Virtual Running Buddies- w/o 28 March 2008

[VictoriaL]

Am I really starting this week? At 3:30pm? :) The official honors should really go to Kathy, who posted early this morning.

Thanks for all of the responses about the hs track use. Since I still haven’t heard from anyone, I’ll just figure that I can show up and use it if it’s available.

Kathy running in shorts... I seem to remember doing that a very long time ago... ;) Good luck in the race on Sunday—I hope that you have a good run and that DH is pleased with his time.

Nat I can tell you, with the voice of experience, that ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper is a bit too much for that tomato-lentil sauce! DH thought it was perfect, though, so next time I will cut it back to maybe 1/3 teaspoon although I think that I’d fare better with ¼. I’m going to post it on my blog in the next day or two because there’s a story to go with it. Have you been able to get outside for a bike ride recently? I think that next week might be our first, but now I’ll be afraid of falling on my left side. :o

Robyn have fun skiing this weekend!

seathyme how can you be crocus-sighting up there when mine are but a few inches out of the ground down here? I should plant them on the south side of the house where it’s warmer, but then I’d never see them.

Les Once you start being able to flex it most of the way then range of motion (ROM if I slip into that short hand) will come quickly. Thanks for telling me this. I really have no idea what to expect and my almost-total lack of ROM was beginning to concern me. Flex first, then, it is! Hope that the forecast was wrong and you’re able to get in an outdoor run today. We were supposed to have a rainy day but so far it’s been only cloudy.

Carrie I use a “low sugar” pectin to make my jam because, the first year I made it, I also was shocked at the amount of sugar required. I end up making a rather liquid jam because I cut down on the sugar in the low sugar variation and that keeps it from firming up. I call it “dipping jam”! :) Good luck on your race tomorrow!

Hello to everyone else, and I hope that you all enjoy your weekends!

[Natasha]

Vicci, thanks for the tip on the cayenne :eek: Glad your DH enjoyed it so much though. I'll check out your blog in a few days to catch the story! Let us know how you like the track (but you're not going to use it right away, right? I think you said once you get back into your regular shoes?).

I did a fun 50+ minute spin today after work. I wanted to ride outside but then decided maybe DH and I could go tomorrow, when there's more time. (And if the weather cooperates!) The plan was to go out for dinner tonight but I'm having indecision about where to go.

Have a lovely weekend, racers and everyone else!

[ktg0930]

Yes, I chickened out and just posted on last week's thread. Thanks Vicci for starting us out this week. Have fun when you get to the track. My local middle school has a track, but I don't think it's full-size. But i should go there and check it out. I need to get back to doing some speedwork.

Natasha--hope the weather cooperates over the weekend for a ride.

I ran today, in shorts again, and it was lovely. I hope my legs will get some color soon.

Have a great weekend runners!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks for starting us Vicci, I knew my experience with sprains and dislocations would come in handy some day. :rolleyes: After spending 5 weeks in a cast then making little progress in getting ROM back in my knee it was almost overnight - I went from some motion, to a little more, to full in about 3 or 4 days. With your ankle it will take a little while to get stability and strength back - it may actually take months to recover after spending as long in your (air)cast as you did. Not to fret though - since it was more broken than sprained your stability shouldn't be impacted too much. Just kind of keep plugging along and you'll be fine. Little by little with ankles too, they really do take a lot of pounding.

Howdy to Natasha and Kathy - it sounds like you both had good days.

It wasn't too bad today and the rain didn't show up (yet). It was nearly 70 but mostly cloudy. I took off for the road on my bike and rode on some new side streets and trails and came up with about 18 miles again. The gusts were pretty tough though - there were a couple times when I thought I might have to get off and walk because I was making no progress against the wind. Luckily that didn't happen.

Tomorrow will bring a run of probably 12 or 13 miles (I hope). Then again, I may make one last foray into the fun world and head to the National Zoo tomorrow afternoon with a classmate. Decisions decisions...

Happy trails,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Back-to-backs...
I had a good run today. Started out, or at least envisioned, with a 12 mile route in mind (thanks to mapmyrun) but got confused and forgot where I was going to turn at the far end. Decided to make sure I picked up 12 (thinking I had run shorter than planned) and ended up running almost 13. Nothing terrible but I'm feeling it now - at least with hunger.

Off to figure out dinner and wait for LW to get home from Norfolk.

Happy trails,
Les

[VictoriaL]

Nat, no plans to go to the track until my foot agrees to fit into my shoes! :) I hope that the weather cooperated enough to give you and DH a nice, long ride today.

Kathy I ran today, in shorts again, and it was lovely. I hope my legs will get some color soon.
Bottle o' Tan??? ;)

Les I never gave much though to my ankles, but here they are at the front of my mind all of this time now! I appreciate your insight and advice because otherwise I just wouldn't know where to go (can't keep calling the doctor's office all of the time!), plus it's nice to hear what someone else who has gone through it thinks. And, almost 13 miles? I'd be starving. Shall I send you some of these anise cookies which are still calling me (you would think that the insulation of the freezer would mute their cries...)?

