Tom

There you go Tom, I mentioned you in the blog. I just want to make sure you life is complete.

Now, that that is over - Mike and I ran our 14 mile pace run this morning. We achieved a 9:02/mile pace. Man, it was a struggle for me. Mike was very patient with my sudden needs to stop and have a drink of water, which conveniently would happen as we were going up a hill. To our credit though, we took a hilly route. I think of it as the Judy route, since it was on of my first long runs and I was with Judy and it goes out by her house. A loop around town with BC thrown in and then out 16 to old 16 to the end and then down that county road to the railroad tracks and back along the interstate. It was a little hard to see the potholes and cracks in the road that early in the morning, but no twisted ankles.

Remember to have Larry in your thoughts and prayers today since it surgery day. I am confident he will come out of the surgery with a smile on his face and some sly comment to Judy.

However, no matter how bad you feel after a surgery or after a hard run, you probably don't feel as bad as this guy. Although he remembered to get his beer - so it couldn't have been that bad.

April Fools

No prizes today for best April Fools day joke. I guess the wind was bad enough. I fully expected Mike to have something up his sleeve, but nope! I was so disappointed that even though it is April Fools - I have no interesting tidbit of information or humor to share today.

However, I learned once again how much you discover about your friends when you are enduring a 3 hour run with them. Sandy and I had many deep and soulful discussions during our 19 miles together. She told me a goal of her and even though I promised to keep it a secret, I found it too inspiring not to share. If you ask her, she will definitely deny it, but she intends to really step up her fitness regime. Ultra? 50 state member? Ironman? "What could it be?", you ask. Well - as they say - a picture says a thousand words, so here is her goal:

Congrats to Judy, Larry and David

Congratulations to Judy and David for finishing another marathon and doing well despite the conditions! And to Larry too for his Half finish! Not many people can say they did that a week before hip surgery!

A good Monday morning run with Cousins, Jenny and Sandy. Warm and no rain.

Just one little rant not related to running. Last night we watched No Country for Old Men. It won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Picture. I have decided that since all movies are so predictable these days that in order to get a "Best Picture" award it has to make absolutely no sense. It had potential to be a great movie and I was eagerly awaiting for the great ending to tie it all together! As I realized the minutes were ticking closer and closer to the end end of the movie I became more and more amazed that they were going to produce a great ending in so little time. Then the movie suddenly ended. Jim and I just looked at each other in disbelief and shook our heads. Nothing like going from anticipation to frustration to make you not like a movie! I think we will just stick to the mind numbing simple movies. Apparently, we don't have the culture to appreciate the good ones!

Monday's are always hard, so sometimes it helps to start the day with a little laughter. Make sure you watch it all the way through....

Good Run

3 hours and 19.04 miles later I can say that it was a good run. I got initiated into the "Features" run today and despite some of the horror stories I had heard about it, it went well. The conditions were ideal with the wind at our backs and sun to keep us warm. Sandy and I plug along and were able to keep the conversation up even at the end. No tears, no swearing and no childbirth stories.

Good Job to everyone! Sandy, Wendy, Bryan, Julianne and Jenny!
Kudos to Sheri, Al, Russ and Mark!!!
And forever gratefulness to Dan for being a GREAT sag wagon! What luxury!

I am feeling really really good! Yeah!

Before the rain

Kwik Trip Girl, Cousins, CU Gals and I got the run in before it started raining too hard. The CU Gals must be feeling good since this is the second day in a row they went long!

Sorry, short post this morning. I guess the run took all my energy!

Back

Tough run this morning. A perfect storm... recovering from a cold, not dressing warm enough (it is officially Spring after all!), getting used to central time again and getting up at 4:30 for the first time in over a week. Whew. I even had to sit in my car for a minute or two and gather my strength!

What are the signs of a heart attack? Yeah - I can just hear Mike now - "Well, you know you are 40...."

Time for some positive thoughts and a spring picture:

Steamboat II

Another treadmill run this morning. It was a little struggle to begin with since I am fighting cold. Nothing serious, but a factor none the less. A good 4.6 mile run at a good clip. I got a little sick of the political conversion on CNN. It should have chosen a different channel. I guess that is something I would have learned if I took Treadmill 101.

Great skiing so far. I think this is the first year that I haven't experience any soreness in my legs. I guess the running is paying off. It could be a little warmer for spring skiing, but it is nice since the snow doesn't get icy overnight meaning good conditions all day.

Got quite the surprise yesterday on the last run. A snow boarder (of course) streaked by us. Not as in streaking = fast, but streaking = butt naked. Not a stitch of clothing on him except for his snowboard boots. Believe me, even though it was low on the mountain, it was not streaking weather! His butt cheeks looked pretty pink and he was protecting his jewels from frostbite. Maybe it was his idea of male birth control since I doubt that any of his little guys survived the freezing temperatures!

A good memory to chalk up to St. Patty's Day!

Steamboat I

A good treadmill work out this morning. Since it is the DREADMILL I allow myself to go shorter time but faster. My legs feel real good after Friday's long run. The felt good yesterday too. Well, not much to report. Just getting the kids ready to go skiing. So I had better assist!

New Start Time

Mike and I decided that the morning running group should start at 4:00 instead of 5:00. It is so much fun! Actually, it wasn't that bad. Of course a temperature of 38 degrees didn't hurt any. That and I am leaving on vacation and Mike is going to see the "new Love" this weekend. Being able to look forward to good times does help on a long run.

