I ran a decent 5 miles this morning on a bright, beautiful and COLD New England morning. The temps were around 22-25ish, but I dressed well and had my wool balaclava on (face mask thingie) The balaclava really helps to minimize irritation on my lungs in the cold. I also tried to warm up my quads a bit extra before the run because they always seem unresponsive in the cold. It wasn't the strongest run, I think I am still building back up from that killer cold a few weeks ago. I sure missed running with my little dog!! Poor pooch (she is recovering from surgery).

Old Coyote I gave my little dog the hugs you sent. Sounds like a sweet little run and I'm glad we could talk you into resting. I agree, running in the snow (and sub zero temps) is such a mental boost!

mkayc You are a crack up!! LOL Love this~> "... lost and found. "Think I left my shirt here last week." What color was it?" Oh, white...or maybe black." All I have is a red one." "That's the one!"

Debm2011 Thanks, re: my pup. I'm glad you got out and loosened up those tired legs...you 1/2 marathoner, you!

Francessmom I know just what you mean about "Any change in routine really throws me off" I feel the same. I call it my Princess and the Pea Syndrome. Like, a shoelace too tight, or carrying keys...I start to focus on that instead of my running form!

Luv2Run213 Rest up!

jmsab23 Thanks re: my pup/running pal. That's kind of funny about the new treadmill! I can picture it in my mind, you being surprised at every turn that the TM throws. Good on you for completing it though!

az1414 Welcome back! What a crazy schedule but so impressive that you have kept up your running. Take care of that cough!!

jmsab - 7 minute miles? Zoinks!

Melody - I have a fleece balaclafacewarmer thingie.

Az1414 - It's likely that the constantly changing climate is irritating your respiratory system and making you prone to infection. I don't know what the treatment is.

I did a club race today, 6.6 miles on trails south of Denver. I was unfamiliar with the course, the weather couldn't decide what to do, so I took all my gear. Good thing. When I left the house it was shorts and singlet weather. Then I ran into breeze and light rain on the drive. Gusty wind and overcast at the start area. Finally wore shorts, long sleeve top, vest, hat and sunglasses. Perfect choice, I could have added gloves but didn't need them. I started slow, got warmed up for a mile or so. Stopped to tighten my shoe, and got passed by a dozen or so. Passed those 12 within about a half mile and then started picking runners off one by one. It was fun. The course was an fine crushed gravel path and hardpack single track along the first slopes of the Rockies, where the prairie switches to mountain. Not too steep, but good hills for a workout.

The race was advertised as 7 miles, and I saw no mile markers after 4. I'd have surged sooner if i'd known the course. As it was, I kicked it up ~15 sec/mile for the last 3/4 mile. Didn't pass anyone; there was a woman ahead of me but I'm not THAT GUY who sprints at the end of a club race.

THAT GUY was behind me, however. Heard his heavy footfalls and breathing behind me; glanced back and estimated him to be in my age group. I yelled "Oh, no way! You're in my division!" and kicked it over. Turned out he's 11 years younger than me and I still beat him by 12 seconds . Ended up with a 56:12 finish. I mentioned that it seemed like a short course, and another runner pointed out that the "official" distance was really 6.6, and his Garmin said 6.5. So that means I ran an 8:31-8:39 pace on a trail 10K while recovering from a marathon. Wow. Amazing how strong a lot of slow miles makes you.

It was a fun day. The best way to train for racing is to race, and my goal for the race was to practice race strategy. So it was a success. Hope everyone's weekend goes well!

Degregorious..... "Sweat is my fat crying." I love it.

Coyote...... "Balaclafacewarmer thingie." I can see it in the ad description. I love this, too.

OK, now that I've stopped laughing: I didn't know if the weather would hold out for me this morning to travel 25 miles for the intended 5k, so yesterday I did some repeats on the TM. Two-mile warmup run, then 3 x 40-sec. at full speed, with jogs, then 4 x 6:00 (.9 miles) at 9 mph, with 4-min. jogs. Then a mile cooldown. Total was 8.5 miles, 1:16:20.

