VRB's- W/O July 12

[VictoriaL]

I guess that I start this week!

Les, I hope that you are enjoying your evening off-call. It's good to have some "regenerating" time.

Robyn any hilly, windy biking excursions planned for this weekend? You'd probably snicker at the "hills" I complain about running on at our local park... ;)

Nat, a walk around town with DH, the pup, and ice cream. And an outdoor concert. And nice weather. Sounds perfect to me!

Kathy is cruising as we speak.

and nice to hear from Carrie! Sorry about the busy-ness, but check in and say hi occasionally. :)

I went out for a trail-run this morning (first in a month), but took one look at the wooded paths and came back to the house for my pruners. Vines and weeds were growing into the paths and there was barely room for me! I trimmed some of the worst, and cleared branches off the trails as well, but by the time I was done I had been out for over an hour. So I went back home, gave DH a banana to tide him over to breakfast, and took a short, but intense run. DH is a very tolerant man (breakfast at 10:30 anyone? And he was greatly anticipating French Toast Friday, too...).

So what is everyone doing for the weekend? DH has a meeting at 9 tomorrow morning, so after he leaves I'll do some core and weights. Then, until it gets unbearable outside, I plan to work on weeding the flower beds and garden. Two of my friends are coming to the lake house next weekend, and the following weekend we are having three or four couples there, so I have some menu planning to do-- that's a perfect excuse to sit inside, in front of a fan.

Hope that, whatever is on your schedule, everyone has a great weekend! :D

[Robyn1007]

Don't you hate it when things like vines seem to suddenly get out of control.

I did a 15 mile ride in 95 degree heat last night. I'll definitely be glad to get morning rides in this weekend. Speaking of which, I've got a ride/swim planned for tomorrow and a ride with my uncle and then and open water swim planned on Sunday. It's only supposed to be mid 80s tomorrow so that will be a nice break considering it's overcast and 88 degrees still at 7:30pm. :rolleyes:

[Leslie Ferguson]

Drive by - heading for bed. Yep, it's nice to not be on the pager tonight. It will be nice to sleep in a little before going back on call for the remainder of the weekend.

Great run today Vicci.

I'll count this week as a veritable bust when it comes to running and riding but I expected. I'll do something tomorrow once I'm back on call but not sure what - I can't really get much farther from home than 10 minutes on my bike so...

Hope everyone has a great weekend and happy trails,
Les

[Robyn1007]

Alright, I'm logging 16.5 miles on the bike and 850yds swim today. I was ecstatic during the swim because I finally found a rhythm with breathing so the second half I was able to swim entirely freestyle.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey Robyn, it sounds like you had a fun day biking and swimming. I was wondering what your experience with swimming is? Have you been a swimmer in the past and are just getting back into it or are you a realtively new swimmer? Not that it really matters, just wondering. It sounds like you are well on your way to being ready for your du coming up soon. How was the temp there today?

Vicci - DH is very patient and your French Toast must be fantabuolous to wait that long for it. I hope that you got a lot done outside and a lot of menu planning. Will you do a lot of the cooking or will you farm the efforts out?

I spent a lot of my day inside - some of it trying to stay awake after a long week and part of it getting ready for next week. That on top of being on-call and not really knowing what I can do - at least in my mind. But this eveing I decided that I would figure things out and went for a ride. Not quite sure how far I went but it was just over an hour. And the phenomenal thing is I never got more than 10 minutes from home (at least on the return trip if needed). I rode all over the place near my house and did a bunch of figure-eight kind of things. Good to get out and ride. 3 pages so far this evening but none that required my going to the hospital. Still a little unnerving to be on the hook for the remainder of the weekend but I'll get through it.

See you all in the funnies and maybe after another ride tomorrow - I think running is out of the question because it will be hard to carry my pager and cell phone but on my bike - not so hard.

Happy trails,
Les

[Natasha]

Hi everyone!

Vicci, thanks for starting us off this week :) Sounds like you've been very productive (and I love the sound of the short but intense run!). Do you make French toast every Friday? You have a lucky DH indeed :) How's the menu planning going?

Robyn, sounds like you will be in fine shape for your upcoming race!

