It's over, man. Let her go.

Welcome to the blog. Funny name.

Welcome to the blog, bald and spicy! I, too, love the name! I am married to a bald and...dang, I can not come up with anything. Burt, help me out a little.

Coach Cara does seem amazing, I read her bio information. How did you meet her and how exactly do you train online (she just tells you what to do and how fast to do it???) Sounds very interesting!

Best of luck with your goals, I am sure you will do great with such an amazing runner for a coach!

Just a little FYI: for your running goals, you put 2009 instead of 2010. I was confused for a minute, but I am slower than mud. I have not had to write 2010 yet, so I am sure I will do the same thing!

bald and saucy.

I asked my husband, he says bald and sexy.

Ok everyone, I updated my personal info to answer the burning baldnspicy questions. :-) My wife has also called me bald and sexy, but never bald and saucy. I'll have to ask her why not.

Kelli - the reason the dates for my goals had 2009 on them is a little coaching tip I learned from Cara. If you set your goals in the past, after you've finished the race, you always beat them! It's a little unconventional, but that's how she rolls. haha j/k!

Thanks everyone for the welcome! I'm excited to keep my blog up to date, especially the runs. This may be the perfect tool for keeping Cara up to date on my runs and progress.

I'll post again later about my relationship with Cara and how we go about the coaching.

Maybe it wasn't so much the bald and spicy that made the old lady say she doesn't accept pornographic emails as it was the @sleezeball.com part. LOL!

j/k

Nice philosophy! I like it. I am looking forward to future details....

In your picture your head looked like it had been bic'd! That is funny, I had to convince my husband to bic his head, but he has now been doing it for 12 years (so, he had the nice receding hair line at the age of 24!!!)

Burt - the email is mymail@baldnspicy.com. I use it for all the stuff that requires you to give an email to sign up. But when giving it out over the phone, it's quite funny some times. lol Oh, and BTW, I'm a very laid back person who enjoys laughing at himself, and is virtually impossible to offend, so no worries. Actually, bring it on! I'll give it right back. :-)

As for how I got in touch with Cara - my 20th high school reunion was this last year. I got back in touch with a friend (through FaceBook) who is a spin instructor. Back in August of last year, I mentioned to her I was thinking about getting more serious with my running and was wondering if she knew of any professional/elite runners or maybe coaches that would be open to fielding some of my questions since I was getting frustrated with the variety of running plans out there and knowing what I should be working on. She put me in touch with Cara and we hit it off immediately!

Since Cara is in Oregon and I'm in Pennsylvania, the only way we could do this was through email, etc. (I've never even spoken to her on the phone, now that I think about it!) It was new for her to coach an athlete remotely, but I think we've both learned a lot of tips about both coaching and being coached this way since we started in August. It's really worked out just great. She gives me my weekly schedule and I do my best to follow it, sending quick daily emails letting her know how I did. I've sent her video of me running (slow as a turtle) on the track so she could see my stride and do some analysis that way as well.

I primarily run alone, although there's a guy at work that's an elite marathoner. Very personable guy...he came in 4th in the Pittsburgh Marathon, but was the first Pennsylvanian. Anyways, he's gone on a couple of runs with me during lunch. He basically jogs, not sweating at all, while I'm struggling to keep up the 8:15 or so pace for 3-4 miles while trying to choke out a word or two of conversation so he doesn't get bored. We get back to the gym at work, he just dresses and goes back to his desk while I stretch and try and catch my breath before going to hit the showers. I told him that my goal for 2010 is to be able to make him break a sweat when he runs with me to the point he has to shower. haha

My running buddy is cool and very cool to me, but Cara is truly my inspiration. She is incredibly kind and patient. The advantage/disadvantage, depending on who's side you're on, to e-coaching is that I can send her an email any time day or night. Something pops in my head - I fire off an email. She knows that I don't expect an immediate answer and can just answer when she gets time. But it's nice to be able to do that rather than waiting until my next coaching session and probably forgetting what I was going to ask.

I think one of Cara's strongest points as a coach (aside from her skills in putting together plans, etc) is that she is incredibly motivating, just by being herself. She doesn't need to be the mean coach that intimidates you and makes you do the workouts out of fear. She's a fellow runner, and a dang good one at that! For example, when I told her I wanted to run a 2:00 in my first Half, I'm sure she thought that was completely unrealistic, which it was, but she didn't say that. She just helped me to put together a plan that would get me as close as possible to that goal. Again, I've set my goals for 2010 and I'm sure she's thinking they're quite aggressive, but she wouldn't tell me they're impossible and to come back to earth and get real. She sees the potential in people, knows that the key is hard work, but also is realistic in her expectations. I have a family and a job that have to come before running, and sometimes those things get in the way. She understands that and we work though it.

I will forever be grateful to Cara for helping me get back into the running grove, for answering all my answers, for enduring through my very long winded emails and "quick daily updates," and especially for listening to me (and believing in me) when I said I wanted to do a Half when logically my first race should have been a 5k or 10k. She's a great friend as well as a great coach!

Hmmm...now that I've written this, I think I should have been telling everyone how awful she is so I can keep her all to myself...nope, can't bring myself to do it - Cara's AWESOME!

Word count 848! You rule the world!

WOW, what a good recommendation you have given us all. I really like what you have said about her, it is everything that many of us look for in a coach or someone to get advice from. I especially like how you said she realizes you have a life outside of running, that is something that is hard for some people to grasp. There are so many of us who aspire to be better, but, for one reason or another, can not or choose not to make running our life. That does not mean we can not reach those goals, we will just do it differently (maybe more slowly than if we could train and think running 24/7).

I am sure that your aggressive goals will help you reach the ultimate goal of the BQ! You seem like a very determined guy. And a very nice guy, too!

Now, the first goal is to make that guy at work sweat, darn it. Make him wear two shirts and a sweatshirt and carry and wear w weighted vest and maybe carry a backpack. That ought to do it!

Thanks to Burt's counting, I didn't reach my goal of 1000 words on that post, so next time I'll use smaller words.

Honestly, Cara is awesome. She's firm, but kind and understanding. Sometimes I need that kick in the butt, but most times she's there for the support. I wish I could train 24/7 and be competitive, but that's not an option for me. For a while, I was really bummed, embarrassed, and somewhat depressed about my pace. I look at these guys/gals that are running sub 5:00 miles for a marathon and it's just amazing. I'd love to "break the tape," but that's just not going to happen unless I have my kids hold the tape at the end of the driveway for me at the end of a long run. I do realize the possibility of placing in my age bracket, so I keep that as a long term goal.

Thanks for the suggestions, Kelli. I'll see what I can get him to do next time. :-)

Here is another suggestion: Run in really small local races! I won a 5k (and I am NOT a short distance runner by any means, in fact my half marathon, 10k, and 5k paces are all the same) by running in a little local race. I think there were less than 100 people running the 5k. I came in 3rd overall, but I was the first woman. I am sure it is my one and only win, but it was darn cool!!!

This is a great place, there are runners of all shapes and sizes and paces and dedication levels and so on. Plus, you always have Burt for entertainment!

Have a great running week Bald&Spicy, and have your wife call me. I will see if I convince her to let you take a bic to your head.

I'm not just here for entertainment. I won a race once, too.

Sorry Burt, you are a winner, too!

Kelli - did you see the video of Coach Cara I posted on my blog last week?

No, Burt, which day?

Saturday the 2nd.

Okay, I am a little freaked out because that does look like her picture (the 3rd alter ego, anyway). Is this for real? Where do you get this stuff?

There's a host of information on the world wide web. And remember Kelli, we will be judged by what is written about us.

Hopefully no one writes anything about me, then.

Oh my goodness, I only just now read this. Since we keep in touch with emails, I wasn't TOO worried about reading each blog. Let's see, Wes, I must owe you a couple hundred bucks for all your sweet comments! ;-)

Kelli, BTW, that weird video was a spoof that I did for my office party. All the trainers were supposed to come up with a spoof "best" workout secret. Since I'm unique at Tri-D Fitness as the ONLY female trainer and the only one who specializes in running, I wanted to poke fun at those 2 facts. Everyone's videos were very funny. My mustache was fake. :-)

Very good to know it was fake, I was worried!!! I just thought Burt was pulling some random video off and calling it you until the last person, then I was thinking, "Wait, that looks like her!" I was confused, so thanks for clearing that up.

That's so funny, Kelli! Yeah, Burt probably should have put a little disclaimer about the source of the video--I noticed that he AVOIDED your question. Ehem, Burt? ;-) Anyway, if you knew me in person, it would really be all the more funny because I have a very soft, high voice (I'm very much a soprano), and I even wear makeup to marathons. I'm all girl! That's why I kinda enjoy doing the "Max" character. I did it once before for a skit, and my husband said that he never wanted to see Max again. It freaked him out.

That's funny. I did avoid the question. I wanted to see what you would say first, Coach. I'm glad you cleared up the moustache thing, too. Although I was strangely intrigued about it. Who is this enigma we call Max? (Have you seen the movie It's Pat?) hahahahahaha!!!!

Did I not send you the video earlier? I thought I would have because I felt like it was pretty funny. But maybe I didn't since you've never met me in person, and I didn't want you to think I was nuts. Actually, it's hard to "get" how funny it is until you can see how UN-Cara the mannerisms and voice are. OK, I'm kinda proud of it. ;-)

Also, when I was in high school, I used to teach stage makeup to other high schoolers, so I became pretty good at makeup.

I don't know where I got the name "Max." It just sounds to me like a name for a dude who thinks he's really tough. When my aunt saw me do that character on stage a few years ago for something different, she didn't even know it was me! Stephanie was there too for that little skit. She still talks about it! :-)

Dude!

No, I haven't seen that movie, BTW. I don't think I've heard of it.

It was based off the Saturday Night Live character Pat, where no one knew if Pat was a man or a woman.

And even though the one guy wasn't sure, that was part of the allure that attracted him to Pat. Ah, good stuff.

Ha ha ha, that IS really fitting!

I thought I had made my voice much lower, but when I heard the video, I was a bit disappointed. But it sure hurts to do that to a voice. It makes me a little bit hoarse.

That sounds potentially funny, or just very weird! :-) I used to love SNL when I was little. My sister and I used to stand in front of the mirror and do all sorts of goofy skits, pretending we were on the show. We really thought we were good, too. We were convinced we were gooood!

You pulled Max off very well!! It was all pretty funny.

Wow, your goals and schedule look familiar. I'm shooting for a 2011 marathon too. Welcome to the blog, I'm new myself (to running and blogging). It will be interesting to watch your progress since it looks like we're starting (more or less) at the same point. Good luck!

Joe

Nice to meet you, Joe! I'll definitely be watching your progress as well. Looks like you're shooting for Boston in 2014...maybe I'll push myself to meet you there!

