Virtual Running Buddies Week of 7/4 -7/10

[Laura]

Happy 4th of July!

Well last night's run was hard! As I mentioned on the previous thread it was a hilly trail and hot out. We went out at 7:00 and it had "cooled" down to about 84, so the heat wasn't real the problem. The trail starts at about 7200 feet and then meanders up and down around 7500 feet. You start out the trail at a short steep hill and immediately feel (at least I did ) like you are in oxygen debt. I finally started feeling better around 2 miles when we heard this huge clap of thunder (there were so many trees that we didn't notice the clouds coming in). We kind of looked at each other and thought we better get the heck out of here, so we ran the last two to two and a half miles at a pretty good clip. Fortunately, most of that was downhill with just little up hill grades. Needless to say, I got in a really good workout.

Les, I am not sure why this race is a 12k. I know it is part of the summer series here that they call the Triple Crown of Racing. The first race is a 10 mile race in the Garden of the Gods which, if you ever come to Colorado Springs, is this park that has these huge red rock formations throughout it, then, the 12k, then the Pikes Peak Ascent (a half-marathon) or the Pikes Peak Marathon. There are some people who do both the Ascent and the Marathon the next day. So the caliber of runners in this race is very high. Plus, there was something on the entry form about this being the 12K state championship. Great...as if I don't already feel intimidated.

I am going to get an upper body workout in this morning, and then essentially rest. The race is at 7:00 Sunday morning, but I won't be on the boards until Sunday afternoon, but I will let you all know. I don't have a clue what my time will be. Given the hills it could be as long as 90 minutes. Hopefully, it will be faster, but I am not really sure. Have a great week everyone!

[MaryH]

Well, I did get out and do the 4 mile run this morning. Finished in about 39:30 which for me was pretty good. All I can say was, this was a FAST group. I think the majority finished in 28 to 33 minutes (men and women). This was a first time fundraiser and proceeds went to our local Team in Training group. I know there were a lot of TNT alumni there and a lot of people who do marathons (maybe that's why it was so fast, or maybe I'm just slow )

Everyone kept passing me so I figured I must be going pretty slow. I was happily surprised to realize I finished under 40 minutes.

Laura, you'll do fine. Just keep going.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Laura - Thanks for the background on the Triple Crown. It sounds like a lot of fun. We have a distance series in Norfolk in the Winter that consists of a 15k, 20k, and 25k race. Ostensibly the series is a tune-up for the Shamrock Marathon that is held in Virginia Beach so the races are spaced for a typical training plan.
I loved the visual images you gave about the rain and the running. I'd certainly love to get out there and try my stuff - but being a flatlander I'm not sure how well I'd take to the altitude initially (I'm sure that I'd be okay regardless). Maybe sometime I'll get out visit a friend who lives in Colorado Springs.

Mary H - Great job on the run this morning. Under 10 min/mile is admirable.

I didn't go out and run in the race this morning - still trying to recup from the PRT the other day. Not that I'm out of shape (far from it) just that I stressed a couple muscles that are always on the edge (shoulder that has tendonitis and lower back). So I'm saving myself for tomorrow's long run in the swamp. Should be nearly miserable out there - the low tonight is only supposed to be in the upper 70s (luckily no rain) but the humidity will be something around 90% in the swamp. Oh well, my choice to run there and actually I like the event.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.

To all our veterans and those serving in the Armed Forces - Peace,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey gang, this morning's run was just about as gross as I expected it would be. So humid that I was soaked through my shorts and singlet within about 3 miles. But it was still a good run - picked up about 13.25 miles (11 at my pace and the rest with the last runner in the group).

I'm really looking forward to next week when we finally change the start time of the run to 7 am instead of 8. I'm not a big fan of getting up that much earlier but I'll take it to beat the heat.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Peace,
Les

[Natasha3]

Hi all! I hope you are all enjoying a fantastic long weekend and that you all had a good 4th of July.

Laura, hope your race went well! I'm looking forward to reading about it. Sounds like you had a fantastic and challenging run the other day -- good going! I'm always in awe of those of you who run at altitude. That's a foreign concept to me. We live in the hilliest part of this general area (one of the reasons we love it here), but it's still not the Rockies and never will be.

