Virtual Running Buddies July 2012

[VictoriaL]

I know that I'm jumping the gun by a couple of hours, but...



Over the past few days, Les and Nat have been very active as they enjoy their extended visit.

And a very happy christening day to Nat's Mr. J.!


I went out for a muggy 3 mile run today. Unusually, I was out by 7:30 am and although the temp was 66, the humidity was 90%. Ick. And if that wasn't bad enough, I've been wearing a foam collar (been feeling some neck-disc issues). It was quite uncomfortable! As were the soaking-wet feet.

But I saw a very young deer and a lot of baby bunnies on my run, so it was worth it (almost). I didn't mention the bunnies to Spooky...

So, what are the other VRB-ers up to this weekend???

[Natasha]

Thanks Vicci for starting the thread and for the good thoughts! It was a wonderful day.

Glad you got in a run. Please continue to take care of yourself. Deer and baby bunnies - nice!

I did run with Les yesterday but I didn't kick his tail. It was a fairly tough run for me too. Still great to get out Today I've done absolutely nothing active. Maybe a walk before bed but that'll be the extent of it.

Now we're finishing watching Stage 1 of the Tour. Les and I peeked on the TdF site so already know the result but it's still fun to watch.

Hi to Heather, Cheryl, Susan, and everyone else!

[cherylopal]

hi everyone!
catching up a bit-
les and natasha- got on that you all were together- how fun!

vicci- sorry to hear about your neck- healing thoughts your way

the school year ended YEAH!! and then dh and i ran (pun!) up to quebec to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. all fun.

but i went running one morning in quebec wine country at the beginning of our trip and ended up with tendonitis of the right hip- very ouchy after the run and then all the driving made it worse. saw a pt fri and will do my second run this morning- on the mend tg!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks for starting Vicci and it's good to see you Cheryl (and Nat although I've been seeing a lot of you lately). Bunnies and deer in your area - that sounds fun Vicci. I don't think we've seen any critters out in the real world with the exception of squirrel and birds.

Good to hear that you had a good run Cheryl - glad you're on the mend and that you had a good time in Montreal even if you got a little wonky.

I just got back from a long ride with Nat's DH on the hills nearby. Absolutely impressed with the prowess of the TdF riders really. We're getting ready to prepare for Canada Day celebrations (ribs). Wonderful to think that I'll celebrate Canada Day today and the 4th of July on Wednesday with... (drum roll) the famous Vicci! That will add another VRB to the IRL meeting.

Hope everyone is keeping cool and has lights after the storm.

Happy trails,
Les

[VictoriaL]

Yay! VRB Postings!!!

Cheryl, some day DH and I will take a "Canada Tour"-- Montreal, Toronto, and a train ride through the Rockies out to Vancouver. I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip (Happy Anniversary!) although it's a shame that you acquired tendonitis so soon in your trip and had to deal with it during the car rides. Ow.

Nat, it seems to me that you're *almost* back in form now, correct? And thanks for attempting to tire out Les before he gets here-- I don't know if I'm "up" for taking a run on those hills, in this heat!

And Les, maybe the bike ride with Nat's DH tired you out even more?!?!? And Happy Canada Day to you both-- enjoy the celebration!

I really wanted to run the trails early again, but a poor night's sleep (84 degrees in the bedroom) and the realization that I needed to water the garden and flower beds before the temps climbed too much made me reconsider. This heat just saps me!

We are off to the lake house in a few hours to clear any damage that may have happened during the storms on Friday evening (at least we still have power as of last check), then prep for a fun holiday with Les and LW! And the lake house has a/c, so I'm extra excited to get on the road!

Have a wonderful Fourth, everyone, and I'll check in later this week.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey Vicci - it has been a busy weekend hasn't it? I hope your lake place isn't too bad after the storms but if you need a little work done just say the word - I did a little soffitt work this afternoon. Canada Day was a blast and I'm a little melancholy to be leaving Canada tomorrow but it's time to start heading home.

Happy trails and I'll be seeing you later.
Les

[hrk]

Les and Nat- Glad to hear you guys are having a wonderful time, getting in both workouts and playtime. Hope Mr J is doing well after his big day and that Les, you and DW have a safe trip home.

