VRB - Week of 3/5/10

[Kathy B]

8 miles to report....and outside, too! :) Pushed it a little more than I probably should have, but it felt pretty good (except the half that I was heading straight into the wind!), and I am a little more confident about being ready next month.

Susan, congrats on signing up for the 1/2 iron man! That's exciting! Nice to have a goal, too, as we head into the nicer weather. I will email the spanakopita recipe to you.

Robyn, nice to hear from you. Glad to hear the snow conditions have improved, as I am heading out there next week (Crested Butte). Good luck rejoining your running group, sounds like a good way to get going again.

Les, I'll echo the comments....nice picture. Very professional looking, but a great smile!

Vicci, I am sure the extra year and a half were a joy to her family. Have a safe trip!

Tkay, How is the cake coming along? :p

Natasha, how was your run? And how are the cookies? I just pulled some Snickerdoodle bars out of the oven. DS will be home for spring break sometime this afternoon, and I am sure he will be hungry as usual!

Here's to the start of a great weekend!

[Robyn1007]

Kathy, you have no worries for CB. The southern Colorado mountains have been slammed this winter. We're all jealous up here. ;)

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks for starting Kathy, those victories in training (longest run to date etc.) are just great motivators. I'm sure that you'll be fine in a month. Enjoy the rest of training. Thanks for the comment about the picture, I think the big smile and looking professional is important in my business (and really in all businesses) - who wants to look at or listen to a priest that looks like they haven't slept and eaten limes?

Hey Robyn, good seeing you two days in a row.

I took off for a long run this afternoon, about an hour (give or take). It was better than the last one, mostly because I kept things under control until I was warmed up and didn't push too hard. Hopefully I'll be fine tomorrow and then I'll see if I'm good for back-to-back runs.

Happy trails all - hope everyone has a good weekend.
Les

[Natasha]

Kathy, Snickerdoodle bars sound delicious. It's been ages since I made Snickerdoodle cookies and now I feel like making some. We are going out for dinner tonight and I'm bringing dessert so I need to figure out what to make. With the temps going up to around 50F for today and the next two days, and with the sun we've been having, it feels like spring. Early spring always means citrus to me, so maybe I'll make orange cake. I took most of the cookies to work and they were devoured quickly. The ones at home are all gone, too :o

Have fun in Crested Butte! :)

Hi Robyn - nice to see you and hear how things are going :)

Vicci, safe travels.

DH and I came across an IRL running buddy today while out on a long walk with the dog. When talking to him, I felt more motivated to do a Sunday group long run (I've been on the lazy side lately). I sort of committed to go tomorrow and actually am looking forward to it. So I was going to run today, but I'll probably spin and do core instead. You could even ride outdoors today, but I think I'll wait until it heats up a bit more.

Interesting stats: so far we've had about 45% of the snow we'd normally have gotten by this time. I saw that DC, Philly, etc. have gotten about 350-400% more than normal :eek: Not that I have to tell Les and Vicci that! It's just odd.

Take care, all!

[TKay]

Happy Saturday, runners. It's nice to see activity over here.

Kathy - Thanks for starting us off with such a great report this week. I'm impressed. Sounds like you're on track. That nasty cake keeps hanging on. It's down to one piece which I almost threw away last night. Let's see. A full week of about 750 extra calories per night? How does that work into my fitness goals? (Maybe I need to make the CL GC bundt cake next year? Thanks for the tip. I've not tried it.)

Robyn - Welcome back from your brief hiatus. No worries about being away. We all know about ski season. :p Enjoy the new running group. Hope you survive your intense week without any trouble.

Les - Great photo and great run. I'd hire you! Be kind to poor Frank. He's just spirited. (Pun intended.) :D

Vicci - Sorry about your loss. Wow, you've had your share of things to deal with lately. Hope the weekend goes well, with or without a stop on the TM.

Susan - How was the beer?

I took yesterday completely off. I volunteered at the elementary school. It was the read-a-thon celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday. So I read to my son's class and talked about how reading has been important in my life and career (they use the day as a mini-career day too). Then I worked the book fair for the rest of the day. After school, I took my boys and a friend to see the Percy Jackson movie. We are currently on book three of the series, so it was fun to see the characters on the big screen. (For those who don't know, Percy Jackson is to Greek mythology what Harry Potter is to wizardry.)