It's funny, you used the opposite logic as I did to determine the year. I'm all for cheating myself - my 2014 goal is based on the fact that I'll age-up to the 35-39 age group and get to run slower.

Hello new guys. (both of you)

Joe - if I were looking at having to do the marathon in the 30-34 age bracket, I promise you, I'd be looking to cheat myself to. ;-)

Hello to you, too, Benjamin!

NICE JOB!!!! She has you working hard, and sometimes that kind of workout is easier to do on the treadmill, you hit your paces whether you want to or not!

Nice TM workout.

Thanks Kelli and Holt. The TM certainly does keep me on pace. But I was a little disappointed with the 500s...those should have been 800s. There's always next week! :-p

Stake conference?

Good guess, but no. My wife and I volunteer on a 24-hour suicide crisis line and we have some re-certification training we have to take that runs 9-5 both Saturday and Sunday.

We got snowed on again last night, but our schools only had a 2-hour delay. Normally, I'd work from home, but I'm braving the roads and heading to work so I have a TM to run on since outside isn't going to work. Oh, the sacrifices we make as runners... I'll probably be the only person in the office. The health center people had better have come in...wellness doesn't have sick/snow days!

You know, these next 2 days off might prove to be great timing for you. With some healthy eating and nice rest over the weekend, you may end up coming back next week feeling really strong. Do try to incorporate some ROM or active stretching in AM and PM, though.

I hope your weekend goes well!

Hi, welcome to the blog. I like how you have a realistic training schedule planned out. Very disciplined. I wouldn't be surprised if you exceed your goals fairly readily. I also like the e-mail story. Those utility ladies have no sense of humor.

Do not stress over this run. Running long distances on a treadmill can be very daunting. I struggle to get to 3!!! Take a little break and all will be well!

Yes, Amen to the bit about how hard it is to run on a treadmill! I'd rather run in a hailstorm than on a treadmill.

Also, during my run today, I was thinking about your comment about how hard it is to imagine that you ran the 9:49 pace for the 1/2. That's totally normal. For one thing, we're filled with adrenaline during races. But also, you were SO ready. You had been training for that speed, you had gone through a nice taper. It doesn't mean you've lost anything. I was thinking about that because today I was running a comfortable pace for 12 miles. As you know, I'm just "on hold" with my own running till I determine which marathon to do. So, I decided to just pick up the pace a bit, and I told myself I'd do 8:00 for one mile. That sounded like it should have been a piece o' cake! I mean, I JUST a month ago ran an average 7:49 pace for 26 miles! But no, I actually struggled to keep up the 8:00 for the mile. But I won't let that discourage me because it's really, truly, totally normal!

Of course, it's not something we ever want to find ourselves using as an excuse. But we can remember that it's OK if we are struggling a bit. Meanwhile, just keep doing the things you know are important to help you be healthy and energetic, such as healthy food, good sleep, stretching, foam rolling, and keeping up with the training.

Echo the difficulties with the TM. I can't go more than 30-40 minutes before feeling like I've run a marathon (not that I'd know what that's like) and need to get off. Hopefully you'll get the chance to run outside soon, it makes all the difference for me.

We discussed that same thing today on our rin. When I ran my first race, I typically ran at a 9:30 pace and anything faster felt like a sprint. But then I ran the race and had an average around 8:30. Something happens in a race that can not be duplicated anywhere else.

There's something wonderful and mysterious about races that makes us all superhuman!

Aw, you guys/gals are awesome! I was a little bummed but after reading all your nice, motivational, supportive comments, I can look forward to next week! Plus, the weather looks like it's finally breaking some so I should be out on the roads vs. the TM next week! Thanks everyone!

Thanks for the comments. I would be lying if I said it was easy. I prefer the outdoors, but with the ice and cold in Georgia on Friday the streets and sidewalks were not "runner friendly".

Thanks for helping me be more "hip." ;-)

Yay! You know you are the real thing if you are brave enough to face weather like that!

I feel like a real (turtle) runner when braving the elements. I enjoy seeing the looks of "you're crazy!" when I'm running as well. If I can't get the looks of "dang, that guy is FAST!" I'll take the crazy looks. :-)

Yay! Great job, Wes!

Thanks Cara! Running the warm up miles outside helped the dreaded TM workout part. Plus, I ran during the lunch hour so when I came back in from my first 2 miles, I had to wait for a TM to open up. You'd think with 10 TMs in our gym that some of these New Year's resolution people could do something different. I worked out on the rowing machine until one became available.

I need to work on my daily ROM exercises and some strength still, but today was about running!

Oh, the rowing machine is great. I don't think I ever told you that last year I joined a rowing team because my patellar tendonitis was keeping me from running. The coach of that team was the coach for the American team in the Beijing Olympics--she's amazing-- and her hubby is none other than Tiff Wood!! So, I do know the really good technique for rowing, taught to me by the very best! Unfortunately, I felt like a total loser in the boat. The people on the team were all SO experienced, and I was new to crew. It was fun, though. But I'm a runner, not a rower, so I forsook them. :-) I'm sure they can live with THAT! I was the weak link in the boat!!

Were they argoyle socks? That would be sweet.

I don't like dark socks with running shoes either, but if anyone saw you running outside, they thought you were crazy anyway.

When you start to really enjoy the easy runs, you KNOW that your training is plenty hard. I remember the days when I hated being told to run slowly. Now I really appreciate easy days.

Yep, I was enjoying the run today! Nice and slow and easy knowing what I have in store for me tomorrow. Saw a few more runners out there. One I saw approaching an intersection from another direction. He looked like he was going nice and easy and I was trying to keep myself going slow enough, so I decided to hang back behind him and keep his pace, but after a minute or two I realized it was way too slow (probably 12:00) so I had to pass him. He tried to keep up for a minute or two but he was huffing and puffing pretty hard when I passed him, so that didn't last long. Kind of funny since I am in no way fast (but I'm getting faster), so passing someone on a slow, easy run was interesting. Usually, I'm passed by others and have to hold myself back from trying to keep pace with them or atleast speed up.

Burt: Nope, not argyle. If I had thought about it, I would have worn some nasty looking things, or maybe pulled my dress socks up to my calves. I was in my sweat pants, so no one probably saw them anyways. One of these days I think I'll dress as hideous as possible and go for a nice long run. Should be fun!

Looks like we are on the same NO sleep schedule!!! It makes running hard but you are doing GREAT!!!!

Funny story: There was one time when I forgot my t-shirt. I considered running in my button-up dress shirt, but then I wouldn't have anything to wear when I went back to work. Garment top? Not likely anyone would know, but yeah, no. Plus, it was a hot, sunny day, so I decided to suck it up (literally) and go shirtless. Our gym requires shirts, shorts & shoes (I think that rule was made for me), so I had to run outside anyways which was my plan.

Now, I'm not "fat" but I've got a bit around the waist and a little "muffin top," as well as having a pretty flat upper chest, so I felt VERY self-conscious running through Pittsburgh like that. I always marvel at the guys that can wear the tight racing tank-tops during the races & even on the road. Wearing my skin-tight long-sleeved tech shirts shows way too much flab & I feel it jiggling even if it's not visibly jiggling, so I always wear a t-shirt over it. Again, jealous of those guys that can sport the cool shirts.

Shorts? I wear ones with about a 4" inseam. One day, my legs might look good enough I can sport the super short, splits so I can give the girlies a little show as my old body runs past. LOL

Speaking of legs, I was running one day this summer and this chick (BTW (that's "by the way," Cara :-p ) NOT a derogatory word in my book - quite the opposite) was running toward me down the street. You could see EVERY single muscle in her legs. She must have had 0 to negative body fat. Unbelievable. Honestly, I didn't find it attractive, just amazing. She was moving too...

I am glad they have the SHIRT rule at the gym, I wish they would extend it to women walking around in their sports bras---they should have to wear a shirt, too!!!

Now, you may have been able to run in your garment top, no one outside of Utah probably would have noticed. These guys at the gym have their bottoms hanging out below their shorts and it drives me nuts. I want to go tell them to by the spandexy kind if they are gonna wear them to work out!

And Burt, they sell argyle running socks. I am gonna get you a pair!

Kelli - yeah, I have a hard time sleeping (insomnia to some extent, my wife insists on having the dog (a miniature pinscher named Izzi) sleep with us which isn't usually a problem but Izzi never wakes up my wife when she needs to go out. She'll wake me up. So I get up and take her out. Doesn't take long, but it's a sleep disturbance. It's funny how if I'm out of town on business or something, that Izzi will get in bed with her at 9pm and won't bother her until like 9am the next morning, but if I'm in there, her bladder shrinks to the size of a pea. It hasn't been uncommon to be woken up twice. If I didn't love that dog...

My wife is a night owl, so she usually keeps me up until about Midnight. Then during the week, I wake up about 5:15am to take my daughter to early morning seminary at the church. Fortunately, I can drop her off there and leave since another family takes her back to their house to catch the bus to school. I come home and sleep for another 45min - 1hr then get up to get my son ready and off to school while I get an hour of work in and get myself ready.

So yeah, I'm happy to get some decent sleep in like last night when I got about 7.5. I came home from work and watched a movie with my son (he watched it, I dozed in and out). Then I took some drugs and checked out for the night. Still felt really drowsy this morning, but doing much better now. I don't let my sleep patterns decide whether I run or not. If I did, I'd probably get in 1-2 runs a week!

Hang in there, Kelli, and I will too! We should start a runners that run on no sleep club! Ha Ha!

I went running once without a shirt when I was a young lad. But it was late at night. It was very liberating.

I have never run without a shirt. ;o)

So, what do you take to help you sleep? Everything I have taken leaves me feeling worse the next day even though I technically slept. Most of the time I would rather be tired! I did get a prescription for 30 Ambien and I made it last me 3 years. I took a half of a pill here and there, but it would never work two nights in a row.

The dog is just payback for your wife getting up with the kids, right? That is actually pretty funny. If you want, send the dog to me, I would love to pay back my husband for the years of getting up with 5 kids while he never heard a thing. In fact, I am sure that is why my sleep is so messed up!!

Kelli, I'll have to respond to your sleep question when I've got a few minutes later today. Found this article and thought it appropriate since I sometimes will say "I'll get good sleep on the weekend and then I'll be better next week." Apparently, it doesn't work that way:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/01/13/dont_bank_on_weekend_to_make_up_for_sleep_loss_1263417565/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Local+news

I agree, it never works! But I am glad that church has moved to 1 pm so I can at least sleep in one day a week!!!

OK, you 2, SLEEP! You must sleep!! Your gains are made when you are in REM most of all.