Les, smart idea to do your ride while remaining close to home. I'll bet you felt better for having gotten out and fit in the ride. Good luck with the rest of the weekend on call. After today, when's the next time you will be on call?

After my day off on Thursday, I did a spin on Friday and went trail running yesterday while DH did hill intervals on his mountain bike. It was like running in pea soup - hot but especially humid (rain was imminent). I felt like I was just slogging along for some of the run but overall it was still fun and I got to see a deer close-up, which is always neat. Earlier in the day we went to the farmers' market and among other things got another flat of strawberries. Good stuff.

Today's a riding day! Then I get to go in for a massage - looking forward to that.

Hope everyone else is doing well: Carrie, Susan, KathyB, ktg, TKay, Mary, Seathyme, Betsy, and the rest of the gang.

[Robyn1007]

Les, so glad to hear you got a ride in. I grew up swimming, took many swim lessons and a lot of time in pools during the summer. But, I've never done anything competitive with swimming so that's the new part. I feel comfortable in the water but I think I kind of freaked with the newly diagnosed exercise induced asthma and just had a hard time finding the rhythm and getting my goggles to seal. Today will be a different experience as well being in open water but I used to swim in a lake in Alaska (and even the ocean there once! :eek:) and just last summer while we took turns using jet skis I was swimming in the lake so I don't really get nervous about that stuff.

Natasha, I don't know how you run when it's that humid. I just can't handle it. The farmer's market sounds lovely.

Hi everyone else!

[Natasha]

Robyn, you used to live in Alaska? Cool!

Back to report my ride and run. It was a real "on" day. I felt a bit tired at 40 minutes into the ride and then again in the last 5 minutes of the run, but felt fantastic through all the rest of it. I am looking forward to that massage, though. I haven't been for one in ages and my physio and I found a few spots that need some TLC.

Have a wonderful Sunday, runfolk!

[Robyn1007]

I did live there. Six months out of the year from 2nd to 8th grades. It was a very cool experience for sure.

Natasha, great job on the double.

I'm doing a quick report before I lie down for a nap. I did 26.5 on a road bike that I'm borrowing from my aunt. A beautiful LeMond steel baby. She came home with me today. :D And then went and did an 800 yd open water swim. I'm exhausted! But in a good way. Here's a pic of what the bike looks like.

http://www.bikepedia.com/Helpers/readImage.aspx?filename=2001%20Lemond%20Buenos%20A ires.jpg

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks for the info Robyn, I've been a swimmer for a long time and took a bunch of lessons and swam competitively from Grade 6 through High School so the swim portion of a tri is almost as second nature as the running stuff is. Open water is definitely different isn't it? In Norfolk, all the tri's are open water and many are in the ocean (with waves and all). I'd be a little concerned swimming with EIA as a illness in my life but it sounds like you're getting back through it.

Hey to your too Nat - I'll congratulate you on your double today too. Once I'm done with my on-call this weekend I'll have three more days at the end of our internship - with 7 of us we get ~10 days each so a whole week and 3 days. I hope you get a massage in as well as seeing your physio too. How about a little massage for me too ok?

It has been a relatively quiet weekend until this afternoon. A little visit to the hospital (3 hours from start to finish) and my ride went by the wayside. It will definitely be nice to be off call - tomorrow morning will not come soon enough.

Hope everyone has had a good weekend and happy trails,
Les

[VictoriaL]

Robyn, I have EIA too and have found that, in 95% of the time, if I use my inhaler before exercising I really have no problems. Now, this is with running and biking, however. Not being on dry land and starting to wheeze wouldn't be a situation I'd care to be in. I can't swim. I use a "noodle" to stay afloat! :o

And gorgeous bike. Really, really nice. Really. I am NOT showing this to DH. Ours are 11 years old and he may get an idea. Troublemaker.... ;)

Les, it's great that you were able to "figure 8" around the 'hood. Relieve some stress, get some fresh air, recoup from being on call. Now, only three more days to serve, right?

As for the menu planning, this weekend two friends who love to cook are joining me at the lake house and we will cook (and eat-- and drink!) a storm. We usually collaborate on the menu and split up the cooking. Now, the following weekend will be different. Two or three couples will be at the lake house for the weekend and I have to learn to be a little less of a control freak and delegate (lest I drive myself crazy again!).