Mary, congrats on that fine run!

Les, good going on slogging through the swamp yet again. Just curious -- do you wear Gore-Tex socks or anything when you know you'll be getting soaked? I wear mine in such situations, and adore them (For example, I remember doing a 2 hour plus run last summer in pouring rain, and my shoes were wet, but my feet were bone dry. Incredible.). If you don't use Gore-Tex socks, do you use anything else special? I'm always interested in hearing about new and funky gear to add to my collection .

I'm going for a run today and it is 29 C (85 F) and sunny, so I'm putting it off for now (although it's not too humid). There's enough other stuff to keep me busy between now and when I run, anyway.

Natasha

[Laura]

Hey everyone, just a quick note to let you know I finished the race in a respectable time -- although now that I am reflecting on it, I think I could have gone a little faster. I finished in 1:17:45 which is about 10:46 minute miles for 7.4 miles. The last mile was uphill and that slowed me down considerably as I had been averaging around 10:25 minute miles. Even though we started at 7:00 a.m., it was quite warm, and the first 2.5 miles were all up hill and the last mile was generally uphill. Overall, I felt good about the running the whole way. I continue to develop a blister on my right foot, which definitely slowed me down a little today. I have got to find something to help with that, as my shoes are only 3 months old, and I don't want to buy a new pair yet.

My running partner is out of town most of the week and next weekend so I will be doing my runs by myself . Have a great week everyone!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Originally posted by Laura
Hey everyone, just a quick note to let you know I finished the race in a respectable time -- although now that I am reflecting on it, I think I could have gone a little faster. I finished in 1:17:45 which is about 10:46 minute miles for 7.4 miles. The last mile was uphill and that slowed me down considerably as I had been averaging around 10:25 minute miles. Even though we started at 7:00 a.m., it was quite warm, and the first 2.5 miles were all up hill and the last mile was generally uphill. Overall, I felt good about the running the whole way.

Fantastic job - especially with all those hills and the temperature. I'm told that you can expect a percentage increase in time if the temperature is over 60 (I think that is the temp -- I'll have to find my source and let you know the actual estimate). I wouldn't be ashamed about the time either - the first 2.5 miles all uphill and the last mile uphill too. Sounds like the course was developed by a masochist or a sadist (depends on your point of view).

I continue to develop a blister on my right foot, which definitely slowed me down a little today. I have got to find something to help with that, as my shoes are only 3 months old, and I don't want to buy a new pair yet.

I don't normally have problems with blisters on my feet but there are a couple tricks that I've heard of. There are things called Blister guards (I think) by Dr. Scholls that come in a pack of 5 (yellow plastic container) that normally work well. I can ask my coach about some ofhis tricks - he has a lot of beginners who do their first marathon/half-marathon and lots of them develop blisters. Strangely, your blister could be caused by something in your shoe that has been exposed over the miles (I had one before Miami that developed after I had run about 200 miles in the shoes which shouldn't happen).

Natasha - There really isn't anything special that I do for my feet when I run in the swamp/muck/mire except where coolmax socks. Otherwise it's just my normal shoes. I do tend to wear them fairly tightly laced so there isn't a lot of slippage (but that's just me). Now from the waist (more or less) up is different. I will normally lube up with Aquaphor (lasts forever in the rain) real well on areas that may chafe - nipples and possibly the inside of my biceps (where it hits the seam on my singlet). Depending on the shorts I'm wearing I may apply Aquaphor one other place that may chafe (use your imagination). But because of my body structure and the fact that I wear Coolmax all the time when I run I don't have a lot of chafing problems.

Sorry I don't have any special tricks.

Have a safe and cool (if possible) week.

Happy trails,
Les

[SusanMac]

Laura - congrats on the race! Sounds like an awesome training race for your 1/2.

Natasha - another good sock recommendation for wet weather is SmartWool brand. A bit thicker than coolmax, but they're awesome and very, very dry.

