Virtual Running Buddies - Week of Nov. 23

[Natasha3]

Hi all! How are you doing this week? Gearing up for your long weekend? What are everyone's Thanksgiving plans? :)

I have been having a nice weekend so far, including a run on Friday and an awesome run today. We did about half of it on trails near our house. I love trail running, but hadn't had a chance to go too much recently. Today, at times the trails were wide and like a big playground of yellow leaves, and at times they were through mud (at times DEEP, slippery mud and puddles and swampy stuff) and over lots of rocks and logs. It was so nice to be out there - a real gas. :cool: I didn't want to go home! It's also about 60F out there, and it feels like spring. Lovely!

Les, cool photo, BTW - you must have felt great at that point, knowing that you were so close to the end!

Til later, folks!
Natasha

[MaryH]

Thanksgiving is at my house and I hope to have a majority of the stuff done by the end of Wednesday. Thursday morning there's a Turkey Trot, so unless its pouring rain, I'll do that and then come home to start the turkey and all.

[Leslie Ferguson]

This week is going to be a real jumble of things. You wouldn't believe it but I'm going to be traveling more for work in the next two weeks than I have in the past 6 months. I drive back to DC tomorrow afternoonto retunr Tuesday. That is the second meeting in DC in the past week - I drove up Thursday evening and back to Norfolk Friday afternoon. Top that off with flying to Portsmouth UK via St. John's Newfoundland (it looks like it WILL be cold and damp when I'm there). I'll spend a week in the UK and fly back to Norfolk. WOO HOO! :rolleyes: becoming the world traveler.

Thanksgiving is goig to be relatively quiet this year. I'll start with a Turkey Trot (I don't think rain will stop me and it's not supposed to rain anyway). After that LW and I are going to spend the evening at a Resort Hotel that we got in an auction earlier this year. The stay will be double duty - LW's birthday (which is Friday - the day I fly to the UK) and Thanksgiving. A little ;) quality time together (the love birds that we are these days :D ). You'd never guess we'd been married for 20 years this year.

Thanks Natasha I felt really great in that last picture so I figure I'll post one more that shows me
dying at mile 22 (http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=2569&PWD=&ID=5785499&FROM=photos&BIB=383) . As you can imagine I felt really terrible in that picture.

BTW - I was wondering if anyone here had ever injured their intercostal muscle? I thought I had tweaked my left lat a couple weeks ago but I'm starting to believe that I may have "popped" a ribcage muscle instead. My guess is that the only way I'll really recover is to rest it as much as possible.

Hope everyone has a productive week (at least a shortened one). Peace and happy trails,
Les

[scout1222]

What a week this is going to be!

I had a long run on Saturday of 18.4 miles. Did pretty well, kept on pace, kept a group of about 5 of us together - so we did a little long run bonding. I was wiped out for the rest of the day, however. I went to bed at 7pm on Saturday (woo hoo!) and woke up at 6am on Sunday. Unreal!

Did an easy run yesterday, so today is a much needed day of rest.

I'll be taking Wednesday off of work, and heading out to the high desert mecca of Lancaster to see my dad's new house. I'll spend turkey day with his side of the family, and head back home on Friday. I'll have to at least drag dad and his wife out for a walk on Thanksgiving day, but I might be able to get a run in by myself while I'm out there.

2 day work weeks - why can't it always be like that?

[SusanMac]

Hey everyone! Happy Turkey Week! I'm back online after 9 days of travel. Combination family event (Missouri), work (San Jose) & vacation w/friends (Carmel, Santa Cruz). Very fun, but good to be back home. I'm happy to report that I ran 4 times on the road! woo hoo! And not a single treadmill either.

Les - Congrats on the BQ!!! Great pics. Incredible race weather. And it sounds like LW is extra excited, which always makes you feel even better. Good luck in your travels this week.

Michelle - are you online in Tennessee yet? I wanted to tell you that I went running with a friend's dog and used her running leash, which is the hand-free kind that wraps around your waist. OMG! It was so convenient. I'll be getting our puppy one for Xmas. They're awesome. You should check them out.

Natasha - Following up from last week's nutrition discussion, which was really interesting to read. DH & I don't follow a "diet" either, but work hard to stay on top of health news and eat a balanced, healthy diet. Focus on getting enough carbs (not a problem) & protein (needs work). I am also the 5-7 fruits & vegies a day watchdog. Our overindulgence weaknesses are cheese and beer/wine. It's interesting to see that most everyone in the group works to maintain weight, rather than lose significantly. That's a testament to how effective consistent running can be.

