Virtual Running Buddies- week of 4 April 2008

[VictoriaL]

I'm starting again?!
Printing taxes and I need something to keep me occupied (I've had to add paper twice already...).

Since I posted late last evening (tho not as late as Les!) I will show the last 2 posts from last week's thread below (cause there's some very important news contained therein! And a request for info, too)

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.


LES THEN POSTED:

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

Les Good heavens. What a day you had yesterday! I hope that you got a good night's rest.
Thanks for the biking shoes info. I think that, for what they cost, I'll pass on them until (if?) I begin biking very seriously. Now, when we got "out" to bike, it's on a trail and usually no more than 15 miles or so at a time.

Today's EB excursion was another good one. Again, I set the timer for 25 minutes but DH wasn't ready to take over, so I did another 5 minutes. Thirty minutes total, even if the music wasn't all that inspiring... :)

Hope that you all have a good weekend and that everyone has an opportunity to get a nice run (or eqivelant) in. Although I have a feeling that Carrie's run in the Keys will be the nicest!

[SusanMac]

Vicci - Thx for kicking us off for the week! Yet *another* EB session? You are on a roll. Congrats on the shoes. re: bike shoes - go back to last week's thread & read the Wiki link that Newsomz posted. It's a great snapshot of the benefits of cycling shoes. I find them easier to get out of compared to the toe cages. But, it takes a while to feel comfortable w/them. Honestly -- I think you'd only need them if you're doing a lot of cycling. If it's just occasional, they might not be worth it.

Snuck in a quick session on the bike trainer yesterday.

Today, I'm thinking it's not in the cards...but the day is still young.

Tonight is a GF's bday at a local taco bar, followed by more movie festival.

Nat - thx for the marathon movie update! And, enjoy the Olympic swim trials. I love watching swimming, and it's soooo competitive in Canada.

Happy weekend, runners!

[SusanMac]

Really? No one else but me & Vicci?

No workout for me yesterday. But, the film was fun! The directors were there & spoke to the audience afterwards.

We had a fab hike at the dog park this morning. Headed out for my first outdoors bike ride of the season! Woo hoo! It's in the 50's today. I need to find my bike helmet.....this might take a while

Hope everyone's having a great weekend & enjoying the outdoors too much to be online :-)

[Natasha]

Big congrats to Vicci on the milestone!! Happy shoe wearing! :D BTW, we liked the Green Goddess dressing as well. I made it last weekend. Still haven't checked out the May issue much but maybe this week. That's awesome about your EB progress.

Susan, enjoy your ride! DH and I did an hour on the rolling hills on our mountain bikes today. I'd been looking forward to it all week and it did not disappoint. It's in the 50s here too today. After the ride we went out for a late lunch of Mexican food. Now we're headed to the backyard for some lounging. Yesterday I did a shortish treadmill run.

Take care, one and all!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks for starting Vicci - as Susan said, there's a lot more than speed to biking shoes. As Natasha said, now that I've been wearing them I know when I don't ride with them (mountain bike vs. road bike). It's not about speed either - I have a lot more confidence when I ride and a lot more control of the pedals (if that makes sense).

Susan - Glad you had a good movie last night and a snuck in workout. Hope you have a good, restful day today.

Good treadmill run Natasha and I hope you have a good lounging day today.

I had a decent 90 minute run this morning (I'd guess something in the 10-11 mile range). Then this afternoon I played 90 minutes of ultimate - trying to get ready for the tournament in two weeks. Tonight I'll be going to a Seder supper at school, led by the TA from our Hebrew class (Jewish lady in one of the Reformed temples in the area).

Got to get cleaned up since things start in 35 minutes. Talk to you later and happy weekend.
Les

[seathyme]

Hi all,

Had a minor collapse this past week in the wake of the 300 mile-stone (Nat, you offered this excellent pun the other day, but I'm wondering whether it's not the original meaning of the word!). Anyway, between the hand gash and feeling a little under the weather and needing a mental break from the mile-counting, I spent a few days as a slug.

A funny thing happens to me when I miss a few days of running. I start to think maybe I'll never recover the conditioning I had, or maybe just never run again. Irrational, I know, but it can happen. So I'm happy to say I defeated those thoughts and went out for 5 miles this morning. The hand is recovered enough to permit writing/cooking/running (though DH has to chop things that require even minor hand strength -- don't ever try using a knife with your non-dominant hand, unless you're much more ambidextrous than I am:eek:), and I'm back over the weather (if that would be the opposite of under the weather). So things are getting back on track here.