DH, a friend and I did a new (new for us, anyway) 5-mile race on July 4. It was in a little town about 45 min from here. The paper and local race schedule said it was the "Mineral Point 2mile/5mile run/walk." Nice road trip. Cute town. Parades, BBQ, etc. Well, we drive down there on Friday morning, and all the signs & race t-shirts read "Mineral Point Historic Hill Run." Hill run?? No one said anything about a hill run! This was, hands down, the hilliest race I have ever done! I can't even count how many hills up and down and up and down and....you get the picture. The good news is that the race was a blast! We all did really well. I have been doing a weekly hill workout for a month (thank goodness), but could tell that I really don't have enough base mileage, so need to work on that. We stuck around afterwards for the awards. There were probably 200 people in the race and everyone knew each other. The awards were clay mugs made by a local pottery shop. It was so charming and a great feeling to be part of this community for the day.

[scout1222]

Ugh. I feel bad because I'm going to gripe about the heat, when it's nothing compared to the rest of you.

July 4th 10K - sucked. It was sunny from the start, and a bit humid. (okay, so this is by SoCal standards, which is nothing compared to the rest of you, but certainly out of my norm) I finished in 55:37, which was fine. I hadn't really hoped for a PR or a real fast race, seeing as how it's been many many moons since I've done any speed work of any kind. I just really went out to run it and see some friends. The run was hot and sunny, and I felt kind of junky for the rest of the day (which was spent lying on the couch, napping, reading and watching TV).

Then on Saturday I had to cut my run short. I guess the lingering heat and the fact that I had a tough run the day before worked against me, and I just ran for about an hour. Ugh. Again, for the rest of the day I felt junky. Probably a combination of the heat and maybe slight dehydration. Two days in a row of sluggishness, not really what I had hoped for on the holiday weekend.

Sunday morning I did a tough, hilly run. I ran with a guy who has been my coach in a marathon training group, and he kicked my butt out there! The weather was a little bit cooler, but I was sweating buckets as we went up and down the hilly course. Good thing he was in the Marine Corps when he was younger, because he really hooped it up for me so I'd have the gumption to finish the run. It was a tough run, but it felt good. I didn't feel horrible, didn't have to quit early, so the accomplishment was a good mental boost. And since the weather for the rest of the day was much more in the normal range, I managed to actually function and get some cooking and chores done!

Today I'm taking a day of rest. I was going to get up and go for a run, but did not sleep well, so decided an extra 90 minutes of sleep was fine after the miles I put in this weekend.

[JHolcomb]

Scout, sounds like you've earned a well-deserved rest. Even if your heat and humidity isn't much compared to ours, it can still be totally overwhelming if you're not at all used to it.

Our heat and humidity have been causing problems of the thunderboomer variety. We ran about 100m on Thursday because of a storm that cropped up right as we were getting out of our car at the park. Rain and thunder are fine, but there was a good deal of lightening and a tornado watch, so we basically ended up doing our warm up walk and racing each other back to the car. Friday's run was eh. 2 miles. Wanted to die. I'm still not used to 95 degree weather with 90% humidity. Parents came to visit Saturday, which really upset our cat (she was very poorly behaved and kept slapping my mom!). We did manage to get in two miles before they got here, and I was quite thankful that we had to cut it short to meet them at our apartment. Hopefully this week's weather will be less volitile. Oh, the fuel belt's alright, but I forgot to wash the little bottles out before I used them. Yuck!! And the pervert is back (the one that pretends to do tai chi), so I called the rangers when I got home and reported him. The rangers are really awesome and have managed to keep him away for a month or so, but it looks like he's changed his schedule. Anyway, they were going to send someone down there to check it out. And I don't doubt that they did, becuase they've really stepped up their patrols since I called.

Susan, that race sounds like it was a blast. I would love to participate in something like that. Minus the hills, of course!!

Natasha, I may have to try those socks. When it rains heavily (which has been about every day this summer...and last year we were in a severe drought) part of our trail turns into a creek. It would be nice to have dry feet after running through it.

Hi to everyone else. Hope your weeks are good ones.