I did 25 minutes on the EB this morning, the same intensity as on Thursday, and needed to use my inhaler after I finished as I became quite wheezy. :rolleyes: I didn't use the handlebars, and pretended that I was running!

Off to figure out dinner as well...

[Natasha]

Hi all,

Vicci, thanks for starting us off this week. Nice job on the EB stint, and that's a great idea to use visualization.

Les, 13 miles or so - good going! You've really made the most of your time off, it seems.

Kathy, running in shorts - what a concept! Hope your race was fun (it was today, right? Or tomorrow?)

We went out riding today. We took the mountain bikes and rode on a gravelly country road, and on a mud road. The mud road had some slushy ice, which was easy to ride through, but which turned into actual ice :eek: The thing was it was hard to tell the texture of the thick, bumpy ice had hardened until you were on it. So there I was, riding on this harder than expected ice and wondering once or twice if I was going to fall (though it didn't stop me from hooting and hollering as I went through it). I didn't fall, though, and it was quite fun (though more of a risk than I'd wanted to take). The funny thing was that when I turned around, DH was smiling but I could tell he was also a bit apprehensive that I was going to be upset about it having been true ice. I'm sure he was relieved to see that I was laughing and giving him the thumbs up. (Regardless, I didn't mount the bike on the way back until *after* that section. Enough is enough.)

Honestly, I don't know why sometimes I'm so wussy about the stupidest things on my bike, and other times I can do something like that and relax and have fun. Weird.

That's it from these parts. Take care, everyone,
Natasha

[Leslie Ferguson]

...So there I was, riding on this harder than expected ice and wondering once or twice if I was going to fall (though it didn't stop me from hooting and hollering as I went through it). I didn't fall, though, and it was quite fun (though more of a risk than I'd wanted to take). The funny thing was that when I turned around, DH was smiling but I could tell he was also a bit apprehensive that I was going to be upset about it having been true ice. I'm sure he was relieved to see that I was laughing and giving him the thumbs up... Honestly, I don't know why sometimes I'm so wussy about the stupidest things on my bike, and other times I can do something like that and relax and have fun. Weird.
I don't know, I have this rule that I don't ride anywhere or any faster than I'd like to dump my bike - that would be in and around water or faster than some speed (something over 30 mph). I certainly wouldn't call it being wussy - prudently careful is better. I'm like you too, I'd be hooting and hollering all the way - but probably because I was scared of falling more than anything else.

Les I never gave much though to my ankles, but here they are at the front of my mind all of this time now! I appreciate your insight and advice because otherwise I just wouldn't know where to go (can't keep calling the doctor's office all of the time!), plus it's nice to hear what someone else who has gone through it thinks.
My pleasure and you can give me a shout any time - I don't charge for advice (nor am I a doctor mind you). Funny, I never figured that 19 sprains and time on crutches and in a cast would come in handy but I guess there's always something to learn from "adversity" isn't there.
And, almost 13 miles? I'd be starving. Shall I send you some of these anise cookies which are still calling me (you would think that the insulation of the freezer would mute their cries...)?

Off to figure out dinner as well...
You'd figure that the freezer would mute them well but then again, when I freeze cranberry cookies they seem to shout out through the walls of the freezer too. How was your dinner? It wouldn't have been bad on the run if I hadn't futzed around so long to leave at nearly 11 am which had me running through the noon hour. If I had left a little earlier or a little closer to breakfast (and had a gel to go with it) I'd have been fine. But I wasn't expecting that many miles so I wouldn't have had a gel regardless.

Nothing special about dinner except that I didn't eat alone today - chicken and couscous and veggies - a great dinner.

Happy Saturday and have a great remainder of the weekend. Happy trails,
Les

[Natasha]

Happy Sunday everyone!

Les, I meant to say that what I did yesterday wasn't wussy - in fact, it's more intrepid (or is that just stupid? :p) than I usually am, so I got a kick out of it. It's other stuff that I'm sometimes oddly wussy about. It all boils down to the fact that I need to relax more - but as a Type A, sometimes tense person, I can tell myself to relax all I want but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way ;) I'm amused by yesterday's ride, regardless.

Just back from a run with the group. I did about 7.5 miles on the rolling hills, and while a couple of people urged me to go on with them to do about 2.5 miles more, I declined. I did the time I'd set out to do.

Les, your dinner sounds great and welcome back to LW! I might make couscous today too. I've been thinking about making the chickpea and couscous salad with ginger-lime sauce (or whatever it's called) from a 2004 CL.

Have a good day, everyone, and good luck to Kathy and Carrie, our racers!

Nat

[Leslie Ferguson]

Les, I meant to say that what I did yesterday wasn't wussy - in fact, it's more intrepid (or is that just stupid? :p) than I usually am, so I got a kick out of it. It's other stuff that I'm sometimes oddly wussy about. It all boils down to the fact that I need to relax more - but as a Type A, sometimes tense person, I can tell myself to relax all I want but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way ;) I'm amused by yesterday's ride, regardless.
I agree, riding on the ice (even if you didn't like it) wasn't wussy and it's not surprising that you got such joy/glee out of doing it. Maybe it's something to just "let your hair down" and do the things that really tickle your fancy - relax more (maybe that's a good choice). Being a Type A myself I appreciate not being able to relax (although I'm getting better at it now that I'm around a lot of Type B's). Chickpeas and couscous sounds good too - hopefully you get some made for this evening.

