FINALLY! Finally back to running after two weeks off from an icky chest cold. Felt great to be back out on my Berkshire Mountain roads. It wasn't the strongest 4 mile run, but I seem to still have my hill training and I was just happy to be out there. The new kicks were awesome too.

jmsab23 Nice little strong run. Yay!

justrundan "My goal was to finish, and I did, still walking upright at the end!" <~ Yep, amen to that! LOVED the pic and I can relate to that expression.

Old Coyote That is so cool that you want to become an ultrarunner!

Debm2011 You are going to do just fine. Slow and steady, plus injury free...that's the goal, right?

igotwings My son's words: "Bacon is like a mini snow day" LOL

mkayc So sorry you are sick! Hang in there and get well soon.

NRDgirl Good to hear you are back on the road. Thanks, re: my half marathon. I'll definitely run one again. "I (run) because that's where I feel closest to God. That's where I

can talk to Him, listen to Him, find comfort in Him." <~ I feel the very same! Running is my meditation in motion.

Webpro11 Go get 'em!

NHLA Bummer about the crab cake catastrophe. LOL, re: my ugly cry face...I could'nt help it! Awesome words of wisdom about running and times, thanks.

So good to be back running with you all!

NHLA - can't imagine running in high winds. Actually, I have done it; I just hate it. I liked your explanation of Time on the trails. It's more Zen than physics, I believe.

NRDGirl - wb to the roads.

I did my "long" run today, all of 10 kilometers, in 1:03. I'm not feeling as tired as even two days ago. Recovery is going well.

Today is my 49th birthday. I was supposed to celebrate by volunteering at a trail race, but it's been posponed to next week because of the pontential for trail damage and erosion because of the recent snow. Instead, I got new shoes. I needed a pair to run in the muck and snow this winter, so I headed into my local running specialty shop and asked them what they had on special or closeout. I went in looking for a conventional shoe and left with New Balance Minimus Trail MT10. They are orange and black, and not even the same orange as my hat. The upper is mesh, but with wool socks they'll work great. Mesh uppers mean they won't hold cold water like a fabric will. I'm a big NB fan. It's always the last pair I try on, after 4-6 others, and I fall in love. All 4 pair I have in my stable now are NB. Anyway, can't wait to try them out on the trails!

Run free!

Melody: Welcome back! Glad to hear you're feeling better.

NHLA: I may have to take you up on that.

OC: Happy Birthday to youuuuu!!! Love the new shoes.

I ran the 3rd leg of the Atlanta Marathon Relay this morning. 5.41 miles at an average pace of 8:27. Not bad at all. And there were lots of hills. Mel and OC, I got myself some new shoes yesterday too. Asics GT -1000. I'm typically an Asics girl but started running in New Balance 860 V2's for my Marathon training and marathon. They were awesome and I'm sure I'll get another pair, but the Asics felt very similar and had nicer colors. They felt extra light on my run this morning too, which I loved. I had a nice team and we finished in about 3:50. Gotta wait to get the official results. I just know it was sub-4. Temps were cold and windy, but I tend to run faster in the cold. Perhaps I'm just eager to get it over with.

MelodyLea - glad you're feeling better - and finally getting to enjoy the new shoes.

NHLA - sorry to hear about MIL.  Your thoughts on running sound very zen -thanks.

OldCoyote - Happy Birthday!  Nice shoes.    I've decided that I'm a Brooks girl, myself.

NRDGirl - nice job on the relay!

I'm sure I should have done something shorter today, but this morning was 13.2 miles.  I feel like I worked hard, but otherwise pretty good.  Wore my compression socks for recovery since I knew I was going to be on my feet all afternoon.    Now I feel as ready as I'm going to be for next Sunday.  The rest of the week will be very relaxed.  I'll eat well, get enough sleep (ha!)  Now we're just waiting on Sandy - they've closed school for tomorrow and we'll see if that move was warranted.

run strong and fearless my friends.

Great day yesterday, temps around 70, maybe a hair over. Granddaughter's first birthday and we had our grandson overnight Friday, so day was booked. Last night I tried the local 5k race, which started at 8 p.m. The director was telling us the race course prior to the start of the race. I was thinking, why didn't they post it on the web site for registrations? Or, why don't they have maps printed up?

Anyway, it was a fun race, a great night weather-wise, but a little dark in some spots. Which leads me to report this: I was doing very well, trying to keep a young lady  in front of me in view so I didn't make any wrong turns. The problem was, she (and a couple people in front of her) made a wrong turn near the end. We cut off about 1/4 mile of the race, and finished from the wrong end of the trail! I heard the director talking to her when I got done, and looked at my watch (I couldn't see the timing clock because I went through the finish the wrong way). I knew something was wrong - I had an 18:38 time!!! There was a cop directing traffic at the intersection we messed up on, but no race volunteers that we saw. Oops. Anyway, they counted our times and I took first in my age group!! The trophies looked like headstones, with R.I.P on them. I told everyone it meant "Result Is Protested."

Hit the TM after work today, kicking out 4.5 miles in 33:20, and a 1/2 mile cooldown for a 38:00 total.

DebM and Melody........ Wishing you the best with Sandy. It looks like we'll see just fringes here in ME.

NHLA.... I hope you didn't get hit too hard by it.

Just Run Dan..... Excellent job !!!!!!! One of these years for me, but it still seems so daunting. Or more than daunting.

Coyote.... I think the new shoes are perfect for the season!!

Best wishes for great days, runners.

last run was the MCM10K yesterday.  waddled in at 1:19:00 - according to the official results I had 13:14 Min/Mile  --  5 min off my PR last year although they did change the course.  Not too windy during my time on the course, rain held off and I resisted the temptation to actually run during this race - this was all walked.  I hope to start running again in the next couple of weeks.  It was tempting to try and push but I really want to get this injury behind me.  It feels a little tender today but nothing like it has been. 

I'm waitng out the Sandy before planning the next run - most likely the local Thanksgiving Turkey trot.

jmsab23 - sounds like an interesting race.  8 PM start?  zzzzzz not sure I'd have anything left by then.

Ogr44 - I hope you heal soon and can get back to running,but that's still a fine time for the 10k.

OshCat - at least the hill was at the beginning of the course when you were fresh.  I can often correlate poor runs to poor food choices. 

NHLA - thanks. 

No run today - still a wee bit stiff from Sunday's run - but it's good stiff.  Sandy is breezy and rainy but so far nothing serious where I am.  There's a big branch in my front yard that miraculously missed the power lines, and the lights keep flickering.  We'll see what tonight brings.  Probably no run tomorrow as I don't want to dodge debris in the pitch dark.  Here's hoping I can get a run in on Wednesday.

MelodyLea - Glad you're back to running. Aren't new shoes great? Man, I feel like a woman.

Ogr44 - good move.

NHLA - 11:00 run? I'm asleep by 9. Now, if you want to  go out at 3:30 am, I'm with you.

OshCat - thankyou for the greeting!

A very, very easy 3.2 miles at 5:30, 37 degrees, full moon, no clouds. I started my watch then forgot it; worked on running silently (mid strike, foot moving backward "scratching" on contact with path, controlled breathing). It's a fun way to work on form in the quiet of the morning. Ended up with a 10:06 pace.

Run free!