We've got a Turkey Trot 10K on thursday morning in Kenosha (N of Chicago), followed by a complete CL T-day dinner that evening :-) DH's contribution will be torching the creme brulee, which we've never done before. Wish us luck! Last year, we didn't realize that we were out of propane until too late, so pretty much had custard for dessert!

[MaryH]

Originally posted by scout1222
I'll be taking Wednesday off of work, and heading out to the high desert mecca of Lancaster to see my dad's new house. I'll spend turkey day with his side of the family, and head back home on Friday. I'll have to at least drag dad and his wife out for a walk on Thanksgiving day, but I might be able to get a run in by myself while I'm out there.

Ah yes, mecca would be a fairly apporpiate term. :D :cool: Although it'll be flat, watch out for that wind.:D :D If it's blowing, you'll feel like you're running major hills (unless of course it's behind you.:) )

[scout1222]

Shoot, MaryH, and it's going to be cold too!

:: pauses while everyone outside of SoCal throws tomatoes at me ::

I just checked the weather and the lows are in the high 20's to low 30's! Considering my general running weather is from 55-75, that's a pretty BIG drop. I'll have to be sure to bring my running pants and gloves - things that don't normally get used down here.

I don't know how the rest of you do it. :o

[MaryH]

Uh, I'd also advise a hat or the ear band thingee (very technical here) like you wear when skiing. :D

[scout1222]

I know exactly what you're referring to.

I'm going to stop at Target this evening for some other stuff, so I'll check out what they've got. A ball cap (which I usually wear when running) might not really be that warm - considering it's a wicking type of cap!

[SusanMac]

Ok, Scout, we won't laugh at you :-) But, just remember that you're supposed to be chilly when you first step out the door. otherwise you'll end up sweating and overheating if you overdress. A wicking baesball cap will work well in cold weather, too, btw, as long as it's not the kind with airflow holes in it. I wear mine down to about 20 degrees, when I switch to a traditional fleece winter cap.

[scout1222]

Yeah, but you cold weather people are used to this craziness!

:p

I got out for a run this morning (despite not really caring to). I'm going to get a run in tomorrow morning before I leave, thus eliminating one day of having to deal with a different climate.

Since I won't be back online until Monday morning (Ack!)

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Virtual Running Buddies!!!

[Leslie Ferguson]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I hope that everyone has a safe and sane Thanksgiving. Started off this morning doing the Turkey Trot 10k. I thought I'd go and just run it (not race it) - fat chance! :rolleyes: Turned in a 43:39 on a truly wonderful running day. Clear and crisp and no wind.

I hope that scout is having a good weekend and that everyone (even those from the Great White North) are having an enjoyable (US) Thanksgiving.

See you tomorrow!
Les

[Natasha3]

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends stateside!!! :D :) I hope you're enjoying a wonderful day with your family and friends (and much good food, of course).

Les, good race! I'm sure it felt nice to go out and race again, no (though I'll bet you were glad to stop at 10k! ;))? BTW, have a great trip to St. John's and the U.K. My friend (whom I think I mentioned is hard to get hold of) hasn't gotten back to me re: places to see, but I'm sure you'll find things to see. It's such an old, fun city, from all that I've heard. I'm hoping you guys will get good weather to wander around!

Natasha

[Leslie Ferguson]

Natasha - Thanks for the wishes. I'm looking forward to the trip but I'm not holding my breath for good weather in either St. John's or the UK. So far it looks like normal temps (in the 50s F) and normal precip - drizzle most of the time in the UK. It felt good to race and it did feel good to stop at 10k too :D . That was plenty of time for racing yesterday.

Happy trails all,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey gang - I may not be back on the board until after I reach the UK (if at all this week being on travel overseas). I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and has a great week ahead.

Things are looking up at the house these days - I finally got my gas cooktop hooked up today. Now all I need is electrical for the starter and I'll be set (I could light it with a match if I needed to). Of course, I'll be out of town for a week and won't even get the chance to christen it properly. :rolleyes: Oh well - there will always be next week. :D

Peace and happy trails,
Les

P.S. Looks like it's goign to rain most of the time I'm in the UK (go figure). :rolleyes:

[Jodi]

Hi, guys!

I've been MIA -- vacation, away for the holiday, and now I'm in California (San Francisco area) at my brother's with my brand-new nephew. I must admit I haven't been running much, as they just moved and aren't yet that familiar with the neighborhood. They also live on a main road, so I'm a bit hesitant to just go exploring. My SIL does have a treadmill, however, that I'll be making use of this week.

Everyone sounds so busy -- hope everyone had a great (and productive, running-wise) weekend!
Jodi