Taking the day off after yesterday's long run and preparing for classes to start again tomorrow. Happy trails all and fleet feet for our racers today.

Les

[VictoriaL]

I'm more of a Type B personality, but I tend to opt out of stressful situations if I can help it! Which, actually, probablyl keeps me at a Type B! :D

Nat, I probably would have done what you did, the hollering while riding through that icy mess, but been a wreck afterward. I hope that, now that I've experienced a "break", I will not use that as an excuse not to try more difficult riding trails or even go through with a planned waterfall climb this summer. Talk about wussy!!! :o

And congrats on the run. Setting a goal and sticking with it. Hmmmm, Type A???

Les, Happy day off and hope that it's a relaxing one to get you set for starting the second half of the semester tomorrow. I had bought a beautiful book on curry last week and it is very informative. For dinner last night I made Chicken Korma that turned out so well I have placed it on my entertaining menu plan. I love it when that happens-- a totally unexpected "hit"!

DH is dragging me to a car dealership after the hockey game (on tv) is over so I must attempt to become presentable. On a Sunday, yet! :rolleyes:

Looking forward to see how Kathy and Carrie did in their races...

[newsomz]

Vicci - Thanks for starting us out! Great job on the 25 min EB workout.

Natasha - Great job on the spin. Did you get outside? Ice on a bike sounds scary to me, too! I hate riding through sand as I slip and slide all over the place. Hows that for wussy :)

Kathy - Glad you were able to enjoy the weather. Congrats on the run :)

Les - Your bike ride sounds like fun (except for the wind). I love exploring new streets! Great job on the run, too.

Now for the race report. It was a beautiful morning - maybe 60 degrees. The route was quite hilly and took us through a park. Lovely at this time of year as all the azaleas and dogwoods are blooming. I booked it the whole time and ended up running the course in 53:51 which I was quite happy with. I didn't really have a goal time so that was good for me! Actually 7 min faster than I ran a 10K a few weeks ago. I did learn that my nike+ is 100m per 1km off. Guess I do have to calibrate the thing! I'l looking forward to an easy week this week :) Not sure what to do next, either as I don't have any races on the horizon...

[seathyme]

Yay Carrie!! Congrats on a speedy 10K -- and the course sounds so beautiful. 7 mins off your last 10K is amazing; your consistency is paying off.:)

Hi to Vicci, Kathy, Les and Nat. Glad to hear you're all running/riding/EBing/cooking, etc. Nat, I'm impressed you didn't have a spectacular wipeout on that ice, as I imagine I would have done.

We had the post-Easter weekend off so went up to NH for a couple of days. It was a step back in time, as it's still full-blown winter up there. Out came the cross-country skis, and I had a great time. Right up until last night when I foolishly cut my hand opening a can of black beans (shoulda taken the time to soak the ones that come in a bag!!). Just now I can actually type again, but there is no gripping anything (such as ski poles), and no running today. Like you, Vicci, I am blessed with a DH who will help out in a crisis even though I do 90% of the cooking generally. He has been great.

But the most humbling aspect of this is that after I finished last month 1.5 miles shy of 200, I decided about a week ago to see where I was. Realized that if I stretched a little I could end March with 300 miles. I thought I had it made in the shade, with 2 days to do that last 3.5. And then an injury! However, it's not a *leg* injury, so this evening when we got home I did manage 2 power walking miles with the dog, leaving 1.5 for tomorrow. A doc might not have recommended this for today, but I just felt compelled. Competing with myself for no reason than just because.:rolleyes: Ah well.

Good to "see" you all; how's everyone else?

[Leslie Ferguson]

Congratulations Carrie on your speedy 10k - 7 minutes off your time in a couple weeks is commendable. Sometimes consistency is just the thing for a good race. I hope you bask in the glory a little and have a good week.
Vicci - It's good that we have a couple "B"s around here to offset the "A"s. :rolleyes: What kind of car is DH looking at? A new car - how novel considering my new car is almost 8 years old. Your Korma sounds great - always love that especially with a little Basmati rice and cucumber salad. You'll have a good time climbing on the waterfall too (later this year).
seathyme - Sorry you cut your hand and it's great that DH is an accomplished cook to carry the load for you for a while. Walking probably isn't bad for your hand even if you did cut it well - as long as you weren't bleeding by the time your were done you'll be fine.

Ah the joys of going back to class tomorrow - 3 solid hours (1 class) tomorrow morning. Should be a fun class - we're studying the book of Revelation.