Vicci- sorry to hear about more pains, hopefully a few days of R&R will help. Enjoy your visit with Les

Cheryl- sorry to hear about the hip pain, I hope you are on the mend soon and enjoying our crazy summer here so far.

Well things have been nuts. We had vicious storms blow through on Friday night that were worse then hurricanes. We huddled in the basement, hearing things go crack and boom and then pitch black. With the sun Saturday morning it looked unbelievable( and I forgot to take some pictures) Luckily nothing happened to our house, but we had huge branched down everywhere. We were without power(minus a small generator to keep the fridge going) until yesterday afternoon, as was most everything around us. DH owns a chipper so we started the process of cleaning the yard up on Sunday but it is going to take days and we literally don't have enough gardens to dump all the mulch into. I am a little sore from the work, but no pains in the leg which is great. We are trying to recover as best we can as we leave for a week on Caribbean on Saturday.
Hope everyone else is well and has a happy 4th. We will enjoy some air conditioning and quiet.
Heather

[Natasha]

Cheryl, welcome home! Where in Quebec were you, and what did you like best / least (if you liked anything least)?

Heather, sorry you got socked with that storm. Les & LW were keeping tabs on it so I got updates on the weather in that area. The Caribbean sounds wonderful. Enjoy!!

Vicci, have a great time at the lake house with Les & LW!

Thanks to everyone for the good thoughts about Mr. J's ceremony. It was a wonderful day all around.

So Les & LW are now on the road. We'll miss them but look forward to our next meet-up, wherever it'll be! It was fun to get in the social runs. Today I plan to run too but it'll be all by my lonesome That's OK. Solitary runs are awesome too!

Happy early Fourth of July!

Best to all,
Nat

[VictoriaL]

Heather, how is the storm recovery going? We have friends who live 45 minutes south of our lake house and they are going into their 8th day without power. I certainly hope that you've cleaned up the yard enough, and can go on your vacation without worry. Wish we lived closer-- we need wood chips for my flower beds!!!

We are still at the lake house because of the a/c. Weenies, we are! Luckily, the storms last Friday did little in this area (flower pot was blown over and that was all, so much for thinking ahead and bringing a chain saw!!).

DH and I drove back to the farm yesterday to water the garden, etc. and it was 87 degrees inside on the second floor (where our bedroom is).

Our visit with Les and LW was a blast! I have a fave photo of Les that I have to get his permission to post before I do... It involves a rasta hat...

Anyway, both DH and I enjoyed their visit very much.

I went outside yesterday before 8 to do yoga, and realized that if I wanted to run today I would have to do so earlier. Not being much of a morning person, it was a bit of a struggle to get going at 7, and I was barely to the top of the driveway before I was covered with sweat, but I managed 2.6 miles. But it was like running through a sponge. Ick.

Tomorrow we return to the farm. The heat is supposed to break, plus we go on vacation on Friday so I really have to get started with packing.

Hope that you all are having a great weekend!

MinEaston and Cheryl, I hope that you were minimally, if at all, affected by last weeks' storms.

[MinEaston]

Vicci thanks for asking about us. We fared very well in the storms - they certainly were violent but on our side of the Bay, the main overhead power lines are run through fields & other clearcut areas, so there was minimal impact. our small town runs its own utility so even if we'd lost the main feeds, the utility switches to its own (biodiesel!) generators. There were trees down all around but we were unscathed.

I've not run in ages. 'Nuff said . Sailing season has started in earnest and I'm counting that as my exercise

Although today we are in A/C comfort doing fun stuff like paperwork and cleaning out the basement

[Leslie Ferguson]

Heather - I'm sorry about the damage from the storm and I hope things are finally getting back to normal.
MinEaston - Glad you're okay and I bet sailing is a lot of work. Glad you're getting some AC today.
Vicci - 87 is horrendous temperatures to sleep in and I am glad you went back to the lake house. It was a blast there and by all means, you can share the picture you are talking about.
Nat - I know what you mean about solo runs and I hope you've had a decent week. It was awesome being with you and terrible being back in the swamp - temps were in the 100s when we drove down the Northern Neck at 7:00 pm.