Nat, running through pea soup. I hate it, but sometimes it has to be done, right? At least you have the massage as your "reward"! Hope that it was worth the work. :D

And yes, we have French toast every Friday. Even on vacation (some habits die hard...) Tomorrow, it's Muffin Monday. :rolleyes:

My regular Sunday off flew by, and I plan to go for a trail run in the morning (hopefully the weeds and vines on the sides of the paths will not have grown together yet!). Have a good start-to-the-week, all!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Vicci - Hey there! I think it's wise to let others do a little (lot) of the cooking at the cabin. Even if it is your therapy (like me) it might be nice to let soeone else pamper you. Muffin Monday and French Toast Friday... I wonder what the rest of the week looks like - S.O.S Saturday, Scrambled Egg Sunday, Whole Wheat Wednesday... I hope you have a good trail run in the morning.

I go "off" at 9 am tomorrow then it's just 3 more on-call days between now and the 8th. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow morning - it will be a nice break after a week in the hopper.

Time to think about bed - hopefully a quiet night for the rest of the night. Have a great start of the week.

Les

[Robyn1007]

Yeah, the EIA is a bit of a factor with the swimming but what I'm finding is that if I find my rhythm, which right now means getting my stupid goggles to seal, then I do pretty well. I need to do a couple strokes with my face out of water occasionally but it's not too bad. It's when I can't get a rhythm and there for start breathing unevenly that I tend to have an issue. But I have a strong tread water so I've tested that and seem to be able to do that or float on my back if I get into trouble. I am glad though that the swim is in the middle and not at the end. Since I'm a much stronger cyclist I know I can push through that part if need be and it's not quite as dangerous if I really start to bonk. :eek:;)

Les, I hope you are enjoying NOT being on call!

Vicci, you can tell DH that this bike is 7 years old and not even mine, it's borrowed (at least for now, I might buy it off of her).

[SusanMac]

Howdy, gang! I was in the Bay Area last week & wasn't able to check the BB at all. Will have to go back to catch up on everything.

Vicci - So glad to see you trail running now! Can you pls come do some weeding in our backyard? I'm impressed w/your breakfasts. Every day in our house is cereal day :-)

Robyn - Awesome job on the workouts. It's been months since I've been swimming, but am anxious to get back in the water. I was surprised in my tri's to see people doing every sort of stroke, float & paddle-style imaginable. You'll do great, I know it.

Les - So glad you finally got a break!!

I was only able to get in 1 run in the Bay Area. I was staying in San Jose, but drove up to Palo Alto to run at an old favorite hilly park w/great views. Then learned it was closed due to high fire risk :-( I ended up running through Stanford campus, though, which was beautiful & fun.

Sun, back at home, was an 11-mile long run w/DH. Felt much smoother & better than last week's long run. DH just got a Garmin GPS, so he's having fun with it. "Only 3.61 miles left.....we just slowed down by :14 sec/mile..." Thank you, honey :-)

[Natasha]

Robyn, nice borrowed bike! I bet you'll enjoy having that on loan :)

Vicci, Muffin Monday - sounds great! What kind did you and DH have this week?

Susan, that's funny about the Garmin.

Les, hope you enjoyed the day off call today!

Tonight should feature core and weights, and yoga as well. :) Just got back from the dentist an hour before and thank goodness the freezing is wearing off because I'm starving!! I'm making Peanutty Noodles with veggies and tofu (old standby here) and am looking forward to it.

Take care, all!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks all - it's been nice not being on call today. It was a little of a hairy night with a late night page but nothing that I had to respond to. I wouldn't have traded the past week but it is unnerving to be on a 30 minute tether.

Susan - I'm with Nat about the Garmin. I think I'd go batty and tell it to shut up (aloud). Still a good run but at home and on Stanford - I can only imagine how beautiful the trail run you had in store was.
Nat - Sorry about the dentist, a tough thing to do on your day off (at least from running). After the dentist I'd go for Peanutty sauce with veggie and tofu too.
Robyn - I can't imagine getting an asthma attack in the water - good you can fix your goggles in the water while you're treading water too. That is a big thing - especially in the tri.