Hello to all!

[Natasha]

Seathyme, great to hear from you. I think you're right about milestones! When I read what you wrote, suddenly Mille Bornes came to mind (the game, which I loved as a kid, and the actual mille bornes in France) :D Good for you to put mind over matter and get in that ever-important first run. (And thanks for the knife tip. I'm not good at all with my non-dominant hand so won't be trying to cut much with it anytime soon. I'm clumsy enough with my dominant one! ;))

Les, I'll bet you had a great evening. You've always got something fun going on!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Nat - Yep - there's always something interesting going on at school these days isn't there. The Seder supper was good and different than the onther ones I've been to - this one was definitely more traditional with Hebrew prayers and songs (I'm not sure what we did in the past but nothing like this).

seathyme - Sorry your hand god the best of you and I hope that it has finally turned the corner for you.

See you all tomorrow - happy trails,
Les

[Natasha]

Les, the dinner sounds fun and very interesting. Forgot to comment on your run AND Ultimate - way to go! whom will you be playing against in the tournament?

Another glorious day here. I went running with the group and did 93 minutes or so. Good times. Now to take on the rest of the day, including going out for Thai with a friend tonight. :)

Have a good Sunday!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Nat - we're playing in the 4th Annual Ultimate Frisbee Tournament for Presybeterian Seminaries (I know - I'm not Presbyterian... it's a long story) held in Richmond at the Union Theologica Seminary. If the participants are the same as last year we'll play against: Union-PSCE [Presybterian School of Christian Education] (Richmond), Union-PSCE (Charlotte), Princeton Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Columbia Theological Seminary, and Virginia Theological Seminary. I think that Princeton won the tournament last year and I know that Princeton and Union-Richmond have teams that play a lot, as opposed to us - we play about once a week if that. It will be a fun time but we might not fare all that well - which isn't a problem in my book but some people might not think so.

Good job on your run today and I hope you enjoy your Thai tonight.

Happy (damp and cool) trails all,
Les

[SusanMac]

Fabulous run w/some friends today at a new park I had never been to. Perfect weather - about 45 and much more sun than anticipated. Followed by a relaxing hike at the dog park. Then baking some coconut biscotti, to be followed by some ostrich burgers tonight :-) All in all, a good weekend. I did have to do some work today (which is why I'm online), but that's OK.

Les - I've never been to a Seder dinner. That's so fun you get to experience these different cultures.

Seathyme - I've never tried, but I just know there's no way I could cut anything w/my left hand. I'd bet the break from your mileage counting was very good for you.

Nat - Sounds like you had a fun weekend, too. I checked out the Spirit of Marathon movie, and it's making the rounds again, but isn't scheduled to come here. Oh well.

Hope everyone else had a good one. Now to log off for a bit of a PC break (much too short. I already know Mon will be busy)

[Leslie Ferguson]

Quiet day for a Monday... Ostrich burgers sound interesting Susan. 45, what a great temperature for a run too. Coconut biscotti and ostrich burgers in the same day - sounds like you're in heaven. I really like being here in Northern Virginia and with all the diverse folks so we can do all these things like Jewish Seders and meeting with people that I'd never run across in Norfolk - at least outside the military. Hope your day today wasn't too bad.

I had a good day both at school and at home. The day was kind of yucky and a cold damp kind of day so I decided to stay in, take it easy on my ankle (it's talking to me right now and I don't like it) so I got a 45 minute spin in this evening before cooking dinner - pollack and rice - a great meal. Did it (the pollack) with a little bread crumbs and in a skillet and plain steamed (and sticky) rice.

Plenty of studying to do so I'll sign off for now and see you all later.

Happy trails,
Les

[SusanMac]

Mon was a planned rest day for me. w/my sore legs, I figured they needed a little recovery.

Today we started w/a run out at the dog park. I hadn't run there in a while. The hills were killers!! Felt good, tho. Also nice to have my workout done. Think we'll start doing this more often, since it's gotten more difficult for me to workout midday.

Legolas -- you still out there?
Aggie -- isn't your race coming up?
Robyn -- still running?

Hope everyone is having a great week!

[ktg0930]

I'm back from my trip to Jersey and Tampa. It was warm in Tampa, but humid. I am happy to spend this week at home. Running-wise, I ran 4 miles yesterday and 3 today. Both days, the weather was fabulous. I even have little sock lines at my ankles and a watch line on my wrist.