Dh has been in a (scheduled) crazy push at work. The kids and I are left to our own devices. I'm hoping dh will be home tomorrow, but no promises.

Planning a long TM run today. Have a great weekend!

[Leslie Ferguson]

TKay - Nice pun. :) It sounds like you had a good Dr. Seuss' Birthday celebration with you kids and a good movie. I'm not that familiar with Percy Jackson but a good movie is always a nice thing to share with your kids. Hope you had a good TM run today.
Nat - I hope you have fun running with your IRL running buddy tomorrow. I think a little over 50 would be better for your first outdoor ride (but that's just me). Oh how I know about the snow. There's still some grey piles in the shade around here. :(

We actually had a good and warm day finally. It was about 50 when I headed out this afternoon for my run, ended up with 65 minutes and feel pretty good still. Ran a different route (I'm tired of running the last leg into the wind) - it's nice to shake things up a little.

Early morning tomorrow so off to get ready (early to bed if I can).

See you all tomorrow and happy trails,
Les

[Natasha]

Hi!

TKay, that sounds like a very fun day and a good change of pace. BTW, is the toe still holding up nicely?

Les, nice job on your run as well.

We had a fantastic time last night but I was exhausted when I got home, as our friends live quite far away. I made orange cake as planned and it was well received.

I'm back from an hour and a half run with the group, followed by coffee. It's absolutely gorgeous out - already pushing 50F and I think will get into the mid 50s - and I've already told DH that any afternoon plans must include sufficient time to "play outside". He's sort of inclined to go road riding or get in his run, but I'd be happy with a hike or just a long walk.

Hi to Susan, Kathy, Robyn, Vicci (who's probably on the road), and everyone else :)

[SusanMac]

Quick fly by....

Thurs - planned rest day. The beer tasting event was super fun! (not a very healthy meal that night tho....mostly apps)
Fri - unplanned rest day :-)
Sat - bike spin. DH rode outside (along w/most of Madison, it seems), but I'm sticking w/indoors just a bit longer
Sun - just finished another bike spin. i'm feeling stronger. And, I just finished season 1 of Heroes! Wow, what a great show.

Tonight is cooking club's annual Oscars night. I made a black-eyed pea & butternut squash salad from BA. Hope it's yummy.

Hi to all of the skiers, IRL run clubbers, TMers, and spring-time fans!

[VictoriaL]

Kathy, 8 miles outside-- I am jealous!! :D You are doing great with training, the race will be a cinch! And snickerdoodle bars sound wonderful. I'm all for making drop cookies into bars, it saves so much time and they still taste as good.

Les, it sounds as though you had a very enjoyable run yesterday, and a back-to-back, at that! We still have piles of snow, but they should be a (rather nasty) memory by the end of the week, with the almost-50 degree temps and rain that is forecast. Yay!

Nat, I mentioned to my Mom about your "less snow" over this past winter and she offered to send some up. :) Now after a late night out you still managed, by just after noon, to have had an hour-and-a-half run and coffee? Yeesh. ;) Congrats!!!

Tkay, the Seuss read-a-thon sounds like a bunch of fun. :) Did you get in that highly-anticipated TM run yesterday?

Susan, please let me know how the salad went over-- I just happen to have some cooked black-eyed peas and butternut squash!

The weekend was... good enough, I suppose. I hadn't seen my godfather's "kids" for 30 years. Not much else can make me feel as old as that did! And I feel so sorry for my godfather-- he has spent every single day of the last 1-1/2 years traveling a 40-mile round-trip every day to the nursing home to stay with his wife all day long. He is so thin and tired looking, I just hope that he can find a way out of it. He was so happy that I came up "just to see him" I was really glad that we went.

Other than that, the trip went well. Mom and I went to a cake-decorating store and bought things which she will use to make my twin niece's birthday cakes next weekend (one wants a disco ball cake, the other a peace-sign cake. What decade is this????). My sister and BIL came over for dinner and I cooked a praise-worthy meal. And DH and I took up our latest movie "find", a little-known gem called Saving Grace. It was great fun and, for the only time I can recall, my Dad sat in his chair and watched the entire movie! Fans of Craig Ferguson will particularly enjoy it. ;)

And a half-hour on Mom's TM this morning (to work off that chocolate cake from the funeral luncheon yesterday, mostly). It was good to get in a "run", and not be shoveling or using the EB for my aerobic activity.