I took a nice ride this evening and did a bunch of work on my intervals. I did a bunch of sprinting trying to make lights and then working on creeping (since I can't really stand). All in all I got an hour in which felt good. Right now though I'm trying to figure out my knee and the pain that I have in it. I popped the back of my knee (kind of where the hamstring connects to the top of the calf) at work and I thought it was better. At least it didn't bug me when I was riding but... now is a different story. It looks like ice may be my friend tonight. And sleep which will be grand considering I didn't get any good sleep this week. Almost forgot (how did I do that?) that I'm racing on Saturday morning - I'm going to be true to form and the chili peppers are coming out. :cool:

time for ice so I'll see you later or in the morning.

Happy trails,
Les

[newsomz]

Vicci- French Toast Friday sounds like fun! Yum, yum!

Les- Glad you are off call and were actually able to get a ride in while on call :)

Robyn- The swimming sounds nice about now! I saw some neighbors splashing in their pool today and I wished I too had a pool. The bike is absolutely gorgeous!! I've have a steel road bike and I love it!

Natasha- Yum, fresh strawberries!!! Sounds like you are getting lots of exercise in, too. And I'm taking 3 classes this semester (+ the full time work; luckily 2 classes are online).. though just a month left so I can certainly get through it :)

Susan- your run in the Bay area sounds like fun - I bet the weather was beautiful! Funny about DH's GPS. I've been thinking of getting one but I would probably start annoying myself, lol.

Oh! And I finally got back to running today. A nice short 30 min run before the rain set in (which was actually kind of unfortunate since it meant I was running through mega humidity with none of it cooling me off).

[VictoriaL]

Les congrats on shedding that 30min tether! You know, "that which does not kill us..." ;) And you almost guessed one of the named breakfasts-- Sunday is scrambled eggs but I add some veggie sausage, salsa, & cheese and roll up in corn tortillas. DH calls them Mexican Eggs, but since the M doesn't match the S in "Sunday", that day is officially un-named for breakfast. The only other named day, is Waffle Wednesday, however. :) We make our silliness where we can...

Robyn now that you describe how you do it, I can see where the EIA can be dealt with while swimming. Sounds like a good plan, if you can get those goggles to "stick"! And, no I am not showing DH that bike, whether you own it or not! Again, troublemaker... :D

Susan, I'm sorry that you spent a week in an area as nice as San Jose and only managed one run! But at least it was a good one. Glad that you're back with DH, Bode, and Merckrx (sp???).

Nat I don't make muffins every Monday (having a house in the Humidity Belt and no a/c precludes a lot of baking in summer months), but I make a huge 24-cup pan about every month. Yesterday, I thawed and re-heated Blueberry Almond Oat muffins. One of my faves. :) And, even though my Dad is a dentist, I never was too happy about having the work done (seriously, dentists' kids are the worst at behaving in The Chair). Good that you're through it, though.

Carrie Finally! A run through the rainforest! ;) Bit it was a run, nonetheless.

My run was yesterday morning. The dewpoint must have been low the previous evening because, at 9am, the grass was soaking wet. No matter, it was a gorgeous morning (70, low humidity) and I did a full 40 minutes.

I also saw a beautiful sight (which, once more, makes me wonder why I don't just go through life with a camera taped to my wrist). I ran through the woods, then rounded a bend and, about 200' in front of me, the sun was filtering through the trees, the grass was sparkley-wet, and in the middle of the path were 2 fawns. Small, tan with white spots on their backs. They were munching grass, but raised their heads and stared at me. I stopped and we had a bit of a "stare-down", then I backed away, turned, and walked in the opposite direction. The last glimpse I saw of them was just before I turned the bend and they were still there, watching me. I can just imagine the deer-conversation: "what the heck was that? Let's go tell Mom!". :D Now I really have to be ambitious about patrolling those woods during hunting season.

A rather easy day today, weights this morning, and perhaps a run again tomorrow. We are going to the lake this afternoon for a few days, and I've never been able to run there (any paths are covered with poison ivy) but now that I am able to run on pavement it should be possible.

Have a good day, all!