[msxy75]

Hello all, well I have been MIA from this thread due to night shift at busy ER's which wiped me out for the whole weekend, it was enough to just get enough sleep. Anyhow in relation to the question of which trail hills that I have tried running. Les its the Puget Sound Energy trail in Redmond which is a big hill and gradually just tapers off to a gradual hill so you don't notice it as much and if you keep going it becomes up and down. It's a good workout I find and I have just started doing it.

Well not much to report here, I spent most of my long weekend just caring for people with fireworks injuries but was able to finally enjoy some time off on a friends boat yesterday. Have to get back to my running routine now that i"m off nights again.

Hope you are all having a good week,

michelle

[Natasha3]

Laura,

Good going on your race!! Two thumbs up to you!

Les and Susan,

Thanks for the info on the socks. It's always interesting to hear what others swear by. I'm not planning to get rid of my Gores any time soon but thought there might be something else great out there I was missing. I will keep the tips and the recommendation for Smart Wool in mind. I see SmartWool a lot at the running stores but haven't tried it. CoolMax I do know well, and like it too. Susan, congrats on that fine race!

Jen, seriously, do think about giving the Gore socks a try. I was skeptical, but am now a convert. They're pricey, but...

Scout, sounds like you have had a hard-working (and running) few days. You definitely deserve a rest!

Hey, where's our friend AMANDA these days? Amanda, are you out there? How's it going?

Michelle,

Good to see you back!!

Well, I had a short run yesterday, combined with elliptical, etc., and had a longer run today. All day today I felt primed for a good run, and I wasn't disappointed: I went about 12.5-13 kph much of the time, and felt strong and capable of more (though I wasn't about to push it). Anyway, off to do some weights and get some zzzzs as it's early rising tomorrow. Take care, all.

Natasha

[Leslie Ferguson]

Look at what happens -- I take a full day off from reading the BB and I'm already about 8 mesages behind.

Natasha - I've never tried the GoreTex socks but I may have to get a pair or two for the fall/winter runs. Plus there are enough new runners that get blisters/don't like running with wet feet in our group that GoreTex socks may be just the thing for them. How are they in the cool/cold weather? Do they provide some heat retention along with the water-proofing? Under 8 min/mile isn't anything to sneeze at either.

Susan - Same for the SmartWool socks - I'll probably have to try out a pair this winter and see how they work. Right now I know they'd be too warm for summer runs in Norfolk. The race on the 4th sounds like a blast - plus you really can't beat small races like those. Oh that there were more of them around here but running is just a little too big in Norfolk.

Scout - After all that running and the heat and humidity (I remember what it is like trying to run in SD when it is humid) you deserve a break. Sorry to hear about the dehydration/overheating problem. Ain't it grand to have a "rah-rah" running partner? I love mine.

Michelle - I've never run that far north (in Redmond) around Seattle - on Whidbey Island yes but not in and around Seattle. The hill sounds like it is a great place to run and "cut your teeth." I bet it was busy with the holiday - even if you weren't in the ER - the crazies are out in force over the long weekend. Hope that things settle down for you now that the holiday season is over for a while.

Jen - Yuck! Sorry to hear that the pervert is back and I hope they catch him/keep him away from now on. I know the feeling about the thunder and lightning - but it always seems that by the time the thunder and lightning comes I'm so far out on the trail that I just keep going - I'm typically as far from the start as I can be when it hits.

Today was a long elliptical (after work) - just like most other Mondays. Especially tough becuase of the budget still looming ahead. Maybe tomorrow -- a reasonable workout. Don't count on it.

Keep plugging all and Amanda where are you?
Les

[SusanMac]

There was also a new woman in the Army who was looking to start running more on her own (vs typical, group PT with the Army) who checked in a few weeks ago. Don't remember her name. Are you still out there?? Would love to hear more about your running experience, where you're based, how long you run in Army training runs, etc.

re: SmartWool socks - yes, they would be best for Fall/Winter running and do offer better heat retention than CoolMax socks. The fibers are a bit thicker and the wool really keeps heat in. I row in the them during summer, as my feet are always getting wet, but only run in them during winter. My favorite socks for summer are WrightSock.

re: running socks in general - don't remember where this thread started, but I definitely recommend to everyone to get good quality running socks. Same theory as shoes -- your feet health is so critical for running that it's worth the investment. The more expensive, poly fiber socks cost a few dollars more, but last 3 times as long as cotton so you come out ahead in the end (and you won't get blisters)

[Natasha]

How goes your Tuesday, all?

