Virtual Running Buddies - Week of 5/4

[Elizabeth B]

I thought I'd get us started, even though I have no runs to report.

FYI - I got my pictures from Country Music, but there's a photo of me with a friend who would be very uncomfortable if I posted her picture, so let me know if you want to see them, and I'll PM them to you.

And speaking of race photos, Les - even though you are not wearing your chili pepper shorts, those are still some nice pictures! The second picture is my favorite (suitable for framing, IMO). I hope you have a fulfilling, productive visit to Alexandria.

I went to the pool last night and did 10 laps, 5 of which were freestyle. I was fairly dizzy afterwards, but thankfully, not sick. Next week, I'm going to work on doing more freestyle and hopefully putting together a couple of 100's next week.

I'm not biking with a friend tomorrow - we got our wires crossed and she's going to do a practice pool swim and bike ride, which I don't think I'm ready for right now. I'm planning on taking my bike to the park and doing a brick workout instead.

Today it's rainy, so I'm cleaning the house and grocery shopping - maybe I'll cook something fun for dinner!

Take care, all and enjoy the weekend!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks for starting today Betsy. It was so funny about the chili pepper shorts - the lady I ran with today commented, "why didn't you wear them? Were they dirty?" I guess I know now that I'll have to keep wearing those shorts as long as they last. Sorry you're still getting dizzy after swimming. Here's a thought though, how warm is the water and can you drink liquid at the pool's edge (some pools won't let you drink or have bottles at the pool even if they are plastic)? If the water is relatively warm and you aren't hydrated you might be suffering from a little dehydration. If you can get a bottle at the pool see if a little water or sports drink might help. Hope your weather shapes up for a brick tomorrow.

Had a decent run this morning but it's a little shilly. Not that I'm complaining about 55 degrees because it will be in the 80s soon enough. Ran 11 miles today and felt pretty good - a twinge here and there from the 1.5 miler the other day but not too bad. Thanks for the thoughts all for the coming interview - I'm doing well about that right now but have more anticipation before teaching class tomorrow at church.

Speaking of which I've got to go and finish preparing for class so I'll see you all in a while.

Happy trails,
Les

[SusanMac]

Thx for starting us off this week, Elizabeth. Glad you weren't sick after your swim. Hopefully you can acclimate & the dizziness will eventually go away. Totally understand about not wanting to post pictures.

Les - Nice job on the run. 55 is a really nice temp for running. A bit chilly is always good. It was about the same here yesterday.

Don't remember the last time I posted workouts? Thurs was a 2-hour run. My legs were tired the whole time, but I feel like I kept a really steady pace. Fri was a crazy day, so I squeezed in a 1-hour bike ride in between a few mtgs.

Our excitement yesterday was going to see the Dalai Lama!! He's in town for a few days related to a local temple & some UW work, & we were lucky enough to get tix for his public speech. It was really enjoyable. He has quite a sense of humor!

Tomorrow is a big fundraiser bike tour about an hour from here. It's supposed to be super hilly. Several chicks from my women's cycling club are doing it together. 55 miles. I'll check in Mon & let you know how it goes. In prep for the ride, today is rest day -- yay! Much needed.

[Natasha]

Hi all!

Betsy, nice job on the swim (though sorry you're still feeling dizzy. Have you considered that it might be an inner ear issue of some sort? Just throwing that out there as something to consider but I'm no expert! Maybe you've already considered that, in which case just ignore this hypothesis :o). Enjoy the ride tomorrow!

Susan, nice workouts on your end too!! Do you have any intermediary races planned before the big event?

Les, 11 miles sounds good to me. Good luck tomorrow and on Monday. I'm confident you'll come through with flying colours on both occasions.

Today brought a short run and an hour-long swim. Both were *very* fun. I didn't shower at the pool after my swim, as we live so close to the pool and I usually prefer to take my post-swim shower at home. So now I need to "dechlorinefy" before a friend drops by for drinks on the patio :)

Hi to Mary, Eva, Bethany, Kathy, Connor's Mom, Kim (hope you're doing all right... please drop by when you get a chance, even just to say hi), and all the rest.

