well I am happily showing no after effects from my run today. I have a session with my trainer tomorrow and I think I`ll do some extra cross training as it` s holiday and for a change I don`t have to be in the office .. well I only have to swing by for an hour. Keeping with the plan this coming week will be a 3 run week so I`ll increase my long run

chuck - well done on you race - sounds like you battled well in tough conditions - and learned a lesson about hydrating - mile 8 is late in the race to be starting to drink - what about gels / gatorade ? I laughed my *** off at the basset hound story - I don`t know why but my mental image of that was very funny !

kev - good job on the 10 miles - I found those double figure runs always wiped me out but now I can`t wait to be running those distances again ! My goal for the fall is to be running 10 miles on a regular basis. Do you have a race coming up soon ? . I guess I should check the calendar !

macd - my next race is Sat - it`s sort of the same course - the 4 mile in central park is a loop - last weeks race started at the bottom end of the park - I start my run in the middle near my home - next weekends race starts at the top end - so .. it`s the same loop - same direction - but start and end is different - it shouldn`t effect the times - when they reverse the direction for some races it has an effect - one direction the climbs are longer not as steep and the downs are short and steeper - obviously the other direction the profile changes. One thing I found today that I felt very good about was that I felt stronger on the climbs - before I got injured that was the area I really felt I was picking up time on because my legs had been getting so much stronger.

andahuff - I never notice the lack of ipods in race situations - I have run alone once without it - it didn`t suck as much as I thought but I wasn`t in any rush to do it again ! Good job on the 7 miles ! thats a great pace

Mary - thanks for the reminder to take it easy - I need that !! 15.5 miles for the week is great ! thats my short term goal .. I hit 14.5 this week !!

runjr - if you are ever in NY I`m getting a guest pass for you to come and workout with me !

hey yall

still taking it easy, yesterday was busy at church then off to home for nephews bday party. got home just in time to put DD DS to bed. the weather here is sunny and high 40s. hoping to run tues, wed, maybe thurs.

seems everyone has been busy posting this weekend. i'll catch up between laundry and playing lincoln logs with DS.

joe...spinnning in the dark? does that burn more calories? pecan pancake was really big....and covered with butter and maple syprup! good luck on the 4m

spicegeek...great job on the 4m...have a good day off

chuck...great race! that humidity can really drive you crazy. i think you are awesome....maybe the bassett hound spurred you on! or the fear of a stray pelican bomb!

kevee...great on the 10 m. those puddles are yucky maybe you can get a woman just to clean your wet shoes and socks.

macd...paperwork could be xtrain, if you are wearing your running shoes...

tomashe...5 m on the tm with your friend sounds great. hope the wind dies down.

runjr...way to xtrain! hope you are moving better today. we have weeds year round....

andahuff...great 7m cool sprinting!

marflair...great job on 15.5 for the week. ice sounds more like our weather for january.

love to all

Chuck and Joe et. al,

Yes, sometimes I do run to the beat of the music. This can be a mixed blessing! For instance, Steve Miller's Jungle Love makes me feel as cool as I did back in high school. While I might think I am being cool while running, I am actually slower with that song. Drum solos are great to relieve the boredom while on the treadmill, but recently I got so carried away drumming that I almost fell off. So much for looking cool.

I also really like running to instrumental music. I have this song on my play list that I love called Ode to a Butterfly by Nickel Creek. (bluegrass, for y'all in NYC. Bet Sheila knows 'em!) It is fast-paced and I do well with it. But I am SO corny that I downloaded John Denver for those long lonely runs, and I run incredibly slow while singing them.

DH has been trying to wean me off the ipod. He's a former hard-core type with a 2:48 PR in a marathon, so I TRY to listen to him. I really enjoyed my long run Sunday sans ipod. I think it makes you mentally tougher. I tried to recite the preamble to the constitution and Shakespeare. When else would you get an opportunity to do that??

Hey Friends! Had trouble logging on end of last week - had even written down some shout-outs! Just now getting back to it...

Ran 8M this am (LSD - delayed to today b/c yesterday was DD#1's b'day party & I AM off work today, JOE! Amazing). Otherwise, last week, I ran relatively short runs (3M or less) and/or pilates. Starting to get cold feet about the upcoming 10K (slightly less than 2 wks) and the HM (beg. April) - never run either race distance before!! I'm a complete novice...

A few questions:

1. Sport Beans - been trying these out on LSDs - feeling uncoordinated - how do you guys eat them? all at once after about 45 mins. of run? and literally how do you eat them? open the pack & dump a few into your mouth at a time? or take them out of pack with fingers individually? may be a dumb question, but having trouble eating them with out it being really distracting to my run...

2. H2O Belt - still haven't purchased one (just running holding the H2O bottle during LSDs - don't take H2O with me on other days). i definitely need one for HM - do I need one for 10K? Or are water stations sufficient? Opinions??

Thanks!

OK, now for a few shoutouts...

KEVIN - again, BRAVO on the weight loss & your dedication to running - great 10M yesterday - you are truly amazing! BTW, I've lost about 20-ish lbs. during the past year. I packed on the lbs. with DD#3 - lovely! I still have 10-15 lbs. to reach my goal weight...my goal wt. is more than your current wt.! I re-read your post last week a few times...please say you are shorter than me!

SHEILA - sounds like you're doing good - YAY for you!

STAN - family still sick? how are you?

RUNJR - how are ya? I'm amazed at your tenacity too - super cold up there! man!

SPICEGEEK - good for you on the 4M - how does it feel? you must be relieved...keep taking it slow...sounds like you're in good hands with the trainer, etc. BTW, you ALSO amaze me - you always seem to make it to the gym - even when you say you are "superbusy"...impressive - keep it up!

ANDAHUFF - my neighbor is a pilates & spinning instructor and a personal trainer @ "The Met-Downtown" - if you want more specifics, feel free to email me privately.

CARA - Hey there! How are you doing? Did you have a nice time with your aunt and mum? are they still with you? how is your mum feeling?

MISSWENDY - glad you are still getting better - take it slow this week.

CHUCK - good job on your race - are you sore today?

Alright - bath time! Gotta go enjoy the rest of my day with MISSWENDY's crosstraining suggestion - LAUNDRY! YAHOO!!!!!!!!! Gorgeous, gorgeous day here in Houston. Sending the sunshine and temperate climate here up and out to the rest of you!

--Laurel

Laurel

I need a water belt too. Doesn't 45 bucks seem crazy for them though? I stash water on my long runs like Jeff. Does anyone else fear that a dog is gonna come by and pee on it while you are gone??

I have just enough time for a quick check in,

Chuck congrats on your race! I have 10 weeks to go.

Joe I could only pray for 40's. Was 32 and snow blowing so hard you could hardly see across the street, so of course I ran inside again yesterday! Did 7 miles again.

Hope everyone has a great week,

Stephanie

HI everyone, just a quick pop in. Just got home from the Y. I did another 5 miles. I haven't done that milage back to back in a long time. I was only gonna do 3 but I was trying to save the treadmill for Melissa because she was running late and it was packed. When she got there I was just finishing up 5.

Don't have time for shout outs, gotta get some laundry done. And the cheer coach just called and I have concession stand duty tomorrow night. Gosh I thought that was over for this year. Oh well, what can you do. Probably won't have time to check in tomorrow, so hope everyones week starts off ok.

Sheila