VRB musings and reports, week of July 17th

[VictoriaL]

Well, guess who is up early again this Friday????

Susan, I would rather be sitting around in your beer tent than doing some of these projects that DH always seems to come up with. Now, when is that half-marathon again? And the concert/picnic in the park sounds like great fun. You know, I don’t think that I have ever heard anything “bad” about Madison, come to think of it…

Yes! TKay is on the mend! :) Hope that it continues, and quickly.

We leave in a couple of hours to meet the movers who are bringing the new bedroom suite down to our house. Everything is all ready (our bedroom looks so huge now that it’s empty!), but the room in which we were sleeping in last night has non-working windows. As always, no a/c. It wasn’t the most restful of nights.

I forced myself to go out for a run yesterday morning, before I got too “into” the to-do list. 2.6 miles in 82 degrees and 80% humidity, it was a tad miserable! No wildlife sightings, though, since they were obviously too smart to be out in that blazing sun. :rolleyes: Oh, when I returned I saw a (smallish garter) snake attack a toad, so I broke it up and sent them to different corners of the patio for a “time out”. And as I was making dinner I saw that Spooky was intent on something in the field. As I watched, a red fox ambled out and started trotting down my running path! I scooped up the cat and brought him inside for the night, and he was not happy.

Okay, must make some wraps to take along for a “driving lunch”, and get breakfast together. It will be SO NICE to watch someone else move stuff, for a change!

Have a nice weekend, everyone. Enjoy this summer weekend, whatever you plan to do! :D

Oh, Les, I picked up a book at a used book sale and as I read (and enjoy) it, I am thinking of you.
http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/04/reviews/990404.04messudt.html
;)

I realized that sometimes the NY Times site asks you to log in. If so in the above link, type in "Gail Godwin Evensong" in a search engine and click on the review titled something like "We've Got Company".

[SusanMac]

Vicci - I love the 'musings' addition! Congrats on the new furniture, and kicking back while someone else moves it. Good thing you got Spooky -- not sure he would have won that fight. Very glad you got in a run b4 the weather got event worse.

TKay - glad the TM session felt good. Keep at it, as long as it feels OK. You are smart to take it easy.

Thurs I got in a 5 mile run. I did 1-ish mile of it at my target race pace and it felt good. If I can increase that a bit each week i'll be happy. The half-mar is Aug 29, so about 6 weeks away.

This morning was a fantastic swim. Really great weather & conditions. someone complained about the weeds at their feet. The weeds are usually up to your chin, so I am quite happy. 40 min with fewer breaks than last week.

I'm hoping to head out this afternoon on the hunt for trail shoes. My online & informal research is done. Wish me luck. Not sure I'm ready to commit yet, but we'll see.

Have a great weekend everyone. Anything fun planned?

[TKay]

Vicci - Thanks for starting out this week's "musings." Glad someone else is doing your chore today. I agree about the cat. Good call to scoop him up.

Susan - Funny about the weeds. Sounds like you're getting in some good efforts these days. I can't believe the half is only six weeks away. Where is summer going?

I am feeling much better today. I slept great last night and that really helped. Yeah! Should be good as new by tomorrow. I did use the TM yesterday (easy effort) and it made me very tired. Will attempt it again today, also on the easy effort scale. I don't need a relapse.

Boys are finishing cub scout camp tonight and they are exhausted. Likely have a quiet weekend. A lunch with my SILs on Sunday. Dh will be racing.

Cheers, all! Here's to a great weekend.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Checking in... thanks for starting us Vicci. I'm with Susan, Spooky would not have enjoyed the visit with the fox. Good work on your run in the heat and humidity.
Susan - it sounds like you've had a productive weekend. I'd be interested in hearing about your shoe purchase if you get trail shoes.
TKay - Sounds like you needed a little sleep and I'm glad you're on the mend.

I'm in Virginia Beach with my parents. We've been celebrating my "little" sister's 40th Birthday with a couple surprises. She actually lives about 3 miles from me in Alexandria (and I have to come to Virginia Beach to see her - go figure). It's been fun surprising her. I took to the trail this morning for my first romp in the swamp in I don't know how long. It rained almost all evening and there was plenty of mud on the trail. It was humid to beat the band too - some things are better left away but still I loved the run.

Vicci - I'll have to check out the book but I had heard about it and I'll have to read it at some point in time.

I need to go and turn in - 12 miles at the trail (3/1) was great but I'm a little tired. See you in the funnies.
Les

[VictoriaL]

Susan, how do you swim through chin-high weeds??? :) I didn't realize that you swam in a river-- any problem with boats (or the hated jet skis)?

I'm glad that you're feeling better TKay, and hope that you had a nice lunch today. You're very stalwart to get on that TM when you are feeling so poorly, good for you!

You sounded like your weekend was progressing nicely Les. I was wondering why you had run in that humidity after a long rain, then read the magic word. Mud. :D Have a safe return trip!

I barely got in a 30-minute run this afternoon, although I decided not to compute the mileage in case it would annoy me. I had wanted to go out for hours, but things kept coming up and suddenly it was late afternoon, my back was stiff from a combination of things, and I had a whole 35 minutes to go out and get back before some bread dough had to be taken care of. Grr. Although when I did return, I found DH in the garden watering the plants and tying up tomatoes. Apparently he was feeling guilty sitting in his office watching the British Open and looked on my work list for a way to help me. It would be nice if that happened a bit more often than every 5 or 6 years, but I will take what I can get!

We are having a party at the lake house starting Thursday afternoon through Sunday afternoon and I've been busy getting menus and a huge shopping list together. With luck, I can get out for a run at least one or two days this week.

Oh, and I have to mention a surprise with the bedroom set which we bought from our friend and had moved into our house on Friday. The mattress is a "sleep number"! Our friend didn't mention it because he figured that it didn't matter, but overnight we went from a double-sized bed with a lumpy mattress to... sleep heaven! :rolleyes: Life is sooooo good when you've had a good nights' sleep!


Hope that you all had a great weekend, and I look forward to reading about what you've all been up to.

[Leslie Ferguson]

You hit it on the head - mud! And I HAD to go out with the old running group. It was necessary for my running Karma. ;)

Good of your darling hubbie to go out and water the plants to be helpful, even if it was only to quell the guilties. Enjoy your sleep number bed - I hear they are divine.

I'm safely back in Southside Virginia. Drove into the rain and even more humidity than Virginia Beach. Time to head home - the buzzing light in the church office is killing me.

Happy trails,
Les

[SusanMac]

Les - congrats on the swamp run & the family bday activities! I assume LW was there with the whole gang, as well

Tkay - I'm also impressed w/the TM. When I have a cold I can never seem to make myself do those things, even though I know they're good for me. Hope you're feeling even better today.

Vicci - v. cool about the bed! Your party sounds fun. I can so related to the procrastinated run. I do that all the time, then my schedule gets squeezed.

Sat - got in a great 6-mile run. Felt very smooth. I need to start adding to that time, but know that my base is solid

Sun - met up w/2 old GFs for a bike ride. Hadn't seen them in ages, so biking together is a fun way to catch up. Got in 24 miles. Would like to have done further, but the social date made up for it.

Yea! I'm the proud owner of some brand new North Face trail running shoes. DH went w/me to 4 stores over the weekend (what a trooper). I decided on this particular brand/model. Our downtown shops were all having a sidewalk sale this weekend, and we were exploring just for fun. When loa & behold....an unexpected soccer shop had my shoes for half off and even had my size in stock! I am itchin' to get out on some trails to run, but haven't been able to do so yet. It's supposed to rain tomorrow....hmmmmm... :-)

Robyn - are you still here in between breaths? Hope your new job is going well. We want to hear about the new apt. I'm confident that you're sneaking in some workouts here & there

[SusanMac]

Vicci - forgot to answer your question. I swim in a lake, and we go early a.m. so there isn't much boat traffic out. We stay in a no wake zone. I find it cool, tho, that there are often early morning water skiers out. What a cool thing to do b4 work? We do run into rowers....but they are often old friends of mine from my rowing club days, so we stop to say hello and splash each other :-)

[TKay]

I am still battling this sinus thing. Ugh. I wake up feeling great and by noon I have a pounding sinus headache with tons of congestion. I'm getting on that TM though. :D 50 minutes today (which included a lengthy cool down walk).

Susan - Congrats on the new kicks. Let us know how they work out. Your social bike ride sounds like a blast.

Les - Ah, mud. I believe we discussed that being a guy thing. Glad you enjoyed tromping around and all the birthday festivities as well. Get that buzzing light fixed! It's bothering me from here. ;)

Vicci - Ooh, so the sleep number thing works, huh? I guess it must if the alternative is a lumpy mattress. Glad dh was helpful and that you managed to squeeze in a run. Enjoy your upcoming plans.

Nat? Robyn? Where are you guys? (Actually, I know you are really busy. Right?) And what about everybody else? OJ? Come out, come out, wherever you are.

[Leslie Ferguson]

TKay - Yuck about your sinuses. There are a few ladies in our group who don't mind the mud but you're right, the majority of the mud-dwellers are the guys. :cool: I just can't get enough mud either. Oh if you only knew the buzzing light like I do (and not so much in the biblical sense even though I'm in a Church ;) )... I hope your sinuses clear up soon but still worthy to get out and do something.
Susan - Congratulations on your new scoots (although maybe trail shoes might need to be classified something besides scoots). What a great find and a great deal. A rainy day may be just what the doctor ordered as a test run. A 24 mile bike ride sounds like a wonderful way to catch up with folks.

I had a decent day and it was raining most of the day. I decided that I needed to back up the 12-miler from Saturday with a run tonight and drizzle is a fine time to run. But alas, the drizzle decided to let up about 5 minutes into the run and, yep you guessed it, the humidity went up to about 100%. Yuck! Still slogged out an hour on some nice rolling hills.

See you all in the funnies and happy trails,
Les

[Robyn1007]

Hey all, thanks for thinking of me. I'm really down right now with not being able to exercise. :(:(:( Between surgery and moving it just isn't going to happen until next week most likely. I can't wait to get back out there as I'm not sleeping very well at all and I just miss it terribly. In the mean time I did this in my new garage yesterday which made me feel a little better. Of course the flat tire on my car this morning didn't help. There went $400 in replacement tires. :(

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_7UMpSolyPX4/SmUk78GcxGI/AAAAAAAACgc/lrf4UdhDgAs/s512/Bikes%20in%20the%20garage.jpg

[TKay]

But alas, the drizzle decided to let up about 5 minutes into the run and, yep you guessed it, the humidity went up to about 100%. Yuck! Still slogged out an hour on some nice rolling hills.


:eek::eek::eek: You are impressive to run in that.

Robyn - I completely forgot that you were also restricted from exercise. Forgive my faulty brain. With the move and the new job, you are in need of some stress-relief, I'm sure. Hey, at least your garage is coming together! And, well, it will be fun to drive with new tires. Won't it? :o Hang in there. This too shall pass.

[TKay]

Popping in with a workout report. I did a combo walk/run on the TM--at times with weights, at times without. I also picked up a new resistance band. So I hopped off the TM halfway through and did some work with that before completing my workout. I didn't do too much in case I'm on the mend enough for that 5K on Saturday. I'm still run down with this sinus thing, so not sure if I'll do the race or not.

Hope you are all well. And speaking of you, where are you? :p

[newsomz]

Hi all! Just a quick pop-in :)

Vicci - The lake party sounds like lots of fun. Wish I could come!

TKay - Hope you feel 100% tomorrow and the sinus thing goes away..

Les - Lucky you for getting a beach trip in.

Robyn - The bikes look very happy! How's the new job.

Susan - I had a social bike ride this weekend, too. It was nice to chat with the girls while riding.

Last week was crazy so I didn't get my track workout in :( But! I did go running 3 times which is my usual goal. Just got in my track workout for today and it went really well. Swimming and a few more runs on tap for the rest of the week.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Robyn - Sorry about your tire (I Know I mentioned that on FB but...) If I didn't know better your mountain bike looks like it had a small issue. ;) :p I hope you mend soon so you can get back out on the road.
TKay - Thanks for your comment about sticking it out. One of the reasons I continue to run in conditions like that is I may actually end up in a race sometime (soon) where the conditions may be just like that (68/100%) or warmer and drier. I hope you mend soon too so you can do your 5k this Saturday.
Carrie - Glad to see you around again and good for you to get out, even if you didn't get to the track. How goes school?

Another day in paradise. And a run again - my first back-to-back run days in a while. I figured I need to start conditioning my running joints and muscles for the 1/2 in September and riding just doesn't make it. I figure 3 runs in 4 days is back to normal and not too bad either. Today's run was... an hour (go figure). It was hotter and less humid (only about 86 degrees) so things were actually better and less bothersome. Tomorrow will be a ride day, 3 days of running in a row is pushing my luck.

See you all in the funnies and it's good to hear from folks.
Les

[Kathy B]

Back from Colorado, and we had a fabulous time! Perfect weather, and the girls got to do all kinds of things....hiking, zip line, archery, crafts, mini golf, feeding chipmunks, horseback riding, square dancing and shopping. The other two moms and I had a lot of fun, too, and we talked pretty much nonstop at all times! :p

Drove home yesterday, and spent the last three hours driving in very heavy rain and thunderstorms. Thank goodness for the semi that was in front of me! He was keeping a very reasonable pace...I just focused on his tail lights and stayed with him, and the mom driving the other car stayed with me! Pretty exhausting, but we made it home without mishap.

I did 45 min on the TM this AM, then spent the rest of the day unpacking, doing laundry, and restocking the frig. I'll post more in a day or two after I have had time to read back and see what everyone has been up to.

Take care all! :)

[SusanMac]

Robyn - Good to hear from you. I dig the rack for your road bike. The mtn bike clearing isn't getting as much love

Kathy - Sounds like a fab trip!

TKay - Glad you're feeling better. You will definitely be ready for this 5K.

Newsomz - you are the only person I know who would be sad for missing a track workout

Les - multiple runs in a row? You are on a roll! Don't tell anyone about all this free time....they will want it back

I went for an inaugural run in my trail runners yesterday! They felt soooo good. We went b4 the rains came, so they didn't get too dirty :-)

Was supposed to swim this a.m., but it was raining so we bailed. That's OK, Wed is usually my rest day anyway. Outdoor concert again tonight, so I'm whipping up a picnic dinner. I told DH if it rains....we're still having picnic dinner!

[TKay]

Susan - Glad the new shoes are comfy and I'm so glad they didn't get too dirty. I hate when a new pair first gets dingy. Wah. I love an indoor picnic! (Not that I hope it rains.)

KathyB - Welcome back! Sounds like a perfect trip all around. And you already got on the TM? You stud.

Les - You're a running fool. Enjoy your ride today.

Newsomz - You may have missed your track workout, but it sounds like you made up for it with all the other exercise you got.

Ended up taking an unexpected rest day today. I've been tired, what with the sinuses acting up, and it was uber hot by the time I was heading up to the TM. May do a run this evening if all goes well.

[Leslie Ferguson]

TKay - Sorry you took an unexpected rest day but maybe with how you've been feeling it's a good thing. Hopefully you're coming around the corner with your sinuses too.
Susan - You aren't kidding, I better keep the time off quiet. Of course, that's what happens when you do an internship in a town of ~3,500 that's 35 miles from the nearest largish town. Not much else to do except run/ride, do church stuff, and drink iced coffee. :cool:
Kathy B - Welcome back to the fold. It sounds like you had a good time in Colorado and good of you to get back to the TM already.

I had a good ride today. I'm glad that I chose to ride today - it was the hottest day of the week. Only one little hiccup - there as a mid-sized dog that came to visit me while riding (that would be about 80 pounds - mid-sized). Not wanting to try and outrun it on my mountain bike I decided to stop and dismount. Needless to say, the dog took a nip at me as I was trying to be peaceful around it. The owner got mad because "I was that guy who comes by his house twice a day. And I should know about the dog..." Well, after a long discussion I convinced him that today was the second time that I'd been by (that is the truth) and I had no interest in letting the 80 pound dog take me out (which it can't because it has difficulty running). Smiles and handshakes later and all is well. But I'm checking that road off as a place to ride or run.

That's about all that's fit to print. Until later runnahs,
Les

[SusanMac]

Les - I think you are definitely in the right profession! If someone yelled at me for biking past their house & provoking their dog, who was chasing & barking at me when they should be on a leash, I definitely would not stop & have a kind chat with them :-)

[Kathy B]

Checking in with a report of a 3 mile run this AM. I was sitting down afterwards and suddenly realized I was due at the dentist in 25 minutes. So I got in another run...to the shower and the car! :p

Tkay, sorry to hear that you have been plagued with a cold and sinus issues. You have certainly been fitting in the workouts in spite of it, though. What 5K are you planning for Saturday?

Les, You rabble rouser, you! Intentionally stirring up the neighborhood doggies....what were you thinking? The guy's attitude is kind of amazing, but it sounds like you smoothed things over nicely. Those kind of encounters can be stressful, though, even if they end well. I hope your next ride is more relaxing!

Susan, glad you like your trail runners. Is the lake you swim in warm? We hiked up to a lake in the mountains in CO, and our girls said they couldn't feel their feet after they waded in the water for 10 seconds. There were actaully a couple of people swimming in that! :eek: I get goose bumps thinking about it!

Carrie, Sorry I can't remember, but are you training for a specific race, or are these workouts just routine workouts?

Robyn, hope your recovery is moving along well. I am sure it is hard to sit out for a while when you have been so active and disciplined with your workouts and racing. Hang in there!

Vicci, nice that your DH crossed some stuff off of your to-do list! Your party sounds like a great time! Have fun...you deserve it after all the work you have been doing!

Off to see HP with DD. (We are taking advantage of the matinee...when did movie tickets jump to $10???!!!)

[Leslie Ferguson]

Kathy - Two runs today - good job on both of them. I bet the second was a little more hair-raising than the first. I've heard that HP is good and I never realized that movies were that expensive, but then I don't remember the last movie I saw in the theater (theater sound and hearing aids don't always agree).
Susan - Thanks for the comment. I should couch the story with the fact that I was somewhere on a little backroad outside Blackstone riding alongside a farm so the leash-thing is problematic. I figured that I was on his turf as it were (he might actually own land on both sides of the road) but you're right, if his dog is prone to take off after people and things then they should be leashed, kenneled or otherwise. Needless to say, I tried to state my case about not being a tormenter and how he should keep his dog under control and was in a losing position - so I figured the be nice tack would be better (and it was).

Back to sermon writing after a morning of meetings. Happy trails, I think a run is in the offing this afternoon.

Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Back-to-backs...

Decided to claim my exercise for today. It wasn't a run for many reasons (warmer and later than yesterday). I took off on my bike and headed to some "virgin" territory - Ft. Pickett Army Base (an Army National Guard Base). Went rolling all over the place and had two up-close-and-personal events: one that scared me a little - a white-tailed deer decided to bolt across the road right in front of me. If she had been a little later it may have been deer takes out biker. The other was fun - came down the hill and rounded the corner face-to-face with a tank (on a over-road hauler). The little boy in me loved seeing the huge tank (Time the Toolman Taylor does too).

In the end, a 16+ mile bike ride to close out the day. Oh, and some great sermon reflections in the process.

Happy trails all,
Les

[TKay]

Les - I think you are definitely in the right profession!

Ditto that!