~Vicci

[SusanMac]

Vicci - I love hearing all of your wildlife stories!! Whenever I plan to make an extra large batch of something & freeze some for later....the "later" part seems to never happen :-) And, you have a good memory, and decent spelling. It's Merckx. He is enjoying watching the Tour de France this year, even though no one has discussed his namesake yet!

Les - it wasn't the watch talking at me.....it was DH!! :-)

Mon was a rest day so I don't have anything to report. Did some good stretching, though. I haven't been doing enough of that, and just started up again in the last few weeks. It feels so good!

Happy belated Bastille Day, btw. We celebrated last night with a nice French pinot noir

[Robyn1007]

Vicci - the fawns sound beautiful!

Susan - thanks for the stretching reminder. Lately I haven't been experiencing real soreness but just extreme tightness in my muscles. I'm really trying to remember to stretch more but it's not a habit yet.

Carrie - great to see you!

Les - So glad you got a ride in. My new bike computer has an interval option so I might start playing with that after this race.

Natasha - Which peanutty noodles recipe do you use?

[Natasha]

Natasha - Which peanutty noodles recipe do you use?

Robyn, I loosely use the one from CL (published a few years ago) but I modify it a fair bit depending on what's on hand and it always turns out. It makes a ton - even a half recipe makes a lot.

Les, yay on getting in the ride!

Susan, glad you enjoyed SJ! Always a fun area.

Vicci, fawns - aww. Those muffins sound great, as do the eggs! The eggs sound a fair bit like my DH's salsa'n'eggs dish (with various veggies, cheese, sometimes a bit of chorizo or ham...). He often made those for me when we were dating. He still makes them sometime, but a few years ago started making crepes and now I'm more likely to get those than salsa'n'eggs. Me, I'm not picky - I'll eat either ;)

So, I know you don't want to show your DH Robyn's loaned bike - how about if I post a photo of my bike and you can show that to your DH? Just kidding!

Got in a lot of stretching yesterday and it felt awesome. Really needed to work out the calves in particular, and I also did lots for my glutes and ITs. I was tired, though (almost like I was fighting something off), so nixed the core and weights and opted to read and sleep early. Today I'm gung-ho to run or ride again!

Best to everyone,
Nat

[Natasha]

Quick back-to-back for Robyn and Susan on bike shorts (didn't want to hijack the Terry thread):

DH and I each bought a pair of these shorts this year (they come in Mens' and Womens') and just love them. Not sure what they would go for w/shipping and handling to the U.S. but FWIW... they're the comfiest bike shorts either of us has ever owned for long rides. (For shorter rides, my other shorts are great.) Sounds like the Terry shorts may well be just the ticket for you, but in case you wanted another option, here's a possible one!

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=253437430 2692435&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442617562#ReviewHeader

And now... speaking of gear, I'm off to check out new toys (Thule canoe and bike carriers DH just brought home) and then go for a ride! :D

[Leslie Ferguson]

newsomz - Too bad you had to come in from your run just when it was getting good. Running in a good rain in the summer is just this side of heaven (ok maybe not quite that high but way up there). I did'nt realize just how much stuff you were doing this summer so I won't complain anymore about work at the hospital.

Les - it wasn't the watch talking at me.....it was DH!! :-)
Well I reread your post and it did say that DH was saying that. I may have had a different response but that's just me. I'm glad he's having fun with it though and I hope that the novelty wears off a little -- for your sake.

Vicci - That's a neat image. My treat these past couple weeks has been a couple of rabbits on the side of the trail and a few weeks ago there was bambi and her mother on the bike trail - they were a little freaked out when I crested the hill. Luckily they scooted out of the way before I got to their location. Have fun at the lake. BTW your eggs would venture into the realm of "trash can eggs" in my house but nothing quite that well thought out for me but plenty of salsa and black beans.
Robyn - I love intervals but these in alexandria are killers because the lights are timed so well :rolleyes: that I can't get more than two lights without having to stop. It would actually be interesting to do some intervals on one of the trails around here.
Nat - Thanks for the link - I may have to do some looking later this summer. It also looks like the $ being what it is makes the shorts the same price down here. I hope you enjoy your new toys and have a good ride.