Hope that you all have had good weekends. Our snow is melting! Not much hope for a run on the trails for a while (a mud-bath, it will be), but we plan to stay at the lake house at the end of the week and I may get an actual run on a road then!

[Kathy B]

Hi, all! Hope everyone's weekend is winding up nicely. Today was beautiful, and I should have run, but it was a rest day, so I took a nap! I really needed it. Yesterday I did an easy 3 miles outside. Hoping to do that again tomorrow if the weather cooperates.

Vicci, I am sure it was a real boost for your godfather to see you and spend some time with you. I am glad you were able to go and stay for a little bit. It must have been very comforting for him. I will have to check out the movie. I can never remember what any of them are about when I go to the video store, so it is hard to pick something. Good job getting in some TM time while you were OOT!

Good job on your spins, Susan! How was the Oscar's night dinner?

Natasha, the weather stats ARE odd. We have certainly had a lot more snow than usual around here. Did you get in some play time? DS and I took the dogs for a long walk (it was a rest day, but I still needed to rack up some steps for my pedometer!), and the dogs were thrilled to be out.

Sounds like you had a good run, too, Les. OUr gray piles are quickly disappearing. The last few days have been gorgeous!

Thanks for the update, Robyn, sounds great!

Did your DH get to be home today, Tkay? My DH often has to go in to work on the weekend, too, so he can work on computer things when nobody is on their computer. OTOH, he can sometimes take off early during the week to make up for it. I haven't heard of Percy Jackson, either. But I think there was a trivia question about him last night....

Last night was Treats and Trivia at church, a fundraiser for the youth. Our team (my mom, DH, DS and a friend, my BIL and 3 other people) came in 6 out of 12 teams. We didn't know enough about literature and history, but we did very well in the food and cartoons category. Hmmmm.....:p

[Leslie Ferguson]

Busy day. Long day at church and a busy day doing a couple papers/reflections for Monday and Tuesday.

No time to give individual posts except to compliment everyone for doing a great job this weekend. More to follow tomorrow and I hope everyone has a great week.
Les

[TKay]

Les - Great job on the 65 minute run the other day. Glad the weather cooperated. Hope your busy Sunday went well.

Nat - The orange cake sounds lovely. Nice, long run too. Did you get out for the hike or walk? Thanks for asking, btw, the toe is doing great. I ran for the first time yesterday without taping it and did fine. Yay!

Susan - I'd also enjoy an Oscar night meal review. :) Nothing like a good show to motivate you to keep pedaling.

Victoria - It's really nice that you were there to spend some time with your godfather. Seems like he really needed it. Saving Grace sounds good. I just may add it to my queue.

Kathy - Funny about the trivia knowledge. :D I love that you had a scheduled rest day and were forced to nap. I bet that felt great. Dh did get the day off yesterday (his only downtime for a while) and ended up getting a migraine. Ugh. The poor guy.

I ended up skipping my run on Saturday for no particular reason. I did, however, put in over an hour on the TM yesterday. I hesitate to even say this with all the complaints I've made about sickness this year, but I woke up with yet another sore throat/achy thing today. Oy! I'm going to walk on the TM and see how things go.

Have a great week, everyone.

[SusanMac]

Vicci - the salad was great. The recipe said serve right away, and it was good. But, I think it's even better today as leftovers, after the flavors have melded overnight. I'll be saving this one for summer picnics! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Eyed-Pea-and-Pumpkin-Salad-234794

Tkay - I really admire the way you & DH are so fluid & supportive of each other's schedules! It's really great, and I know many couples who struggle with that. Stay healthy! I channeled you this morning as I had a red velvet cupcake with my morning coffee (a leftover from last night)

Kathy - don't you just love rest days in the middle of tough training schedules! Sounds like you're doing great. The trivia night sounds fun, too. Have fun in Colorado this week!! That will be great cross-training for you

Les - another great church day for you. Hey, I just realized that your new career is really going to impact your future race calendars!

Robyn - thanks for popping in. I'm excited about your running group!

