wearing a costume makes people cheer, I may have to try it. The tri I'm signed up for in Oct is called the Monster Tri, and costumes are encouraged. Could make for interesting times in the transition area.
Stumpy, more cabin time, daughter off to school, mid 70's....sounds awesome! Glad your knee recovered, but be careful blasting down those hills like a teenager. Wait, we are like teenagers according to Arla....go for it .
Leslie, you're doing a great job of keeping at it and I like how you are always trying to improve something about your training. Hope the eating plan (notice I don't use the "d" word), helps you to feel better throughout the day.
Hmmmm....3K Joe has a nice ring to it! Sorta like 2 buck chuck. And how is Buddy's mileage shaping up for the year?
Kelly, I saw some folks at the gym doing those pushup/row/plank combo thingies. I may have to give that a try. Sounds like a good efficient use of workout time.
As for me, I'm feeling much better. Just a little nervous about being at all ready for this triathlon I've signed up for. So far this week I've biked and run a little, and had planned to get back in the pool yesterday but wimped out. Just have to remember my goal is simply to finish and have fun.
On the work front, I'm off to interview a gal for one of our clients today (the one I bill most of my hours to). They are wonderful folks and very honest, so told me that they may be eventually looking to groom her to take back some of the work they contract out to us. She's low on experience and I'm sure cheaper. Kind of a weird position to be in, and hopefully I'll be worthy of their trust by giving my honest opinion of her skills and keeping my own self interests out of it. But after the interview, let's just say I'm going to work out!
jfa
Arla- Really Cool Pic that must have been loads of fun. Somehow I was picturing you in a big furry rabbitt costume which would have been quite hot! You sure do have a fine looking group there!
Carol- Good luck with the work stuff.Do you ever get the feeling like we're constantly being tested for stuff?I do.Anyway,good luck with the rest of your training.Like you said, having fun is the key!
This week's second speedworkout due tonight with gale force winds and horizontal rain. Oh well, one side of the track will be really fast!
Well, won't those be fun running conditions. Dang.
Carol - Interviewing someone who may eventually take work from you? Okay, that's tough. Re your tri - yes, just have fun!
Arla - Great pictures! I agree with Carol. You gotta get that one framed. Report???
I had a hard time getting motived, too, this a.m.
Got up around 5:00, fed the cats, then sat in our oversized chair for another 15-20 minutes before I pulled myself together and got out the door. Yesterday's workout kicked me butt. And then, during my run, I was kicking my butt for yesterday's stupidity. Man, were my legs tired! Six miles with strides every 10 minutes - the wheels came off the bus between Miles 5 and 6. Average pace of 11:20 +/-. Don't see paces like that unless I'm on the trails. Oh well, lesson learned.
Later!
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
Top 'O the World!
Hey Guys!
Kewl pic Arla! I too was picturing a big furry rabbit costume (& cringing @ the sweaty bunny inside!)
Carol.....uhrmm, just breathe! K? not sure what else ta tell ya
Joe: GOOD LUCK! (or postpone it I would)
Leslie: I see paces like that all.the.time! but then, I don't usually separate the hills from many of my runs....& I really really do try to stay near the back of the pack wanna get my money's worth, ya know?
S'posed to be "in taper" whateverthehellthatmeans now....means I lazin around the house, eating bonbons, reading trashy novels & gettin fat! feels all weird to get all warmed up (2miles) & come home. So, a friend says' Lets go for a run" (means catch up on gossip & stuff) & so I says "how far you wanna go?" "oh, not much. 4 or 5" "K" ....4.97 HILLY miles in my burg...I sorta let her set the pace...then pulled her up a little, then backed off...she also called a coupla walk breaks .... txt this am says she's still recovering...dontcha just hate torturing 25 yr olds! Ah well, she wants to come to Vegas in Dec....
Off to the Snug for 3 miles, pasta & Guinness!
Ciao!~
C
flatland mountaineer
Got in 4.25 this morn dog in tow for 1 or so. Getting busy here now, will be starting the fall run soon. Having trouble keeping energy level up.
Cindy and Doug dropped by tues on their way thru, really good to see them. We were kinda having a monday on tuesday spastic kinda day so the visit was all too short.
Really fun pics Arla.
Carol glad you kicked the crud out!! I'll see what I can do 'bout the colder weather.
Joe I hear ya, sometimes my best runs start out feeling very iffy..