Les -- glad you enjoyed the seder. You sound quite busy with school and frisbee and all your other activities.

Vicci -- It must be such a great feeling to wear regular shoes again. Usually, I'm the one traveling, but DH is going to Charlotte tomorrow to present at a meeting. So I have to think of all my favorite foods that he doesn't like.

Susan -- you are having some nice weather! You deserve it after a very snowy winter.

Natasha -- hope the thai was good.

Seathyme -- I am so impressed with you meeting your monthly goal this year. I hope your hand continues to feel better.

I guess it's time for dinner (leftover salmon).

Kathy

[Leslie Ferguson]

Welcome back Kathy, it sounds like you had a good trip. Tan lines on your ankles and wrist - oh the days. It's been yucky here (grey and drizzly) for the last week. Good getting a couople runs in too. Busy is my middle name these days...

Susan - doesn't it feel odd to run for the first time in a while? Especially throwing in hills. Hope you feel good tonight.

I got a run in today. It was nice and the temp was perfect (almost). 55 and a light breeze but it was overcast and humid so it was a bit bothersome. Chilling a bit. Only did 45 minutes between a break in classes (forgot that my meeting was next Tuesday not today or else I would have run farther) and work (where I am now).

Talk to you later... Happy trails,
Les

[VictoriaL]

Well, here's some good news: the doc told me yesterday that my ankle fracture is healed and that the displaced metatarsal is "connected" and "almost completely healed"!! Yahoo! Gosh, what a loooooong 12+ weeks this has been!

He told me to start exercising the muscles in my foot and around my ankle, then proceeded to go up on his tippy-toes to show me one move I should be doing. I also tippy-toed. Then he lowered his heels to the floor and went up on the toes of only one foot. I tried on my formerly-broken foot-- NOTHING! I could not manage even the slightest upward movement. I almost cried! He was nice and told me just to work on it, but I've been trying this for over a day now and no progress. Les??? Any words of wisdom??? :(

Nat, nothing better than biking or running on "glorious days" is there?! Ah, spring!

Les I'm surprised at your weather conditions today since I think of the DC area as having milder temps than we do here. Sounds like you're back in the swing of the last part of your semester. I hope that your ankle is feeling better!

Susan, is Bode running with you at the dog park? The coconut biscotti sounds really, really good. :)

Kathy, it's nice to be back home, I'll bet. And great on your runs in the nice weather, too.

It was 76 and sunny here today. I want to run so badly, but have to be satisfied with my heel-toe-heel-toe walking practices. And I weeded a bit too (yes, weeds already-- my daffodils are just blooming and some of the weeds were flowering too!).

Hope you all are doing well!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Vicci - Words of wisdom? I remember that you were in your cast for 8 or 9 weeks right? or at least non-weight bearing for that long. I'd bet you'll be slow coming back to strength and mobility - probably 4 or 5 weeks at least. When I did my extensive rehab (and I was 17 at the time) it was 5 weeks of 3 times a week working hard to get strength and mobility back in my knee and I was weight bearing the whole time. When I've done ankle rehab for non-fractures but tweaks it was over a week to come back from a simple sprain after having been slightly hobbled for about a week and a half. Sadly, the tendons and muscles in your ankle don't build quickly and get loose quickly so time is what it will take. I wish there was some magic trick but there isn't.

See you all later and life is good and my ankle isn't too tweaked any more (but give me time :rolleyes: ).

Les

[Natasha]

Welcome back, Kathy! Cool about the partial tan.

Les, glad the ankle isn't bothering you anymore.

Vicci, I'm sorry to hear about your foot mobility :( I have no advice, but wanted to offer my good thoughts and hopes that it improves quickly. Awesome though that you can enjoy the weather in your garden!

Susan, sounds like you've been busy but are still fitting in the workouts - good job!

Has anyone heard from TKay lately?? Hope she is well.

Last night I went to my mom's for dinner but did do yoga when I got back. Early this evening DH and I went for a ride on our road bikes - just over an hour. Nice to have now gotten out on both bikes this spring. :)

Take care, everyone.

[SusanMac]

Les - I just meant it had been a while since I had run at that location, rather than 1st timing running altogether. Good luck at the Ultimate tournament! That's probably a blast to watch. Does LW come out for the games??