Oscar Night was really fun! I think the award show was pretty boring, but that's what makes it great to get together w/friends so it's fun no matter what. The menu was stuffed mushrooms, carmelized onion & pine nut focacia, mediterranean pitas, baked turkey egg rolls, spinach dip, my salad, red velvet cupcakes. And I also made a batch of coconut buckwheat biscotti (a new twist on an old CL fav). I think we had enough food :-)

[Natasha]

Hi!

TKay, that's good news about the toe. Nice job on the TM run. Feel better soon! Yes, yesterday afternoon we went for a long walk.

Hi Les - thanks for the fly-by!

Kathy, that's funny about the nap :D Well deserved!

Susan, the menu sounds good. Can you believe I've never seen the Oscars except for 5 minutes here and there (and even that, not recently)? :o

Vicci, echoing what others have said ... I'm sure it was a huge boost for your godfather. Please tell your mom her offer is very generous but that I'll pass ;)

It got up to something like 57F today so when it came time for the pup's late afternoon walk we opted to walk in one of the oldest neighbourhoods in town (I love the historic homes), and then make our first stop of the year at the local ice cream shop :) I'm going for another walk with a friend in an hour. Later I'll spin or do core and yoga.

Hi to everyone else!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey Nat, it was almost as warm up there as it was down here today. Outdoor activities are definitely in the mix these days aren't they?
Susan - It does sound like your Oscar Night dinner was pretty good and tasty. Friends are definitely more important than the show in my book. Yep, my new profession will definitely put a damper on my racing in the future unless there are more Saturday races. Still, there may be opportunities to get out for races on Sunday if I'm not the only priest at a church.
Tkay - This has been the sickness winter for you hasn't it? Sending good vibes and prayers your direction for quick healing.
Kathy - Trivia is always fun. Of course (in my case) it's nice that I have a mind for trivia and a nearly photographic memory.

It was almost 60 this evening so I took off in shorts and a tank for 60+ minutes of run. A bit chilly as the sun started to set but I'm not complaining. It was a glorious day yesterday at church and I'm quite happy with how things are moving there.

Check you all later and I hope all continue to get good runs/TM/EB/walks in,
Les

[TKay]

Susan - Red velvet cupcake and coffee. I'm jealous. ;) Thanks for the compliment about dh and me. I guess we're old enough to know it's more about the other person being happy than it is about controlling them. Second marriages will give you that perspective. :rolleyes: The Oscar meal sounds lovely. Good thing you're doing all those workouts, eh? Where does Bode fit in with your training schedule?

Nat - A walking tour of the old neighborhood sounds nice. Ending up at an ice cream shop makes it all the better. Hope you got in a good spin or yoga/core.

Les - Shorts and a tank top? Are you mad? I don't need to compare my climate with yours and I never run in a shorts and tank. Of course, that has more to do with vanity than comfort, I suppose. :rolleyes: Glad things are going well with church.

Hi to Vicci, Robyn, Kathy and all the rest.

I did work out on the TM with some light weights yesterday. I got in about 45, then did squats and abs. I kept it pretty easy. Today, I feel like the full-blown crud has settled in, so I'm just taking the pooch out for either a walk or bike ride (for me), a run (for her). She loves that and it gets my blood going even if it's short and easy. Lots of scouts, karate and even a dentist appointment today. It's always fun around these parts.

[SusanMac]

Tkay - I'm so sorry you feel cruddy! Take care of yourself

Les - I'm also shocked by the tank weather. Are you sure this isn't mostly wishful thinking??

Nat - the first ice cream stop of the season is definitely extra good!

Mon - blew off my workout for absolutely no reason. Weather was foggy & cruddy, and I just didn't feel like it. I figure I can keep doing this for only 2 more weeks :-)

Today - great 45-min run through the neighborhood with DH & Bode

So, yes, Bode will definitely play a prominent role in my training plan :-) Luckily, since I'll be running half-marathon distance (vs full), I can run with him more often. 60 min is usually where we cap it with him.

Question for you other dog owners - how often & long do you run with your pooch?? I met a woman last year who did 18-mile long runs with her dog. I feel that's really not healthy, yet the dog isn't going to complain.

[TKay]

Wow, an 18-mile run? I wouldn't think that would be good for poochie. The most I really do with Sadie is about three miles. If we haven't been out for a while, I don't go that far. Sometimes I'll just take her to the end of the bike path and back (which is, oh, say a mile and a half). I'm sure she could go longer than three miles if we worked up to it. When I talked to the breeder, she said Sadie's not really a running dog. She's built more for short bursts. I guess that's because she's really a hunting dog (yellow Lab).