Have a great evening, everyone!!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Our excitement yesterday was going to see the Dalai Lama!! He's in town for a few days related to a local temple & some UW work, & we were lucky enough to get tix for his public speech. It was really enjoyable. He has quite a sense of humor!

Tomorrow is a big fundraiser bike tour about an hour from here. It's supposed to be super hilly. Several chicks from my women's cycling club are doing it together. 55 miles. I'll check in Mon & let you know how it goes. In prep for the ride, today is rest day -- yay! Much needed.

That's really cool that you scored tickets to see the Dali Lama (if that's an appropriate adjective) and I'd imagine he's very eloquent and a great personality. That must have been a blast! I hope your ride goes well tomorrow and that you enjoyed your rest day today.

Les, 11 miles sounds good to me. Good luck tomorrow and on Monday. I'm confident you'll come through with flying colours on both occasions.

Today brought a short run and an hour-long swim. Both were *very* fun. I didn't shower at the pool after my swim, as we live so close to the pool and I usually prefer to take my post-swim shower at home. So now I need to "dechlorinefy" before a friend drops by for drinks on the patio. :)

Hi to Mary, Eva, Bethany, Kathy, Connor's Mom, Kim (hope you're doing all right... please drop by when you get a chance, even just to say hi), and all the rest.
I'm glad you had a great swim and a good run today. I would guess your hip is at least a little better but might be wrong. :cool: Drinks on the patio sound glorious in early-May too. Thanks for the reminder about Commor's Mom and Kim, it has been a while hasn't it? Thank you, for your confidence for tomorrow and Monday. I'm pretty much ready for Monday and as ready as I can be for tomorrow. Thank goodness my printer worked long enough to print my notes and the questions for the class tomorrow.

Looking forward to a little sleep so I'll fade out and see you tomorrow from somewhere. Happy trails,
Les

[Natasha]

Les, how was the class?

Susan, I forgot to say how neat about going to see the Dalai Lama. We didn't go when he was in town, but one of our friends did and just raved. Glad you enjoyed!!

Today I went swimming for another hour and *may* fit in a short bike ride this evening. Otherwise I'll just walk some more and, of course, stretch, stretch and stretch some more!

Hi to Seathyme, Kathy, Mary, Bethany, Eva, and all the rest of the VRBs.

Have a good rest of weekend, everyone,
Natasha

[Elizabeth B]

Wow, a lot of great fun workouts are happening this weekend!

Susan That's so cool that you saw the Dalai Lama! What did he talk about? By the way, DH stopped by the computer as I was typing this and asked "She saw THE Dalai Lama??

Natasha - Your hour-long swim followed by drinks on the patio sounds fun. I wish I was there.

Susan - How was the 55-mile "chick" bike ride? How long does it take to do that? Are everyone's cycling abilities evenly matched? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm thnking about trying a group ride.

Les - Thanks for the hydration advice - when I started having "issues", that was the first thing I thought of. Our Y does let us bring bottled water into the pool area so I keep myself well-hydrated. I also considered low-blood sugar early on, but the problem doesn't seem to be either of those issues. As both you and Natasha have suggested, it's probably an inner-ear thing, but I don't think much can be done about it (having been to the doctor for similar issues before). I just have to try to acclimate and push through it and hope that it's under control by the time Memorial Day rolls around.

I had a lovely brick workout today - a 10-mile bike ride followed by a 1-mile run (more of a trot, really). It's a beautiful day here. Even if I'm not the fastest cyclist yet, I can feel that I'm getting more comfortable on my bike and that my skills are improving, so I'm happy about that.

Right now I'm making a big batch of marinara and meatballs to freeze for quick dinners. Yum!

I hope everyone has a great week!

[SusanMac]

Happy Monday everyone!

Sending good vibes to Les today.

