Virtual Running Buddies 27 February

[KValley]

OY! We're a day late in beginning our running week. :p

I returned a wee while ago from such a wonderful run. My jacket pocket bulged with Kleenex in case my stuffed left sinus cavity decided to drain en route, but the run was soul and head-clearing. I crested a steep hill (had to walk the last 1/3), turned around and caught the Olympic Mountains in a light that made them look close enough to touch. Endorphins surging, it brought tears to my eyes.

Woke to snow on the ground Thursday, yesterday was brilliant with sun, but clouds gather now and we're supposed to have rain for the next week. March: in like a lion, out like a lamb! The trees and flowers are budding- I can feel a softness in the air. C'mon Spring!

Spent part of yesterday morning in the emergency room at Swedish Hospital in Ballard. Have to say the 6 people I interacted with during my uncomfortable moments there were so wonderful. The Alien has decided that my bladder is the perfect place to rest while she awaits her imminent demise. I had to have a catheter, which yielded nearly a liter of pee. Sorry to be graphic, but man was I in pain. A liter later and lighter, I was a new woman. Brendan and I went to a favorite Vietnamese hole in the wall for giant bowls of pho then a long walk at Shilshole Bay in the sunshine.

I'm just about the embark upon a soup-making morning, then we're off to Woodinville for an afternoon of wine-tasting. Although with my cold, I'm just along for the ride and to collect materials for a Washington Wine display I put together at work.

Have a great week, Runners!

[SusanMac]

Thx for kicking off the new week, KValley.

Wow, your run sounds glorious! Sorry about the Alien & emergency room. Yuck.

Yesterday I got in a good bike spin, 45 min, + some weights & core. I officially rested today, although we did hike out at the dog park. Tomorrow is long run day. I've spent almost all day today reading. It's been really wonderful. Catching up on just a bit of work b4 heading out to dinner.

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

[oceanjasper]

KValley - I love those sweet moments when everything seems so surreal and emotions overwhelm. We need more of those moments, I think. Sorry to hear that the alien is acting up and that you had to go to emergency. Enjoy your wine tasting afternoon. I don't know if I could go to one of those and not taste the wine, so good luck with that! :)

SusanMac - All the best on your long run tomorrow. A day of reading sounds wonderful. I am hoping to get some reading in tonight. The author of the book I am reading is lecturing at a local College this week and I want to finish the book before then.

Well, I just got back from my ski day. It was amazing up the mountain with lots of fresh snow and sunshine. I logged about 38.5 km (24 miles) today. Now I feel like the tub and then the couch is calling me. Not to mention the ice cold beer in my fridge. :D

I don't have soccer tomorrow, so I think I will calibrate my ipod running gadget at the track at some point.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks for your posts ladies. Driving by (dinner group tonight and still have 3 services tomorrow).

Spun today for about 30 minutes. Had to spend some time working on a paper that's due Monday and tomorrow will be a bust for writing.

Need to fly - things to do before bed shows up so until later runnahs... happy trails,
Les

P.S. it's snowing here. (Oy vey!)

[Kathy B]

Hi, all! NOthing to report, but thought I'd jump in anyway. The hospital is packed, so I worked today and yesterday both. I guess I got in enough running around, but I definitely want some kind of traditional workout tomorrow.

OJ, you would probably get along just fine with my techy kids. I don't even know what "calibrate my ipod running gadget" means. No idea. None. :o 24 miles with fresh snow and sunshine sounds like a great day. Good work!

Good luck with your long run tomorrow Susan. What are you reading these days? I found a fiction series set back in Roman empire days that looked interesting...so far not too bad.

Julie, that ER visit sounds miserable. Glad they were able to get you fixed up!! Your run sounds great. We woke up to snow this AM, too, but I didn't know it until I went out to my car. If I had known, I would have left half an hour earlier...traffic was unusually heavy for early Saturday AM, and it was crawling at about 30 mph on the interstate. I am sure it will all be gone in a day or two with the highs and lows we've been having every week.

DD was bored today and cleaned the entire house!! Nice to come home to at the end of the day. Hope your weekends are all going as well.... :)

[TKay]

Hello runners.

KValley - Thanks for starting. When I read about your soul and head-clearing run, I got chills. Sounds truly joyful. Sorry about the ER visit that followed, but glad you got some relief. What's the wine display you're putting together?

Susan - How'd the run go?

Oceanjasper - Sounds like you earned that tub, couch and beer time. :D

Les - Hope everything goes smoothly.