Rested today - not totally planned but needed. We realized today that it's just 23 days until the end of the internship (depending on how you count the 8th - the last day). It's been great and I think the best is yet to come. Hopefully tomorrow will be a day to do something and Thursday is off - LW comes home and one of my fellow interns celebrats her birthday on Friday so it will be chocolate cupcakes and chocolate frosting on thrusday evening.

Happy trails all,
Les

[Robyn1007]

Nat, thanks for the info on those shorts. I do have a friend coming in March to visit from Ontario so maybe I'll have them shipped to her.

Well, I swam 850 yds today and thankfully got the seal working on the goggles. Washing them with the dishwashing soap did the trick. Although I did have issues finding the rhythm I think I just need to concentrate on slowing down and allowing myself to settle in. Then I went and rode in my weekly group ride. Hehe. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the bike. At one point I led half of the group up a couple of hills while Andrea (my leader and coach) took the newbies out for a loop on some flat ground. We were meeting back at the bottom of the hills. So, I'm coming down the hill in the drops and really letting it go. I checked my bike computer (yeah, went and got another one yesterday and installed it) and I was going 33.1 mph. I come to a stop at the bottom of the hill and Andrea tells me "Stop grinning, you're not having any fun on that thing." Um, yeah, I am. LOTS and LOTS of it. :D Yeah, I'm probably going to buy it. ;)

[SusanMac]

Les & Vicci - Those are breakfast burritos where I come from. Better visual IMO than "trash can eggs" :-) Les, I can't believe your internship will be done that quickly. Man, the summer goes by fast. I feel like I'm just now starting summer!

Nat - Thx for the link. I wonder who makes those for MEC? I know I've run across the Rapide name before. I ride in tri shorts now, since all of the bike shorts chamois seem sooooo thick you have to waddle when you walk :-)

Robyn - I really love descending. It probably comes more naturally to you with all of your ski experience, but I've had to really work at it.

I was just thinking that Seathyme might be on her annual trek up to the UP right about now.

DH & I had an awesome speed interval workout last night. I've never been good at those b/c of all the math & measurements you have to do. DH's new GPS toy helped tremendously! It was tough, but fun. 4x800's. And we didn't even have to go to the track.

Today is a bike day. I get to wrap it into some errands downtown later today. It's a hot & muggy one, but I'm not complaining. Glad to have summer here!

[Natasha]

Nat - Thx for the link. I wonder who makes those for MEC? I know I've run across the Rapide name before. I ride in tri shorts now, since all of the bike shorts chamois seem sooooo thick you have to waddle when you walk :-)


*snort* Funny visual! :D I actually have started running sometimes in my bike shorts and kinda like it... to each his/her own! So are the Terry shorts you guys are looking on that other thread bike shorts or tri shorts?

Glad you enjoyed track (well, the speed workout) - keep up the good work! I was never a fan of track but when I started doing it with my club found the workouts very effective and kinda fun -- but *tough* (which is one of the reasons they were effective, of course!). There's a site I used (think I posted it here way back when) that gave useful benchmarks and predictors for track time >> race finishing times for various distances. I also found the shorter sprints (mostly x200, some x400) helpful.

Carrie, wow, you're even busier than I thought! I'm in awe of you :)

Robyn, whoo hoo on your ride! I was a chicken about downhills for a while and then got over it (well, pretty much ;)). Now I usually just enjoy the ride. :) But for you, they're second nature, of course!

Les, wow, only that long left in your internship! Good luck with your workout today and the cupcakes sound fantastic. Happy early birthday to LW!

Got in that ride yesterday and enjoyed it. Not sure what's on tap for tonight yet...

That's it from here - take care, everyone!

Smiles
Nat

[Kathy B]

Hi, all! Just got in this afternoon from a family trip to the Smoky Mountains. Between vacation and being sick for two weeks before that, I haven't gotten much of anything in for quite a while. Hopefully I can get outside early tomorrow (MIL arrives around noon for a stay of several weeks!). I may have to go back to the C25K regimen....don't know WHAT kind of shape I'm in. Looking forward to doing something, although we did go for a bike ride in the mountains and some hikes of course. I will try to catch up with everyone soon. Hope you are all doing well.

[Elizabeth B]

Hey, all!

Kathy - We haven't been to the Smokies in a while, and I miss the hiking, views, etc. I'm glad you had a good time.