Did you guys realize that the Flying Pig race was this past weekend? That means it was one year ago we were having our IRL race there.

My fundraiser tour was fabulous! One of the best organized events I've done, and they definitely had the best marked route. I never had to look at my map once. It was just as hilly as expected, so tough but nothing I had to stop & walk. However, we had 22mph winds. So, for the few flat spots, you still had to work hard. All in all, a really great day. And, we were raising $$ for the local Humane Society, so we all felt good about that.

Many of us decided to start at different times (it took about 45 min to drive to the start), then 1 woman was definitely faster so took off w/another friend. In the end, I rode most of the day w/just one other woman & we had fun. Logged 56 miles in just over 4 hours.

Elizabeth - So, to answer your question -- I'd recommend connecting w/a bike group if you're interested. I was nervous b4 doing that, as well. But, have found that there is almost always someone close to your pace. So even in a large group, everyone settles into mini-groups of 3 or 4 people. On a few rides where I was dropped & riding solo, at first I was horrified, but quickly learned that no one cares & it's no big deal. Just make sure you have a map.

Nat - The Dalai Lama spoke about compassion as the source of happiness, which I think is a perennial topic. The most interesting part was actually the Q&A. He took about 5 questions from the audience that covered Tibet/China, science & religion, and his daily routine.

On tap for today is a long swim. And, I'm going to a bike lecture tonight about mental strategies -- looking forward to that.

[seathyme]

...By the way, DH stopped by the computer as I was typing this and asked "She saw THE Dalai Lama?? ...

Imagining the fake Dalai Lama.:D :D Susan, if it's not too much to type, how did he answer the question about his daily routine? Just curious -- I can't imagine how someone trained in contemplation manages to lead such a public life.

Ditto the good wishes for Les today.

Great workouts, everyone! Nice variety going on out there, it sounds like.

I have recently returned from a mid-day run, which I had the luxury of doing today. Actually, it just took a few hours to get myself out the door, even though it's a lovely day for running. I *knew* it would feel good, but inertia was a powerful force... body in the chair tends to stay in the chair, and all that.

But in general things are good. Ran Friday, ellipticalled Saturday, and ran today. Tomorrow will be yoga class, and perhaps I will run in the a.m.

As a side note, motivated by the Beck CBT thread, I have begun to address the 5 extra pounds I've been carrying around for the past 6-8 months or so. So far so good; hopefully I'll stay on track and then go back to maintenance mode. Periodically I pick up that same 5 -- it's as if my body has two set points five pounds apart. I prefer the lower one.:p

Have a great day, all!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Drive by - and a little copy from the "other thread" but the initial summary is today was a great day. Read on for OT discussion if you'd like...

I had a good tour of the campus this morning with a guy who graduates in 2 weeks. He told me a lot about the campus and even let me in on a "secret" the gym needs people to work a block for pay and the sum of their duties in their block is to be in the building and be able to call for help if needed. Other than that you can study or workout - so for a 4 hour shift I might be able to hang out and fit in a workout when I'm here. The campus looks large on a map but in reality only encompasses about 88 acres so running on camups will be a challenge but from my potential apartment to campus is certainly doable and Old Town Alexandria is just down the road (and I mean DOWN the road). I sat in on a couple classes and was thoroughly intrigued. I sat in on a class subtitled "Bad Girls of the Bible" (an Old Testament Class) - that was pretty fun. The other class was a class in ethics - will be an interseting class when I get here.

After lunch I had two interviews. The first wasn't really an interview but a discussion with the assistant for financial aid and off-campus housing. That was a little dry and as it ends up I'm one of the exceptions (don't need financial aid at least for now). The REAL INTERVIEW was a little later. There were three people in my interview: one clergy on the staff, one professor (non-clergy), and one student. They each ended up asking two questions that were very open-ended and probing. The lay faculty member had a question that I was ready for but had a little difficulty getting succintly to the point - it had to do with me following in my father's footsteps (he was a career Naval Officer before becoming a priest about 14 years ago). That was one of the things I wrestled with the most as I came to my decision about pursuing the priesthood. Besides that there were questions about my openness to "non-traditional" theological study, i.e., Liberation Theology, and Feminist Theology, to which I said I'd love to study in those areas because I really don't know a lot about either of them. Before departing I was told I should know by the end of next week what the final decision is and based on the feeling I got from the committee I will be in Alexandria next fall starting studies. That is great for me and I think it is the place I need to be.