Happy trails,
Les

[Robyn1007]

Quick pop in here. I skied HARD on Saturday. Including a run that is described by Skiernet:
"Pallavicini • Arapahoe Basin, CO Not exactly a run, although the Pally Face is certainly the signature route down this "section" of A-Basin. It is easily one of the biggest headwalls marked as a trail at a ski area. In terms of difficulty it is your last step before advancing to "extreme" skiing, which is to say, the rest of Pally. Millions of monster moguls and trees on the side of a cliff. People ride the Pally lift for the first time look down and say, "that isn't really a trail, is it?" You can either ski it, or you can't. You know, a lot of skiers think they have conquered some tough stuff at their home area, and they are fond of saying "If you can ski ____________ then you can ski anywhere!" (fill in the blank with the name of some small area with a notably steep slope) Problem is, they haven't seen Pallavicini. I don't care how good you are at Wolverine, Mad River, Killington, Breckenridge, Snowshoe, Sugarloaf, Park City, Hunter...until you ski Pally, it doesn't mean a thing."

So, after that kind of day I ended up taking yesterday off. I'd love to run today but just tracked the new knee brace that's coming and it's scheduled to be in tomorrow so I think I'll wait until tomorrow and just jump on the bike tonight.

Carrie, good job on the run!

Seathyme, sorry about the cut, I hope it heals quickly!

Vicci, sometimes I wish I were a Type B!

Nat, riding on ice? Uh, no thank you! I'm very impressed.

Les, hope the restart of classes today went well.

[Natasha]

Wow, Robyn, that sounds awesome. I'm awed by people who can ski like you can. How's the brace? Ditto on sometimes wishing I were a Type B!

Carrie, big congrats on your race!! Very substantial improvement. Enjoy your day off and post-race glow :D

Hey Kelly, you out there? How are you feeling?

Les, happy first day back to school... okay, maybe not ;) How did it go?

Seathyme, ouch! :( Sorry to hear about your hand injury, and so close to reaching your March target, too. Hope you heal quickly. Glad you got in the skiing *before* then.

Vicci, the chicken korma sounds fabulous. Is that recipe going to be on your blog??

Hi to everyone else. Tonight I might spin, or if not, I hope to do weights and yoga. Tomorrow is probably a no-training day because I'm seeing my physio guy.

Best to all
Nat

[VictoriaL]

Well, another Monday come and gone... :)

Carrie excellent job on the race! It sounds as though you flew and how lovely it must have been to see all of the blooming trees. Now you need to find that next race...

seathyme I just left the computer to soak a bag of black beans-- thanks for the unintended reminder! So sorry that you cut your hand-- those can lacerations can be so painful (ask me, the klutz, and I can give you many examples!). I hope that it's healing well and you were able to get that last bit of walking/ running in to make your milestone today.

Oh Les, a three hour morning class?! You are so much better than I have ever been (once changed my major in college because of too many early classes!). :rolleyes: Good luck with the new onslaught of work.

Robyn, I am in awe of your skiing skill. I'm a cross-country skiier myself, but once was taken to the top of a mountain in Vermont with rental skis and left there, never having downhill skiied before. Great sense of humor those friends had, huh? With the aid of some others who took pity on me, I made it down to the base in 2 hours. Now, I imagine that you would have been one of those helping the frantic novice, correct? :)

Nat that chicken korma recipe will definitely be on my blog by midweek. It was too heavenly not to share! And my tomato-lentil sauce story is on there now. We had leftovers for dinner tonight and they were great.

This morning was really gloomy and being Monday didn't help much, plus my ankle was hurting (I finally began sleeping on my side rather than my back and may have twisted it while I slept, or something), so I set the EB for 22 minutes instead of the 25 I should have. But, as I pedaled, I started thinking of how I could admit this slack-off to my VRB buddies. I couldn't. Fortunately, a very peppy song came on just before the buzzer sounded, so I reset it and finished with 25-1/2 minutes total! :)

Then, in the afternoon, we picked up DH's newest friend:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2365/2378193237_6664fdb03a_m.jpg

I now need to make my way up to the attic tomorrow to locate that pith helmet... ;) It's a Toyota FJ Cruiser and looks for all the world as though we're about to set out on a safari!

How's everyone else doing this week? I'd actually start naming names, but I'm afraid that I would miss someone and wake up at 3am, remembering, then needing to get online to fix my mistake. :o

[Leslie Ferguson]

Today was pretty much what I expected - classes went well but as you can inmagine with an almost complete new schedule I had to futz around on campus a little. And then I forgot that I had a committee meeting this afternoon (I'm the correspondence secretary for the committee) that went a little longer than we expected. Impacted my workout today but it was quite grey and thus not a bad thing to do.

Vicci - I'm not wholly a three hour morning class kind of person but since it's the only class that was avaiable and I needed the hours to maintain full time status I'm sold. It would be nice to have the morning off but since I'm on campus by 8:10 every morning (morning worship start time) it's not a bad thing to get my classes out of the way before lunch. And coming from where I was last year at this time - 8:00 is a really late start (we had to be functioning by 7:00) so I'll take it. Nice ride too. If you need a pith helmet... I know where to find them (but they're hard for non-military folks to scare up). ;) Great EB session too.

Robyn - It sounds like you had a great time skiing. Good for you to take care of your knee too.