Leslie another idea for workout floor. Most Farm /ranch supply stores have these 4x8 foot rubber mats 1 inch thick used for stall or trailer mats. Very heavy and substantial. Especially good for a free weight area.
Hiya to the rest of the gang, Kelly, Jewells, Ev, Kevin...and anyone else I might have missed.
The whole world said I shoulda used red but it looked good to Charlene in John Deere Green!!
Support Ethanol, drink the best, burn the rest.
Run for fun? What the hell kind of recreation is that? quote from Back to the Fut III
Jim - Thanks for the idea on the mats. I'll do some looking around and see what might work the best.
Cindy - You kicked 25-yr old's butt. Very good!
I'm still sore from yesterday and pooped from yesterday and today. Think I will once again exercise my option for an additional rest day. Ah! I'll get to sleep in 'til, oh 6:30, 7:00 - if I can get all the cats kicked out in the wee hours of the morn.
So the office my old/still boss and I moved to - perfect for watching Ladies of the Day trying to pick up dates. And let me tell you, Julia Roberts these women are not. *shudder* There are three or four who rotate the corner where our building is located. Fun stuff.
Okay - It's late. Gotta find one more 4-legged hairy creature so I can go to bed. Nite . . .
This morning started all perfect outdoorsy weather (0530: 61* clear & lightly breezy) and quickly got Fallishly blustery & chilly - never saw the 30mph wind gusts (but they're hard to see tucked into my computer w/coffee in hand) & I partly kept thinking, "I need to get out & get that scheduled "easy 4" in before it gets icky" (not that it gets that icky all that often around here! sheesh! (can YOU say "whimp!?") but, I put it off long enough that I then had to wait out the wind...& the temp drop 20* ....someone South of me ORDERED cooler weather & well, here I sit in direct path of said ordered cool front! (here ya go Carol, should get to you by overnight )
So, when the wind died down a bit, I headed out w/Mairead to get that "easy 4" in @ high noon (66*) ...made it almost 3 & 'Raid called the 1st of several breaks! ....check out the creek... stop & flop under a tree...gotta read the "mail"...& sometimes, she takes aloooong time to decide where to go potty! & then, she don't want nobody watchin brought our avg pace down to a 12:54 LOL!!
BTW: forecast for tonight ~ above 11,000' SNOW!! time for Aspen viewing
she don't want nobody watchin
Let's face it Cindy, who does?!
Heck of a nor'easter blowin through here past couple of days. 60mph gusts last night (after my track workout).Calmed down a bit but cloudy and dark/drizzly for tonight's 7er. Get down to the boardwalk and find a group of about 100 runners out for a 9/11 Memorial Run! Big Flags and a real nice homegrown rendition of God Bless America to end a solemn and emotional day around here.
Have a Great Weekend Folks!
Cindy - Does this mean summer is leaving us??
Joe - Did you get to run with the group? [stepping on soapbox] Personally, I think every single station on TV should show nothing but video from 9/11 to make people remember. We absolutely cannot forget what happened to our country that day. I thought about that quite a bit today as I drove around and saw very few American flags flying. Right after 9/11, flags were everywhere. Now, you rarely see a flag flying out in front a businesses let alone homes. We keep ours up 24/7, lit up at night. [stepping off soapbox]
I slept in this a.m. until 7:45. Work up around 5:30 and quickly fed the cats before I woke up, then settled back down. If felt really good. Tomorrow it'll be a 4:30 alarm as we need to be running by 7:00. I tell ya, once this upcoming run is over and we go on vacation, I ain't settin' no alarms the entire time we're gone. I am gonna sleep, sleep, sleep. And speaking of sleeping - I'm off to get some shut-eye.
Later =^.^= =^.^= =^.^= (kitty kats)
Short 4 miles in fallish 52 deg temps, no wind,super run morning.
Busy day on the farm yesterday starting with a USDA report, no suprises thankfully then we cleaned the seed tender of rotten seed corn and loaded with pro boxes set 2 augers and one semi and filled the pro boxes with seed wheat. Unhooked the semi and hooked to nurse trailer and filled with water. John hauled 1000 bushels of corn to a feedlot 70 miles away. The bin crew poured 30 yards of concrete for footer and fan pads and finally we unhooked the scraper from my main tractor and hooked to the drill.
Nice way to pay tribute Joe.