KathyB - Maybe your DD could teach my DS how to handle boredom. ;)

My sick one made it back to school on Friday which was a nice birthday present for me. I took the day off, got a pedicure and basically spent time by myself. The ds who was sick (7 y.o.) is really a treasure and fun to be around, but let's just say I was ready for him to be better. :p I felt like I was catching the bug for days and days but it never hit (knock wood). I feel great today and will be getting back on that TM.

Happy Sunday, runners! Hope you're all having a great one. Hello to all those I missed.

[SusanMac]

OJ - I hear ya on the ice cold beer! Be careful w/all of your skiing & soccer. I'm afraid your hamstring isn't 100% yet.

Mary - I just started Twilight and am finding it to be a really fun indulgence. Takes me back to highschool crush days. Recently finished The Gargoyle (a rec from this BB) and it was really awesome - unique unusual characters and plot. I love that. The Roman book sounds interesting.

My long run was great today. My marathon training plan 'officially' started today, and I am proud to have run 8 miles, right on plan. Met another new woman and ran almost the whole way with her, chatting a lot too. She's done 10 marathons. Very fun. I think my pace was good, too. Faster than when I ran w/DH earlier in the week.

Nat - I'm feeling "virtuous", as the windchill was -7 when we started. Very tempting to stay home & spin, but I"m really glad I went.

Off for a Bode walk through the neighborhood.

[Robyn1007]

Just popping in real quick to say hi! Skiing is great. No new snow unfortunately but it's been really sunny and warm. Next best thing to fresh snow for sure. Here's a pic of me in, I think, Contest Bowl at Breckenridge yesterday.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_7UMpSolyPX4/SavYZgWcffI/AAAAAAAABSA/YhyRJb7jnfY/Breck%20Diva%20Summit.jpg

Alright, time to get in the shower before heading for Vail today.

[SusanMac]

Excellent photo, Robyn!! Looks like you're about to commit to a new turn!

Happy Mon, everyone. I have a very satisfying, light soreness in my quads today. Haven't decided yet whether I should run or rest today.

[oceanjasper]

OJ - I hear ya on the ice cold beer! Be careful w/all of your skiing & soccer. I'm afraid your hamstring isn't 100% yet.

Yeah, you were right. I felt nothing on Saturday after my ski and I didn't have soccer yesterday. However, I spent the day bending over and lifting boxes and sorting through papers while sitting on the floor and it started to bug me again. I can't believe that would aggravate it. Arggh.

[TKay]

Oceanjasper - Ack! That is so frustrating when you feel good but something like a sore/injured hammy keeps you from being 100%. Take it easy.

Susan - Glad your run went well. A satisfying soreness. I like that phrase.

Robyn - Cool shot! Looks like fun. Well, if you're a skier, which I'm not. :p

Got in an easy 45 on the TM yesterday--walking/running. It felt really good. Afterward I felt really queasy and strange. Thought I was getting the flu, but it passed. Woke up this morning and am experiencing it again. What gives? I'm hoping to workout before a lunch meeting, but will see how things go.

Here's to a great week, runners!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey all, finally digging out here a little (more later).
OJ - sorry about your hammy being tweaked. Like Susan, after all that you deserved an ice cold one. Isn't it odd what aggravates a tweaked muscle too?
Susan - You are a better person than I, I think I might have bagged -7 windchill (I know I did bag today and it was warmer). Which was it today - a run or a rest?
Kathy B - Never fun to have a packed house but it does keep you hopping doesn't it? Hope things settled down a little for you.
TKay - Glad you didn't have the flu - never any fun especially after you had sickie at home for a week. Sending good vibes to you.

Yesterday went well even though I spent all day at Chruch (never an issue really because I can get a lot of work done in the 4 hours between the last two services). Even got home before it was too snowy too. But that was yesterday...
Today was reminiscent of Newport and points not days. We had about a foot (give or take) of snow today. The rate this morning was about 1.5" per hour. :rolleyes: Only an issue because they didn't cancel classes until 8:30 (the first class starts at 8:55 but chapel starts at 8:10) and I drove UP the hill (yes, campus is the highest point in all of Alexandria) and even though the streets getting there were fine (even with the snow) the campus really wasn't ready to receive vehicles. Almost wiped out a professor and a classmate in the process of getting to a parking spot (almost abandoned the car in the middle of the road too). Stuck around on campus and put myself to good work writing and researching. Had lunch (I paid for it anyway) and came home. I seriously thought about running because I love running in the snow but I think it's neat to run in falling snow before you get 8-12 inches of stuff on the ground (no YakTrax) and 25 mph of wind doesn't help. So I snuck into the basement and spun for an hour. Then had broiled Mahi Mahi with rice. Now settling down for a little more reading.