It was a gross morning on the trail. We picked up ~11 miles starting at 6:00 am. I'm glad it's done and I hope the weather breaks before the 14 miles scheduled for next weekend.

Off to take care of some things that need to be taken care of before church tomorrow.

Happy trails,
Les

[SusanMac]

Howdy, VRBers! Happy Canada Day & July 4 to all!

Nat & Les - congrats on the Mr J baptism. And glad you all had a nice visit. Not surprised that it was filled with running and biking.

minEaston - v jealous of your sailing! Enjoy!

Vicki - so cool that you & Les had an IRL visit, too! Take it easy in the muggy heat

Very glad that everyone fared the storms well

Not too much to report here, but have been doing loads of swimming, biking & running, as I have a Tri coming up in a few weeks. Haven't trained enough, but think I'll be ok. in the past week I've done a 50 mi ride & a 60 mi ride, which really boosted my confidence.

We've been enjoying the TdF coverage. I love this time of year!

[RiverFarm]

Reported.

[Natasha]

Vicci and Les, so glad you had a good visit! And not in the least bit surprised

MinEaston, that's good that you were OK with the storms. Thanks for checking in. Sailing season... nice! How often do you go out?

Vicci, to answer your question, yes, I'm getting back into my old form ... still some work to do but I'm really happy with my progress to date (knock on wood!!!). This past week I had a couple of miles and one km that were faster than I'd done for a couple of years. Got a couple of races selected for the fall. I wonder how fast I could run if only I got more sleep

Today's run sorely lacked oomph. I guess I can't complain since the last few runs were all good, and some were really good. It happens!

Still enjoying watching the Tour de France these days. I enjoyed today's stage and the surprise winner - this kid from a team I like, Francaise des Jeux. Nice when someone unexpected wins

Gotta run (no, not literally this time). Hi to Heather, Susan, and everyone else!

[Robyn1007]

Hi everyone!

Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. I have not been around much. It's been such a busy time at work and I've had an interesting year of running. Some great speed progress but a few set backs in the last month with physical and mental health stuff.

Anyhow, I have a question mainly for SusanMac but anyone else who has ideas I'd welcome them. I am heading to London next week. I am so freaking excited. Being sent for work and will be in Windsor Monday-Thursday then move into central London just north of Kensington Gardens for Thursday night through Tuesday. I plan on running. Because I've had issues with my running lately due to (I think) a white blood cell donation and the drugs they gave me then and another new drug I'm on I plan on most of them being 3-5 miles and low, low, low stress. AKA, if I stop to look at buildings, statues, a pretty view etc I do not care. Do you have any favorites in London? Any other tips?

I hope everyone here is well!

[Natasha]

Nice to "see" you, Robyn! Sorry to hear about the setbacks but that's great that you've been making good speed progress in general Hope to see you around here more. I've been a bit scarce myself - Les, Vicci, and Cheryl have mainly been holding down the fort from what I can tell

When I went to London it was so long ago that I wasn't even running yet, so no tips there, but have fun!

[VictoriaL]

Yay! More VRBers joining in!

MinEaston, I am so glad that the storms didn't affect your area. Sailing certainly counts as physical activity (and not easy activity, at that!), so you're welcome to pop in and relay your sailing experiences occasionally.

Susan, please report back with the info and stats on your tri (and other activities, as well)!

Robyn having never been out of the US, I cannot help but be extremely jealous of your London trip. My nephew spent his winter semester there are enjoyed it so much that I wouldn't be surprised if he someday moves there (which would be nice, a way to get DH on a plane...). And check in with your plans, and what you're doing-- we miss you!

Nat, sleep? You actually need sleep?!?! Oh, it will come eventually and I think that you're making great progress in the meantime.

Les, you are amazing-- 11 miles in what was probably at least 80 degrees and humidity... I also hopes that the weather breaks soon.

I did yoga and weights today, but moved it inside after only 15 minutes. Steamy at 7:30am. Ick.