Hi Les,

I use the Gore socks when snowshoeing too, and they do keep my feet quite warm (along with the gaiters over the whole foot & shin area, of course). So I think they'd keep your friends pretty warm as well. Worth a try, if they don't mind the initial investment. I nearly choked at paying $50 Cdn for a pair of socks but now am glad I did.

Susan,

You are so right about good socks being so important!! By the way, I keep wanting to ask you -- have you ever considered duathlon? I know you enjoy both running and cycling, and are competing in both disciplines, so wondered if you'd ever considered combining them. Triathlon is big where I live, so I might try one next year, but I'm not big on swimming. Duathlon, on the other hand, is right up my alley, though it's (so far) not even close to as popular as triathlon is. One of my crazy ambitions is to do a du or two: a short event later this year or next year, and a half Ironman duathlon next August. That would be so cool!! I have it all planned out; now I just need to train!

What's everyone up to today? It's a busy day here but when I get home, I'd like to go riding and do upper body weights. No running for me today -- should take a little break.

Natasha

[Leslie Ferguson]

I'll start with my tales of woe -- the budget battle went pretty much as I expected. My ~ 1 hour brief that was suppposed to be from 12:30 - 1:30 didn't start until about 3:45 and didn't finish until just after 5. Couldn't put up with another 8:30 dinner so I skipped workout and came home. I think that is probably the best thing all around but I missed the workout today. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Susan and Natasha - I'm with you on the socks too. I'm all for spending a couple extra dollars for GOOD socks that last a long time (and Lord knows I put lots of miles on my socks and shoes in a year). I figure over the past couple years that my feet have gone about 2000 miles (give or take a hundred) and the only way that I've been able to go that far was with good "scooters" and socks. I'll gladly pay for the good stuff because my feet are worth it. Thanks for the feedback on the GoreTex and SmartWool socks - something to add to my winter bag of tricks.

Hopefully tomorrow brings the return of a good workout - all the hard work over the past couple days should pay off.

Peace and to sleep,
Les

[Natasha]

Top o' the morning to all! What's new and exciting in your neck of the woods?

I did do my ride (mostly drills) and weights yesterday, and also got in a good set of abs. This morning I went for a short -- very short -- run, but I got up at 5 and didn't really want to get up any earlier to run longer. I hope to be able to go for an easy run tonight. It was gorgeous out at that time of the morning, though; I love that early morning calm and the fresh air and so on, and got to see a glorious sunrise to boot.

Les, sorry to hear about your frustrating "budget battle" yesterday. Hopefully you'll get in a great workout today. I'll bet you're really looking forward to it.

Take care, all,
Natasha

[JHolcomb]

Not much going on here. Still battling the heat and humidity. It was close to 100 here yesterday and so muggy, but we did close to 3 miles. Of course, after mile 1 I wanted to die, but DH kept pushing me to go further. So, I was pleased with my milage but bummed about my form, which really suffered. Anyway, we figured that the only way to get used to this weather was going to be to run as far as we could every single day for a week or so, so that's our goal. I'm not exactly looking forward to it, but I really do want to have better endurance in these conditions. We're carrying a fuel belt, which seems light but gets pretty heavy after a mile or so, and being careful to stay hydrated.

Speaking of hydration, we were thinking about carrying 1/2 water, 1/2 sports drink on our runs. We're out there running for about 1/2 an hour, and walking/hiking for 20 minutes or so. I know many people think that using a sports drink is only a good idea if you're running for a serious length of time, say over an hour, but was wondering if in our current weather conditions, one might be beneficial. I'm not a huge fan of drinking calories, but I use way more calories than I take in anyway, so it wouldn't be such a big deal to drink 50-100 more if it would be a help.