See you all a little later and have a great Tuesday. Happy trails all,
Les

[Kathy B]

Bunko crowd coming in an hour so I have to be quick. I did get in some TM and yoga yesterday and today was weights and EB at the CC. Working again tomorrow, and I feel a slight headache coming on. Too much cooking and cleaning today is the cause, I'm sure!

That sounds like quite a snow, Les. Probably wise to stick with the bike this time. Glad no one got wiped out!

Susan, I have read the first three Twilight books, but not the last one, yet. I enjoyed them, too, although initially I read them to see what all the fuss was about. Every Girl Scout meeting I was hearing them discuss it! So did you run or rest?

Great picture, Robyn!

Hope your hamstring wasn't TOO bothered by your lifting and sorting crosstraining routine, OJ!

Good job on your TM, Tkay! Hope you aren't getting sick, too. :(

Gotta go feed the kids before everyone gets here.....carry on!

[SusanMac]

Mon turned out to be rest day for me. While it's mostly a physical thing, I think I've learned that I'm mentally ready, too. Something about Mondays...ya know?

So, just got back from an awesome run. Our temps are nice and manageable this week. And, I got in 6 hill repeats at a fav spot nearby, so feel good about that.

Off to make some stir-fry with brown rice tonight :-)

[SusanMac]

Back to backs for me today.....

Today I'm x-training, as a GF invited me to a local zumba class. The class is at 7:30, and I'd like to have a light dinner beforehand so I'm not eating dinner at 9pm. I know this is essentially an aerobics class.

What would you guys recommend for dinner?? I'm stumped for some odd reason. I was thinking of 'killer salad' night (essentially an entree salad) b/c it sounds light and healthy (rather than heavy in my stomach). Will all that ruffage be a bad thing when I start jumping around an hour after dinner??

TIA!

[oceanjasper]

SusanMac, sorry I didn't see your post until now (5:30pm PST!) and couldn't offer up any suggestions. I don't even know what I would have suggested, but hopefully you found something that worked for you! :)

[Leslie Ferguson]

Sorry to be MIA yesterday. It was a busy day and lots fo fun things associated with school.

I'm with OJ Susan, I didn't have many thoughts about your meal questions. Roughage isn't normally an issue but lack of substantive calories is. Probably the thing that is hardest for me is too much protein or fats. How was your x-training day? I've never seen a zoomba class but it sounds fun.
Kathy B - I hope your headache went away without too many issues. Good job getting your workout in with the headache too. Hope Buncko was fun!

The big deal yesterday was one of my classes went to a Hindu teaching meeting (actually a Jnana yoga class). There were 4 of us from the Seminary and a double handful of Hindu. The whole thing lasted for about 2 hours (time away from "studying" but very practical) and it was neat to listen to another major religion and how they look at the world theologically. I think we "schooled" them a little too with our questions and having to explain things from our perspective. Of course, that class took away from my run or spin yesterday - thus no reason to post yesterday. After some after school things (picking up a prescription and shopping). I came home and ended up with a short spin.

Tomorrow, I'll try to get a longer spin before I get a little baking in for our small group session on friday. I'm baking banana bread for the group (therapy thank you).

See you tomorrow and have a great downhill side of the week.
Happy trails,
Les

[sunnyshine]

KValley Sorry about your emergency room visit but I can't feel too sorry for you since you ended up wine tasting in Woodinville. I'm a bit jealous!

SusanMac When is your marathon? I would love to hear your training guidelines.

oceanjasper Beer, skiing, and soccer. Sounds fabulous. Sorry about your hamstring. Trust me, don't over do it or you may end up injured again.

Leslie Ferguson I bet the snow was beautiful. Too bad you had to drive in it. Your class sounds interesting. I've always been curious about different beliefs.

Kathy B Too much cleaning gives me a headache too! Sounds like you've been busy.

TKay There are so many germs going around lately. It seems like everyone I know is sick or has a family member that is. As my mom would say, "Take an extra dose of Vitamin C" just in case.

Robyn1007 I can't see the picture but I'm sure it is a great picture of you skiing. Your pictures almost make me want to go skiing. Too bad they don't have warm weather snow skiing because I love to ski but HATE to be cold.