We returned to the farm this afternoon and it was hot but is cooling down. It's 89.6 degrees in the bedroom, but temps are falling outside and I hope to turn on that whole-house fan soon to cool the upstairs rooms a bit

I tried to post a couple of photos, but am having difficulty this evening. I'll attempt it on a wifi connection tomorrow.

[Love to Run]

Robyn, I visited London this spring and ran in Kensington Gardens. I don't know how far away your hotel is but you can go the Royal Parks website (sorry I can't put in a link from my iPad), go to the Kensington Gardens page and on the home page for KG there is a link to a PDF map. I printed that map and the map for neighboring Hyde Park and took them with me. The parks open at 6 am and there were other runners and walkers so it was a safe place.

Have a great trip!

Carole

[newsomz]

Hi All!

Long time, no see I'm glad to see everyone is having fun, still running, and able to get together for some IRL meetups! That is so neat

I was doing pretty good with my running earlier in the summer, however, the past two weeks have been brutal.. Not so much the temps but the swarms of mosquitos. Yuck! On top of that we are moving in a month so lots to do around the house. Last weekend was fixing shelves, this weekend will be packing.

Anyhow, just wanted to pop in and say hi to everyone! I should start running regularly in September and will try to pop in more frequently. I've missed the group!

[VictoriaL]

Nice to see ya, Carrie! Mosquitoes are definitely a reason to not run outside. I hope that your move goes smoothly (bigger place? another town? for a new job?), and that your energy holds out until it's all done.

Yoga and weights this morning (finally got a regular routine with the weights, just hoping that I can keep it up), and if the temps cool down as forecast, I would love to get out for a run tomorrow.

Here are 2 photos of this past week, when I finally met Les (and LW) IRL. DH and I had a great time, it's so fun to have such interesting guests!

Me and Les on the boat. Unfortunately it was a very busy holiday on the water, so we opted to keep the boat docked and watch the crazies go by.




And my favorite photo (UB40's "Red, Red Wine" was playing in the background-- perfect!!). Many guests have donned the Rasta Hat, but few have given it such character.



The lake house felt quite empty after they left!

[Leslie Ferguson]

The lake house felt quite empty after they left!

Okay - now you made me blush.

[Natasha]

Carrie, nice to see you! Are you still in FL? I'm with you - those mosquitos would keep me away too.

Vicci, love the pics Your place sounds beautiful!

Carole, nice to see you pop in

Got in a great run today - 5 miles. The running mojo was back, which I was happy with especially as the sleep tank was empty (not due to Mr. J, who slept, well, like a baby , but due to a rare bout of insomnia for me). I realized later I had stupidly had a caffeinated beverage in the evening. What was I thinking?

Also enjoyed a decaf cappuccino with some other moms and now am hanging out with Mr. J, playing with him and the pup. The decaf part is important given the note above, and given that I had my first full-strength coffee the other week and felt tipsy! I've gotten used to much less caffeine, I guess. Anyway, will head out for a walk later.

Hi to everyone else and happy trails!

[SusanMac]

Robyn - wow, great to hear from you! You have a good memory for my trips to London. You've already gotten some good tips on Kensington Gardens. I've run there several times & never get bored. You should also know that the street bordering the park on the west is a row of opulent foreign embassy buildings, which is interesting to run through. I toured Windsor Castle last year, but didn't get to run there. I know there's a half marathon around the grounds, tho, so there must be some easily accessible routes. Keep us posted on your trip.

Vicci & les - awesome pictures! Thx for posting. Jealous of the IRL visits of late.

Nat - I recently made a similar afternoon caffeine mistake! Im super sensitive to caffeine & time of day. On the TdF front, so sorry about Ryder having to drop!

Today is a happy happy rest day. My last long bike & run are later this week, as my race is a week from Sun.

[VictoriaL]

Les, has the heat broken down your way yet?

Nat's running mojo's back! WaHoo!!! I think that you need to slide in to caffeinated beverages a little slowly after your time away. Personally, I don't know what I'd do without the stuff, any time of day!

Happy Rest Day to Susan!