This morning was cool, but had promise, so we drove to the race and was early enough to get a nice long-sleeved T-shirt, a bonus. I ran this one last year and was surprised at the competition in my age group (50-59). I was 21:00 flat last year, but about 6th in my AG. Today the field was a little smaller (about 110 or so), and I ran a good race - 21:08 (6:49 pace) - finishing 13th, but was still 4th in my AG. The big thing today was the 2nd-place overall runner -- 14 years old, and around 17:40.

But it was a nice, cool race, despite the hill at the midpoint. It didn't bother me so much today, even though it's about 4/10 mile long. In fact, I passed three runners on it. That was my highlight of the day, knowing my severe allergy to hills. My other highlight today was that, once we got out onto the course, NO ONE passed me. NO ONE. I think I passed about 12 or so runners.

Have nice days, runners, and remember to thank a vet. Or two, or as many as you see. And for any and all veterans on this thread, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

5 miles in beautiful 62 degrees yesterday!  Wisconsin weather coming back tonight, after low 60's and rain today, it will be high teens by morning.  Treadmill here I come. 

Run strong and safe this week friends!

NHLA - "Got totally hit on last night." So that's a bad thing?

JMSab - Great job on your trail race!! You might be a little unstoppable after beasting that hill!! Lookout! btw, NHLA named the bra.I just wear it.

DeGregorius - Good race!

OC, Great time on your race!! Speaking for myself, I would feel awful if I knew there was a man behind me who was holding himself back from a better finish just so he wouldn't appear to be trying to beat me. And I can tell you the younger guys have no trouble racing past me at the last minute. I'm there to get the best time I can and they owe it to themselves to do the same. They aren't stopping me.

Mel, sorry your bud is laid up. Hope he gets better real soon! Your morning run sounded delightful!

AZ, you are such a powerhouse!! I don't know how you do it all. Amazing!!

Deb, have had my heater on weeks and am in an area that's supposed to be a lot warmer. I gave in after I had to wear my coat and pants to bed under the futon to stay warm. Old house. No insulation. Sandy was cold.

FrancesMom, nice run! You're fast!!

Training Wed, ran ~2 mi. Thurs and started hearing my wheeze, so I laid off Fri. Wanted to run long yesterday but only got in 5.5. Weather was beautiful, in the high sixties with some wind. I was thinking of Debra's run report when I noticed the headwind. I'm such a mush brain when I run. I was planning to write *I was running so fast the I could actually feel the wind resistance.* Then I got a clue. Ahhahaha! What a dreamer!! Even though it's still nice out, I'm sitting here on the laptop stil congested and coughing. This was kinda my last chance for a long run before Philly next Sunday. I'll try tomorrow if I feel better and the rain isn't too bad.

Run strong and fearless out there!

Finally, a strong 5 mile run! Seems like the first good strong run since my half marathon and the cold that hit me right after. It was so warm this morning (relatively) at 45 degrees. A super run indeed.

Old Coyote Sounds like an awesome race!! Sweet. And 1,000 mile for 2012...whoot!

degregorius Really nice, re: Chicago's Perfect 10! Congrats on such a super race.

jmsab23 (6:49 pace) <~ Wow! And victory on the hill. Way to go.

NHLA "Got totally hit on last night" Whoohoo! Showing off those nice gams, are ya?

justrundan Sounds like my run this morning...so warm!

Francessmom What a wonderful family day and run for you!! Nice.

mkayc Thanks Mary Kay, re: my running buddy/dog. One more week before she can join me. You should see the "sad dog face" she makes when I tell her to stay as I walk out the door to run. lol Hope that chest thing clears up!!

Hi ALL, Glad the see most of you are recovered and running well. I wish I could be in that same group. I've developed some type of joint issue at my big toe. I'm getting ready to get a second opinion. First specialist wanted to do some surgery That could put me out of commission for around 6 weeks. I'm having an insert made so I'll have a little less joint movement when I run. Currently I'm just reading everybodies post and wishing I could run normal. Still planning on running the Rock N Roll HM in St Petersburg FL in Feb if all goes well. I'm going to try some run/walk intervals all week to test out the insert. Maybe next week I'll be back.

RUN STRONG Friends

8.3 miles 1 hr 12 min. 56 miles for the week.

I actually got hit on by three different women. The first we have always had a connection.

The second girl I took care of her X the other night. She has not seen him since.

I think the third was just curious.