Off to run and puppy pool.

Morning  Off to run  Dad is in the DPB (dad penalty box).  I have not answered his calls or emails.  He called me 3 times yesterday.  i'm serious that I will not talk to him for awhile.  I need time away from this.

Good morning and Happy 3 day weekend!

Sorry I've been MIA the past few days.  It's been a rough week both running and work-wise.

This was the first week of my half training plan and it didn't go well.  I had two 2 mile runs planned and they didn't go well.  The first one, I got a stitch in my side so bad I had to walk.  (never got them before, and it was only a 1/2 mile in) Walked for about a minute then ran the rest of the way just fine.

Then last night my first mile felt like I  had cement blocks on my feet.  But then mile two was great.

I'm thinking I'm not warming up and stretching enough. I'm going to try walking a little faster and longer next time.  SDO today, 3.5 tomorrow.

Work wasn't bad, just busy.  Went to bed early several times this week.  One night at 8:30!

Good morning!

Had a great run with RB yesterday afternoon: 3.5 miles. I felt strong and fit. I find it absolutely amazing to be able to run while having a full conversation.

Today I am going to finish the prep work for my spring class. This semester I'm teaching "Addiction: Family Impacts." I like this course because it is right in the area of expertise. I can move pretty freely through the material. There are 35 upper division students in my class. That part makes me tired just thinking about it! lol

Marjorie - I'm glad that you're able to hang tough with your commitment for a "dad break." Sometimes a break is just that, and we all need them occasionally.

Tessa - I like the baggie idea for Karnel's leaf. I am running the Feb 2 Warrior Dash in her honor, and was trying to figure out how to have a leaf survive THAT ordeal! The baggie is perfect. I may just pin to my bib and take a before/after picture of it.

Sue - Hope the 10K is marvelous!

Lisa - I love how you optimize your work trips. In the summertime I do that too. My staff can tend to look at me askance when I drive off for a conference/meeting with a kayak on my roof... haha.

AnnieSusan- woo hoo!  Strength training.    Love it.

LisaMarie - ouch!  I hate that side stitch thing.  Well, of course, I hate any pain.  So, we'll put it that category!

LC - sometimes downtime is the best thing we can do for ourselves!  Nice 5.1 this morning!!

blessings all!

Good morning!  I've been pretty MIA this past week too.   Work has been a bear and will take up a good part of my weekend too, including Monday.  I've gotten my runs in only because I get them done early.  Getting used to waking up at 4:30, ugh.  I'm off to meet my running group and will be back later to chat.  A lot going on here this past week!

Can't believe I never made it on here yesterday! I guess I got busy finally taking the Christmas tree down and forgot. Yes, I just finally took down the tree and all the decorations yesterday. I think this is the latest year ever for me.

Ran 7 easy yesterday, and have 6 easy on the schedule for today. Slept in and just finishing some coffee before heading out there. Then some major cleaning this afternoon. Also want to try to get out for a little bit on the bike - still trying to get comfortable with the aerobars and just need time in them. Your whole balance is different than on a road bike and for me at least, it's hard to get used to the change. Tomorrow I'm running tough, hilly, rocky, wet trails about an hour west of here with a group. About 13 miles worth, and we're expecting it will take 3-4 hours, so yeah, tough.

Marjorie, hang tough with your dad. It must be so hard to have to be the grown-up, responsible one. Especially when a parent is involved. Just remember, you are doing what you need to do because you love him and want what is best for him. Sending you hugs.

Lisa, speaking of your DH - does he have any interest in coming along on any of your trips? Mine has taken advantage of a couple of our meetings (Maui and Tahoe), and is coming with me to Arizona next month. He gets to stay in a nice resort hotel, ride his bike or go to the beach or pool or whatever, eat the food, and he also sees that when I'm there I'm working my butt off. The times he's gone with me I've taken a day or two vacation and the weekend and we then get to sightsee and have some fun together as well.

Lisa-Marie, I occasionally get side stitches. What I do is really concentrate on my breathing when I get one, breathe in for two steps, then breathe out forcefully for two steps until it goes away. I don't know if it helps (I read to do that online somewhere once) of if it just takes my mind off of it until it goes away, but couldn't hurt to try.

Laura, your cold weather is coming my way! Nice this weekend (40s and 50s and sunny), but a few days in the forecast next week where it won't even get above freezing during the day. That's cold for these parts! Good job getting out there today.

Julie, it is amazing, isn't it? I can still remember back when I started running and running for a whole minute at a time left me out of breath. Now I can chat and run for hours. The class sounds interesting.

