WOOHOOO lots of races this weekend!

GOOD LUCK!!!

Morning!  I have OTF and 5 miles today.

Lizzie, nice run!

Good morning! I ran 12 miles today with my group. The halfers were running 11, the full 12. I ran 8 with the ~10 minute milers, then ran back about 1/2 mile and ran 3.5 with the ~11.5 minute miler. It was one of those fun chatty runs for me, and they all seemed to be running well. I told the slower girl she was running stronger this morning than the last time we ran together (because she was), and I think she may have even sped up a little at the end once she heard that. Farthest distance ever for her, half marathon in 3 weeks. No real plans for me the rest of the day. I'm sitting at 60 miles for the week and plan to run 10-12 tomorrow, hopefully once the next cold front rolls through tomorrow morning (it was super humid this morning).

So Half Crazy is probably finished by now - hope it was fun! And Diane's race is today right? Then the MCMers tomorrow. Anyone else?

HuronHeart, scary about the creepy dude. Smart thinking running to the neighbors house. Thanks for sharing the cemetery plot gift story - that is awesome and you may be the first person I've "met" that can rival the spark plug gift story.

Liz, happy anniversary to you and HCBF! I'm leaning towards Fargo and Twin Cities myself. And Boston. I want to do the Maine FE, but I'd rather do a road marathon, plus DH wouldn't mind another trip to Maine (but not next year) and has absolutely no interest in going to North Dakota. A friend just raced MDI in Maine and his pictures of Maine in the fall are gorgeous.

Damaris, have fun at OTF. I skipped it this week - too damn much running to fit it in.

Laura, nice run as usual and enjoy the soccer game. That video from your older DS' game was just shocking. Glad he's okay.

Hurrying to post this before noon my time so my "good morning" is still valid.....

karen

Elina.....my oldest son weight 3.6 pounds when he was born, never had any problems, just had to gain weight.  Little Hulk sounds appropriate.  Glad she is doing well.

Good luck to all the racers this weekend.  Wonder how Diane is doing?  Sandy and Kat have a great run, I know you will!

LC...I saw your video on FB about your son's soccer game!  That's terrible, I would have been furious.  Seems to me that a harsher punishment was in order.  I only did the 66 squats twice, I'm bad and lazy right now.

Lizzie....can't believe it has been a year for you and HCBF either.  I hope you two have had a great day.

I can't decide about Maine.  Is anyone else doing the 25K or are you all doing the 50K.?  I was looking at the results from last year and there were only 2 in my age group 60-99 (quite an age span there)  does that mean it is super difficult or just that there aren't many that attempt at this age?  Always makes me wonder.  We aren't camping are we???  Not fond of camping, LOL.

I am at work today, so Hi to everyone.  Going to attempt a run tomorrow, hope I can make it further than 5 miles this time, SHEESH!

Ginny

Baltimore half done. Treated it as a long run with fast finish. Good reminder why I prefer smaller races. So many people. RR here.

Lizzie, happy anniversary! It reminded me of the end of Sex and the City seeing that HCBF had a name on Facebook.

Huron Heart, yikes on the creepy guy.

LCRuns, that sucks about the poor sportsmanship.

Hi All!

Ginny, thanks! I was wondering what the reach of Cow Tails was. Someone in the Pacific NW had never heard of them. I can't keep them (or the Goetze's caramel cremes) in the house. They are so addicting.

Gatsby Bird, this. They had the bass cranked up, so that's about all I could hear.  The band came back about mid way around the lake and started playing Sweet Home Alabama, not the same. There was some chariots of fire earlier and Rocky played on trumpet somewhere around mile 11.

Nice way to give back to the running community.

Could someone please explain to this West Coaster what a "cow tail' is other than the long skinny bony thing with a tuft of hair at the end that hangs down from the top of a cow's rump? I have heard of "pigtails" meaning braids, but not "cowtails".

Elina, DD was born weighing about 2.4kg (and she was only 10 days early) and went home from the hospital about 2.22 kg, they do lose a little weight at first because they pee and they aren't getting much replacement fluid, colostrum is important but you don't produce much. Are you nursing or is she having a bottle, or are you expressing/pumping for her to be fed by tube?