But mostly I'm just writing because I wanted to agree with Kelli that there should be the same rule for women in the gym as men. We really don't need to see any bellybuttons. But if they let women where sports bras, the men should be allowed to go shirtless, or at least wear sports bras too!! (Now that you have seen Max, that comment might scare you. ;-) ) But really, come on!

Maybe I'm just jealous because, after giving birth to 4 precious ones, my stretch marks and extra skin make it impossible for me to feel good with bra only. I ONLY do that when I'm desperately hot from going full speed--in races or speedwork. And then I cover up soon as I'm done!!

Most of the women who go in bra only the gym really don't look so good either, though.

Burt - I actually loved running without a shirt. It was so nice on a hot, sunny day to be out there getting the rays. I could do without the looks of disgust as I ran by though. ;-)

Honestly, there are many women and men at our gym that wear less than they should. It's like the people that wear low rise jeans with serious muffin tops, tank tops, or cut off shirts. Just because they make them in (your size) doesn't make it ok to wear them. Seriously!

Kelli - for sleep, my son (also has the same problems as me) takes Trazadone. It's actually an antidepressant, I believe, but it makes him nice and drowsy and sleeps very soundly through the night. I've tried Ambien as well. Both Trazadone and Ambien are awesome and work great if you get 8+ hours of sleep. Any less and I'm a zombie in the morning, feeling completely hung over.

I've also tried Melatonin and Tylenol PM, which work just OK. They'll get me drowsy so I can fall asleep, but they have no lasting effects to KEEP me asleep. So, I usually toss back a couple of Xanax (I have anxiety issues) and that will usually do the trick. But, if I don't get more than 4-5 hours, or am woken up, then I'll be a zombie the next day too. So most nights, I try not to take anything, but don't get great sleep. It's a no-win situation for me.

Oh, and my wife getting up with the kids? Uh...yeah, no. She's NOT a morning person and she claims there was a paragraph in the pre-nup that stated that anything happening before 9-10am was my responsibility. She tells me I signed one - I must have been in a Xanax stupor because as poor college students, there was no financial reason to sign one. I guess they do pre-nups for these types of responsibilities?? I guess I signed without reading. LOL Now I feel like I missed out on getting my expectations of her in there! Oh well...

She actually trained our kids to sleep in. When they were babies, once they were down for the night, they were out until like 8 or 9am. But now with a teenager and my son, they stay up later than they should. Every Christmas morning at my house (7 kids) we were always tearing down my parents bedroom door at 5:30-6am. My kids? We usually have to wake them up at 9am so we can get started! They're weird, I know, but I love them to death!

If I can get a good 5-6 hrs of solid sleep a night I can function pretty well. It's when I get less than that that my work performance suffers and I tire easily. Running does help, though. I'm exhausted tonight and it's only 9:30pm. So, I think I'll probably be able to hit the sack here pretty soon since the kids will be in bed any minute and I'll be in bed at 10pm. Wife hit the sack early and so it looks like I will be too!

Good night everyone! Kelli - I hope you find something that works! Let me know how it goes.

Goodness, that is a list of drugs to try! I did try melatonin a long time ago, but I was pregnant, maybe I should give it another go. I hate medication because I always feel so groggy the next day. I have yet to fins anything that does not have that affect, so I figure if i am going to be groggy anyway I might as well do it without medication! I have had sleep issues forever, so I am pretty much used to it and I function okay (although I get a bit grumpy on weeks like this).

Tomorrow is my husbands day off, so I am going to refuse to get out of bed until at least 8! It his turn after 17 years of marriage. That guy could sleep through a hurricane, and most of my kids could, too.

Cara, I have seen your blog picture and you feel free to go shirtless! You look great. But, as you said, it is not the women with the tight abs and 5% body fat that run around in their bras!!! If I can wear a shirt at the gym, these other women can! They make this thing called a tank top...

You're so sweet, Kelli, but really--I have on a tank top in that picture. Otherwise you'd say, "She's obviously had kids." :-)

What time of day do you run, Kelli? What are your bedtime rituals? How about caffeine--do you consume any?

Sorry, it's the RN in me! I'm sure you've thought through all the potential causes and possible treatments.

I have had 5 kids, I guess I just had one too many to have a flat stomach!!

I do drink the occasional diet coke, maybe the equivalent of 2 cans a week. Other than that, the only caffeine I eat is in chocolate!

2-3 days a week I run at the crack of dawn (get up at 4:45), the other days I run at the gym in the morning after my kids go to school (I get up at 6:15 those days, when the alarm goes off for my husband, but I stay in bed until 7:15!!) I take Sundays off.

I try to go to bed by 10 every night, but the falling asleep part is the issue. I get my kids in bed by 8 or so, then I either watch a little TV or read a book. My husband breathes really loud so I try to fall asleep before him! I am a very light sleeper, everything wakes me up. I have experimented with napping and it just seems to make falling asleep at night harder. When I get super tired, I will take a nap, though.

All of that said, I got 8 hours of sleep last night. Children;s Benadryl works like a charm!!!

Oh, believe me, Kelli, my tummy is not flat either. It's not that there's any fat on it, and really, the abs are some of the strongest I know (this I know only because of the plank competitions we crazy trainers have), but it's NOT FLAT! And there's always that little fold of skin. Oh well, the wee ones are well worth is. You should see the mutual friend I share with Wes. She has had SEVEN children!! She is adorable and tiny.

Anyway, I've never struggled with insomnia (quite the opposite--I really think I am mildly narcoleptic), but I remember working as an RN, and before the doc would prescribe sleep meds as a last resort, bedtime rituals were helpful. Sleep meds are just a shame to start because they become addictive, and they leave you groggy in the AM.

The body releases natural melatonin with bedtime rituals. Most important is to NOT watch TV, computer, or any screen within an hour of bedtime. So, within 1/2 hr, dim lights, rest in a non-bed place, or read in a non-bed place, but in your room with soft lights. If you can have your hubby massage you, that's a plus. Studies have shown that bananas help relaxation before sleep too. Also, a very small glass of wine can help, and hey--it's good for your heart too! But not much--like 1/2 to one glass.

You could try going a full week with no caffeine, even including chocolate, and see if that helps.

My husband snore SOOOO loudly!! I've gotten used to sleeping with earplugs, but I know that's hard for some. Another option is white noise, like a fan.

I'm sure you've tried all these, but just in case you haven't...these were just the pre-drug advice the docs gave. :-)

OKay, no more TV and reading only with the lamp, not the full light!!! I have cut back on the caffeine (I only have it on weekends at the movies) but I could try a week with NONE of it!! I do like white noise, the fan is great in the summer. I guess I need to get a white noise machine to block out my husband!!!

I hear ya on the sleep meds, I felt like they were not only addictive, but became less effective the more I used them. That is why I go many nights with little or no sleep before I will give in!!

And, whatever, miss plank woman (love the competitions, that is funny)! You have abs of steel and a tiny little waist. The picture does not lie!! The kids do stretch us out a little, some people have more elastic skin than others---lucky them. I really can not complain, I look pretty good for how much I eat!!!

Oh my word, I do NOT have a small waist! That has been the bodily grief of my life, that I have no waist at all. I wish I could say that I do. ALL my height is in my legs, and I have a short little upper body. I hate that! I'm like a little dot torso with spider legs.

Sometimes I get the humbling joy of doing a little sports modeling, but I tell ya, if they want us to come to the audition in sports bra and shorts only (yes, back to my bra-only hate), I know I won't get the job. It goes to long-waisted women. :-)

Long legs are an asset!!!

If I were to ever get a sports modeling job, I think they would just be photoshopping in a tiny part of me...maybe my long curly hair? Or my skinny calves? That is about all of me that could model!!! Be glad you can do that, that just shows you look GREAT! You work hard for it, so be PROUD!!!! And dang, you have had 4 kids.

Funny how it's OK for a female to tell another female she can go shirtless, but if Burt were to say that he'd be castrated. Anyhooo... ;-)

Kelli - definitely don't take drugs if you don't have to. I like Cara's suggestions. There are a few I need to incorporate too. Besides, I only know about all these things because we've dealt with them for a while with my son and I. I've tried several things and have tried to keep the drugs to an absolute minimum for both of us. But, sometimes you just gotta get some sleep!

As for sports modeling, I have a really cute pinky toe that I could probably get in a magazine somewhere. It's a hidden asset since it's 95% of the time covered up. The other one has a scar, so if they want both pinkys, they'll have to look elsewhere.

Totally agree on the type of women that wear the sports bras too - they're certainly not the hottest chicks at the gym if you know what I mean. Again, just because they make it in your size and it's allowed where you work out...

I was castrated June 28, 2000 : http://burt-mccumber.fastrunningblog.com/blog-got-neutered-today-/06-28-2008.html.

I think I could model my calves. They're genetically huge.

I am actually pretty sure that Burt COULD get away with it!

If we are talking sports modeling, I could actually model my gnarly, toenail-less second toe. It would scare people AWAY from running!

Sleep is just one of those things I will probably always struggle with (that and losing toenails!) I try to keep the drugs to a minimum as well, but, like you said, sometimes you just have to sleep!!! I was actually trying to regulate sleep with Ambien, but it just never worked!!! For now, I will work on nighttime rituals and less caffeine, things that really should help----that and kicking my husband out of the bed (which he is glad to do for me).

In an ugly foot contest, Kelli, I could probably take you! I also have 2 missing toenails, one corn, and basically ugly toes. They were ugly before I even started running. They've been ugly all my life. My sister has always called them embryo toes.

But any good runner has ugly feet, right!! :-)

Woah, Ok Just had to meet the person behind "baldnspicy." Did a double take when I saw the username...Lol...I think you could have rocked the black socks...When we get past about age 30 we realize we can do whatever the hell we want and not care what others think. I love wearing my Orange and Red mens Brooks Launch at the gym cuz everyone stares..LOL

I mourn my beautiful feet on a regular basis! I lost my first toenail 2 and half years ago and it refuses to grow back---it is always GROSS!!! I have last 4 others, but only once each time. Runners do seem to have darn ugly feet.

War wounds, I guess. :-)

Burt, I replied to your old blog entry about that momentous event in your life. Now you're not a lone faithful, someone replied--I mean, besides yourself.

That's really sad that you had to reply to your own. Please don't ever sound so pathetic. If ever again you feel like a lone faithful, just tell me to respond, and I gladly will do so. :-)

I used to be kind of a loner on the blog until I spoke out against drunk driving. Also I think there was a thread about gay marriage that I got involved in.

The gay marriage one was my introduction to you, I believe.

That was a good one. Remember how that one gay guy joined the blog and had like one entry. Apparently they all took big time offense to my comments, that I didn't think were any worse than anyone else's.

I thought you handled yourself very diplomatically, Burt. I did not know someone had gotten all bent out of shape, no. It is okay to respectfully discuss ones opinion, and most people were very respectful. MOST, but not all.

