Virtual Running Buddies - w/o 5/14

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey gang - greetings from the latest area that has had a tornado warning and most likely a tornado (not in Alexandria but nearby). It's been a great week here, rides and runs going on this week and trying to get back into life after school. It's hard to believe that my Seminary career is officially over in less than a week; although there's been noting pressing going on since Monday this week. Next week will be nuts but runs and rides will happen as often as possible.

I don't think there are any races going on this weekend - kids heading off to summer jobs; getting ready for the summer; and lots of other stuff post race (including running in London I think).

Today there was a ride but it was absolutely wild. Not bad for about 20-25 minutes (until I was about as far away from home as I was going to get) and it started raining. Then it started pouring and I got whacked - the rain actually stung when I was riding. Not a lot of fun riding the skinny tire bike in the driving rain (skidded once - made life interesting). Still swung 14 miles.

Any plans for the weekend? I hope everyone has a great one and I'm actually getting notes from VRB (thanks).

Happy trails,
Les

[VictoriaL]

Les, tornadoes? And that driving rain (while you were biking, yet!) sounds to be pretty bad, too. Hey, you're a man of leisure now! :D Hope that you get in a ride or run this weekend, without the precipitation!

Nat, from last week, yes it was fun to be at the arena for the last game ever. We've been going there for 23 years, so it was a little sad (the guy in the next seat had been attending hockey games there since the late 60's and was quite emotional).
And Spooky does have good taste in his plant selections. It's now up to me to plant it and keep it alive! Hope that you have a good visit with your Mom.

Susan, when do you return?

Robyn, unlike Les, I could handle those cupcakes. Quite happily, in fact. But I'd start with the chocolate, first...
;)

I did get in a run on Friday before the rain arrived, and again yesterday (it was sprinkling when I got back to the lake house). Yesterday's run was difficult-- hot and very humid and since we haven't been here for several weeks I was unaccustomed to these hills! But I did it. :)

I'm up early starting a slow-rise bread for dinner guests tonight. I woke with a sore throat and can't stop blowing my nose, so "something" has started. *sigh* But today we have to brave the chilly waters to reposition the boat lift in the water because it's tilting (damage from the winter storms). How we will manage to carry 3'x3' concrete slabs in 6' of water, I don't know, but hopefully when I return I'll tell you all that it was easy!

Hope that you all have a fantastic weekend (all sun and blue skies-- no storms!).

[Leslie Ferguson]

robrobin10... reported

[Natasha]

Hi all!

Les, thanks for starting us off this week. Glad you survived the scary ride :eek: Sounds like the weather we had here the previous weekend.

Susan, hope you're enjoying London!

Vicci, I can imagine how emotional that guy must have been. I'm sure it was emotional for you and your DH too after so many games there.

I'm disappointed Boston lost but what can you do? Montreal and Philly, here we go! Both teams are determined, that's for sure.

I did a spin today and went for a couple of walks. Busy day doing stuff with my mom and DH. We also caught the men's ITU race from Seoul (and I did part of my spin while watching the run). Very exciting!

Hope everyone else - Jennifer, Kathy, TKay, Robyn, and so on - is enjoying the weekend.

[Robyn1007]

Vicci I started with the lighter flavors so as to not overpower them. However, I thought I'd love the chocolate most but the lemon was so incredible it won.

Only runners will understand how proud I am today. I ran 7.1 miles. I can't believe how good it feels to hit that 7 mile mark. Something about doing more than the 10k distance feels so good. But now I'm exhausted and looking toward a 10k time trial on Monday so I'm going to lie down for awhile. Zzzzzzzzzz! ;)

[Leslie Ferguson]

Nice weekend to all. Things were better today than they were yesterday - no terrible weather.

Nat - Scary like you don't believe. I'm okay (more or less) dumping my bike in the street but on a bridge - no way. Good spin today - hope you get out for a run or a ride.
Robyn - Great job running over 7 miles today, you deserve a rest after that run; your longest?
Vicci - Good runs these past 2 days. Baking slow rise bread - it's been a long time since I've done that. At least you are moving the 3 x 3 slabs in the water (hopefully underwater - that way they won't appear to weigh as much).

I ran this afternoon, I'm definitely going to need to get more accustomed to running in the H&H again. It wasn't too terrible (only middle 70s) and it was tough on the road. still felt good to run outside. Slept in this morning and I'm wondering what I'm going to do tomorrow for church since I'm no longer at the place I've been at for 2 years.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.
Les

[Robyn1007]

Les I hope you found a suitable place for church this morning.