I hope I got everyone. I am having to do my running through you all because I have injured my hip. Just a bad strain but it doesn't seem to be improving. If you all put in an extra mile every day on your treadmill I would appreciate it ;)

[SusanMac]

Well, my zumba class last night was fun. I did make a big salad for dinner beforehand (with some sirloin, but not much). Ate about an hour before class, and didn't have any stomach issues. Whew!

Zumba was fun. It's essentially aerobics to latin music. The teacher was a trained ballet dancer, and an excellent teacher. As I expected, I got a decent workout, but not as much as with my usual x-training. Since it was a free/demo/beginner class, she was constantly stopping. Partly to teach the steps, but also b/c of the variation in fitness levels. After the first song people asked for a water break. I love salsa music, and it was fun to do something different & get together with girlfriends, but I won't join regularly. Man, I used to be such an aerobics fanatic! Maybe I'll get into again one day, but not right now.

Tonight is a 5-mile run with my running team. I didn't go to their Mon run, so will definitely go tonight. It's in the 40's this week & really wonderful running weather!

Sunnyshine - my marathon is mid-June, so I'm just now getting into an official schedule

Les - joining the Hindu group sounds fascinating!

Is Nat on her cruise?? Haven't heard from her in a while

[Kathy B]

60s here, and I got in a little over 3 miles plus about another mile walk with the dogs. Beautiful outside! I thought about doing a little more, but I think I'll take it slow since I haven't been outside regularly at all. Don't need any injuries before we go skiing! Can't believe that trip is coming up next week.

Sounds like a good day for your 5 miler, Susan. Have fun with the group!

Sunnyshine, sorry to hear about your hip injury. What happened? Hope you are on the mend soon.

I enjoy those kinds of discussions, too, Les. It is always interesting (to me anyway) to talk with people openly about beliefs with no agenda other than increased understanding for everyone. DD had her church youth meeting last night, and they were supposed to write down things they would like to ask God. Sounds like a great meeting, but she started talking about it at 10:30 PM after a looooonnnnngggg day at work. I had to postpone that one, but hopefully we can resume at dinner tonight.

Bunko was fun, and I even won one of the prizes...a bag of spices from Penzeys! Hope everyone's week is going as well!

[sunnyshine]

SusanMac I have never gotten into dance style classes. I have two left feet and I could never get a workout because I'm trying so hard to follow the moves. I'm sure I'm fun to watch! I'm interested in your marathon training. Keep us updated on what you're doing.

Kathy B You must have a sophisticated Bunko group. Penzey's???
Are you traveling to ski or do you live near a mountain? 60's sounds nice. I'm dreaming of the day that it reaches 60 here!

My hip is a mystery. I was on a run and it just slowly started to ache. I thought I could squeak out another mile and by the last minute I was in so much pain I had to quit. I'm getting discouraged with its recovery.

[SusanMac]

Sunnyshine - My training plan is a 16-week schedule. My coach set it up with running 5 days/week & rest/xtraining on the other 2 days. But, I prefer a bit more x-training, since I like to bike so much. And, while I've done 6 day/week plans for some races in the past, I'm going to go with 5 days/week this time around. It's just best for me right now mentally & schedule-wise. Haven't decided yet how much speed work I"ll do for this schedule ;-)

[Leslie Ferguson]

sunnyshine - Sorry about your hip. It almost sounds like an affliction I've had off and on over the past 6 years or so. Mine ended up being a combination of IT band issues but more tension in my gleuteus minimus (wiki article on the gleuteus minimus) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluteus_minimus) and gleuteus medius. I never though about those two muscles because I didn't figure that they attached from the back to the front (right over the hip). That might not be your problem but that's something to look at if you don't already know what is wrong. Stretching those buggers is difficult but there are a couple yoga poses (that I don't know the name for but could look up if you need me to) that helped me. I loved the class too - it is interesting to find out more about those religions that are among the world's largest.

Kathy B - Congratulations on the haul from Penzy's. Your DD's conversation sounds interesting too.
Susan - 5 and 2 works really well for training. That's what I did for most of my marathons. Run Mon-Thu and Sat, rest on Fri and lift weights on Sun.

Today wasn't a day to run but it did include about an hour of Ultimate in the muddy field (from snow melt). It's great to get out and play a little, not always the most aerobic event but still worked up a sweat and kept my heart rate up for a while. Baked banana bread for small group tomorrow (8 of us get together for worship and a little advisor/advisee time). Now to the books.

Happy trails and happy new VRB week,
Les