Glad Bode's going to enjoy some good training time with you, Susan.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Oh, it wasn't wishful thinking. 60 degrees is plenty warm enough for a tank top. It was even warmer today (too bad I had classes until after dark) when we topped off at 65. Wasn't it in the low 30s a few days ago? :confused:

Classes done for another week - now the preps for the coming week of classes - by the end of the month we're done with this quarter. I can't believe it.

Happy trails,
Les

[TKay]

Les - The forecast here is a high of 63 today. I can't believe you've been just as warm. Hope it continues and you can actually get outside to enjoy it. The quarter is almost over? How is that even possible?

I'm laying low today. Still fighting a little something. I'm so sick of sick season. The worst part? I can't tell if this is something I caught from the kids or the other way around. I hope they've already had this.

Happy Wednesday, everybody.

[SusanMac]

Woo hoo! Just finished a bike spin. Stressful day that got under my skin, so this was just the stress release I needed.

Tkay - I was watching clips of the Paris-Nice race on YouTube!

[Natasha]

Hey runners!

Les, time is really flying by, isn't it? :eek:

TKay, feel better soon!

Susan, way to go on the stress-relieving spin. Glad it helped!

I have a spin (yesterday) and a run (today) under my belt, which is good, because tomorrow I'm visiting my mom so won't be training.

Hi to Kathy, Vicci, Robyn, and everyone else.

[VictoriaL]

Kathy, before we joined Netflix, I would keep a small piece of paper in my wallet with the names of movies I wanted to check out. Just a suggestion (because I also could never remember what I wanted to watch when I got in the video store!).

Les, so, one more semester after this one ends? Wow! Now, does it seem as though you've been there forever or are you surprised that you are almost done?
And I don't know how job searches work in your chosen profession, but I know of an Episcopal church in central PA that is looking... if you're interested in a small town, rather poor, church let me know. ;)

Tkay I think that you need to be in a bubble! Or wear some sort of protective gear so you don't "catch" the germ du jour. Hope that it passes quickly (and that you don't pass it on!)

Susan, the woman takes her dog on 18-mile runs? That does sound excessive, and not very good for the poor dog's joints and paws... Nice that Bode has "agreed" to help with your training. Has Merck offered?!?

Nat, you deserve the day "off" tomorrow-- enjoy the time with your Mom. :)

I think that my HRM has healed itself... :p

My trails are still covered in snow, but at 65 degrees I just had to run outside. So I drove to a nearby park and had a fabulous 35 minutes of outdoor running! And, good heavens, that park has a ton of hills. I am certainly not used to this, but it was wonderful. Of course, all good things must come to an end, and we have a few rainy days coming up, then the temps will cool down. But spring is coming!!!

We're heading to the lake house for a few days. With a hand-saw and a chain-saw, in case the rain holds up and we can clear some of the storm damage. More aerobics! :D

See you all on the next thread!

[TKay]

Susan - Thank goodness for the power of stress-busting exercise. Fun about the YouTube watching too.

Nat - Enjoy your visit with your mom.

Vicci - A bubble might just work for me. Thanks for the suggestion. ;) Nice job on the hilly outdoor run. Hope the saws are kind to you.

Yet another day off for me. The crud has officially settled in. Do the words "I feel like I've been hit by a bus" mean anything to you? I feel in need of a good run just to get everything going again. And yet, down I am.

Ah, well. Vicci anticipates spring for the warmer temps. I'm looking forward to it so all these nasty winter bugs will fade.

Be well, runners.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Time is really flying by. Vicci, I'm pretty much responsible (with help from my deployment officer) for finding the right fit for my ministry. I've got feelers out... I have heard of a couple places in PA that look interesting and I have a friend who lives in Franklin who has helped me navigate places that I haven't seen yet.

I realized today that it's 2 months and 10 days until graduation and 3 months and 2 days until I get ordained. It feels like this fun roller coaster ride started yesterday.

Fiddled around a little this evening leading to a unplanned rest day. Now the house is Wi-Fi and has digital cable installed on half the TVs.

Now to write and hit the hay.

Happy trails and I'm going to try to run tomorrow.
Les