Had dinner with my sister; brother, SIL, nephews (2 of them - 10 and 5), and niece (8) - what a bundle of energy they are. It is great to see them and have dinner with them. But boy am I tired now.

I'll head home tomorrow and hopefully sneak in a workout of some kind. If not Wednesday will be a little tiresome. But now that life is getting a little more sedate with school issues behind me I might be able to get back into a routine.
I may try to comment before hitting the road but maybe not... Here comes midnight so I'll sign out now and see you all back in Norfolk tomorrow.

Happy trails,
Les

[SusanMac]

Les - thx for the update! The gym work sounds cool. Bad Girls of the Bible cracks me up! Sounds like you did great in the interview portion. Yes, as much as I like kids, if you're not used to having them around your home it's simply exhausting in a surprising way.

Seathyme - You've been getting in a lot of workouts lately -- nice job! re: the Dalai's daily routine, he didn't talk much about juggling the spokesperson/political leader role. He talked more about daily stuff. For ex, he gets up at 3:30am for prayer, meditation & breakfast. As a monk, he's not supposed to eat solid food in the evening. So, he joked that he really gets up early to eat....not to see the beautiful sunrise :-) He also joked that sometimes he will give in and have a few biscuits in the evening.....b/c he thinks he's been good enough that it's OK :-) Then he'd giggle like a child. It's really sweet.

Nat - you asked about races. I have 2 practice tri's this summer. My first one, a sprint, is coming up Jun 3. I just realized that's around the corner & I haven't been thinking about it at all. Hope I'm not taking it for granted. I want to do well, and I am itching to race. It will add a bit of variety to my workouts. What about you? Anything on your schedule?

So, Mon was a swim. Should have gone longer, but cut it off at 45 min. Just wasn't having a great one. My mental toughness seminar was fantastic! She talked a lot about breathing techniques to help you relax when you get into tough spots in your workout (either physically tough, like a hill, or just mentally tough when you're not into it)

Tues was a brick day. 25-mi bike & 20-min run. Today will be a long bike ride. DH might come w/me, but not sure yet. It looks like wind should be reasonable today.

Hi to Badunnin, Elizabeth, Kathy & the rest o' the gang

[Leslie Ferguson]

Susan - That is a neat story about the Dalai Lama. Somehow when I read your comment about his mannerisms I thought "of course." It's nice to see someone who is so "spiritual" (at least in my mind) who really is concerned with the same, mundane things that I am - like eating breakfast. :D Great workout - 56 miles in 4 hours just surprises me. I'm not sure I could fathom being on the seat for that long. I hope the weather behaves for you today. Yep about kids - especially when you realize they are like me, always on the move. I had the same thought about FP the other day, especially since I'm trying to work an IRL run in the near term (more to follow if it comes off). Bad Girls of the Bible will be a lot of fun if/when I take it in school.

seathyme - I hope you get rid of those 5 extra. If you can send them my way I'll take them. :) I hope you have a good remainder of the week.

Thanks again for your thoughts the other day - as most know this is a big deal to me. But back to topic - I ran today!!! It started a little foggy (that's great) and by the time I finished 63 minutes later it was bright and clear and (of course) HUMID. Yuck. Still good to get the run in since I've noticed I've been falling of the running wagon (even though my weight doesn't show it).

Back to work... see you later.
Les

[seathyme]

Les, the 5 are all yours!:D Actually I only have about 2-2.5 to offer you so far, but have promised myself to keep the discipline through 5. Congratulations on a successful interview; sounds like you will love seminary! It certainly will be a great change of pace from your Navy career. Congrats on the run today too.