Wow, sounds like quite an exchange. Is that the "hot topic" under Burt's? I only glanced quickly at it.

Hi Missy! Nice to meet you! :-)

Yeah, point us to the threads!

Missy, I love my bright orange Mizuno racing flats, and everyone at the gym stares too. They look so FAST!

WOAH, holy Long Blog responses..had to scroll down for like 10 minutes..

Baldnspicy....any fashion advice you need...just Holler.:P

Cara...The thing that cracks me up about the deliberately UGLY nerdy looking running shoes..is it confuses the hell out of trendy gym people..Don't get me wrong..I dabble in my Nike Shox when lifting weights...The Ugly Bright running shoes definitely scream out "I am fast and don't care what the hell you think! Mwa ha ha..." ;)

Coach - there was a time on the blog when the number of comments you got put you on the Hot Discussion Board. Sometimes there would be over 300 comments. Actually, that's only happened a couple of times, once with Walter's blog over movie quotes. Remember that one Kelli? Anyway, Sasha put a stop to that because a certain blogger posted a bunch of comments on her blog just to get noticed. There's more to the story than that, but now it's number of commenters rather than comments. Plus Sasha reserves the right to not have it on the board if he thinks there's no value to it.

I noticed that little column. It's good that Sasha changed the rules, because you can hardly call it a "hot topic" when most of our replies have nothing to do with the original context! We are merely continuing the conversation.

It sounds like YOU, Burt, have had some hot topics!

Missy - yep, that's what happens when you get myself, Cara and Kelli "chatting." One day I may learn to not be so....verbose/wordy, but for now, you have to scroll. :-)

And don't forget BURT too! :-)

Woo-hooooooooo!!!!

I like how you put fast in quotation marks.

I call it like it is, Burt. Fast is relative. I seriously lapped a squirrel that was running back and forth between trees, so I was feeling pretty darn "fast."

Take care of that achilles and keep me posted! I just now sent you a schedule for next week, but that was before I read this entry. If it's bothering you tomorrow, take the day off and keep icing it! :-)

Oh, one more thing: Put moist (preferably) heat on calf, then stretch calf in the 3 positions (have I ever described the 3 calf stretches to ya?). Then, rest, elevate, and ice achilles. :-) We don't want you to lose any time running, especially if you will do that 5K next week!!

Thanks Cara. I don't know why my right achilles flares up unexpectedly. I think I hit the road harder with my right foot than my left. I've gotten some slight soreness in my right hip, but some stretching of that after running has helped keep it at bay and it never bothers me now. But for some reason, this achilles tendon just doesn't like me.

You'll recall after my Half, I was down for a couple of weeks with this achilles. I figured it had just been strained from the distance and the race. I try and stretch it out after running by pushing the wall or using the half-moon looking thingies to roll it back while standing up. They seem to stretch more of the calf than the achilles. I've done the raises on a step exercises too, but not as much. I've also not been doing my ROMs like I should. I need to put those in a nice little cheat sheet so I have them handy every morning and night.

Otherwise, I feel like I warm up sufficiently. Tomorrow, I'll probably walk about 1/2 mi and if it's feeling OK, I'll start my run. If it starts acting up, I'll stop, but I'd really like to get the miles in, but, of course, don't want to sideline myself either for any period of time.

I haven't seen the three positions, but I'll google it and see if I can find them. If you've got a good source, let me know!

Oh, and I sent you an email, but I won't be doing the 5k in Phoenix on the 23rd. I was going to challenge Burt, but I get the sense he'll chicken out. :-) Seriously, I didn't realize that the wedding was in the morning that day, so the morning race is out of the question. I begged my brother to move his wedding, but I guess his soon-to-be-wife (aka ball & chain haha) said no. So, I'll have to pass. We'll chat about what to do instead. I'm definitely running every day in the 65+ degree weather in Phoenix! I might even go shirtless and show them what us pasty white, balding runners from the 'burgh have got!

Maybe you should at least have on a sports bra in Phoenix. I mean, that's what we chicks have to wear. ;-)

Stretching the calf muscles helps the achilles because it's actually attached to the muscles. Tendons don't become tight on their own; they tighten like a pulled rubber band when the muscles are getting too tight.

I don't know how to find those 3 positions on-line; it's something I learned from physical therapy. I will try to explain in writing tomorrow when I have a little more time.

Hey, I am trying to choose between 2 coaches to hire right now. One worked alongside Bill Bowerman and Alberto Salazar, and the other has written a couple of books with Salazar. I was just chatting with the latter and discussing his references, and he gave me contact info for Salazar and said, "He always sends people to me." Can you imagine being able to say that? "Oh, Alberto always sends people my way...." Wow, that's pretty impressive!

I think you're right on the sports bra. A quick search on Amazon shows several options. I'm stuck in indecision. Do I go with the T-Back? Do I choose based on color - it's got to match my shorts, of course! Or maybe the "shiny seamless" one. Sigh...I'll just call Kramer! He'll know what to do!

Those two coaches sound awesome! Must be tough to choose between the two when they're both so great!

Yes, I'll interview them in person, and that'll help me. One of the interviews is tomorrow, and the other is Tues.

I just couldn't get over the Alberto comment, though! My dream has been to be coached by him!

Good run, and good job adjusting for your achilles. Yes, some of us (especially me) have to keep that skin covered, it's the only decent thing to do.

Taking The Hammer's advice is always a smart thing (except with respect to finances). Nice run.

Thanks guys! I think I did OK when it comes to adjusting. I'm glad I got the miles in and didn't cut it short or not run at all.

Enjoy the rest day!!! What are you doing up at 1 am??? Just kidding, I know the answer.

I should have checked right before actually going to sleep at 3:30am. LOL Darn you people putting in miles today! I'm now on the second page! Argh! ;-)

I had a nice easy run this morning just to loosen up. It was good.

Well, Saturday morning my niece has this school fund raiser. It's a 2-mile fun run. That's what I'll be doing.

Cara's not going to be happy when she hears about this.

We're debating over email. LOL She's too nice of a person to tell me to stick it in my juice box and suck it, though. She knows she has a hard (bald) headed dude she's dealing with. I DO know when it's time to give in, though, and I'm not going to push it to the point of making it worse. I'm not THAT stupid! This is going to take long enough to heal, but if I can still get in a few miles, why not??

Good luck with this.

Suck it up...

WOAH, go crazy on sleep there! :) Anyhow..whenever I only sleep 2 hours...I usually feel realllly fried. I mean its fun staying up a few days but then I usually crash and burn..So I try and sleep like a normal person if I can. :P

Have you ever seen that movie Daredevil when Bullseye flicks a peanut in the mouth of the lady sitting next to him and she chokes and dies? Try that next time.

Flight home from AZ: $200

1 pound bag of peanuts in the airport: $10

One peanut flicked with precision: PRICELESS!

Oh, and the FREE stainless steel "bracelets" from the Air Marshall...

Hmm, I didn't recognize you on the plane and I was sitting right next to you?!

Take care of that achilles. Bummer we weren't able to go on our date this weekend. :(

How are you feeling now, post-run, Wes?

Burt! I was so disappointed. As things like weddings go, although there isn't a lot planned, time gets filled quite easily. It would have been great to get in a run with you or just meet for a Coke or something. Definitely next time! I was looking forward to getting on your very prestigious Bloggers I've met list.

Cara - a few hours later, not feeling too bad. I've iced it and taken Vitamin I. I can still feel it, but tomorrow morning will probably be a good test. I will run 2-3mi tomorrow, probably on the TM to minimize the impact and see how that goes, along with some cross training.

I've never tried an elliptical. Sounds lovely, though.

My only issue with the darn elliptical is that my feet fall asleep after 10-15 minutes. BUT, super great workout and one of the best for injured runners!

Hope you are feeling better since it is now Saturday!

Good luck with the achilles, they can be persistent sometimes, so be patient.

Thanks, Flatlander. I probably should have listened to you before I went out tonight. I think I'm going to pay for this one for a couple of days.

Wes, do you find the stretching at all painful? After your run, was the pain unchanged or worse?

Good to see you back on the blog, Wes. Injury setbacks are so frusturating. Hope it heals soon and lets you get back to running consistent miles for your race.

What is the race you want to do on the 27th?

Cara - yes, it hurts to stretch it, and it hurt more afterward, which is why I decided to walk back so I wouldn't hurt it worse.

Thanks for the encouragement, Joe. It always helps to know people are backing ya!

Burt - it was the "Spring Thaw" which is a 10mi race (2 laps around a lake), but then there are incentives for going another 1 or 2 laps. You get a nice long sleeved tech T for signing up, then at 15mi you get embroidered running gloves, and at 20mi you get an embroidered hat. My real purpose in running that was to race the 10mi for a time, then run the next 5 or maybe 10 at a slower pace. The longest I've run is the 13.1 for the Half last year, so I was looking forward to testing my endurance in a much longer long run. Most runners use this race as a jump off point to their marathon training for the year.

I'll post more later...gotta run. Not literally, of course! :-(

Hello fellow sleep deprived friend! Sorry to hear that you still have aches and pains, but I say if they are gone by the 27th, RUN! Who cares how fast or if you have to walk here and there????

Thanks Kelli. I have considered it and will continue to consider it. If I feel like I can run/walk it without causing any additional injury I may do it. But if there's even a hint of injury still there, it's off. If I'm feeling good at the end of this month and I don't do the 27th, I'll shoot for the Half. I'd love to do one of those, but in the interest of having a kick butt summer/fall, I'd rather skip the races now if I'm not 110%.

Amen.

I'm with ya on that, Wes!

Sorry I've been so silent on the blog lately. Life had been rather insane these 2 weeks, with no respite in sight for the next 2. Plus, my husband's going to Costa Rica on Valentine's Day for a week, so it just keeps getting BUSIER!

I agree, sounds like a very good and smart plan!

Thanks everyone! It's great to have people there to keep me motivated to get better.

How can you not brag about Lightning and Stampy?

Don't you mean Static and Shock? :-D

I spent 2 year in the Upstate New York area and part of PA, and remember the snow storms. We get snow in Utah but no were close to the amount in the area next to the great lakes. Hearing your snow shoveling reminds me I am glad I don't live in it any more.

Good luck with your goals, Little advice go into your first half and full marathon with the goal of finishing. If you are trying to beat your younger brothers St. George marathon time at a different marathon that is hard to do. St. George drops 2500 feet in elevation and 2000 feet in the last half.