Robyn - It sounds like the bike is really working out for you! You're MUCH braver than I am on the downhills - that's where I lack confidence (and coordination) on the bike. I just can't "let it fly".

Susan - Wow, your "track" workout with DH was about the same as the ones we run at track practice. Our workout last week was 5 800's, with 200 of rest between each. I only have one pair of "bike" shorts and end up wearing my tri shorts. The padding in the front of the bike shorts sticks out and looks strange (TMI, probably).

Les - Is LW in Norfolk now? I can't believe you only have 23 days left in your internship. Time flies.

Hello as well to Vicci and Natasha!

We had our second 2 mile time trial at track practice and my pace was 8:45. I'm hoping to be able to hit that pace in the fall for 5K season, but the 3rd mile is always hard for me. There are a couple of us who run close to the same pace and we're getting to know each other, which is fun. I was thinking the other day about how many people I've met just in the last few years with running, swimming, cycling, exercise classes and working on the neighborhood race. And of course, you nice Virtual run folk!

Anyhow, that's it for me. Take care, runners!!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Susan - I'll have to explain Trash Can eggs (think leftovers) better when I have a little more time and that's not now.
Nat - Thanks for the comment on the cupcakes. However, LW doesn't celebrate 50 until later this year (Nov 28). The birthday is for one of my classmates/fellow interns.
Betsy - Yep, LW is there but she'll be back tomorrow. :cool: YEAH!

The time in the internship has really flown too. Without further ado... the drumroll - no workout again today. However this time I may have a good excuse (and a good excuse for tomorrow). About 24 hours ago I fractured my tooth that I had a root canal on 5 weeks ago. I was hoping to wait until after my internship to finally fix it (permanent filling) and the dentist said it would be ok. However... the fracture tells me otherwise. So fiddled around work, didn't feel like riding or running tonight. Tomorrow - all bets are off since I see the dentist at 2:30 with no idea what he's going to recommend. Hopefully I can keep what's left of the tooth - I hope. I don't need another extraction and bridge.

Beddie bye time for now - say a prayer/think good thoughts for my dentist appointment tomorrow.

Happy trails,
Les

[Natasha]

Kathy, welcome back!! Sounds like a wonderful time. I've never been to the Smokies but would like to some day.

Betsy, great job on your workout! It is fun to hook up with other runners at the same pace, isn't it? :)

Les, too bad about the workout but hopefully today things will go all right for you at the dentist. Fingers crossed you won't need another extraction and bridge! Sorry about the misread about LW's birthday. I kind of wondered about that (I think she has her birthday in her email address?) but then thought maybe I was wrong and her birthday was in the summer. Shouldn't read posts so quickly! *slap on own wrist* ;)

Had a short run yesterday and today we'll see what's in the cards!

Take care, one and all!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Les, too bad about the workout but hopefully today things will go all right for you at the dentist. Fingers crossed you won't need another extraction and bridge! Sorry about the misread about LW's birthday. I kind of wondered about that (I think she has her birthday in her email address?) but then thought maybe I was wrong and her birthday was in the summer. Shouldn't read posts so quickly! *slap on own wrist* ;)

I hope things go well today also. You're right - LW's b'day is in her e-mail address.

Hi ho!
Les

[ktg0930]

Kathy -- you were in my neck of the woods! We live about 30-45 min from the Smokies. A friend is coming to visit today through Sunday and we are going to do some hiking in the Smokies. Glad you had a nice trip.


Les --only 23 days left?! Time flies! Hope everything at the dentist goes well.

Betsy -- great job on the track workout. I really should look into doing those with our local track club, but I seem to be intimidated by the fast, skinny runners and assume there will be no one like me there.

My cruise was fun. I only ran one day and it was a little too late in the morning because it was hot. In Cozumel, we took a shore excursion and kayaked in clear kayaks and then snorkeled. After that, we did some shopping in the town. The 2 days at sea were nice for relaxing, getting some sun, and reading. Today was the first day I've gone out for a run since I got home. It's always hard for me to get back in my routine after being gone.

