Virtual Running Buddies - 2/12

[Kathy B]

I'll start this one since I have TWO runs to report! :) I printed off a beginner training schedule for a half and had to get busy immediately. The one I am looking at is 4/10 (just 8 weeks away) and the schedule is a 10 week one. I figured I have been doing some running that can count for the first two weeks, and started on week 3. Which meant a 5 miler on the TM yesterday. :eek: But I got it done (thank goodness for DVR episodes of 24!), and today was supposed to be an EZ 2 miler. I actually went outside for it since it is in the low 30's and there was very little wind....not bad at all. Anyway, here we go! :p

Thanks for the explanation of your church procedures, Les. It is interesting to hear how other denominations handle things. Hope your sermon goes well today!

Hi to everyone else, and have a great weekend!

[VictoriaL]

Really, Kathy, your April half is just 8 weeks away??? Oh, I can't wait! For the weather change, that is, since I'm not participating in the half... :p 5 miles on the TM? Congratulations! Oh, and an answer to the potato question, my family loves potatoes. We rarely have them here because DH prefers rice, but these farm-fresh potatoes which my Mom gets are awesome, even 4 months after they are dug. Go figure. She gave us about 20 pounds so it will be potato soup, potato and corn chowder, lentil and potato stew... and so on for the next month or so.

Our electric was restored on Thursday evening, about 6-1/2 days after it went out, and we are back home. I cannot describe how wonderful it is to be in my own house, in my own kitchen! We had a lot of tree damage, but that will have to wait until the snow melts a bit before any clearing out can be done.

We went to the lake house yesterday and, wow, what a mess. Outside, luckily, all was okay in the house (heat on, water pipes intact). But we lost a couple of huge trees which, fortunately, fell away from the house (alas, they did fall on the patio...). The cover over the pontoon had collapsed and we spent over an hour scooping out about 16" of snow then, with great difficulty, about 3" of ice. It was very difficult, but we got it done and I consider it my aerobic exercise for the day. :) I am soooo sore today!

Les, how are you feeling after your shoveling this past week???

A quiet weekend as we have enough groceries and the driveway is still snowy, so we are staying in and enjoying being home. What's up with everyone else?

[Natasha]

Hi, everyone :)

Wow, sounds like I have a lot to catch up on in the last couple of weeks' threads.

Vicci, you were without electric at your place for that long and had to stay elsewhere? What a pain but I'm glad you're back and that the lake house was OK overall (though that's sad about the trees). Enjoy your weekend of being cozy!

Les, DH and I kept thinking of you and LW as you faced the second storm (which you must have also gotten, Vicci). How're you doing?

Kathy, congrats on signing up for the half - so exciting! Nice job on the two runs, too.

It's been a full few weeks (lots of good, but also a couple of challenges). I was away for work a couple of times and then we were on vacation. It was my first ever ski vacation and I have to say overall I liked it a lot. I'm still no alpine ski expert (to say the very very least :p) but am looking forward to skiing again and to improving. I have no runs to report since last Saturday. But DH and I did get in some good skiing on each of three days, and go for a long snowshoe excursion in the mountains one day, so we kept busy.

Now that we're home I enjoyed a long spin while watching ski jumping :)

Is anyone else following the Olympics?

Hi also to TKay, Robyn, and Susan - how's it going?

[Leslie Ferguson]

From the top - Kathy, I think you'll probably be fine starting at week 2 as long as you aren't "racing" the half (and I don't think you would be considering it's your first half). My pleasure giving the rundown on our church's employment "plan" - it is interesting to hear how others do the same things I'm doing right now.
Vicci - I'm a bit sore, hips, shoulder and one ankle from all the shoveling. I think there's a pile of snow about 7' high outside my house (some from the street but plenty from my shovel). I won't tell you how far I ran on the treadmill while preparing for my marathon. You don't want to know and I shudder to remember. Glad the 'trons are flowing in your house again and I know how you feel being out of the electrical business for a while (we were 5 days, 17 hours, and 21 minutes without electricity when we lived in Norfolk after Hurricane Isabel a couple years ago).
Nat - Thanks for asking. It's been nice to "have" to hang around with Kathy for a week. :D I think it will be nice to get back to classes, not so much to be in classes but the sooner we get back the better chance we won't be extended in classes through spring break. I haven't been keeping up with the olympics except to see that the Canadian women's hockey team waxed the Slovakia women 18-0.

Things went really well this morning - lots of comments and well received all around. Tomorrow is the last day down here and I may actually have a short interview for a job tomorrow.

Time to go to bed - it was a wild day and I'm beat.