Thanks Mattrow. This is the first time in 4 winters that I regretted not getting that snow blower the first year we lived here. Although I probably would have sold it by now since I wouldn't have used it...until today. I'm crazy sore tonight but I just think about the sweet arms and pecks I'll have tomorrow. lol

Thanks for the advice. I really try to stay reasonable. You can read about my first Half in my race reports. It was a great experience and I'll be training specifically to rock my PR in that race this year. Next year, I plan to be ready for my first Marathon. I know trying to beat my bro's time in a different marathon is crazy, especially since we don't have a wimpy 2500 elevation drop marathon out here. haha No disrespect intended to any of you that have raced it - any marathon is hard. I just have to tell myself that he did a 4:15 on a downhill course so when I do sub-4 on a flatter course I can tell him his old bro kicked his butt even more. :-)

Nice rest. LOL!

I feel your pain!! My husband was out there all day. We are in Maryland and got 31 inches and more coming on Tuesday!! No more please. Rest and run tomorrow if your not to sore.

Thanks. Usually, I make a concerted effort to rest on the Sabbath. I did listen to Primary music while I shoveled, though. Chillin' now with the fam while I contemplate whether I can stay awake for another hour or not.

Shoveling for that long is a much tougher workout than running. It might be time for a snow blower. :)

SNOW? What does that look like?? Ours has been completely melted for a few weeks, send some our way!!! Although, I do not want to shovel it, will you come do that for me?

Glad you had a semi rest!

Scott - I completely agree! That snow was kicking my butt more than a regular run. My wife tried to convince me to buy one when we first moved to Pittsburgh. I told her we'd see how the first winter went. Our first 3 winters here have been quite mild. This one I needed one! Of course, she told me, "I told you so." Yadda Yadda. I would have sold that thing the third winter after it had been sitting in my garage UNUSED for 3 years. So, I'd still be in the same situation I was. :-) Then I thought of asking her why a shovel wasn't in her hands but figured I'd hold my tongue. :-)

Kelli - I'm more than happy to come shovel your snow. You should see Static and Shock now! Quite the little pea shooters!

Funny! I hate shoveling snow, my driveway is way to slanted and I just slide down it.

You holding your tongue, kept you from getting injured and able to run.

Kelli - that's why you need me there. I have experience with my own steep driveway!

Mattrow - tru dat! 17 yrs of marriage have taught me a thing or two.

Alrighty then, you need to move in next door. Although, i think we are done with snow for the year so you can wait until next October to move across the country.

OH, and a good thing to hold your tongue with that comment. Her job is to stay inside where it is nice and warm, wrap up in a blanket, pour herself some nice hot chocolate, and WATCH your lovingly from the window.

Good to see some miles up there, nice run. I wouldn't know how to deal with all that snow. Any temperature in the 30s is annoying to me! I guess y'all will get the last laugh when summer hits and I have to run at 6am to avoid 90 degrees.

Thanks Joe. I'm happy to get some miles logged as well since my February was looking pretty anemic!

Nice memories!

these are priceless. pic #1 is the best. it just captures the terror so perfectly. rattletrap has always been a Kool Kat.

Yeah, the first one is great. You can see the level of terror increase as you go from highest to lowest.

And my wife actually bit my shoulder when we went on the Tower of Terror.

Yep, great times! Scaring and embarrassing my kids is a skill I've been trying to develop more.

My wife is mortified that I put these up. I call that collateral damage...

Making teenagers regret they were ever born is one of the few pleasures available to their parents -- plus, it is so easy.

Yeah, more photo bloggers!!! I hope you went to bed after all of that!

@Flat - I believe it's called one of the Simple Pleasures of life, much like the first bite into a fully loaded Fluffernutter sandwich! :-)

Kelli - you liked the photos, huh? I could never rival Burt's, but I would be more than happy to try... Oh, and yes, went to bed but didn't go to sleep for a couple of hours.

These are hilarious, thanks for sharing. I especially relate to the second one.

LOL - Hadn't seen those particular demotivationals yet. We have a bunch at work but they're not G rated. I like the Blogging one a lot.

Awesome. Yeah, I think the second one is flatlander chasing his sister.

And that first one is me, because I'm pretty shy in real life.

I'm glad y'all enjoyed them. I have others, but I didn't want to depress everyone and be blamed for everyone missing their PRs. :-)

I should have credited the source: www.despair.com

Our boss bought some motivational posters and put them up in the office. A few of us really wanted to buy some of these demotivational posters and replace the real ones with theses...then see how long it took anyone to notice. But, we never did since "the man" wouldn't think that was very funny at all. Of course, if it took him/his management long enough, we all would have retired before they figured it out. :-D

This is the one that inspired us: http://www.despair.com/med24x30prin.html

Love these!

Glad to hear your getting better and its coming together achilles may hurt when running again, Mine always do, its part and parcel of recovering from the injury...... just keep stretching those calves, Happy Days :)

Achilles can sometimes be soleus. Either way, it hurts. Hope you feel better.

Good run, hope the achilles holds up for you.

Thanks guys. Paul - I actually think it's soleus related since when I "push the wall" it doesn't hurt much, but if I bend the back knee, then I feel it. So that tells me that it's soleus. I didn't run yesterday, but I'm going to get a couple of miles in today. I'm going to try and run today then on Friday and then increase a day a week doing 3-5mi per day. After that it will be increasing miles. I hope this will work!

Good luck on your run today.

Looking good, hang in there. I had Achilles problems last year, and for me it was slow to heal. Still feel it at times, but you are doing the right thing.

Yeah the tendonitis is a major bummer.

Thanks guys. I'm feeling pretty good. I've got a run today that I'll go 3-5mi on and see how things are doing. I definitely need to focus on my achilles when warming up and then be very aware of how it's doing during and after a run. If it starts to act up, I've got to ice and rest a day instead of running the next couple of days (one being a long run) to see if it will go away. That was a mistake that I'm paying for now. I'm shooting for a Half at the end of March. I'm quite certain I'll be well enough to run it, but I'd really like to be feeling good enough that I can do a sub-2 hrs.

I've got no clue what song that is.

It's probably before your time, Twinkie, but here's the answer:

It's called "The Rain" by Oran Juice Jones. The song is funny by itself, but the video makes it all the much better. LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dZW1C3neao

I was going to say that! JK. I've never heard of it.

You both (and anyone else that watches the video) can thank me for killing 1 million brain cells. Don't worry, there will be more coming...

Looks like you're on the mend, nice run.

I'm pretty jealous you got to see the Land of Make-Believe close up. The character I remember best is that witch-looking lady with the red nose.

Thanks Joe. The set was really cool. They even had the original piano that was used to play all the music during the show - it was done live! They also had a tile that was never painted over (the rest of the studio floor had been painted black) that showed the original color dot that the set had. Very cool.

Oh, and Mr. McFeeley was there both days and greeted every person that came through. They took polaroids of everyone (we got one for each kiddo, my wife and I, and then the family) with him. He took at least 5 minutes with our family talking to us and asking about what we remember the most. Even after being on his feet for the second day and about 8 hours into the 12 hrs the set was open, he greeted us with the biggest smile and treated us like we were the first ones through. We could also put our address on the back of a photo of him and he took them back afterward and write a personal greeting with his signature. He did this for thousands of them. I need to find those polaroids. He still looks great!

Bald, glad to see you are on the mend, and I appreciate the nod to Mr. Rogers. Not sure there was ever another one like him -- glad to hear they keep the snow away like that.

Baldy- Nice to see you getting better. Good luck with the achilles. I used to watch Mr. Rogers whenever I stayed home sick as a kid. That weird lady (Lady Elaine??) used to scare the crap out of me.

Welcome to the running blog. Looks like you're fairly new around here. So what's up with your injury you are recovering from? Injuries are the worst.

I love your goal of Boston 2015. It will be well worth it when you make it there. Getting a nice long running base for a few years before you really start pushing the pace to get fast enough to BQ will really help.

My husband had to take time off from running as well and he is having Achilles pain, too. It must be a disease or something.

Now, I am probably weird, I know this, but I LOVED Mr Rogers. LOVED HIM!

lol - there's a lot of 80s going on in your blogs. First orange juice jones, then Mr. Rogers, now MJ! Smooth move, ex-lax! Take a chill pill!

What can I say...I love the 80s!

Hey-Thanks for the comments about the loss of my dog. I have thought about him every morning since Monday. I haven't really felt much like running. I gotta get out of the funk and knock down some big miles next week.

It will be your turn before you know it!

Good run, funny how hard it is to judge how fast you are going. I am always off, but I like it a lot better when I estimate on the slow side.

Thanks everyone. I'm learning I'm not like rattletrap and can pace within a couple of seconds. Hoping to just keep going and keeping healthy!

I know that look.

Way to be a good Samaritan and bring back the discarded library book.

I'm glad you got your priorities straight! Nice use of time, and nice running.

Thanks Burt. I saw it in the snow as I was walking to my car last week after work. Initially, I considered leaving it since, surely, the child who had dropped it would be back once he/she noticed it had fallen out. But then I became curious. I wonder what great literary work was lying in the cold, wet snow. Was it Thoreau? Hemmingway? How about Charles Dickens or the greatest of them all, Dr. Seuss? Didn't look like one of those slutty romance books with the half naked ripped dude on the front.... I pick it up and I notice the category sticker - African American. OK, no biggie. The title? God Don't Like Ugly. You can check it out (or the whole God Don't Like Ugly Series) from your local library or purchase it here, from Amazon (providing the link as a convenience since I'm nice like that): http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Like-Ugly-Mary-Monroe/dp/0758220324/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267587149&sr=8-1

As of 10:35pm EDT, it is in stock and there are used copied available for purchase. That may change by Midnight, so act fast! Again, just trying to be the good Samaritan that I am. Enjoy!

Oh, forgot to reply, Joe. My priorities could not be straighter. Of course, if he'd give me paid time to run I wouldn't have to run to my car carrying my heavy backpack in my leather jacket sweating my booty off, just to get in that last mile. Curse him!

Intriguing...

Good job fitting a run in.

Great pic, but I look better from my left side. Nice fun run.

I particularly like the belly hanging out and the high tech treadmill.

Great run, I despise wind. And smart move signing up for the race. For me, I like that they're always non-refundable. No turning back now! That's cool that the course is completely contained within a park.

Thanks Joe. When you're wearing clothes that have the same properties as MC Hammer's parachute pants and shirts, it probably feels a lot worse than it is. If ever there is an 80's run, I've got my outfit! Good thing my head is aerodynamic or I may not have made it through the run!

The non-refundable part IS the nice part. Although, waiting until the day of or the day before is nice if the weather may go bad on ya. In my case, this is going to just be a long training run rather than a race. I hesitate to ever call the "races" I do races. The true "racers" (in my mind) are the ones at the front of the pack fighting to break the tape...or maybe racing to place in your age group. For me, it's a run...yes, I suppose I'm racing against myself, but until I LOOK fast and consider myself fast, it's just a "fast" run.