Hi to the rest of the group, I better get to burning diesel........
Laters
Hi, Jim!! You mean you're busy on the farm? That's so unlike you.
We did 19 of our scheduled 20 miles. Poor Charlie Dog, almost all of his water spots have dried up. We're gonna have to really think our runs out there with him to ensure we get by the couple of spots left. My legs are pooped, too. Last week and this week I came to the realization that one of our big problems is we don't fuel ourselves on these training runs like we do during a race, and it's killing us. During a race, you're coming to an aid station every 4-6 miles. When we train, we're terrible about waiting until we're 1 to 1.5 hour into a run before we start eating. Not good. Also, I tried my Inov-8 Roclites again - I don't like them. Period. My feet and ankles are killing me. They're definitely not as stable as my Mizunos, so I'm sticking with what works. Even my road shoes are Mizunos. Karen, who has and loves last year's Inov style, is gonna try them out and see if they work for her (they're 1/2 a size larger than what she wears). If so, she'll buy them from me.
Later, gators -
Yes, I joined the group Leslie for the run,and believe I'll join the Jersey Shore Running Club ,who organized it. There are a lot of tributes in this area. The additional heartache is from the fact that people are still dying from it. Anyone who spent any time in that smoke (it burned for 3 weeks) is really bad off. I was there the following week to fix a customer's computer, but fortunately not that close.
Good going on that very long run.I think that Buddy's limit is only about 10 miles anymore,and only if he swims.Does Charlie run loose?Dogs definately like to vary their pace.
Jim- I enjoy reading your work updates and trying to decipher what it means! I remember that you like the Mizunos too.I just bought my first pair about a month ago.and it may cause me to switch from the Asics.I like them alot.Much looser up front.
Totally bonked my planned 23miler today.Barely got to 12 and had to walk about 5 miles back to the car.Two nights in a row of poor sleep,angst at work and IRL just was too much for me.Plus the speedwork,I understand why.Drowned my sorrow in a big ham and swiss cheese omelet and lounged a couple of hours.Buddy knows it's Sat and paces and stares at me so out I went again.Who woulda thought,ran my farthest and fastest in my ff's by the reservoir.Back on the horse I suppose!
Joe - You are such a strong runner, this little ole bonk won't be nuthin' but a pimple on the road to the next marathon.
Even though all the signs say dogs are suppose to be on leashes, yes, Charlie runs off leash, as do almost all the other dogs out there. He probably puts in an extra 2-3 miles over what we do, what with all the off trail exertions he goes on. That dog is in excellent shape. For a 50k, we top out at 24 miles and then turn around the next day and run 10, and he hangs right with us. We have lots of water stops, and Karen carries easily digestable doggie treats that get doled out to him throughout the run. She's talked to her vet extensively about how to ensure he's kept safe out there. He runs with such joy, it's fun to watch him.
I've been feeling absolutely beat up this past month, and in thinking about it - except for time off for my surgery in February, I haven't taken any real running breaks for over a year. This is my past schedule:
03/22/08 - Pirates Cove 30k, Marin Headlands (outside San Fran) - 6 hr. drive one-way
05/25/08 - Forest Park 50k, Portland, OR - 8 hr drive one-way
07/12/08 - SOB 50k, Ashland, OR (DNF) 3 hr drive one-way
10/12/08 - Susanville Marathon - 6 hr drive one-way
12/07/08 - Desert High 30k, Ridgecrest, CA - 15 hr drive one-way
01/2009 - Trinidad to Clam Beach 8 3/4 (at home)
05/10/09 - Redwood Park 30k, Oakland, CA 6 hr drive one-way
07/11/09 - SOB, Ashland, OR 3 hr drive one-way
Now, coming up, I have:
09/26/09 - Big Sur Marathon, Big Sur, CA - 8 hr drive one-way
12/06/09 - Desert High 50k, Ridgecrest, CA - 15 hr drive one-way
02/20/10 - Hagg Lake 50k, Forest Grove, OR - 8 hr drive one-way
04/10/10 - AR50, Sacto to Auburn - 6-hr drive to Sacto
07/2010 - SOB 50k, Ashland, OR
By the time I get through SOB next July, I will have 13 very significant runs under my belt in 2.5 years. Does that seem like a lot??? I'm hoping to get about a 3 week break before I have to start training for Desert High. I really, really need one.