Hey and a shout out to Nat, seathyme, Kathy B, ktg, Betsy (are you still out there), Legolas (I assume she's still lurking), Carrie, and the rest of the gang.

Happy trails,
Les

[ktg0930]

Hello runners!

My race report -- the 5K was good, althought I could have run it faster. The course last year had a horrible hill near the end that I had to walk last year. I didn't want to start too fast because I wanted to be able to run up that hill. But the course was different this year. It was a fun race and when we finished, it felt great that it was only 8 am and we were done with our daily exercise.

I'm headed to Jersey and then Tampa tomorrow. I have a lot to do today, work-wise, so I'll need to keep it short today.

Vicci -- that's a beautiful car, very safari like.

Carrie -- great job on the race!

Hello to Les, Natasha, Seathyme, Robyn, and everyone else!

Kathy

[seathyme]

Jan - Mar total: a cool 300 miles even.:cool:

More later!

[SusanMac]

Howdy, runnahs! I'm back. Actually got back Sat, but avoided the PC over the weekend, then have been swamped w/work.

Seathyme - Nice milestone! Your NH excursion sounds wonderful! How is the hand feeling.

Les - Hope you enjoyed your Spring Break. Did you do a little 'seminary students gone wild'??

Vicci - Nice job on the EBs. Several of our local school tracks are closed to the public. Of course....they're the ones closest to me! Congrats on the new toy. I think those look so fun & playful.

Robyn - Your ski run sounds awesome!

Newsomz - Fantastic job on the 10K. Are you looking for another one down the line?

ktg - Nice job on the race. I felt that way about my last race. Didn't scorch the course, but still something to feel good about. Have a good trip.

Nat - thx for the info last week on your MC vs. stability shoe experience.

I got in one run in NY last week. I wanted to get in one more on Fri a.m., but I couldn't sleep well in the hotel the entire time, so opted for more rest. When I returned on Sat, DH waited for me to come home, then we both went for a run w/Bode. What a nice welcome home! Sun & Mon were both indoor bike spins. Weather's getting better to ride outdoors, but I haven't done it yet.

Hi to the rest o' the gang!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Susan - Welcome back - a weekend without the PC??? I might have the DTs. ;) :p In our way we were a little wild - but mostly slept in late and fiddled and ran (a bunch).

See you all later.
Les

[Natasha]

Hi,

Since last posting, I have a 40 minute treadmill run, yoga, and core to report. I was going to do a shorter run and a short spin, but then realized that my bike shoes were still in DH's car from the weekend :rolleyes: So it was back on the treadmill for another 10 minutes, and I decided that would be the full workout for the day. I've also been to the physio so this evening will be spent on work, stretching, and family time.

Welcome back, Susan!

Les, two days back and it sounds like already you're caught up in the whirlwind that is school.

Yay Seathyme on hitting the 300 mile-stone (pun intended ;))

Kathy, thanks for the race report! Sounds like a fun time. Were you relieved or annoyed that they'd changed the course, since you were all psyched for the hill? Safe travels.

Vicci, congrats on the new vehicle! Loved the blog story - too funny! I look forward to finding the chicken korma recipe there. I got the May Canadian Living yesterday but have only had a chance to start flipping through it.

Hi to everyone else!

[newsomz]

seathyme - Sorry about the accident :( It is wonderful you were able to complete 300 mi!!

Les - Yikes 7am is definitely worse than 8am. I'm glad that your first day back went well.

Robyn - Wow! Sounds like a great day of skiing.

Vicci - Good job on the EB despite the ankle.

Kathy - I know what you mean about being done by 8am. It is nice and I always thing I should do that for me weekday runs... But! I really enjoy my evening runs since running is such a great stress reliever for me. Great job on the race. Have fun in Jersey & Florida (it's getting HOT & HUMID - be prepared).

Susan - Great job on squeezing the workouts in this weekend.

Natasha - Wow! All those workouts in just a few short days. Great job.

I got in a slow 30 minutes today. Just the thing for recovery. I think my next race will be a half marathon over Thanksgiving. Good way to burn off all the yummy Thanksgiving food :) I might run another 5K or 10K in between though.

Hello to everyone else!!! Happy trails.

[VictoriaL]

Les I remember that before the first day of classes each semester in college I would "walk" my route around campus and make certain that I knew where the buildings and the rooms in the buildings were located. I had a fear of walking in class late, in front of everyone so I had to be certain that I knew where I was going. For some reason, I don't think that is, in any way, one of your anxieties! ;)

Kathy great run! Were you disappointed about the hill being taken off the course, or relieved? Have safe journeys this week.

seathyme yahoo for the "mileage milestone"! Hope your hand is feeling better.

Welcome back Susan. I'll be that the entire family, DH, Bode, and little Merckrx (sp?) are happy that you have returned (and you, too!)