Happy trails,
Les

[VictoriaL]

So Nat, are you imagining that you're doing the ski jumping while you are spinning??? Great that you had such a nice vacation, and enjoyed the skiing experience. The last time I did downhill skiing was 30 years ago, but the skiis still are downstairs, ever hopeful... ;) And, yes, we went to MIL's apartment for a few days while the electricity was out. At an average of 40F, this house was a tad to chilly to stay in, although if she was home (she is still at the SIL's in NJ) I probably would have been stoic and only went over there for an occasional shower... :rolleyes:

Glad that you made it to the conference and are having a successful trip, Les. Very funny the exact minute countdown of how long you were electricity-less after Isabel! I wouldn't have known, since we were gone, but the clock in the kitchen was stopped at 12:15pm and the electric company said that it went out on Friday afternoon. Soooo... 6 days, 5 hours, and 45 minutes or so for us. We win!

I'm cooling down from some shoveling. Both DH and I are sore from cleaning the snow & ice out of the boat on Friday, but I figured that we have to get the 4-Runner into the garage sometime so, since the atv (with plow) is still waiting for a new battery (tomorrow!), I thought I'd sneak outside and do some shoveling. DH still hurts from falling off the boat lift onto the ice, and I told him that I was going upstairs to fold clothes, but he heard me scraping ice and insisted on joining me. Alas, we were unsuccessful. After an hour of him with the little snow-blower and me shoveling, we still couldn't clear the driveway enough. Now, a nice hot shower, chicken noodle soup for lunch, and an afternoon of downloading winter storm photos... And, yes, once again I am considering this outside activity as my exercise for the day! :D

[Natasha]

Hi again!

Vicci, yeah, 40F sounds a bit intolerable. It sounds like you and DH are doing some excellent cross-training even if it's frustrating at times. Hope you both feel less sore soon! Nice ploy about folding the clothes, BTW ;)

You guys crack me up with the new competitive event of being electricity-less. Olympic-worthy, perhaps? Speaking of that, no, I don't imagine that I'm ski jumping - I'm waaaaay too wussy for that :p But it's fun to watch nonetheless! Maybe someday your downhill skis will come out of retirement. It's great that you use your cross-country skis, anyway!

I went back and read last week's thread, so:

Les, how was the sermon? Susan, how was your race? Hope both were great!

I did a run today, about 9 1/3 miles (15k). The first 2 1/2 miles or so were pretty awful - sluggish as anything. It improved significantly after that point. Still not stellar, but I'll take it.

Hope everyone is doing well!

[Kathy B]

3 miles on the TM this AM. Yesterday was a rest day, but I walked on the TM while watching L&O. Still have to get my steps on the pedometer!

Natasha, glad to hear you had a good time skiing and none the worse for wear. I am supposed to head out to CO in March with my brother's annual trip (he organizes one from his church/town). I am wondering how the slopes will be with all of the snow we have had this year....I am thinking it will be a good thing for skiiers! Nice job on your long run, too.

Les, I am definitely not racing the half....hoping to come in under 3 hours, but that and finishing are my only goals. Did you end up having an interview? Hope it went well!

Vicci, I can't imagine going that long with no power. The most we have ever done without is about a day and a half, and we thought we were really suffering! I think your mistake with DH was that folding clothes and scraping ice don't really SOUND alike.... one is much noisier than the other! :D

Still have to vacuum, take the car for an estimate on some body work and make supper (pizza), so I better get moving. Have a great week, all!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Good job Kathy. Running 3 on the treadmill is good. I didn't have an "official" interview but I did have a long sit-down with the deployment officer from our diocese. He's the one who coordinates searches and talks with other diocese about the jobs they have open that might be a good fit. In all there are 3 good possibilities near my house plus some others that are nearby (in state).

I got the results of my tests from early January. I think I did well on them. I only wish that I would have fully passed them all but there were no tests that were horrible. Grades are from 1-4 (4 being the best) and I received (2) 4s, (2) 3s, and (3) 2s. I will have to do some remediation for the 2s but in the long run that's not bad.

It just started snowing again and there's still a ton of snow on the ground. Gee, what are we going to do? I may ride but I have a sermon that I'm delivering on Wednesday that I need to put some serious work into.

Happy trails all,
Les

[VictoriaL]

Nat I think that it’s very strange that you are able to go out for a run, 5 hours north of us in Canada, where I cannot even make it to the mailbox because of all the snow. :)

9+ miles is great, no matter how sluggish the first couple were. At least you ran through it, and completed what you wanted to do.

Kathy, you’re starting your training schedule well! And in response to your comment, I had not anticipated on making any noise outside, at all. That darn ice! See “ploy to go outside, version II”, below…

Les, I think it’s wonderful that you probably will be able to be assigned to a Diocese near your town, or at least in VA. Good luck with that sermon for tomorrow! And in getting out of the house for a bit of fresh air (so how much did you guys get during this latest storm?). And good job on those exams last month!