Laura, unbelievable how that keeper behaved. Did the ref allow the coach to move another player into goal or did they have to play without a keeper?

Kathy, scary about being chased by someone who wanted to give you a ride. Did you get his license plate and if so did you report this to the local law? If not, next time (if there is a next time which I hope there isn't) do so. I run with a cell phone and one of the reasons I carry a phone is that I can pull it out and take a picture of the car & driver and text it to someone straightaway. You might also post it with the #MeToo hashtag.

Damaris, a deposition that went until 4 PM? I imagine everyone was ready for that to be over.

Karen, come to Pinelands anyway even if you're not racing! You could do the 25K with Ginny as an easy stroll.

Thinking about Diane, hope all is going well at the Pumpkin. I was behind an old Impala today and thought of her!

Kupcakes, I prefer to get on the train and go home rather than take time cleaning up and changing after the race. Especially if it's a long trip. This works better though if you are the only person in the car or the train is a) not at all crowded or b) full of fellow runners. After driving 300 miles home from Valley of Fire, unshowered, my family greeted me with held noses, grimaces, and invitations to go clean up immediately. But it is nice to be able to put on an old T shirt and sweats and veg out rather than putting on clothes you can wear to get home.

Oh, if we are talking about really bad gifts, I went off to college for my freshman year and, like many freshmen, put on some pounds during the semester. My mum looked at me when I came home for Christmas and under the tree for me was a square flat package. Santa had given me a scale. Worst. Present. Ever.

Ginny, I am also among the "really broke" group, but if I do make it to Pinelands I shall do the 50K. Think about where I live. It's going to be a while, if ever, before I get back to Maine, I want the credit for the ultra!

Go for the 25 if you'd rather, though. You're not going for the 50 states club, are you?

Karen, I have done both Fargo and Twin Cities, they're both good. Are you still thinking Mikkelson for South Dakota? I will happily run that one with you.

Camille, great, get DGS running with you! Pushing a stroller is even better aerobics than running alone.

No, NO camping at Pinelands. I would like someone else to take lead on arranging lodging, though -- Karen, would you be willing to work on an airbNb since you are so good at it?

Margaret, so nice of everyone to collect running gear! I'm sure there are some who are bitterly mourning the loss of shoes, race medals, race shirts, and other gear that can't be replaced. Which is probably another thing all of us should think about -- if there's an evacuation order or a fire, what would you grab? Your current running shoes? Your hydration pack? Your favourite running bra? Assume the family, the pets, and the photographs are already in the car and you have a moment to pick up a little bit of stuff, what would you take of your running stuff, if anything?

And Chariots of Fire is one song that gets me, two others are the theme from "Rocky" -- yes cliché I know, but still, it works -- and that old Bonnie Tyler song from the "Footloose" soundtrack, "Holding Out For a Hero".

WFH yesterday was more hectic than working at work is. I have more to do, I think, and try to get more done in order to justify working from home. I did get 10.7 miles in before work, ran up to the credit union to make a deposit and ran back. Then walked 1 mile to the eye doctor and another mile home. Appears I am in the early stages of glaucoma. So now I have prescription eyedrops that I have to put in every evening. These are the kind that might lengthen eyelashes (good) but also might reverse the old Linda Ronstadt song -- instead of making brown eyes blue, these drops can make blue (or green) eyes brown. Not thrilled about that. I like my green eyes.

The weather forecast is fierce. 102 on Tuesday!

Not so bad here today, which is good because I did 17.3 this morning. Windy but not overly warm.

I had to laugh at one sighting. You know how some car owners put orange cones at the back corner of a car parked on the street to alert drivers that this is where the car ends? I passed one where there was not an orange cone but rather a bright orange pumpkin placed carefully under the driver's side back bumper. I don't think this was the car owner's idea. The house in front of which the car was parked had no Halloween decorations. The house across the street, however, had a row of pumpkins on the front porch and there was a rather obvious gap in the row.

I hope the driver sees the pumpkin before s/he backs up, or the pumpkin owner retrieves it from behind the car.