Nat, a silly question (I think so, anyway), but what are biking shoes? I've always used my cross-trainers, but are there special shoes for biking? Quick answer, please -- DH is bugging me about possible birthday gifts and other than a couple of cookbooks and a LeCreuset (another sp???) omelette pan, I can't think of much else! :rolleyes:

Carrie if it's already getting hot and humid there, no wonder you haven't scheduled a race until Thanksgiving. :)

I forgot to mention about the new vehicle. My Jeep Wrangler is over 8 years old and a friend of ours wants it badly for several reasons. I had wanted my next car to be a hybrid, but DH ran the numbers and I wouldn't drive it enough to even come close to breaking even in cost of vehicle vs. savings in fuel. Even though this is supposedly "my" car, I will probably be driving "his" since DH has a glint in his eye whenever he looks at it...

Today was yoga and weight day. I have noticed a definite increase in my flexibility during yoga although I'm still really limited in what I can do. I increased my upper body weights this week and am starting to ease back into lower body stuff. I want my legs to be nice and strong when I finally get around to running again!

Tomorrow is EB day. You know, I don't feel the dread which I used to when planning a bike session. Probably because I don't have much of a choice! :o

Hope that you're all having a good week!

[newsomz]

Hi Vicci, I believe by "bike shoes" Natasha meant the shoes that clip into your pedals. These (http://www.rei.com/product/748415), for example. You also have to have special pedals that can accept the special shoes. Confused? Check out This Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_shoe) for a better description :)

[Natasha]

Thanks Carrie :) Yes, Vicci, that's the type of shoes I use for biking, along with clipless pedals. Hope this helps. They take a little while to get used to but once you do, they're great. When is your birthday? (And your question wasn't at all silly!)

And that's awesome about the increased flexibility and your progress with weights. Sounds like you're managing to strike that balance between progressing while being prudent.

(On the subject of bike shoes and pedals... We have a show on CBC, the Rick Mercer Report, where this comedian goes around and does wacky things all across the country. Last week he was at a velodrome and tried out clipless pedals. It was pretty funny, though I'm sure he was hamming for the cameras and pretending he was finding it harder than it really was. But I digress :p)

Carrie, good idea to do a 1/2 over Thanksgiving! Will your sister do it with you, maybe?

[Leslie Ferguson]

Vicci - Never a silly question around here, most of us have learned all kinds of atypical things in our off-BB life. I'll echo that bike shoes and clipless pedals are great, I have them on my road bike and definitely know it when I ride my mountain bike with just plain shoes on. You've got it, I'm nevere too concerned about walking into class late and honestly, with 15 classrooms on our spacious 80-acre campus, I've been in all of them (and all of my classes are in the same classroom this quarter so I can't get lost). Congrats on your improved flexibility too.

Natasha - Sometimes I think time off doesn't always help with school. There's a lot of inertia that has to be overcome getting back into the swing of things. Not that I'll complain about time off, just the first week back is hectic. Sounds like a good spin and physio appointment.

Kathy - Thanks for the race report and I'm glad you didn't have the hill again this year like last year.

Howdy to the rest of the gang. I took a spin today in a spare moment between studying and working. 40 minutes on the bike was pretty good and I got a lesson read in the process - a bonus ride in my book.

Happy hump day to all and have a good Wednesday.
Les

[SusanMac]

Newsomz - Thx for the links. I love Wikipedia! Who actually has the time to write & post this stuff? It amazes me. I had never heard of spinning shoes before. Where is your target half-mar? There in FL?

Vicci - I hope you get to drive "your" car! Now that I have all the cycling gear I need, I'd love another LeC pan for my b-day :-)

No workout yesterday, as work was too crazy. We've got evening activities for the remainder of the week, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can still sneak in consistent workouts. I guess I could get up earlier....but that just seems silly :-)

Hi to Les, Nat, Seathyme, Kathy & the rest o the gang.

[Natasha]

Les, good job on the spin.

Susan, your comment about getting up early made me laugh :D Enjoy your evening events and good luck with the workouts!

I plan to spin tonight, but probably not very long. I was so paranoid that my bike shoes would remain in DH's car and they'd be stuck in the airport parking lot for a couple of days (he's flying to Victoria right now - lucky!). Anyway, my shoes are back. *whew* ;)

I'll also catch the next instalment of the Canadian Olympic swim trials on TV tonight. DH and I had a good time watching yesterday. I've always loved watching swimming and it reminds me that I really need to get back in the pool soon. Now that it's warming up I feel more like it. Getting in the water (even in an indoor pool) when it's so cold outside is not my favourite thing to do.

Take care, all ~
Natasha

[Leslie Ferguson]

DH's flying to Victoria right now...
You aren't kidding. If he ever needs someone to schlep his bags in Victoria I'll throw myself at that one. ;) I'd probably even be able to find him a couple good places to run and eat (and eat mind you) in the area (Navy base used to be in Esquimalt... need I say anything more?). Good that you retreived your shoes so they didn't sit at the airport for a couple days. Maybe we can agree to get back in the water together at a distance...

I had an alternate workout today, we played Ultimate for about 90 minutes. Important since we're playing in a tournament in 2 1/2 weeks against some schools that actually have intramural teams and leagues (as opposed to us - we may have enough people to play two full teams by ourselves). Good workout and survived without getting injured. Always a bonus.