I got out around 7:30 this morning for a run, but then had the bright idea to take a sprayer of herbicide with me to spray an overgrown area near the trails. I didn't realize (since it was early and the brain cells hadn't fully kicked in yet) how much 2 gallons of spray would weigh! So I ended up walking most of the way, spraying, walking back to return the sprayer, then going out for a run. I had planned 3 miles, but ended up doing 2 because I was starving...

[Leslie Ferguson]

Great to hear that you're that close to your race Susan. I hope it goes well for you. We (you, Nat & Phil, Bethany, Kathy & me) were the first group of VRB IRL. We're working on another group get together sometime soon.

Nat - Sorry about the caffeine issue but good that you got a good run in in any way. Nice that the wee-one is sleeping better.

It has been a raining week so far. Thunder and lightening over the past 2 days. Still able to swing a 5.15 mile run this evening in the humidity.

Hope to run tomorrow. Happy trails all...
Les

[Robyn1007]

Thank you everyone for the London thoughts. Susan, I am staying on the northern side of Kensington Gardens to the west so I'll make sure to run by the embassies!

For the record, got in a decent 3 miles today. At least it didn't suck like things had for a couple of weeks.

[Natasha]

Hi everyone,

Robyn, Les and Vicci, nice going on your runs. Vicci, all your pre-run activity counts for way more than that extra mile. I'm always impressed by your activities.

Susan, sounds like you fully enjoyed your rest day. That's exciting that your race is coming up so soon! Thanks for telling me I'm not the only one to commit a caffeine crime Thanks also for the note about Ryder. It is too bad but seeing him win the Giro was cool anyway. I actually generally follow some other riders more (mostly the Spanish ones; to a lesser extent Italian and French ones). I'm learning all the Spanish words and phrases I never learned in university

Got in a decent enough spin this morning while watching the TdF - not as long as I would have liked but someone didn't want a long nap. I think I'd mentioned that I was working on cadence and finding it somewhat challenging. Today, no such issues. I had good legs and had a great time. Too bad it couldn't have been longer but the encouraging news is I felt that way in the first place I'll try to fit in some P90X or weights later in the day.

Hi to MinEaston, Heather (though I think you're not checking in right now for good reason ), Cheryl, Carrie, and everyone else!

[VictoriaL]

Les, 5 miles in that type of humidity down where you are equals at least 10 miles anywhere else! Keep away from tall trees during those lightning episodes.

Nat, I wish that I had your dedication to exercising! I'm so glad that you got an excellent treadmill session in, even though it was cut a bit short.

Yoga this morning, but I couldn't do more because today was a bit rushed. We leave for vacation on Friday (yay! running along the ocean for 2 weeks!!!) and my to-do list is huge. But I guarantee that I will be running a lot more than once or twice a week in the near future!

[Natasha]

Hi everyone,

Vicci, that's right - your vacation is almost upon us! Have a WONDERFUL time. Runs along the ocean. I'm envious Spooky comes on these road trips with you, right? Lucky cat

Great that you fit in yoga, too.

Just finished a run of slightly over 5 miles. Didn't have the big Mojo of the other day but it was a very decent run. Maybe I just had Mo. Or Jo. Whatever - I'll take it I did fit in weights and some core yesterday afternoon.

I'm excited that there's talk about another VRB gathering. I'd try my best to make it (most likely I'd bring the little family).

Hi to everyone else (waving from the Great Hot North - still low 80s on average and going back up to the high 90s on the weekend).

Natasha

[Natasha]

Hi everyone! Back-to-backs.

No big workout for me today - we were out this morning and I think I'll use nap time today to veg with a cup of tea and watch the TdF. I'll do some core and stretching as I watch, and maybe some lower body weights later, but that's it. Kind of tired today and looking forward to take out and a movie tonight.

Re: the VRB get-together, does anyone have any rough timing in mind (Les, Vicci, anyone)? Sometime next year? Season / race we're looking at? Not to be pushy, but I ask because our pet sitter stays at our house when we're away and she's so popular (she is amazing) that she books up quickly!

Happy start of vacation, Vicci!

Hope everyone else is doing well and gearing up for a fantastic weekend!

Natasha