Sorry about the budget woes, Les. Thank goodness I don't actually have to work on the State budget! I would agree that skipping the workout was a good idea. Mental health is as important as physical health, and it sounds like the ol' brain needed a rest.

Natasha, sounds like your morning run was nice. I'm never awake enough at that time of AM to make much of an effort running, but I do agree that quiet and sunrise are very nice.

I'll probably invest in some Gore-tex socks for the fall, when it's both very rainy and chilly down here. I agree about good socks, too. It took a nasty set of blisters to convince DH that he needed to get out of cotton and into a synthetic.

Have a good one, y'all.

[SusanMac]

JHolcomb - Gatorade (or whatever brand) is definitely fine even at shorter distances. You'll hear people recommend it for any workout over an hour, but under an hour is fine. If you're running in humid weather, you're probably sweating like crazy but your body will have problems sweating efficiently (the moisture doesn't evaporate off of your skin as easily). Gatorade should help any time you're sweating a lot. It's at least worth a shot to see if you notice a difference in how you feel. I'm like you and also cognizant (sp?) of how many calories I take in when I workout. Your plan to build up your endurance sounds great. Good luck and keep us posted!

Natasha - $50 Canadian for socks??!!! Either my US/Can translation is off, or socks are really expensive up there. The high end quality socks here are no more than $12. Maybe in Canada you just buy one pair and wash them every day?? And, yes, I'd love to find a duathlon, but they're just not as common as triathlons. I'm new to biking and not a strong swimmer. I'd be up for a tri one day, but figure I need to add new sports one at a time! (still can't believe I talk about so many sports. I was the little girl who was afraid to climb trees and skin my knee. Now I sweat most every day :-)

Les - it's good to hear that you're normal like the rest of us! Congrats on coming home after a brutal day at work and deciding to rest! Well deserved. That will make your Wed run that much more enjoyable. You mentioned how many miles you've run....do you log/track your mileage over the years?? It's occurred to me that I've been running off and on for a long time and it would be so gratifying to know how many miles I've run accumulatively (is that a word?) Let us know if you have any tips for logs.

Here is what Madison looked like yesterday: rain, hard rain, light rain, more rain, rain. clear moment (oops, I had a meeting then). more rain. I was not motivated to run in the rain and bailed on the run. Am headed out the door right now. I don't mind if it rains once I'm out, but it's way to hard to step out that door if it's wet.

[Natasha]

Jen,

Good going on doing that run in that heat!! I'm impressed. Good luck with your acclimatization this week, but take it easy. I don't use sports drinks all that often, usually preferring to drink water and have a gel or two, but I agree that they can work well.

Susan,

LOL about the socks! No, normally socks -- even good running socks like Ultimax and Coolmax and Thorlos -- only run us about $10-$12 here. The Gore socks cost about $50 in the U.S., too. I guess I should have mentioned that they're oversocks (though I don't always wear socks underneath). Here they are, on the REI site:

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...ory_rn=4501322

[JHolcomb]

OK, Natasha, the big question in determining if I'll buy a pair for the fall is this: how thick are they?

[Leslie Ferguson]

Susan - Hard to believe that I'm human too! Weeks like this really suck. Of course, as with most of the continent these days I'm not sure that I really want to go out anyway. To echo the weather over the past couple days here has been bright and sunny, overcast and humid, thunderstorm, bright and sunny and MORE HUMID, thunderstorm, dark, overcast... so I think not running isn't that bad a thing right now but I'm going to have to do it soon - it's not going to be any better this summer.
I haven't kept a training log in a while. I did before the first two marathons and did about 525 miles for the first one and just over 500 for the second. Since then I stopped keeping a log but can tell that total mileage has not decreased in any of the last two marathons - in fact I did about 160 miles in the last 4 weeks before the Feb marathon. So I guestimate that I do about 525 miles for a marathon and about 30-35 miles a week for base training (4x6 miles + 1x10 miles). So really in the past 18 months or so I'm just guessing but I'd bet that I'm pretty close.