Howdy to the rest of the gang. You crack me up too Susan.
See you all tomorrow and happy trails,
Les

[newsomz]

Les - Great job on the spin! Multitasking at its finest :) Glad you didn't get hurt in the round of ultimate!

Susan - The 1/2 is in Atlanta. It should be nice and cool up there for Thanksgiving. Good luck squeezing in workouts. I hear you on the getting up early thing.. though I am planning to do it tomorrow. We'll see if I can pull myself from bed.

Natasha - Glad you got your shoes back... Do you use them only inside? Or ride with them outside, as well? I don't think my sister will be joining me on any races until she gets done with school :( This is just the first year of her two year program so I have a bit of time to wait. Last year two of my cousins ran the atlanta 1/2 so I am hoping them will be running it this coming year. If so, I'll have someone to wake up early with.

Nothing to report here.. just chatting :) Hi to everyone! I hope you're all having a wonderful week.

[Natasha]

Les, you wouldn't happen to know of any good sushi places offhand there, would you? ;) I have a feeling that's what he'll have tomorrow for dinner. Just kidding about your having to deliver a recommendation - I imagine he can find a good place there pretty easily, with very fresh fish. Yum.

Carrie, I use the shoes both indoors and outdoors, and on my mountain and road bikes. Your 1/2 in Atlanta sounds fun though it's too bad your sis will likely be too busy. Hopefully your cousin(s) can do it again.

Still haven't done my spin - I watched swimming, chatted on the phone with a friend, and played with the pup instead. :)

[Leslie Ferguson]

Nat - sorry I can't remember any good sushi places there. Not that there probably aren't good ones, just I didn't eat in any good ones when I was there before. I'm not even going to guess either - but you're rught, there is good sushi to be had, in fact I think Anthony Bourdain (SP?) spot-lighted one or if not him then one of the Travel Channel or Food Network folks did.

Carrie - yep, I love multi-tasking. Without the capability I wouldn't be able to complete school and get workouts in.

Studies call... Happy trails,
Les

[newsomz]

Just thought of a question about the cycling shoes I forgot to ask in my last post! I've always thought about getting some pedals/shoes, however, my bike is primarily a commuting bike. Would it be practical to get the pedals/shoes with that in mind? I have a feeling I wouldn't like having to carry a change of shoes with me to work everyday...

[Leslie Ferguson]

Carrie - That was always part of the difficulty with riding - I always had to have a change of shoes for my uniform. A solution that kind of applies came to me when I walked to work when I was in Newport RI a few years ago (only walked about 3/4 mile) in the rain and winter gunk. Since I didn't want to have my dress shoes or Top Siders get trashed in the slush and rain I had a pair of both colors (black and brown) loafers in my desk and wore muck-lucks to school then changed when I got there. That might work for you. Other than that, if you could wear soft sole shoes (walking shoe type) then you could go with platform pedals and toe clips.

Hope that helps.
Les

[newsomz]

Les - I think the spare shoes at work would probably be the best solution for me.. I'll probably continue to think about getting pedals/shoes :) Currently I have the toe clips and they work quite well. I'm curious about the pedals/shoes but I don't know that it would be worthwhile for me to buy them since I only have a 7mi round trip commute.

I got in 30 minutes this morning right before the sun rose. I was a little nervous about running in the dark, however, I just ran on streets that were well lit. It wasn't a problem and I felt quite safe - perhaps safer than normal since there were less cars to mow me down but enough cars to ward off trouble. I also walked about 2 mi so I could catch the bus to work. Luckily it was a beautiful morning :) I'm going on vacation this weekend so I'll have to find a place in the Keys to do my long run...

[SusanMac]

Newsomz- That Atlanta race is fairly new, isn't it? Their ads caught my eye b/c it sounds like a fun destination holiday race. If you're interested in clipless pedals, I'd recommend the shoes w/embedded cleats (is that the right word?) Basically, commuter/touring shoes that look more like sneaks & allow you to walk easily. The cleats don't stick out below the shoe the way road bike/racing shoes do. Does that make sense? Several of my friends who commute use these. Now that I'm used to clipless pedals, it's hard for me to switch back to the toe clips (which are on my mtn bike).

Les - The Ultimate sounds fun! I've never tried it. Have a hunch I'd be horrible :-)

Nat - do you have a lot of fun girlfriend stuff planned while DH is away??

Got in a quick spin on the indoor trainer yesterday. Good to get the adrenaline flowing. I'm currently watching the Weeds series on the bike :-)

Our concert was fun. It was the annual, final, statewide competition for high school soloists. 4 soloists each played a piece w/the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Amazing to think of what these kids can do at only 16!

Tonight is the start of the annual Independent Film Festival. Dutch film for us tonight. Whew. Busy week!

[Natasha]

Hi guys,

Carrie, you've gotten some good advice about the bike shoes. Let us know what you end up buying!