Vicci - That's great news from the Dr. Be patient w/your tip-toe exercises. I'm sure it's frustrating b/c it sounds easy, but it really takes a lot of muscles and balance. It'll come. And, yes, Bode definitely comes with. He can be off-lead there, so I'm sure he runs twice as far as we do in the same amount of time! He loves it.

Nat - an hour on the road bike? Awesome! (is this the beloved new bike porn bike for DH?? Is it living up to expectation? Do guys turn their heads in admiration when he goes by? ;-)

Not sure what's in the cards for today. We have spillover rain right now, but it's supposed to clear up later.

[VictoriaL]

Les, yes, yours are words of wisdom to me—I don’t know of anyone else who has broken an ankle and I really appreciate that you’re able to give me some advice about this subject. I know that our circumstances aren’t identical, but it’s so good to have a bit of a reference. Just to tell me that it will take several weeks to gain back my strength helps a lot because I don’t have to guess.

And while I’m at it, thanks to everyone on this thread for their sympathy and advice and commiseration as I went through the past few months. It was so very appreciated! I’m figuring that I’m being a little more apprehensive about this healing and rebuilding process than I normally would be because I turn 50 in a very short 11 days and I’m probably pushing myself a bit harder than I should but, dammit, I feel as though I'm in my 30's, and I’m in decent shape and I am just hating anything that slows me down or makes me unable to do all that I want to do! :o

Susan, I am imagining you running while Bode tears off ahead, circles around, runs behind you, then goes back in front… it’s a dog’s life! ;)

Nat well, are other guys eyeing DH’s bike-candy???? Susan’s comment was so funny!

I only did 25 minutes on the EB this morning because I was multitasking. No, I wasn’t reading like Les does. I had stinky haircoloring on my head (had to use the fan to blow the smell away from me!). I tried not to work up a sweat though, for obvious reasons (an aside—I kept thinking about the Fraiser episode where Martin (Fraiser’s dad) decided he didn'twant his hair to be grey any more, but the hair dyes were too expensive, so he used shoe polish. Later that evening, at a party at Niles’ house, he looked dapper but as he stood beside the fireplace, in a conversation with strangers, the black shoe polish started to run in rivulets down the sides of his face!).

It turned out okay but I felt cheated on my exercising, although I did get my HR up faster than usual and kept it at a higher level to make up…

I also tried a few more yoga poses this morning. I can’t really ease into them like I was able to do previously, but the stretches felt good. All in good time, correct?

Happy Hump Day to everyone! We are going to a hockey game this evening which means a rather uninspired dinner beforehand (unfortunately there no decent restaurants near the arena, just burger and pizza joints) but we’re meeting friends we haven’t seen in a while so it should be fun.

[SusanMac]

What's that Vicci??? I couldn't hear you. You need to speak up louder!! :-)

[Natasha]

Susan, too funny :D No, DH's new bike is a mountain bike. We saw only one rider yesterday, and he had a pretty sweet ride too so there was no coveting our road bikes :p

Vicci, wow, milestone birthday coming up! Loved your Frasier tale.

Hi to everyone else. I should've already run today but things got in the way so I may or may not do it tonight. If not, there's always abs and core. :)

Hi to everyone else.

[newsomz]

Vicci - Congrats on the shoe "victory". How exciting!! You are well on your way to recovery :) Great job on the EB. I agree about the music.. It is what keeps me running. And I have not advice about the tippie toes but will be sending you my positive thoughts!

Les - Great job on the 90 min run.. Don't know if I'd be very motivated after the long days you've been having! What is pollack?

Susan - Hope your first outdoors bike ride went well! The coconut biscotti sound divine! I need to get back into the kitchen.. but I have to go to the grocery store first to get some food, lol.

Natasha - Sounds like a good weekend - I've been craving some good Mexican! And now you're having Thai. I need to come stay with you for a week ;)

Seathyme - Great job on the 5 mi run. I still can't get over 300 mi in 3 months!

Kathy - Glad you got back into town for the nice weather! I hear you on the humidity.. I ran this weekend in Key West and it was HOT!!!!