Speaking of humidity yesterday's run was cool but VERY humid. When I left the house the news was saying 100%. I don't do well in humid. Needless to say I was dripping. And, yes, it was a distance PR for me but that won't stand for long as I know I'll start building again right after Bolder Boulder.

I'm planning a blissful rest day today. I had some trouble sleeping last night as my legs were achy. Ended up pulling out the Bengay to help fall asleep.

Happy Sunday to everyone else!

[VictoriaL]

Nat, I, too, cannot believe that the Flyers overcame being down 3-0 to win the series! And because they are the Flyers, I shall be rooting for Montreal in the next round! :D Hope that you had a very nice weekend with Mom.

Les, how'd it work out in church this morning?

Robyn, it must have been one incredible lemon cupcake! :) Congrats on the 7+ miles, and hopefully your legs have lost that achy feeling.

Tkay, when did you say that your were heading to Phoenix for DH's graduation?

Kathy, did you survive the busy weekend?

Traffic on the lake was unusually heavy for so early in the season (if I only had many million dollars I'd buy the darn lake and forbid jetskis and huge power-boats... sorry if I offended anyone who enjoys those things!) so we didn't get the work done on the boat lift. So sad, we'll have to go back later this week for a few days! :D

I went for a run on Saturday and, wow, am I ever unused to those hills! The humidity was pretty awful, too, and I just could not get "into" the run. I headed back after a measly 2 miles, although it had only been sprinkling a bit, I just felt a little off. I know why, now, since I woke up this morning with a very sore throat and a terribly stuffed-up head. Going to lie low for another day or two to get rid of it.

Hi to all, and I hope that everyone had a great weekend!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Vicci - No offense here - water craft of all sorts should have places to play without having to worry about or impact the water session of others. I hope that you get your boat work done without too many delays in the coming weeks. I hope you get better quickly. Enjoy your laying low too.
Robyn - IMO anyone who says that cool and humid isn't "bad" definitely doesn't exercise outside. I KNOW it's colder when it's humid than when it's dry. Ice works wonders when your legs are wiped.

I didn't have too many issues getting to a place that was just right for church today. A place that I used to go to in my first year in Seminary; small but one of my good friends from Seminary was there (expected her to be there). Nice to be able to sleep in for a little today too although I wish I could have slept better - but I made a huge mistake and had a large ice coffee at Border's after dinner last night - slept terribly. Came home and rode tonight - I came close to hitting my target speed on the skinny tire bike on a long downhill home (40 mph).

Tomorrow starts the actual countdown for the end. My last session with my spiritual director (that may be a big melancholy); graduation rehearsal; and rehearsal for the last Communion service (I'm participating - nothing special but still participating which is important because it may be SRO and I'm assured of a seat ;) ).

Happy trails all and I'll be seeing you on the morrow.

Les

[Robyn1007]

Les hope yesterday went well.

Vicci Ugh, I understand what you mean about the peace of the outdoors being disrupted.

So, I have come down with an injury of some sort. We think it's soft tissue to the outside sole of my right foot. I had to shut down last night's time trial at 2.15 miles as I was starting to adjust my foot strike and worried that I might turn my ankle as a result. I walked the mile back to the start with a few tears of disappointment and frustration. So, I've been icing and went to see the PA at my office this morning. She scripted an anti-inflammatory gel and ice. Hopefully a couple days of rest will make it go away. We think the injury came from Saturday's run where I was having extreme tightness down the outsides of both legs which caused me to alter my foot strike onto the outside of my foot. I'll see the PTs at my run shop tonight to address that issue. I'm a bit down in the dumps about all of this but my friends and coaches are working hard to encourage and support me so hopefully I'm back at it in a few days.

[Natasha]

Robyn - oh noooo. Injuries are tough to deal with, even short-term ones. Hang in there. Sending you healing thoughts.

Vicci, I don't think you're being offensive at all. I feel the same way as you about water toys. I'm not against them completely, but they have been known to annoy me.

Les - getting a seat is something to be happy about ;) Glad you're doing well and enjoying all your wrap-up activities and that you found a good spot for church yesterday. Too bad about the iced coffee though!

Took a day off yesterday so I really should train today but we'll see. No, scratch that. I WILL train. At a minimum I'll spin and watch the game. Hoping for no carnage this time :eek: That was not fun on Sunday night. We turned it off halfway through.

Hi to everyone else, and have a great evening!