Amy, no holiday here. I'm glad I only work a few miles from home - trying to commute on Monday with all the inauguration stuff going on will probably be nuts. I'm guessing DH will work from home that day as he works on the other side of the beltway in Virginia. Another nice run for you but your mileage is killing my OCD tendencies!

Gatsby, what kind of work do you do? I hope it is at least something you sort of enjoy (as much as you can and still call it work) when you are so busy! I treasure my weekends and am very thankful that unless I'm traveling, which doesn't happen much in my current job, I don't even have to think about work during them.

camille, from yesterday, thanks for the link. Lots of good info. I also posted in the "gear" section here and got some good feedback.

Okay, off to run.

karen

Linda, believe me, I was freaking out when my Garmin died. But I have a stopwatch and mapmyrun seems very accurate, so I am going with that for now. I can't check my pace mid-run like I used to, but I am living with it.

The Garmin 10 is very reasonable and has just what I need, so maybe I will buckle and get one. For now, it's ok. Sorry to Karen, though, I keep doing those odd runs, but not on purpose!

Hi everyone!  I went for a hike this am on  a nice trail and I ran a little. Overall, it was a pretty slow pace, but goo d company.

Amy, it's a lovely sunny afternoon right now and about 50, but the morning have been below freezing and like yours, our temps are predicted to be 27L and 37H on Tuesday.  BTW, somewhere I read garmin will send you a refurbished replacement 305 for about 80 bucks.

MMR, I'd be with your group-forgetting who played which card.  : )

Marjorie, hugs...

Lisa-Marie, sorry you had crummy runs. Some weeks are just that way, but you usually have a good one coming.  I intended to acomment on your half plan from a week ago. I'm with the group who'd encourage an extra running day and/or a few more miles midweek.  Sometimes adding a walk mile before or after (or half/half) is a good way to build distance. Soon, you'd be able to run the extra.

Laura, glad you had a nice run! Smiles about son and new pants.

Julie, glad you had a good run, too!

Hi Gatsby! I can get up at 4:30 if I have to (for a race), but getting out the door to do training runs would be hard!  I'd just want to sit and drink coffee. Good for you for doing it!

Karen and Linda, I'm glad I'm not the only one late taking down xmas stuff. I got the tree down on Epiphany, but keep noticing misc decorations(banners, Dept 36 stuff)  I've forgotten to put away.  : )

Karen,   I told someone this a.m. about your Mt Mitchell race. She's been there and was in awe that you're going to run to the top from Black Mtn.  Said it is really beautiful. : )

Linda, hope you had a nice run!

I want to get 3 more easy miles in now. I'm going to a Pizza Party tonight and need to burn off a few more cal since I have to take dessert again. : ) I need to learn to cook and not just bake. : )

Hi again.  Ran a few miles with my running club then continued down the coastal trail for a total of 14.  Glorious day here... temps in the 60s and the sun in shining.  The Mavericks surfing competition is happening here tomorrow so lots of folks out and about.

Marjorie, sorry to hear about your Dad issues.  Sounds stressful.  Have you considered reporting your concerns to the authorities?   Sites like this have some resources: http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Internet-Fraud.shtml  I'm sure there are others since that stuff is sadly common these days.  Taking a time out from his stuff sounds like a good idea.

Lisa Marie, I agree with Marjorie -- a stich is usually breathing related.  Slow your run and take deep belly breaths to stretch out the sore area.

Lisa/MMR, I've no clue how euchre works!  I remember people in college played it a lot but I just went along for the beer and never learned how to play.

LC, hope your running mojo has returned, even though 37 still sounds pretty chilly to me.

Julie, having a conversation while running means you're going at a good pace.  And I think it makes runs go by more quickly too.

TH Mom, I carry my phone and use MapMyRun whenever I'm going on a new route.  The phone fits into a holder on my water bottle so it's not a big deal to carry it.  I've never been one for garmins for some reason, just use a timex.

Karen, there are still a couple houses in the neighborhood with Christmas lights up.  I like seeing them when I come home at night.  Maybe they're taking them down this weekend too.  I'm a lawyer and no, I don't particularly like what I'm currently doing.  But long hours and working on weekends goes with the territory.

Linda, hope you got your long run in!  And your Christmas lights taken down, haha.  I wanted to do 16 today but just wasn't feeling it so turned around early.

Baking brownies for DH's birthday and going out to dinner later.  Enough stalling for me... gotta get some work done.  Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!  MTA:  Hi Camille and Demaris!  Took me so long to write up my post that I missed yours!