After today, I'm really looking forward to it!

Yeah it's definitely a "race" against the clock (and yourself) in my very limited experience. You should run your race in acid wash jeans and a jean jacket. Maybe Doc Martens if you have some nice orthotics.

Good idea! Since it's just a long run and I'm not supposed to push it, I'd might as well sport some flashy outfit! If I don't get attention because I'm leading the race, I'd might as well draw some attention with my outfit! I've got to get on that!

Nice workout wind can back things tough. As for the race looks fun to be, I just wish it was closer.

Thanks Matt. I posted the link, knowing that there's only a handful of bloggers that are even within driving distance of the race! One day I'll have to get out to UT and run with some of you guys!

I'm looking for your Saturday long run--you haven't posted it yet, nor have you emailed me! Wes, Wes, are you OK??

BTW, wind sure does make a HUGE difference, but hey--better now than race day! You can be so thankful to face the wind now, and just be glad you're not racing in it. It makes you tougher! :-)

http://crossroadstrading.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/mc-hammer.jpg

...Need I say more?

Cara - just fired off an email to you and I'm going in to blog my Saturday run now. :-)

Dilbert is awesome

We must have the same co-worker. Unfortunately, she is interfacing from my office... So that means I get to deal wtih her face to face on a daily basis. And, she sure LOVES to talk...

Do I dare interface? :)

Yes, KP, my co-worker also lives in my cube farm, so I interface with her fairly frequently.

Paul, in this case, interface as little as possible. Take my word for it!

Hey bald, I loved the cartoon. HA! There is a guy in my office that does the same thing. My co-worker and I refer to it as the ambush whenever he comes around. Our new plan of attack is to text each other 'ambush' and then the other will call, and of course it is always important and I must take it. It seems to be working, but we are hoping he doesn't catch on. I really don't mind talking to people, actually I like it, but all he does is complains. Worst!

My favorite dilbert cartoon: http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2005-08-10/?CmtOrder=DateEntered&CmtDir=DESC

If you love Dilbert so much, why don't you marry him?

I think there is one at every workplace. A woman in my office is getting her second hip replacement. I know I am going to get even more details than I did the first time. I am getting good at being busy.

Burt, I think he already has a family.

I think I'm that annoying coworker. Anything to avoid productivity.

I'm just glad to hear ONE person saying it's a GUY in his office who does the same thing! Thank you, Scott.

In my "office," I was the only woman for many months, and I thought it was great. I'm sure none of my co-workers thought I talked too much. They've hired another woman now, though, and what's worse is that she's a red-head and a running coach too. Well, I'm sure I can bench more than she can! So there.

Have I told you about my hip replacement?

Whew, lots of comments! Sorry for the lack of response...

Burt, sounds like you've been playing with the youngsters again, but funny you should say that! The first year we were married, my wife bought me a Dilbert comic and framed it. It's about 10"x18" and has always hung on my cube wall. I don't know if she thought I regretted my decision to marry her, but it seemed she was a little jealous. Here's the comic:

http://nerdinfection.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/comic.gif

Flat, I have heard things over the years that would frighten even the hardest criminal...probably from Faceless' mouth!

Cara - yes, even guys can be annoying, but in my experience, it's mostly the women. Most nerdy men just like to hunker down in their cubes and not talk to anyone...unless it's about coding, or the really cool weekend they had rewiring their toaster to do something it wasn't meant to do...but now doesn't make toast either. Women just seem to want to talk...period.

Oh, and I wouldn't worry about that new coach...the world won't know about her for 6+ months...it will take that long to get her picture up on the website. :-)

Well done getting in the longer distance. I'm dealing with similar problems adding distance too, both in the minor aches and pains and the stamina. They tell me it gets easier though, so I think "keep on keepin' on" is the right mindset to have.

Sounds like you had a nice run today for weather but not so great for construction. Sunny warmer days always make me pick up the pace a little too in the spring and afterwards you just feel better too.

When I finally got out of work it had to be in the mid-50's. The only problem was that the sun started to set, but it was beautiful.

Keep it up.

Longer and FASTER, that is a good running day!

Thanks guys! Tomorrow is rain, so I had to get in a couple of nice spring-ish days!

Kelli - you crack me up...ok, new rule. If you're going to post on BaldNSpicy's blog, you have to put "fast," "faster," but especially "fastest" in quotes! If it's not in quotes I'm not reading it. ;-)

It's like when I post on your blog about "sleep" or talk about my own "sleep." See how I did that? Sorry for imposing the two extra character rule, but it had to be done!

I am not sure my "tired" brain can handle the extra work!

Take it to a whole 'nother level by getting sealed to the weather in the temple! I'm afraid to watch the Mad TV clip in front of my kids, so I'll watch it later. I also hate Eva Longoria. Basically all things Tony Parker.

I'd do that, Burt, but her "hotness" goes up and down like the seasons. Not sure I can handle that long term.

I'm not a fan of Eva either! Aw crap...I pasted the wrong link. Eva's is OK, but here's the one for Hugh Laurie (aka Gregory Condo) that I meant to post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJnGRuidOXI

Watch it later, but these two aren't bad. Search for Eugene Struthers or HNL on YouTube and you'll find others. Some are a little more PG-13 so I didn't post them for fear of offending someone.

Looks great, nice going!

Thanks Joe. I missed running Wed & Thurs due to an issue that made getting out tough. So I was glad to get this run in, even if it was shorter than I had wanted it to be.

Uh, yeah, it's St. Patty's week, not day! Be sure to drink green gatorade.

Hey, great long run. I think you're looking great for your race coming up.

Nice run. Don't you love people that instruct you what you should be doing while running or instead of.

That's a funny animal story. They all look different at night. I think it would be a good idea for a book to collect all the animal stories that show up on this blog.

LOL! There is a thread for it in the Discussion Forum somewhere.

http://fastrunningblog.com/forum/index.php/topic,400.0.html

I have a problem dialing back those "easy" runs too sometimes. Glad you didn't have any more trouble with rabid racoons.

Haha...thanks! I ran during the day so I wouldn't have that problem. The last raccoon that ran across me didn't make out as well as this one did. Neither did a few squirrels...or a bunch of geese...or a ton of fish...or...

Weird splits... what's up with that? Did you buy a knock-off Garmin over the interweb or what :)

Garmin? It's spelled Garmun, right? :-)

Yeah, splits are a little weird, but I map out the run then pick landmarks that are close to the 1.0 mark to mark the time, so I don't know what my actual pace is until I get back and figure it out. So, for instance, the 9:45 for the 1.15 mi, I really thought I was almost right at a 9:00 mile. Same with the 1.05's, because the .05 seems so short. So to see that I was running 8:30-8:40 was quite surprising to me.

ZERO SLEEP?????

Great run, fellow insomniac!

Sorry, forgot to put that in there. I was trying to figure out how much sleep I got when I was up and down all night, tossing and turning. Even though I got some, it wasn't restful and I felt like I hadn't gotten any at all.

I love those splits. That garmun rocks dude!

yeah BYU! Are you a fan? If so you have seen a lot of bad March tournaments over the years. Maybe this year will be different, but they have to beat a No. 2 seed to keep going.

I think I should just put zero hours from now on, that is what it is starting to feel like!

That's funny, I was in a ward once that consisted mainly of apartment buildings. I used to block off every Saturday morning, then when we moved nobody showed up! Good that you could get them both in, good run.

Awesome.

Way to go, Wes!! :-)

Oh my goodness, where did you get the turtle logo? It's identical the turtle the Tri-D used for its 5K!

Tri-D stole my turtle?? Do you know how long it took me to make...er, find that on the web? :-) My graphic and color matching skills are so poor that there's no way I could have drawn that. My stick figures look deformed. Here's where I found it: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7-hz26oaAKg/SuIe4bHCz9I/AAAAAAAAAP0/5sDJ2MpjQSw/S230/turtle.jpg

Thanks for the comments on the run. I had planned 5-5.5 but just wasn't feelin' it so I cut it a bit short. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better than today!

Nice job! How was the weather?

Best of luck for Saturday.

I'm excited that I know where you live now. Oh wait, near where you live :)

I looked at the elevation profile. There's more downhill on the way out than coming back. I'd rather run it the other way around.

Yeah, I'd bet that PR is definitely going down. There should be an application on this site where you can wager on people's races.

No way SJ. Because then you'd throw a race, and I'd have to say, "Say it ain't so Joe."

Thanks Paul!

Burt - if you go to that spot and yell really loud, I'll hear ya. I might ask you to grab a gallon of milk at the Giant Eagle that's right there before coming up though. I'd prefer running it the other way around, too, but didn't feel like driving to the other end in order to do that. :-)

SJ - that would be interesting, wouldn't it? Anyone wanting to put money on my run this weekend, just let me know.

Burt - I can hear you saying that with the appropriate twang and wink. Nicely done!

Good run, cool route. Did you whistle when you ran past the cemetery at midnight?

No, flatlander, I switched to Thriller on the iPod and did the Thriller dance which is why I was slower than I had thought. Being an undead is more of a workout than it looks!

Do you have a watch already? I have a 305 and like it. But, I'll be honest, I think my runs are better without it. I'm too concerned about what pace I'm running, how far I've gone, what my total time is, etc. It is distracting and frustrating. I have friends that literally look at it every 30 seconds (if not more!). That is a bit much in my opinion. I've started running without mine A LOT and have found my runs to be much more enjoyable. You've got a good thing going without the watch; why ruin it?

Get the 305! I love mine. I don't pay much attention to it most of the time during my runs now, but it's great to have all the training data! I can look back and tell exactly how much effort I was putting in on a run by looking at the elevation chart, average heart rate, pace, etc. It's nice to see how my overall performance is improving(or not) on a monthly or weekly basis.

When I first got it I watched it a lot more during runs and I think that really helped me learn to regulate my pace better. No, I don't work for Garmin :)

I'm pro-Garmin although we have the 405. I now have a much better feel for pace and run less erratically. Plus I've gotten addicted to the cool data. Maybe to my detriment, but it makes running more fun for me.

Got a Garmin 305...gotta get to sleep, but you can read a little about it on today's blog post. Thanks for the input everyone!

Wes - great run, great photos, great time! That's quite amazing that you maintained about 9:00 with only 3 weeks or so of training after your injury. Just think what you'll do with 6-7 solid months of training. Congrats!

Fantastic race!!! Thanks for sharing the pics -- I love it when people post them!!! :)

Sorry about the pain. Take care of that! :)

Congrats!

Bald, looking good up there in PA. I really think your first mile hurt you worse than the last ones, just bad luck getting stuck with the wrong group. But with a 5 minute PR under those conditions it looks pretty good for blowing 2:00 out of the water on your next one -- plus as you say your official chip time might come in a lot closer to your goal than you originally thought. Thanks for the pictures and the detailed report, very interesting.