[VictoriaL]

Les, for some reason, I thought that your graduation was last weekend... wonder where I got that from! Are you enjoying your relaxed-pace week? And 40mph downhill on a skinny-tire bike? Yeesh!

Robyn, I'm so sorry to hear about your foot injury! Take it easy (can you?!?!) and hope it heals quickly.

Nat, we didn't listen to the game on Sunday, but both of our jaws dropped when we heard the score on the news. Evil, evil Flyers!!! :D Did you get that spin accomplished?

Well, yesterday I would've sworn my head was going to burst but today I do feel better. I'm carrying around a box of kleenex and a small trash can, and a tube of moisturizer for my poor nose. :( No exercise for the immediate future, I'm going to try to avoid allowing this thing to turn into an asthma problem.

Happy mid-week, all!

[Natasha]

Vicci, what a pain :( Hope this goes away soon so you can get moving again. Good to hear you're feeling better today, anyway.

Yes, I did get in the spin, but the game's not much better than last time! :p (At least not from my perspective.) Oh well...

[Leslie Ferguson]

Yikes Robyn, your foot/legs sound painful. I hope the PA sets you on the mend. I bet rest will be good for your legs. Heal quickly.
Nat - You aren't kidding, it's nice to have a seat. Good job on the spin even if it wasn't something to write home about.
Vicci - Your asthma doesn't sound fun, rest sounds like a good thing for you too. I'm not sure where you came up with the idea that I graduated last week. Part of me would love to have actually graduated last week - there's tons of stuff going on this week. Top it off, I'm the treasurer and I'm responsible for paying for our class picnic, sending the last installment for our class crosses, and in general closing out the account (even though two people haven't cashed checks from 6 weeks ago).

Spent most of the day wrapping up business for the class. Tomorrow the fun begins... then graduation Thursday, traveling Friday through Sunday and then back home. Oy Vey! I hope I get some runs or at least exercise in over the coming days.

Happy trails,
Les

[Kathy B]

Hello all! Hope everyone is having a good week so far.

Sorry to hear you are sick, Vicci! :( I can imagine that this crazy weather is causing issues for a lot of people with asthma or alleries. I know it's hard for you to "lay low", but I think you are right to do it. If you lived closer, I'd bring you some hot tea!

Hope your foot is feeling better, too, Robyn. Sounds like you are getting good advice. Nice that you have a PA right in your office building!

What an exciting week for you, Les! Enjoy every minute of it! :) Wishing you good weather for the picnic (and all the rest of the festivities as well)!

Natasha, hope you had a good spin. I KNOW you did it! :p What is the ITU?

Not much to report here. I have been wearing my pedometer, and getting in as much as I can, but several days the dog walks have been the extent of my exercise. Did get 45 min on the TM one day. GS garage sale (trying again!) this weekend if the rain holds off, and there is a lot of work to do. Much of it falls on me since the sale is at our house and the girls have school on Friday. I will have intermittent help, but you know how it is....and we have a LOT of stuff! Worked yesterday, and going in for a bit this AM, then it's nothing but garage sale until Saturday afternoon. Hopefully they will do really well as the money goes to fund their Gold Award projects (equivalent to the Boy Scout Eagle award).

Hi Jennifer, Tkay, and Susan (when do you get home?). Check in when you can!

[SusanMac]

Hi runners! I got home on Sun, and can't believe it's already Wed. How did that happen??

I got in 3 runs while in London last week, which I'm pretty happy about, considering late nights & busy schedules. 2 were in Hyde Park (where Princess Diana's home is located) and 1 in Holland Park, a smaller neighborhood park near my hotel.

We had a 'security concern' on my return flight from London to Minneapolis, so everyone had to deplane & get searched. All in all, a 3 hour delay resulting in spending the night in Minneapolis & getting home a day late. Oi! I like to travel, but things like this are too common.

Sun I was wiped & blew off any workout. I caught a mild cold while in London and have been coughing & sneezing.

Mon was a 22-mile bike ride with DH. The time off & my cold hit me harder than I expected, as the ride felt really tough.

Tues I decided on a run with some intervals. Near the end I got a sharp pain in my left knee. It's right below my knee where the knee cap rides over. Ouch! It is still hurting today, so I might have to take a rest day to be safe. Grrrr.

Sounds like everyone is having a good week. Les - yea for graduation! Vicci - boo for asthma! Robyn - I will join you in the icing & rest! Kathy - good luck with the garage sale. Tkay - are you following the Tour of California this week??