Jen - Ditto on taking in sports drink. When I drink Gatorade (and that isn't very frequently) I can only take it in 50/50 with water. It really doesn't matter how long you workout (within reason) but personal preference is not to drink it unless I'm going about an hour or so. But then I really don't drink if I run much less than an hour any time so... Also I wouldn't worry about the "extra" calories in the beverage - you probably need them running in the h&h anyway.

Looks like things are winding down so I'm going to try and slip out for a workout today (it's only 4:35 and I'm just about done for the day ).

Check everyone later.

Peace,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

I skipped the outdoors run/workout - probably a good thing because the squall/thunderstorm from h*11 hit just as I was leaving work. Had one bolt hit and the thunder came about 1 second later - too close for my taste. So not wanting to get fried I went for my trusty elliptical. Thank goodness for those machines. Of course that led to another fouled up evening and exceptionally late supper - when will this ever end?

Hopefully tomorrow will be better all around. Most of the big push is over and things should start settling down.

Be safe and take care in the heat. Peace,
Les

[Natasha]

Hi Jen!

The socks are not particularly thick; in fact, they're not too thick at all. They feel kind of weird to the touch, though -- nothing like regular fabric-y feeling socks, if that makes any sense. But when you put them on, they're comfy (at least to me). Maybe you could check out a pair at REI or a similar place and see what you think, before making the commitment of buying them? Just a thought. How was your run yesterday?

Hey Les --

Sorry to hear that you've been having less-than-stellar weather there. It must have been nice to get in that elliptical workout, anyway. I'll hope for good weather for all of you experiencing rain lately! I'm fairly sure it will be our turn soon...

I ended up taking off yesterday evening. I had a bad tension headache these past couple of days, partly from having slept with my neck in an odd position. I don't tend to get a lot of headaches, and this was bugging me. Also, from where the pain was coming, I could tell that it was something a good adjustment would help with. The chiro worked hard on me last night and showed me more stretches to do, and that helped a lot, though I'll still go back next week for a "reinforcement" adjustment.

Natasha

[msxy75]

Hey there everybody,

Natasha sorry to hear about your headache, I get headaches frequently just due to tension and stress so good idea to take the day off. Sometimes you need a day of rest.

Les, I'm sure glad that you didn't go running in that thunderstorm as it sounds like it was a bad one. I miss thunderstorms I haven't seen any since moving out here. I wouldn't want you to get zapped!

Jen give us an update on the half and half drink on what you think. I may try that on my longer runs to see if it helps.

Susan hope the rain has let up a bit at least.

Well I did my hill run today and it was great went further than I did before and whew I think the dog was encouraging me more than I was her with some of the hills. It's a great workout and the nice thing is when you turn around to go back most of the hills are downhill, the ones that are uphill are small compared to the downhill. It's the killer steep hills that I encounter at the beginning of the run and today since I went further there was a killer steep hill in the middle but I decided to get through it. It was beautiful here too, nobody was on the trail except one elderly lady out pruning her bushes so I was loving having the entire trail to myself.

Well hope that the rain or humidity depending where you live starts to ease off a bit.

Talk to you all later,
michelle

[Leslie Ferguson]

What a sucky day - just when I thought it was almost over the fun just began (way too much to try and write here). Luckily I really only have one more day to work so - if it isn't right there isn't much more to do. Suffice to say that I missed the workout today (for a couple other reasons too). Think I may get a short one in tomorrow (hopefully) but we'll have to see.

Michelle - I generally not that worried about thunder and lightning but yesterday was pretty special. I'm not a big fan of getting stuck in a sparsely wooded area like where I work. It isn't bad where I do weekend runs - lots of trees all around so I feel pretty safe because the bigger ones (the ones that would get hit) are a long ways away from the trail.

Natasha - Hope the chiro helps your headaches. I haven't been to mine recently but I think he's starting to lose his touch - his adjustments don't really do anything for me anymore. But that's another story.

Any big plans for the upcoming weekend? I'm going to get my run and weights workout in and will probably work about 6 hours with LW (her fabric store is having it's annual 50% off sale and they need some "backs" to help lug stuff around (something I'm pretty good at ). Otherwise I think it will be refreshing to get away from the office for a while.

Looking forward to the weekend and hearing about your week(s). Peace to all,
Les