[SusanMac]

KTG - So glad you enjoyed the cruise! Cozumel sounds great. I've never been there, but just love Mexico

Les - You've explained trash can eggs b4, so no worries. I'm sure they're yummy....I just have a hard time eating things with 'trash can' in the title :-) (except maybe punch, but that was a loooooong time ago!) Yikes -- good luck with the tooth!

Nat - I think the Terry discussion was about bike shorts, but am not 100% sure. I haven't ridden in Terry brand yet. I'm quite loyal to DeSoto tri shorts, but am always open to trying new ones.

Elizabeth - Your track group sounds so much fun! And it is encouraging that there are people our pace who run in track groups (just the terms track club makes it sound eerily fast)

Kathy - Your vacation sounds fab. I've never been to the Smokies, but hear they're really beautiful. MIL for 2 weeks?! Eek

Not sure on my workout today. I have a tempo run on tap, but might swap out for a bike ride instead. Either way, it will be way hot & muggy. Oi

[SusanMac]

Back to backs to post a pic of me & my sister at the 4th of July 5K fun run...

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d936b3127ccec4f6faf8fb2700000050O02AcMmbRk3cMQ e3nwU/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

[Natasha]

Kathy, thanks for the cruise report! I've never gone on a cruise. Maybe someday. The kayaking must have been great down there (we didn't get to kayak more than a few minutes when we were there). Please don't sell yourself short on the track thing - we have all speeds and ages at our workouts and it might well be the same with your group. Actually, track is nice in the sense that slower and faster runners can run "together" because they keep seeing each other. It's pretty social. We'd alternate between running hard, and socializing :p All this talk of track and I haven't been there once yet this season, but maybe later in the summer :)

Hi to Les, Susan, KathyB, Robyn, and the rest of the gang! Wondering how Les survived the dentist. It must be dentist week: Les, my DH, and I have all had dentist appts this week.

Hectic day here and I'm looking forward to my ride, and then some dinner (and maybe a beer?). Best to the gang :cool:

[Robyn1007]

Les, hope the dentist went okay and you were able to save the tooth.

Kathy, I hope your ramp back into running is easier than when you first start.

Betsy, nice job on the time trial.

ktg, kayaking in Cozumel sounds incredible!

Nat, hope the ride was a good one.

Susan, love the pic of you and your sister.

Well, I commuted to work today so this morning was about 10 miles and this afternoon I extended it and did about 16. Pace is much faster on this bike though and will continue to improve I'm sure. The only problem now is that I want to eat everything in sight. Argh! :rolleyes::mad:

[Leslie Ferguson]

Ktg - kayaking and snorkeling in Cozumel sounds divine. I'm with Nat, our track group had all speeds and sorts of runners and the fast ones (that was me at the time) liked having the company on the track because I could see everyone. And when I wasn't the fastest it was always fun to have the fast guys out there.
Susan - Great pic and thanks for sharing it with us. It looks like you two had fun. I guess I should think of another name for my egg concoction - maybe everything eggs (nice alliteration ;) ). Sorry you had hot and muggy up there like down here.
Robin - I'm going to have to really look at commuting by bike to school in a few weeks. It will be hard for the first part of the year since it's almost uphill all the way to school and I will have to be "presentable" for worship and classes. Great going 26 miles today too - was it as hot there as I think it was?

Hey Nat, Betsy, Kathy (enjoy your MIL), and the rest of the gang (I just realized how late it was. I had a good day at the dentist and was able to keep the tooth. Two shots, two x-rays and a ton of amalgam later the tooth is just fine. But didn't feel up to much afterwards. Especially since I didn't get lunch until 4:45 (after finishing breakfast at 6:20) with only a granola bar in between. Cupcakes are done and frosted and even have a couple left for the house. ;) Not sure what's on tap tomorrow because they are talking Code Red air quality and I'm running/"racing" in the #1 outdoor event for the weekend (so says the Washington Examiner - the free Post).

Time to rest my jaw a little and let my body recuperate. Have a great Friday and I'll be seeing you.

Les

[Robyn1007]

Les, so glad your tooth was saved!

It actually was only upper 80s today so about a 10 degree cool off and expecting tomorrow to be cooler as well. Of course, it's back to mid 90s on Saturday when I'll be doing a trial bike-swim-bike workout. :rolleyes: