VRB stuff, week of 28 August 2009

[VictoriaL]

Wow, it has been a while since I started this thread (and on a Saturday night, at that!). :D

We returned from 4 days at the lake house a few hours ago, but I did make time for a run this morning. A bit over 4 miles, with a nice, high HR to boot. It was a beautiful day, both temp and humidity in the mid-70's.

I'm a bit distressed today. We took Spooky in for his twice-yearly checkup and the bloodwork showed that his kidneys have lost a little function since last time. We've had him on a special "kidney diet" for a couple of years and although those type of results are expected, they are entirely unwanted. Also, he had a reaction to his vaccine and is being whiney and mopey. Ah, those kids... ;)

Hope that you are all having wonderful weekends (with a bit of activity thrown in, as well)!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks for starting this week Vicci. I'm sorry about Spooky and I hope that he bounces back with a little TLC and some good meds. I'm glad that you had a good trip to the Lake and even got a run in this morning. I'd kill for mid-70s right now. :) How long until you head to the beach?

It was a good day today. I had my last long run before Rock 'n Roll half next Sunday. I was shooting for 11-12 miles, it was a bit gastly but I slogged through (85 and 75% humidity). Close to the end I started to cramp up a bit. That didn't bode well but I cut my ratio down. Ended up finding out that I was a bit dehydrated (even though I had been drinking water like a banshee). My guess is my electrolytes were out of whack which was the problem. When I finished (OBTW - it was 13.1 not 11-12) I downed 2, 32 oz bottles of Powerade Zero (electrolytes) and started to feel better.

Tomorrow is a prep day, my first class is on Monday evening at 6:30: Introduction to Deaf Ministry (something near and dear to my heart and hearing). That's not at VTS but at Wesley in DC - VTS classes don't start until Tuesday after Labor Day.

Off to the bed and a prayer that my hooves don't bug me tonight.

Happy trails,
Les

[Robyn1007]

Vicci, I'm sorry to hear about Spooky. I feel very fortunate that my vet and I have very similar philosophies on pet care and that she's my friend.

Les, it's so frustrating when things like electrolytes go out of whack!

Today I did about 40 miles on my bike including a nice climb up to Jamestown. It had about 1900 feet in elevation gain. Interestingly, it was a climb I'd been scared to attempt but it was much easier than the Deer Creek Canyon ride being flatter and having a lot more flat breaks. It also means the downhill wasn't quite as fun. Oddly, I'm finding that my legs and lungs need a lot more time than before warming up. The first 10 miles of this ride just flat out s*cked. It's been hard to work through those feelings but so far I've not turned around on a ride because of them.

The coming week will be weekday runs, likely at the gym as the treadmill seems to be helping my pacing right now until I head to Vail for the long weekend. A friend of mine who is training for a half ironman in September is coming up to ride with me up there so that should be fun.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey Robyn, I hope you have some good TM runs this week and have a great weekend in Vail. Your ride sounds interesting and I can't imagine climbing 1900 feet (I think that would be about as high as things get in Virginia ;) ). I was also intrigued by the word that they "bleeped" in your post. I know that I've written words like that before without a "bleep."

Weird night last night, I was getting ready to post and I got an e-mail from one of the kids who was in a church I worked at this summer. He goes to Virginia Tech and the two kids who were murdered last week were friends of his. Oh my! :eek: He had some tough questions for me and thankfully, I had some answers for him but it derailed me a bit (didn't get to sleep until almost 1 am). Dragging today but still think I'm goingg to run before class tonight.

Gotta go, lunch approaches...

Happy trails,
Les

[SusanMac]

Vicci - thx for starting the new week. Did DH keep up with your runs at the lake house? So sorry to hear about Spooky. Our last cat lived with kidney decline for 4 years. We were so fortunate that it was a slow decline. So hopefully Spooky will hang in there & continue to be happy and comfortable for a long time yet.

Les - Sounds like you are definitely ready for the half next weekend. Remind me -- are you actually racing? I was thinking you wouldn't make it down for the official race. My memory might be off. Definitely stay on top of those electrolytes! It's funny how we all have to keep learning the hydration lesson (at least I do!)

Robyn - congrats on conquering the scary hill. I have one of those in my area, too....and I've stayed away from it this summer :-) I definitely need a warmup on my bike, too. My legs feel tight when I start no matter what.

So, my half-marathon was Sat and it was a blast! Great weather, although the wind made for a chilly post-race. Cloudy and 60. Fun course with enough hills for interest, but not enough to kill ya. I PR'd by 40 seconds. If you had asked me a few weeks ago, I didn't think I could do it. But I've been feeling good lately and logging more consistent miles. So, very happy. My legs are still sore today, but I plan to bike tonight. Hopefully that will loosen things up.

[Kathy B]

COngrats on your race, Susan, as well as your PR! I think chilly weather makes for a faster run. :)

Vicci, sorry to hear Spooky's results were less than desired. At least he has reason to be whiney and mopey. It's worse when kids are just whiney and mopey. ;)

Nice job on your ride, Robyn! Isn't it gratifying to make yourself do something you aren't sure about and finding out you can do it? Way to go!

Hope you get your run in Les. How are classes going? Nice that you were available for the college student to bounce his questions off of. It is especially tough for kids when death hits close to home for the first time!

Weights and an assortment of machines at the CC yesterday (kind of fun bouncing from one to another every 10 minutes!). Today, a nice long run on the TM. Starting back up with my yoga, too. I had stopped over the summer while MIL was staying with us, and I definitely am happy to get back to it.

Have already done a fair amount of cleaning and laundry, and now I am off to the grocery store. Hope everyone is off to a good start on their Monday!

[TKay]

Vicci - My thanks as well for kicking us off this week. Sorry to hear about Spooky's unwanted test results. Hope he's feeling okay now. Your weather sounds lovely.

Les - Sorry about the hydration issues. Hope the Deaf Ministry class is all you're hoping for. Glad you were there for the kid whose friends were killed. That must have been emotional. How are the hooves behaving?

Robyn - Good going on that climb! That's great. FWIW, I am slow to warm up no matter what activity I'm doing. Cycling, running, the elliptical machine. It always takes me a while to find my stride.

Susan - Congrats on a great half! Sounds like everything worked out well--with a PR to boot. Fantastic. Hope the legs recover quickly after you "ride the junk out."

KathyB - Go, girl, go. You are on a roll. Yoga...ahh...yoga. I haven't been doing it this summer either. That sounds so lovely right now. Enjoy getting back into it.

Two bits of news. One, the boys are off to their first day of school without incident. They were both too nervous to eat breakfast though. The second piece of news is that our dear cat, Kobe, has some sort of virus in his mouth. Recommended treatment: The removal of ALL of his teeth! It pains me to even think about it. The vet said the problem is where the gums meet the tooth and that the only cure they've ever found it extracting the teeth.

No runs to report from the weekend or from today. Hoping to get into my stride, as it were, as the week progresses.

[SusanMac]

Tkay - oi! How does a cat survive without teeth? My goodness, we've domesticated those critters, haven't we? Good luck. I'll be curious to hear how it goes.

Checking in with an interesting article from this weekend's NYT. It's about the recent fad of barefoot shoes and the believe that our overly high-tech running shoes have coddled our feet a bit too much. I saw a guy wearing these at the race on Sat. Interesting stuff.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/business/30shoe.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

[Leslie Ferguson]

Susan - Not specifically racing this weekend. I don't think I'm that well prepared. I have a goal that I'm shooting for and if the weather stays like it is today (high in the middle 70s and low in the lower 60s) I may actually be able to beat my goal time. I too have to relearn hydration stuff too. You'd think after all these years of running in the heat I'd be better at it (since 1993). :rolleyes: I'm definitely better now than when I ran Boston 2005 and ended up taking a liter of fluid in the med tent - now I know to slow down and run/walk before I whack out.
Kathy - My first class for the semester is in 2 hours (need to leave soon too). I won't have class again until next Tuesday (my school doesn't start classes until 9/8). It was good to be able to be there for the guy last night; actually pretty overwhelming to realize that he trusted me that much to reach out in his hour of need like that. I hope you're having a good Monday too.
TKay - Hooves are behaving but an unexpected rest day today is helpful. Glad your boys got off to school without issue and I'm with Susan, I can't imagine a cat not having teeth. I guess they'd be limited to wet food from that time wouldn't they. Blessings for the remainder of the week.

I'm resting today, hard to keep awake and no need to whack something while I'm so tired. Plus I've been "holding court" with some of the new students on campus - having a great time with a bunch of folks who just showed up today.

Nodding off a little before driving to class.
Les

eta: back from class. The administrative stuff was terrible - made me think about renouncing - but the class was a lot of fun. I think I'm going to have a great time.
Les

[VictoriaL]

Les, I forgot that next weekend is Labor Day and the half marathon. VA Beach, correct? It should be fun, whether or not you are actually in a competitive mood. How did that first class go tonight?

Susan, how lucky that your half was not held on a muggy, hot day! And about that link to the "barefoot shoes" (I think that they look like foot-gloves!) I heard an interview the other day with the author of a book about a tribe in Mexico (Copper River? Copper Canyon?). They live in a very remote area and run for several miles (and I think that the author said hundreds of miles) at a time in sandals with treads made of tire rubber! Maybe all of these overpadded, overpriced running shoes are on their way out???? :p Yeah, right!

Robyn, great 40 mile hilly ride! Your leg muscles must be amazingly strong.

KathyB I, too, have let my yoga lapse during the summer but you reminded me that I must start it again soon.

Tkay, I have never heard of a cat needing to have all of his teeth extracted-- poor, poor Kobe! May I suggest, though, a second opinion (from a vet who specializes in dentistry), if you haven't done so already? Five years ago our (at the time) vet told us that Spooky had something called FORL. There were resorptive lesions on his teeth, at the gumline, that were slowly eating though the enamel and soon the teeth would all break off. She suggested having several of his teeth extracted (including 2 fangs, which actually are anchored into the jawbone and very difficult to remove). We took him for a second opinion and the vet suggested that we spend 6 months swabbing his gums with a zinc-chlorhexidate solution. We did, every other night, and although he did not like it at all it seemed to do the trick. Six months later, she was surprised at the condition his teeth were in. A few months after that, we took him in for a thorough teeth-cleaning (where he was anesthetized) and a few months after that (we still were swabbing his gums) she was amazed at the improved condition of his teeth (no lesions!). He has a bit of gingivitis on one part of his gumline, but otherwise he needs no extractions, no surgery. If we hadn't gone for a second opinion, poor Spoo would have 4 or 5 less teeth now (and would probably still be depressed and whiney...) ;)

Speaking of which, his recovery from the effects of the vaccine has been slow but he is 95% better now. And even more spoiled rotten than ever! He has had kidney problems for a few years now, and I'm always optimistic that we can keep him going for several more.

DH and I went for a 15 mile bike ride this morning, and I actually needed a jacket! It was a lovely ride though. And DH has decided that he will run at his own pace on our trails until we leave for vacation next week (the 12th). To be honest, I do not like running with him, or anyone else really. I enjoy setting my own pace, listening to music, bursting into song if I feel like it (and nobody else is around, and I still have breath left to do so!), so I'm hoping that he will not try to keep up with me at the beach. Pretty mean wife, aren't I?!??! :o

It will be a crazy couple of days, but I hope to get a run in on Thursday.

Run (bike, etc.) well, friends! :)

[Leslie Ferguson]

Vicci - This coming Sunday will be the Rock and Roll half in Virginia Beach (www.rnrvb.com) and my race number is 4133. I'm looking forward to the race and expect to have fun running with my crowd (the Posse). With the exception of the administrative portion of tonight (I don't even want to talk about it) the class was fun and it looks like I'll have a blast. There will be about 11 hours of sign practice over the next 13 weeks along with ~22 hours of class time. I enjoy running alone from time to time, even though I run with 20,000+ of my closest friends from time to time. ;) Back in the day, LW wouldn't (and couldn't) run with me and she doesn't like to speed walk with me regardless.

Bed calls, especially after last night. So...
Happy trails,
Les

[SusanMac]

Les - since you said that you weren't racing it, I made the assumption that you weren't doing it at all. But I get it now. And I think it's definitely runner speak.

I was taking a phone survey the other day, and the woman asked if I was a 'cyclist' or a 'recreational athlete.' Those were my only two choices?? So I explained what I do, how often I work out, races, etc. She said I fell into the recreational category. I dunno. I just figured after all this dang work that I really needed a better label than that! Silly, I'm sure, but that's how I felt :-)

But...the recreational side of me took over yesterday & I blew off my workout! Part of me was itchin' to ride, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with traffic on the roads.

This morning was a 40-min swim in gloriously calm water. Tonight I"m meeting some GFs for a run, followed by dinner at one girl's house. We've done this twice so far this season, so I hope it becomes a regular habit!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Les - since you said that you weren't racing it, I made the assumption that you weren't doing it at all. But I get it now. And I think it's definitely runner speak.

I can see how that was confusing. Remember, Yoda lives and is resident in my brain. Hungry am I! I guess I need to be more clear about my running practices.

Sorry you felt like you did, understandable and unnerving that something would get to you but it does. Part of the reason I don't "jog" - to omuch drugery and too many bad memories. Glad you had fun tonight with your GF.

Rode today, felt good and had a new rider today. All the old riders were locked out of the basement in the dorm where their bikes are stored so they couldn't come out. The "newbie" (not a new rider by any stretch - she can keep up on all but the downhills) had never been out on the route we rode and loved the scenery and lack of traffic. I've hooked another one on that stretch of 4 Mile Run and the W&OD trail.

Time for bed, 4 hour drive in the morning to Norfolk for an early afternoon meeting with the placement officer from the Diocese. Lots of ground to cover - most good - but need to be less than drowsy tomorrow.

Happy trails,
Les

[SusanMac]

I'm with you, Les. We are not 'joggers'!!

Yes, last night was a blast. There were 4 of us. We ran for about 35 min. Then chowed on lamb sausages, roasted carrots & a nice Chilean red wine. Yummmm.

Checking in to make sure you all saw the news that Aggie and Che are expecting!!

[Robyn1007]

Vicci I'm so jealous! I want to wear a jacket on a ride. Actually, I probably will this weekend in the mountains.

Susan I know what you mean about the "recreational" title. When I'm out on my bike I'm training. I'm not sightseeing (for the most part) I'm concentrating on the ride, the effort and the results. :p

Les Good luck this weekend! I know you're not racing but still, have fun and I can't wait for the report.

Tkay sorry to hear about the kitty. Mine is currently sitting on the sofa back behind me, head on my shoulder purring like a well tuned motor. I love him to bits!

Hi Kathy!

So, I've had a pretty good week so far. Monday ended up being a rest day then yesterday I ran on the treadmill seeing as how were were under a health advisory due to all the smoke from the California wildfires. Ran my longest non-walking time in a very long time so while not fast it felt great. Then I decided today to mix it up a bit and went to a turbo kick box class at my gym. Holy moly that kicked my arse hard! I can only imagine what I'm going to feel like in a day or so.

I'm sooooooo excited for this weekend. I'm heading to Vail with my bike for a grand finale weekend. My goal? Eagle-Vail (where the family home is) to Leadville. Roundtrip will be about 60 miles with 3400 feet of climbing. Starting at 7500 feet in elevation. I may not make it but I'm going to try. I'm excited, mostly for the downhill. The colors have started changing up there and it should be incredibly beautiful. And then my reward will be eating at Dish that night. :p

Here's a link to the ride:
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/co/vail/991125194457967408

[TKay]

Robyn - That ride sounds glorious! Enjoy every moment of it.

Susan - Now that dinner sounds delish. Glad you've been enjoying yourself. I totally get what you're saying about being a recreational athlete. I wouldn't put you in that category either.

Les - In your brain Yoda lives? Know this I did not. Much this explains. :p A great weekend you must have!

Vicci - I completely understand your desire to run alone. For me, it's my time to myself. I know a lot of people prefer company. Not this loner. :p As for the cat, see below.

I have had a lot of deadlines and client handholding sessions this week. I've still managed to get in a few good workouts, although not as much as I'd like. A TM run here, a combo workout there. Today I took the pup for a run (while I rode the bike) before the scorching heat hit. She hasn't been out in a while, so it was really fun for both of us. Heading upstairs to do something else, but not sure what yet. Hey, maybe yoga.

Regarding the Kobe Cat. We haven't had his teeth pulled yet. We treated him with antibiotics and cortisone first. He's doing much better, but the vet assures us the condition will not be cured by this course of action and that it will come back in about six weeks. Your suggestion, Vicci, for a second opinion is a good one. As for quality of life after the teeth are gone, one of the vets assured me that cats go on to lead normal lives afterward. I inquired about him becoming an indoor-only, soft-food-eating lump, and she said, to the contrary. Her toothless cat eats crunchy food and hunts as usual. Go figure. Still, such a bizarre concept to me. Dh and I joke that we'll need to get Kobe 16 porcelain DaVinci veneers, so he'll look like all the stars in Hollywood.

Have a great day all you runners (walkers, bikers, swimmers, etc.).

ETA: No, I didn't hear about Eva and Che! Wahoo! I'm off to find that thread.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Susan - I love Chilean red wine. It sounds like you had a great evening... lamb sausage, sounds great.
Robyn - It's not quite cool here but I definitely had my first thought about the race this weekend as I was standing outside yesterday in the breeze and a little cool rain - what would I do if it were cold on Sunday? I didn't bring anything except tank tops and shorts. Then I remembered, this IS Virginia Beach and it is September; the likelihood that it would be cool enough for short sleeves (middle 40s or lower 50s) was highly improbable. Have fun in Vail this weekend.
TKay - Luckily I didn't have coffee in my mouth when I read your post - my notebook computer would have shorted out. :) Thanks for the update about your cat - implants on your cat is a pretty funny thought.

Reporting two good runs, last night for about 40 minutes with my coach and a solo this morning. I think I'm about as ready as I'll be and might not run again until Sunday - no need to whack my "taper."

Need to fly, hope all are well. Happy trails,
Les

[Elisabeth13]

Can I join in on this thread? :)

I'm a VERY new runner - just starting my third week tomorrow. I'm loving it so much and driving everyone else in my life crazy with my desire to constantly opine about the joys of running, my new shoes, different routes I'm considering, etc. I need a group of like-minded people, I think!

I'm doing the Couch to 5K program...since prior to this, I had no running experience, it seemed like a good, gradual way to get started. So far it's going well - my calves have been a little achy and I'm not sure I've bought the right shoes, but those have been my only hiccups. I'd love to someday get to the point it seems many of you are at - I'm so impressed with you guys!

[VictoriaL]

Welcome, Elisabeth!!! :)

Since these VRB threads are started each Friday, I am going to copy your post and place it on the new thread.