Susan, more *wow* for all those workouts. Your training is amazing! I saw on the other thread that you're heading for Germany next week. Do you have a travel training plan? That could be challenging.

I got out to run for about 45 minutes this morning. Had to force myself to start, and had some "issues" (I had a sense the issues might come up, which was part of my hesitation about running), but the second half of the run was strong and as ever, I'm so glad I did it.

How's everyone else?

[SusanMac]

Yes, I leave for Germany tomorrow morning for 10 days. 8 of those are work, so I already know it will be tough to squeeze in workouts. My goal for the week is 4 workouts of either running or swimming. Keeping my fingers crossed.

B/c of the trip, I could tell this morning that I wouldn't get in a workout today either. Just too crazy getting ready. The good news is that I scheduled my long bike for yesterday in anticipation. So, I logged 56 miles. 15 minutes faster than on Sunday. DH took me out on the IM course, which was my first time this season. It's so awesome to be able to mentally prepare for the actual course. And, on some of the tough hills I used my newly acquired mental focus strategies -- they actually helped!!

Don't know when I'll be online again. I'm sure I'll check in briefly from Berlin, as I'll need a break from the event we're hosting.

Hope everyone has great weekends!

[badunnin]

Susan - I hope you love Berlin as much as I do! Have fun!

[seathyme]

Have a great trip, Susan! And hi Bethany :) . Howze it going?

[Elizabeth B]

Hello runners!

Les - Congratulations on a good interview! I can imagine that you were well prepared for the question about following your father's path and it sounds like you handled the second question perfectly.

Susan - Your workouts sound fantastic (56 miles - "wow" is right) and have fun in Germany! That's great that you checked out the IM course so that you can prepare.

Seathyme - Good for you for finishing your run strong despite a rough start. Those are rough.

I'm training hard for my sprint tri. I'm increasing the intensity of my swim workouts every swim and it seems to be working. I should be swimming 200's by next week.

I had a very successful (IMO) brick tonight - I rode 5.7 miles in 23:30, followed by a run of a little over a mile at a 9:52 pace. I'll be swimming 3 times a week, running twice a week and riding twice a week (followed by a short run) until I leave for Virginia prior to the race. And I'm sure I can get in a few workouts in VA, too.

I'm finally starting to get excited about this, thank goodness. Either that, or it's panic setting in.

That's it for now - take care, all!

[badunnin]

Have a great trip, Susan! And hi Bethany :) . Howze it going?

Some days are better than others, and last month was just awful. Still a lot going on. Hoping for better times ahead - at least it looks like we have the hormone issue more under control. Natasha knows - I was basically psychotic for a month. It wasn't fun. :(

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey Bethany, good to hear from you and I hope you are getting better. It doesn't sound like you've had a fun ride over the past couple months but it does sound promising.
Susan - Have a safe trip and a fun time in Berlin (and wherever else you might go). Great job on another 56 miles on the bike - you are the woman! :cool:
seathyme - Sorry about your issues but good for you to plug through (as it were). Finishing strong always brings you back doesn't it?
Yeah Betsy! A brick with a strong run. I was really happy with my interview too. It sounds like you really are jazzed about the tri - you'll be great in it. Safe travels to Va too!

I wish I could check in with a workout report but no dice. Teleconference before lunch, practice for a retirement tomorrow (not mine) that I had to attend since I'm delivering the invocation. Then when I got home I had a little work to do to get my dress duds ready to go. I'll be in Full Dress Whites (high collar) with medals and white gloves tomorrow. I'll see if I can get a pic to post - either with my camera or one from work. BTW - I'm really signed up for the race next weekend, an annual event (10k) that a good sized group of us run in Portsmouth Va. Maybe...

Happy end of the week to all and I'll see the gang tomorrow or Saturday.

Happy trails,
Les