Ahhh - toe clips. I had my mountain biking accident a few years ago with those. Due to the way I fell (long story), if I had been using clipless, I would have required less staples in my knee :eek: ANYwho... ;)

Susan, the concert sounds fabulous. My family used to go to lots of classical concerts when my sister was in the biz, but I've not been to one lately and have been hankering to go. I'd like to catch at least one concert before the summer pops type concerts begin. Please give us a movie update later! I'm always interested in good foreign movies to check out on video (which I know won't be for months, but still).

Speaking of movies, Spirit of the Marathon is playing in yet more theatres now, including Canadian screenings April 9. Maybe I'll check it out. http://www.marathonmovie.com/newscreen.html

No girl activities planned tonight and tomorrow DH is expecting to be home in time for date night! This was a short jaunt. I'm enjoying the time to putter around and do my thing, though. I prefer having him home, of course, but am not opposed to a couple of days of "me time" either from time to time :)

And okay, I didn't spin last night after all. Tonight, honest!!

Les, Ultimate sounds like fun. I once volunteered at a place where everyone else did Ultimate quite seriously. I don't think I'll try it, though - waaay too uncoordinated :p

Carrie, your weekend away sounds awesome! Hope you fit in that run.

Best to everyone else. Seathyme, how's your hand?

Natasha

[VictoriaL]

Happy SHOE-day to me!
Happy SHOE-day to meeeeee!
:D

Today, for the first time in 81 days, I was able to fit into a real pair of shoes! I was so thrilled. Yes, they’re my old Asics cross-trainers which were a bit wide on my foot to begin with, but they were shoes!!!

Ahhh, those little joyful moments in life… ;)

Now I need to ask another question about bike shoes. My pedals have a sort of “cage” around the front part of the shoe area. I’ve not noticed that wearing cross-trainers impeded my ability to pedal, so why are something like bike shoes necessary? For speed? And you talk about clipping the shoes onto the pedals—like my cross-country ski shoes are clipped onto the skis? And wouldn’t you want to be able to get the heck off of the pedals if you saw that you were going to take a spill? Questions, questions… :o

Susan getting up early for any reason seems silly to me! Working from home has absolutely spoiled me in that way. Your week’s evening activities sound fun. DH’s cousin lived in Madison for several years and from what he told us, it seemed like a great place since there was always something going on.

Les, the Master of Multitasking, I hope that your first week back at the studies went smoothly.

Carrie Somehow I don’t think that you’ll have a problem finding a nice place to run in the Keys… (*sigh!*)

Nat Enjoy your “me time”. :) Since DH works from home, I’m so used to having him around that I go a little batty on those infrequent occasions when he has to attend out-of-town meetings. But then I get over it and treat myself to things that he doesn’t like (artichokes, goat cheese, olives…). Speaking of food, I made the Green Goddess dressing from Canadian Living and we really enjoyed it. Another future blog entry!

I did a mean 31 minutes on the EB yesterday morning, pushing my HR above what I usually do, and it felt great. I’ve decided that the “trick”, for me, is music. If I’m fortunate enough to have a song that I enjoy come on the radio as I am getting near the end of my time, I can easily extend it a bit. I have also found that there is a way I can re-program the EB, once it has finished the program I am using, to extend the time and “count up”, adding to the count of calories used and keeping the same resistance level. When I started using the EB, 6 weeks after I broke my ankle, I would use maybe 125 calories during the time (10 minutes, I think) that I was exercising. Yesterday, I went over 600 calories.

So I think that I have to pay attention to those songs which pump me up a bit and learn how to burn a special EB cd!

And another week slides to an end. :)

[Leslie Ferguson]

Happy SHOE-day to me!
Happy SHOE-day to meeeeee!
:D

Now I need to ask another question about bike shoes. My pedals have a sort of “cage” around the front part of the shoe area. I’ve not noticed that wearing cross-trainers impeded my ability to pedal, so why are something like bike shoes necessary? For speed? And you talk about clipping the shoes onto the pedals—like my cross-country ski shoes are clipped onto the skis? And wouldn’t you want to be able to get the heck off of the pedals if you saw that you were going to take a spill? Questions, questions… :o


Congratulations on real shoes today. Bike shoes... where to start but I'll give a 30 second impression: Bike shoes have rigid soles which improve the ergonomics and reduce stress on your feet. They help you get mor power and control out of each stroke of the pedals. Clipless pedals/shoes have a cleat on the bottom of the shoe that attaches to the post of the pedal. Yes, you want to get your feet out of the pedals in an emergency and YOU CAN get your feet out very quickly (have done it in a pinch). The hardest time for me to get my feet out is when I'm going very slow and struggling with balance but I've only ever dumped my bike twice without being able to get my feet out - both were times when I was trying to avoid being squashed by slow moving cars (and I was moving slowly too) and finally lost balance and dumped.

Sorry I don't have time for more but my 30 seconds is up. Spent 13 hours on campus today - 5 hours in class, 2 hours of lecture/question and answer for a program about Martin Luther King Jr (40th anniversary of his assassination is tomorrow), 3 hours of community being together for lunch and dinner, and an hour for worship - what a day.

To bed -- see you all tomorrow.
Les