Thanks all! I was really happy keeping under 9:00 for most of the race. That, for me, was a great accomplishment. The first mile, Flat, was designed to be slow, especially with the hill, because I was gun shy because of the last Half there when I pulled my achilles on that hill. I really should have gone out with the 1:45 or even 1:30 group to give me a really good start and to be closer to the front. Plus, based on the last week of running and hitting some hills and having no problem, plus having properly warmed up (unlike last time), I should have been much more confident in myself and gone for it!

Guaranteed, October will be a completely different race for me! I'll have to endure about 4-6 weeks of weekly shots in my feet to kill the nerves, but that will allow me to still run instead of having the surgery that would keep me off the roads for a month. I'm not doing that, so I'll get in this week and get those shots started!

Thanks everyone! Glad you enjoyed the pictures!

Hooray!! I love those pics too!! What fun! There's nothing like having family there to cheer for you! I'm excited that you PR'd, especially despite the injuries. You persevered when most people would have quit--that shows how tough you are! :-)

Thanks Coach! I'm happy with the time. Next time I'll go out a little harder and try and maintain a faster pace. With a whole training season ahead of me, I'm going to be looking for a huge PR!

The weather for the race was cold, but clear and perfect! Today, it has poured all day, so I'm sooo glad it was good weather and I wasn't having to slog through a storm!

Congrats on a great PR!

Wonderful pics too. You look quite happy during the race. I'm afraid I didn't look like that this weekend.

Hey. nice race. im also impressed you have a fastrunning blog shirt. Ive been on here for two years and cant seem to find them for sale. any tips?

Nice job baldy. That's faster than a lot of the half marathons I've done. Good adverstising for the blog, too. I didn't realize Sasha's face was on the back of it.

Great job! It's always a good sign when you can finish a race and already be looking forward to the next one.

Good job! I like reading race reports with pics. It's almost like being there. I hope things work out with the treatment for your foot pain.

KP - apparently, you didn't see my finish pic - I wasn't looking so happy!

doc - Talk to Sasha. There's a discussion on the forum, but I posted there a while ago and never got any response. I emailed him directly and said I wanted to buy one or two. They were $8+shipping. They're cotton, but I think you have to be more elite to get the nicer ones, so maybe you can get one! It took some pestering, but they arrived a little while before the race. I've never worn a singlet so I'm glad it was cold enough to wear a base layer underneath it. Plus, with it being cotton, I'm not sure I'll wear it during the summer races. I'll have to get more tone anyways to feel comfortable wearing it alone. LOL

Burt - thanks! You gotta get one of the singlets too! I think everyone should have one!

Ghost - yeah, I'm feeling great after it which means that I didn't over do it. I'll be running tonight which feels great not having to take off any time after that race.

Trap - thanks! I'm glad everyone enjoyed the pics! I always enjoy seeing pictures so I figured I couldn't be alone in that. The foot pain will be taken care of...going in tomorrow for my first of several (painful!) appointments. I wanted to get the race over with then do what I had to with that. It will work out and I'll be able to keep training!

I could love you more than any ghoul could ever dare try.

Um....thanks? To quote from a most excellent movie, Wayne's World: "And I love you. Because I've learned that platonic love can exist between two grown men."

I have a CWP, but I can't imagine packing a weapon on a run. I don't even carry my phone. Most criminals are pretty lazy so i figure I can just outrun 'em if I need to. Do you live in a bad neighborhood?

Trap - I wouldn't ever pack either since I don't take a cell phone, water, etc. I'm lucky to take shorts. Not really a bad neighborhood, but to keep my commute short, we bought a house closer to the city. House is beautiful, huge, flat yard (highly coveted by all), and about 10 mins to work door to door. Couldn't ask for more. My runs were down toward the city, which gets a little more...um, ghetto, if you know what I mean. I've just got to find some better roads up around my neighborhood when I'm running at midnight.

Right on. Living close to work is what all the really cool people do! I just bought a condo that's only 1 mile from my work. If I cut through the park I can get from my garage to my desk in under 4 minutes by bicycle. I have some great roads and parks nearby to run in, but the ghetto isn't too far from me either :)

You are now a magazine.

Bummer about the foot, love your attitude though. And the more detail the better, we'll all be there sooner or later and starving for information.

Nice tweaking of the "weekend" definition.

Good luck with your run this "weekend". I can't believe you made the cover of Riverton's "Fashion Trends"! I was clearly the best dressed blogger in March, maybe I should add a flaming do-rag in my next race :)

I am cringing and squirming in my seat just thinking about those shots. I would've passed out; no doubt.

Thanks, all! I may be tweaking the definition a little more with a run tonight! Trap - you were TOTALLY the best dressed blogger...EVER! I'll see what I can do about that! KP - it wasn't as bad as it could have been...or so I was told.

So how did your feet feel on the run after that first round of shots? Don't worry we won't tell your doctor.

They were just ok. Not the overnight cure I was looking for, but I imagine it will take some time - a week or so? They started to hurt around the 5mi mark, which has been pretty standard. I doubt that running on them hurt anything. This isn't like a pulled muscle or something where RICE is going to help much, so I plan to just keep running through it and hope that with time and a couple of rounds, I'll be good as new! Thanks for asking!

Get some rest and get better. Hopefully you can get in a nice weekend run.

Thanks Twinkie. I'm hoping to do that!

How are you feeling? Did you get some sleep?? Have I ever mentioned how ell Children's Benadryl works (adult does, though)?? It might help the cold and the sleep!

Eek! Don't be a geek.

I barely got 2 miles in last week, so it couldn't have been worse than mine.

It's not bad to have a weak week a week after a half marathon.

Freak.

Same to you, hope you had a nice weekend.

Burt...don't be a geek? Too late.

Matt - yeah, I know I could have taken it easy, but I was feeling strong and really didn't plan to cut back too much the week after, but life happens sometimes!

KP - again, too late :-)

Flat - yep, had a nice weekend. I was resting a lot from the cold I was fighting, but I'm bouncing back!

I wanna go "fast".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pMokiWXu5k

Haha! Great clip, KP. Very inspirational!

Nice job, it gets addicting trying to get cool paces on the Garmin, doesn't it?

So how accurate was the Garmin? They get criticized a lot, but since they beep at the same place every day on my run I have always claimed they are pretty accurate. But I've never tested it on a track.

Joe - yep, it is addicting! Normally, I wouldn't worry too much about it and just enjoy the run, but at the track, it's sure nice not to have to worry about pressing buttons or wondering what your speed is.

Flat - I should go there when no one is around since I was having to weave in and out of people. I did notice as I was looking at each lap in the software, that placed over Google Earth, it wasn't showing exactly on the track the whole time. It seemed to be just wide of the track for about half the lap (looking at the elevation, I was surprised to see some, so this variation in the actual path would explain it.

I'd have to go to the track and actually run lane 1 for a mile and see how it measures out. Thanks to our lovely government, we get sub-par GPS accuracy anyways. I'll let you know when I go and do this so I can report back. I'd be interested to know as well.

I think I sleep better when I run at night and I get an extra 90 min sleep in the morning. Although that didn't seem to work out for me this morning :)

Oh yeah, nice splits! What's your goal for the 10k this weekend?

My P90X workouts in the evening keep me up to the wee hours of the morning.

Nice job getting 'em in. Sleep is for the weak!!

Trap - I'm not 100% sure I'll do the 10k this weekend. It would be my first ever, but I don't think that a 55min would be asking too much. :-) I've got to convince my wife I need to do another race so soon... If not, I'll probably run down to the race, watch my buddy get in the top 3 and then run home.

Burt - avoid those P90X workouts at night...you don't want to become like Kelli and I!

Joe - if sleep were for the weak, I'd look like The Rock. One day my lack of sleep will pay off with huge PRs, I just know it! Maybe if I click my New Balance heels 3 times...

Looks to me like you are doing fine, but sorry for your brutal work schedule. Hopefully it eases up soon. Good song.

Thanks, Flat. The work schedule doesn't look to be easing up and probably won't, but if I can stay busy enough, I might just avoid the layoffs coming later this year. If not, I guess I'll have lots of time for running...

If you need a better "Bring it on home" song, look no further:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm3zUQjG5no

Nobody brings it home like Led Zeppelin!

I love the harmonica in this tune.

Nice, Trap! I should have explained the "Bring it home, mama" reference. The line is in one of our family's favorite movies, Better Off Dead. When we were at Summersville Lake in WV, there are cliffs there you can jump off of. Our son was scared to jump off of one, so we had him yell "Bring it home, mama" and then jump. We say it any time we have to do something we don't like or is scary for the kids.

Rubberband Man wasn't chosen, it just came up on the iPod as I ended my run. If I need a real rockin' song at the end of a run, I have favorites for those. In this case, it was random, although I love the song so I didn't mind.

Sounds like a great primer for your race. I'm in the same boat - a PR for sure! We'll never be able to make that prediction with such certainty again.

Thanks Joe. Yeah, it was a good primer and I did PR (obviously!) so I'm happy! I'll blog the race report later today. It was perfect weather and a great run!

Nice job there with the speed!!!!

Thanks Kelli. I was feeling quite "fast" and it felt good, but I knew I couldn't keep that pace up for too long. :-) One day I hope to run like a girl and match your paces for 10 miles!

I have a "run like a girl" sticker on my car!

beloved steelers??? pssssshhhhh....

wour friends friend is super fast! WOW! what an amazing 10k time.

nice PR!

KP - this is Steeler Nation, but come on into the 'Burgh and make that noise. They arrest people for that. LOL

I should have mentioned I was rolling my eyes when I said "beloved" since our whole family finds the obsession with the Steelers sickening. We did invest in some Steelers shirts for our kids when we moved here 4 years ago because we didn't want them to get pummeled at school for not supporting the team. Seriously, it's nuts here. People tailgate for days before a game.

My daughter has put her life on the line many times in the last two years as she's decided to "innocently" wear the opposing team's colors as ribbons in her hair, as a necklace, or something just to upset her diehard Steeler friends. "Oh, are blue and silver the Lions colors? I had no idea! I just liked the ribbons."

Yeah, those guys are fast! I couldn't imagine flying along at that speed.

Nice race. Placing 4th is nice. You can't control who shows up.

Yes your friends are fast but we can't hold that against them.

Great report. Good job.

One of these days I hope that my reports will take less time for all of you to read than it takes me to run a mile. So either I need to run faster or write less. lol Sorry for the long reports...

What more could you ask for? How about your beloved Pirates beating the D-backs? Oh, that did happen. What a day for you.

Great job on the PR! You're just gonna get faster and faster, too.