It felt good though. Much better than the 2:30 run and even the 10 mile pace run. It was just what I needed. Well, Jim will only be patient so long, so I have to be short this morning. Here is a picture of me so you can be thinking about me all week:

Getting easier

It was almost 30 degrees this morning. It makes running so much easier. I noticed that people are getting out of cars faster and lingering a bit longer after the run. Pretty soon we will be getting our lawn chairs out and enjoying a beer before heading home.

There was a lot of talk about who was running when this weekend. I realized I should adjust the poll.... e-mail coming to you soon.

What the ????

I am sure the number of hits my blog has gotten went up significantly today due to people checking and rechecking to see if I had posted yet today (JILL?). Sorry folks, my Internet was worse than dial-up speed this morning, so I wasn't able to post right after running.

Jenny and Mike got reacquainted this morning after a long period of of not seeing each other. I was sadden to see that no hugs were exchanged just a polite handshake. I am sure they will get close again. We have many hours ahead of us for them to renew their kinship.

It was the usual Monday morning of Christy complaining all the way! Geez - you would think those halfers would be happy since they don't have to run 2:45 this weekend, but NOOOOO. Now we are running to fast! She did try to take the high road and say it would be her pace run (5.6 miles - so hard!). You know I am just joking Christy! Someone has to make up for Mike's Lent promise and it takes Jill, Jenny and Me to do so!

Here is a great article for the women in the group - especially those that are nearing the a day when they will enter a new, but older age group category!

Positive Thoughts

Mike, Jill and I got our 10 mile pace run in on this frigid morning. I am finding I have a lot of negativity going on in my head right now, so I decided to think positively about today's run. Here the positive thoughts I was able to come up with. It took me the whole 1.5 hours of our run to come up with 10 - oops - is that being negative again?

1. It is done.
2. We made our pace time despite the sub-zero temps - maybe it will be easier in "normal" temperatures.
3. It is done.
4. I got a free Botox treatment due to freezing of my forehead.
5. It is done.
6. Apparently there is no reason to worry about global warming - whew!
7. I get to sleep in tomorrow.
8. Only two more weeks until Mike is back to normal and we no longer have to hear about how much he is suffering during Lent.
9. When March comes in like a lion it goes out like a Lamb, so we are guaranteed a warm end to the month despite what Jimmy Groundhog says!
10. It is DONE - for one week at least.

Do you like the picture at the top of the blog?

Sneaky, Sneaky

Apparently our newest member to the morning running group is quickly picking up the sneaky tricks of the group. Last night, after concluding a long drive back from Madison, I checked the running poll. Truthfully, I was hoping no one had signed up for this morning. I was feeling exhausted after a couple nights of interrupted sleep courtesy of kids and was very open to skipping the 4:25 ringing (actually music playing) of my alarm.

However, my mood quickly changed when I saw our newest member - Rhonda - was signed up! I have only had the honor of running with her once. Of course, Mike was signed up too, but running with Rhonda helped me to overcome that.

However, this morning - no RwR (Running with Rhonda - I think I may have found her Internet pseudonym). Hmmm. Then when I checked the poll after returning from a nice run with Mike (forever after this to be known as Old Reliable) I noticed that Rhonda's line had "disappeared". I don't think it was an Internet virus reeking havoc either! Nope, a little known fact: I can check the history of entries for the poll! Yep, that is right folks! And what did I find in the history - "
3/5/08 4:51:19 AM CET Rhonda Participant "Rhonda" deleted

Rhonda, Rhonda - I know we are a funny bunch (even Old Reliable) but give us some credit! Do you really think this will save you from the wrath of the morning running group? We may give you some slack being a newbie and all, but this shows deviousness above beyond our normal allowances! I am sure Mike will be thinking of the appropriate penalty.

Nano Freeze

Apparently Christy made an offering to the running gods this morning after I called her at 4:25 am to tell her I was not running. I really did want to. Really. I even donned Jim's fleece robe, walked all the way to road checking several placed to see how bad the ice was. I hadn't heard the salt truck either. So, I decided I did not want to risk taking out the Page's mailbox (again). Needless to say, I did not fall into bed to a peaceful sleep. Nope. Christy's offering along with a cold walk at 4:25 in the morning had me wide awake. Did I contemplate getting up and running on the treadmill. Yep. Did I? Nope.

Which brings me to the Nano Freeze. Although could have easily convinced myself to skip the run, I decided to persevere and go for a run during Nate's wrestling practice. I tried to console myself with the thought of running to some great tunes my Nano. Something I have not done in quite awhile - as you know. (I am not like my husband who thinks it is perfectly okay to wear your headphones when you are running with someone. He thinks "What did you say?" qualifies as having conversation). Unfortunately, sometime ago the little hands in our house got a hold of my Nano and wiped all the songs off it. I have not put my race playlist back on it. It was a great list - lots of 80's songs. Anyway... since I don't have that playlist I have to forward through some not so inspiring songs. As I was doing so - it happened. Christy's sacrifice came through full force. My nano FROZE. Not at the end of my run either - 4 minutes into it. I thought maybe it was the cold. So I nestled it deeper in my layers hoping some warmth would revive it. No such luck. Apparently what they say in survival shows about skin to skin contact is not true. Christy must have really made a big sacrifice. It was probably her last remaining BudLight left in the house tonight and she probably promised to the running gods that she would not make Bryan run out for more. We all know how Christy cherishes her nightly BudLight!

My foot seems to be holding its own - knock on wood. I have to admit though, that my mental strength after this weekend's long run is waining. I know it is not going to get easier and I know it has just begun. Christy's dark side (half marathon) is beginning to look appealing. I will have to make a note to get her to write a "how-to" book on sacrifices to running gods. It seems to really work.