As for me I got in a 8km run in the keys. I was quite proud since I spent the previous two days under attack from my allergies. Plus, I had just returned from a day at the Dry Tortugas and a 2.5 hr long (very bumpy) boat ride. Anyhow, the run was nice though it was quite hot & muggy down there! I am glad I live a fair bit north :) I also got in a run last night after I returned. It was a quick 5km in beautiful weather. Ahh. Glad to be back home.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Vicci - Happy early birthday to you and congratulations on your milestone. LW will join the ranks this fall - already plotting her birthday too (wondering how many purple balloons it will take to fill a 1999 Honda Civic 4 door sedan :p ). I'm glad that my words of wisdom are helpful to you and that there is consolation in knowing that it will just take time to heal. And that's not just because of your age - ankles and feet are notorious for being slow healers, I vaguely remember that has to do with the fact that the blood doesn't flow very well uphill (not quite the way the doctor explained it but you get my drift). However, if it's any consolation since this is your first injury you should heal faster than someone like me would (if I were to break my ankle/foot). Funny image with you and the EB today. I hope you enjoy the hockey match. What is it, AHL?
Natasha - (and Susan) That's too funny about eye-candy and DH's bike - I forgot all about his new bike... Glad you got out to ride for an hour outside - maybe sometime soon I'll be able to pull something like that off.
Susan - love the image of spillover rain too. I'm not sure why I thought you hadn't run in a while -- oh, that was me a couple days ago.
Carrie - Sometimes my long runs are therapy and other times it is time for me to process a lot of the stuff that I pick up in those marathon classes. The folks who talk to me have a lot more going with regard to their fields of endeavour (not that they're smarter per se - just they have spent more time refining their position). Pollock (the correct American spelling) is a white fish like Cod. Wikipedia has a posting for it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollock. I think it's a little better than Cod but it's not available all that often - it is mostly available in the winter/spring. Sorry you allergies are whacking you right now - I think that's going around.

I had a good day with no classes which allowed me to hole up for about 6 in the library and read for a paper that's due in a couple weeks (I need to get it done because it's due at the same time as another paper).

Spent 90 minutes playing frisbee as my "alternate run" of the day getting ready for the tournament in 10 days. I felt good too because the guy who was covering me "complained" when we took a breather that I never stopped running. I just smiled and said - yep, I've been known to run for more than 4 hours (not without stopping but still run for 4 hours). Survived the event without too much stress on my ankle or shoulder -- two good things.

Studying and working on my short answer paper for tomorrow. Simple thing really, just three questions. The first one is, "What does God know?" Gee, just a simple question. :rolleyes:

Until later, have a great evening and I'll see you tomorrow.
Happy trails,
Les

[ktg0930]

This week is just flying by. I went for a run yesterday and the weather was great again. I'm trying to enjoy it because it's supposed to be only 50 this weekend and continuing into next week.

Les -- wow, that's a tough question. Good luck with that paper.

Carrie -- glad you had a good time in the Keys and got a run in as well, even with allergy issues. I've always wanted to go to Key West.

Vicci -- how was the hockey game? I love that Frasier story. That's one show I never watched routinely, but it's always hilarious when I see the reruns.

Natasha --glad you got your bike out for a nice ride.

Susan -- a non-running question for you--my grandma (in Madison) is turning 90 and my aunt and I are thinking of having a family dinner, about 15 people, in Madison. Could you suggest some nice restaurants that would have a private room? My parents are not into food at all and are no help.

Hope everyone has a great day!

[newsomz]

Les - Great job on the frisbee. How flattering to have someone complain about how much you were running :)

Kathy - I hear you about the week flying by! I can't believe it is almost Friday!! That's what two days off for vacation will do, though.

I got out on a 45 min run today. I think I'm going to turn my mid-week 5k's into 45 min runs. Not sure how far I'll run this weekend. It is a packed weekend as DBF finally gets home from 3 wks away! We're going to a practice football game & a gymnastics meet. Sunday will probably be my run day.

[Natasha]

Drive-by posting. Got in a vigorous spin tonight (a tad too cold & damp to ride outdoors, at least for my tastes).

Les, yeah, talk about a hard paper topic. Very interesting though. Good luck with it. Funny about your Ultimate teammate and his complaint about your running fiendishness :D

Carrie, you're welcome to come up here and eat out with us anytime ;)

Vicci, how was the game? Was it the Sens-Pens game? If so, I'll bet you were thrilled! I saw a bit of that game last night and wondered if I'd see you in the crowd ;)

Hi to everyone else. G'night!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Drive by here too, You all are right - fun class and fun questions. Partly unnerving and partly fun because there are no pat answers. Part of the class is to help us make a reasoned argument for a position that may be very open-ended. I love the comment too - nice to be known as the energizer bunny from time to time.

No run today - 5 hours of class and trying to get ready for a class retreat that Saturday and Sunday morning.

Need to finish off a little studies and head to bed.

Happy trails,
Les