[VictoriaL]

Nat, what the heck's happening to those Habs? As DH said, why didn't Halak play like this last week??? Hope they can turn it around, and quickly!

Les, okay, I'm figuring that you might have, while going through your schedule, mentioned at some point "graduation on Thursday" and I took it to mean that particular Thursday. :) Hope there's lovely, warm weather for the picnic!

Kathy, if you lived closer and brought me hot tea, I would in turn work at your garage sale! Good luck with it, and getting some exercise in (other than lifting and carrying boxes, and walking the dog!)

Susan, welcome home! Your runs in London sound so nice, what a great way to see a town when you're away on business. Hope that your knee problem goes away as quickly as it came on.

Resting again today, but this is it. I've put off everything so far this week and, starting tomorrow, have stuff to get done. A client called and wants additional photos and info inserted in a brochure I produced for them last year-- and wants it done by next Thursday... Oh well, aside from taking the photos, at least it's "sitting down" work rather than something like, say, moving concrete pads!

Has anyone seen the sun lately????

[Robyn1007]

Nat nice job getting the spin in.

Les have fun at graduation tomorrow!!!

Vicci we had sun this week but clouds build in the afternoon just in time for my workouts. :rolleyes:

Kathy good luck with the garage sale.

Susan welcome home! Hope the knee is feeling better.

Well, I'm still on the injured list and nursing the foot along. The PT gave me some stretches and exercises to help with the root cause which is the peroneal tendon so that's good. The foot feels a bit better today and I'm walking on the ball of my foot to try to reduce strikes on the injured area. I was able to get a bike ride in with no pain at all and it was my first ride since September. Just a short 40 minute ride to test the foot and refresh the bike handling skills. At least I know I can ride for some cardio work if the foot takes longer to heal. I'm guessing/hoping I might be back running for either Saturday or Monday's workouts.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Sorry you're not well physiologically Robyn, I hope you bounce back and rest enough to not take forever to heal.

I'm really beat - it's surprising (not really) how tiring this week has been. In less than 12 hours I'll be a graduate (more or less).

More tomorrow (I hope) ... Happy trails,
Les

[VictoriaL]

:DHAPPY GRADUATION DAY TO LES!!! :D

I got the correct week this time!

[Kathy B]

No sun here, Vicci, but I am holding on to the fact that they are predicting no rain for the next two days while we have our garage sale, and the second day is supposed to actually be sunny. Hard to have faith, though, when it drizzled off and on all day today, and pretty steadily since 5PM. :( My garage is full of stuff...we are forging ahead!

The GS came after school and we took all the stuff from the basement and attic out to the garage and made signs. One of the moms and I went after tables from the church. I am pretty beat and have to be up early...sale starts at 7 AM. IF any of you are looking for bargains....;)

Hope you had a wonderful day today, Les! :)

If you must get busy working, Vicci, I agree that sitting down is preferable with you still on the mend!

Robyn, nice that you can still ride and get some cardio even though your foot is out of commission. Hope it heals up quickly.

Susan, good for you getting 3 runs in! I am sure it was very enjoyable to run in some new places and sight-see while you were at it! I always enjoy people watching when I travel. Did the volcanic ash give you any trouble during your flights? Hope your knee is feeling better!

I actually got in 45 min on the TM today, and it felt really good after doing little or nothing for several days. My conference call was post-poned, so I suddenly had a free hour!

That's it for me! See you all on the next thread!

[Natasha]

Congratulations, Les!!!

That's it for today :) Just had to chime in to say that!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks all, it was a great day today. And our speaker was the best commencement speaker I've ever hears - Brian McLaren, (www.brianmclaren.net) the founding pastor at Cedar Ridge Community Church near Baltimore.

I had a great day and a picture is attached.

Good to get a TM in Kathy. Rain - bah for your sale. I'll have to take a pass on the early bird too. ;)

After commencement and lunch I went for a ride. It was actually pretty nice and I figured it may be the last ride/run I get for a while; I'm heading for a job interview tomorrow that I guess may keep me away from the running (and maybe the computer too).

As promised, a picture...

Have a great Friday,
Les

[TKay]

Congratulations to Les! Wahoo! Hip hip hooray!

I can't believe I've been MIA all darn week. I've missed everyone's updates but will scour through them now. In addition to being really busy (mostly with kid and school-related stuff), I've also caught some sort of chest crud that has me wiped out. Any time I've had that could possibly be spent working out has become healing time. See you guys on the new thread!