Well, in light of my failed attempt on Sunday to get outside and clear some snow without DH realizing it (he was still very stiff and sore from cleaning out the boat on Friday), yesterday I searched the medicine cabinet for some Tylenol PM to put that man to sleep (Ploy #2) but was out of luck. So I just went outside without telling him (#3). It worked for about 20 minutes. ;) I was trying to clear 30” of snow from the garage roof and, even though I had turned up the radio, he needed to ask me a question and came looking for me. I got yelled at. :(

Result? We are both in pain today from just a partial roof-clearing. But I was so worried about the weight load on the garage roof, where we have both cars, atv, and 2 lawn tractors. Heat, ibuprofen, and rest are in the cards for today.

Seriously, will spring ever come? We usually get about 27” of snow in a winter season, and we are almost at 65” this year. I have taken the snowshoes out of retirement, in anticipation of finally getting out for some fun outdoor time tomorrow.

Hey Susan, how was the race? And your time in Austin??

[Leslie Ferguson]

A double tired household... too bad for you all Vicci. :( We didn't get too much snow on Monday - just about an inch and most of it didn't stick except on the snow (nothing on the streets). I think we're over 56" for the season which is more than we've ever had and more than the past 5 (or 8) years put together.

Things went well today and I ended up with a new emoticon

+:-)

I like it and I think it's gone viral.

I spun today after school and church. Settling in for the day tomorrow - not much going on but still will spend a half-day at school (I pay for lunch every weekday at school so I may as well eat lunch).

See you all tomorrow,
Les

[SusanMac]

Howdy ya'll! :-) We are back from a really fabulous trip to Texas. Lots and lots of good family time (less stressful than anticipated), my Dad is doing better than expected (he's in assisted living), and catching up with many friends, too. Alas, they all have little kids. So, between kids' sniffles & airplanes....I've ended up with another cold! This one isn't as bad as a few weeks ago, but I really am tired of going through so much Kleenex!

The Austin race was fantastic. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone considering that one. I was a bit skeptical, since they lost their long-time flagship sponsor 2 years ago. But, it's still very well organized & well supported. Great expo. Cool backpack. Great medal & technical shirt. Very fun course (constant rollers, with an esp killer hill at mile 12). We also lucked out with perfect weather. Because of the date this year, both the shirt & medal have hearts on them :-)

We learned that you should not preface a long race with a week full of no runs, driving around the state, staying up late to chat w/friends, and eating Tex Mex :-) DH & I both had slow times. I ran out of gas around mile 10 & slogged out the finish. DH has some heel pain that we're hoping can be fixed w/new shoes. But, we definitely had a blast.

On to updates.....

Kathy - Very exciting news about signing up for the half! Congrats. You will do great. Just stay off the queso

Les - happy shoveling! Wow, you guys got clobbered. Your interviewing process is very intriguing. Can't believe how close you are!

Nat - I'm surprised you had never been downhill skiing before. So glad you enjoyed it. Any fun races on the calendar?

Vicci - I haven't quite followed why you have to sneak so much? Is it b/c DH is worried about you falling & breaking your foot again? (I am!)

TKay - tell your DH that we visited Mellow Johnny's while in Austin :-)

[TKay]

Where has my head been? I've been posting on Other Stuff all week and have failed to check in here. Does mommy brain ever really go away?

KathyB - Congrats on the new goal. I agree that you'll do great. (I'd count vacuuming and the like as great cross-training, btw.)

Vicci - Wow, what an ordeal with all that snow and ice. Hang in there. Don't wear yourself out with all the shoveling and scraping. I'll do a little "bring on spring" dance in your honor. :p

Nat - I find it funny that in the first part of your post you say you're wussy, and then you talk about your 9+mile run. Hmm. I don't think wuss is the word I'd use to describe you. Modest might be more accurate. :D

Les - 56 inches?! Good heavens. Speaking of which, I like the new emoticon. :)

Susan - Sounds like you had a great trip. I'm glad you and dh made it through the race despite the couple of issues you had. Cool about Mellow Johnny's. I'll be sure to share with dh.

While I've remained consistent all week, I've found myself cutting workouts a bit short for scheduling reasons. Just by 5 or 10 minutes here and there. But it's still frustrating. I want to go longer, but my time keeps getting pinched. I guess it's better than slogging through something short and forcing myself to continue.

Is it really Thursday already?

[Leslie Ferguson]

TKay - I know what you mean about cutting workouts a little short. Thanks for the emoticon comment - I wish I had come up with it but alas... It's been a long time since I've seen that much snow - definitely not when I was living anywhere.
Susan - Sounds like you had a great time in Austin and had a decent race. You aren't kidding how close the "end" is for me. It boggles my mind that I'm really that close. We're working on the end of a couple boxes of kleenex here too.

I decided that I'd do something a little different today. Since it had been in the middle 40s in the afternoon I decided I'd try to get rid of a couple piles of snow that were blocking the street/parking spots/ access road. Spent an hour scooping and tossing snow. One shoulder is definitely unhappy, and not the one that normally hurts. :( Still, it was good to do some more upper body stuff.

See you all tomorrow and maybe with a new thread.

Les