What a day, great race and great report. Loved your commentary about running royalty. I think it is great that everybody can participate and associate regardless of ability. Your friend's friend is the exception that proves the rule. And I'm going to hold you to that when you qualify for Boston, or win it.

A paved trail is better than no trail at all. Trail running rocks.

Congrats on getting a PR. May there be many more to come.

Those 8's are dangerously close to 7's! You are not "fast", you are fast! Great job!

Twinkies is right. trail running rocks... and roots :)

Wow, great job Wes. You are getting "fast" very "quickly." Does quickly need quotes too? Anyway looks like a success. Just think with a good block of injury-free training time how "fast" you'll get.

Matt & Paul - Thanks!

Burt - we're 3-2 so we're still over 500 for the year. Thanks for making us look good. Our family DOES love the Pirates! I can't wait until my buddy and I do our first All You Can Eat game. I'll be running my shorts off for a week after that game!

Flat - I'm glad others feel the same way. I guarantee I'll either qualify for Boston *OR* win it, but not both. Just promise me you'll bring me back to earth if I ever become a pompous a$$ - an old, 700mi shoe to the nose should do it...

Twinkie - I'll be running my first trail race this year - a 5 miler called the Dirt Monster. It's in November and I'm told it would live up to it's name if it were called Mud Monster instead. Should be fun...you're invited, as are all FRBers. I'll even pay the entry fee for the first 5 that sign up. You're responsible for your flight. :-)

Trap - I'm quite confident I'll be hitting 7s consistently by the end of the summer. Sub 1:45 in October, here I come! Thanks for calling me fast, but until I'm hitting sub 7:00 on the track, I have to use the quotes. :-)

Joe - missed your comment. Quickly doesn't require quotes per my notice, so it's cool. It was a success and I'm fully recovered, no soreness, and feeling great going into this next week, so it should go well. I hope after a good injury-free block this summer, quotes will no longer be necessary!

Congratulations on the run! Great splits! Nice picture, I gotta get out to see that stadium some time.

Come on out, Steve...just bring some $$$. Even the nose bleeds are about $100, and that's to sit in the freezing cold. Or, you can take that $100 and sit in the nice, warm, sunny spring weather, take in 5 or so Pirates games and enjoy a Sugardale hot dog or two. :-)

I like the long race reports so keep it up haha! It's awesome to know what goes through people's heads when they are running "fast"! Good read! I'm still a novice, but it seems to me that as a whole runners are generally a nice bunch of people. It seems you can strike up a conversation with just about anyone on a starting line or during a long race. I understand your frustration about getting caught in the crowd at the beginning of a race--just go for it and line up near the front!

It's good that you can practice the course beforehand. Now you can strategercize. I recommend holding back so you have enough to finish the hard on the hill.

Good idea to practice the hills - that uphill finish sounds nasty. I learned that lesson late, I think. Like yesterday.

Yep, I think holding back will be the tough part, especially with a mile of downhill before it. I need to do some consistent hill work so I'll be strong enough to attack at the end.

The last 5K I ran the road in the last mile dipped under a cross street, then back up to level, then slight uphill to the finish. It was brutal, I am no good at hills.

Hey Flat - yeah, that would be brutal. The 10k I did last weekend had an uphill from the street below to the bridge, but then it was a downhill to the island, then a slight incline back to the walking bridge, then downhill on the walking bridge which was a 3-4 turn switchback to the trail. I was happier when I was on the flat...

The funny thing is that I have much better form when I'm going up an incline. I tend to pull the arms in a little tighter and use them more, I focus better, and I'm obviously lifting my knees higher, extending more, and pulling through the entire stroke to push off. I've thought of hopping on a treadmill, setting it to some high incline and a reasonable speed, and just running a few mile long "hill" to try and train my body to run that form all the time. Even when I'm "running," I look like I'm walking - I don't have high-ish knees, I don't kick my feet up at the end of the stroke, the wind isn't blowing my hair back. I can only really fix the first two, so I'll focus on those. I know that sprinters have that type of form, but that's not really what I'm talking about. If I watch guys that are running sub-6:00 pace, they definitely look like they're running by those distinguishing characteristics.

I have a high enough cadence (80-90/min) usually, so I really need to get comfortable with, and train at a longer stride, still landing mid-foot, though. When I try and increase the stride, I tend to tire real quickly and I'm thinking that this may be because the muscle groups that I use when I run with a longer stride are slightly different from the ones that have been strengthened by my normal running stride.

I may have to search the forum to see if there's a similar question...I'm just rambling and avoiding getting started on my work... lol

You made dinner??? Good husband!

LOL That's not unusual, Kelli. When I don't make it, I order chinese, pizza, fast food, etc. with the skill of a surgeon.

I did not feel like cooking last night. I had decided we would go for pizza, then realized one son would be at scouts, one would be at soccer practice, and my daughter would be at track. So, we had nachos. i think my husband was less than thrilled. BUT, he can fend for himself if you can feed the family, right????

My kids are less than thrilled (and aren't shy about telling me) when I suggest nachos, because "we just had it last night." Not true - it was 3 days ago. :-) I tell them if they complain I'll drown their half in Tabasco and jalapenos too.

Our nachos are just cheese and chips, pretty boring! Hey, it is that or Quesdadilla!

I usually throw ground beef, onions, tomatoes, sour cream, black beans, pinto beans, etc. on there. Quesadillas are their next choice if they don't want nachos. Sometimes burritos since they're all basically the same meal, just a different delivery method.

Can I come over? That sounds good!

Kelli, you're welcome anytime! Oh, I forgot! We have Queso that we put on them too! Pretty much anything you can think of, so they'll be here! If you time your trip to Pittsburgh for the Dirt Monster in November, you can run that with me too. LOL

Nice job on the hills! Life isn't just around the corner, it is the corner. uh, I mean, it's not just over the hill, it is the hill!

That garmin will do elevation profiles and tell you the grade too. Have you looked at SportTracks? It's a free program to collect and report on your garmin data. I think it's better than the software that comes with it.

Hi Mike. Thanks for the encouragement! I always think of you as I make a corner on a run. If I am bored, sometimes I'll put my arms up like I'm riding a chopper, make the chopper noises as I make a corner...leaning into it of course - wouldn't want to fall over, and it makes the run more entertaining - both for me and the spectators at the corner bus stop. LOL

I have my Garmin setup with a data field for the grade, but to be honest, I find it annoying to watch. I have a hill by my house which is a steady grade, about .25 mi long and I was watching the grade on my Garmin as I went up it the other day and it would show anywhere from -5% to 0 to 22%. I saw some discussion on the forum about the accuracy of the Z-dimension with the Garmin (any GPS, probably since they talked about the 305 and 405) and since it's a commercial grade GPS and not government grade, it isn't too accurate, even with the connect.garmin.com website fix. The website does make it better and more accurate, but with a 10' radius of your actual X-Y position, you could be off.

This was demonstrated the first time I ran at the track. I was getting this 20' elevation increase on the "home stretch" of the lap. I finally figured it out that when I run on the outside lane, I'm close enough to the 10-15' embankment that's about 10-15' away from the edge of the track. So, it was seeing me on that rather than on the actual track.

I will have to try out the SportTracks. I don't care too much, I guess about the grade. I know when I'm going uphill and it's either steep, steeper, steepest, or "I'll find a route around that one." :-) I'm mostly interested in the accuracy of the distance, pace, heart rate, etc. I find I get that with the Garmin, which is what makes me love it!

Nice run - what's with the track nazi forbidding you to run in lanes 1 and 2? You're right that even with the fix, the elevation won't be that accurate thanks to the sampling that they have to do for stored digital elevation data, and GPS is not optimal for measuring it real-time. There's just not enough memory in the world to store an elevation for every square foot, even if they could measure it all.

The "instant" readings on the garmin are very jumpy for everything including pace and heart rate. The averages and overall readings however, are very consistent. The elevation profiles and distances displayed in sporttracks from my garmin data are very close to what the blog course tool shows for the same route. It's not 100% accurate, but it is pretty amazing for the price.

I can imagine you ripping around a corner with your hands in the air making motorcycle noises like Al Roker on the Black Hills episode of Going Places. ..priceless :)

Thanks for the Garmin report, and good run. I have always suspected that the Garmin is pretty accurate over any distance longer than about a quarter of a mile. It has a certain degree of error, but it doesn't trend long or short, so over longer distances my theory has always been that it is probably more accurate than the folks who map out the fun run courses. The other variable, though, is tangents, which become more important in marathons. If I don't run all the tangents then I run long and my Garmin is off as well.

Joe - the track is incredible. One of the nicest tracks and football stadiums I've seen in a long time. My property taxes can prove it. But, they do have signs up that say that no running/walking is allowed in lanes 1-2, 3-4 are for runners, and 5-6 are for walkers. I ran right after their practice finished and the coaches were all still out there, but it was after the 5:30 deadline, so they couldn't say anything. I'm guessing if I were hitting a 5:00 pace he wouldn't have said anything since it would have been inspirational to his athletes. LOL Oh, and Google has enough memory...they almost have the entire universe mapped out and more, as well as most streets in major metro areas! I sure wish I thought of Google or at least bought stock when it was "reasonable." Oh well, I'll just keep being blue collar and running for fun!

Mike - I'll have to check out that episode! I missed it.

Flat - I'm quite confident it's accurate and with the software to smooth things out, that's nice as well. It looks like the SportTracks software will be downloaded tonight since it looks pretty sweet from what I can see (work blocks lots of stuff). But yes, tangents are important. Usually, unless I know I'm all alone on a corner, I'll track a little wide just in case there's a faster runner coming up behind me. In a marathon, I imagine the tangents make a huge difference!

That episode profiles a friend of mine who recently passed away. Indian Jeff McGeary was one of the most colorful and interesting people I've ever met. Not long after that show aired he lost all his fingers and the use of his legs in a tragic motorcycle accident, but continued to restore and even ride classic motorcycles! He had a vision of Jesus while he laid in a ditch paralyzed, with frostbitten hands and feet and later committed his life to the Lord. He was unstoppable even with his disabilities. He actually built a bike and sidecar called "the land shark" that he could drive from his electric wheelchair. It was quite a sight to see an unmanned motorcycle going down the highway with a wheelchair-bound biker in the sidecar. Sorry if I'm rambling, I miss Jeff a lot.

Thanks for the info on Jeff. He sounds like an incredible guy and I'll definitely check out the episode this weekend. I've been so busy I'm happy if I can just get my runs and blog postings in. The determination of guys like Jeff just amaze me and let me know that all things are possible no matter what happens. I doubt that I'd have the mental or physical strength to do all that he's done since the accident! Thanks for sharing!

Sweet!

You're right, that is a nice high school track that you paid for and then got ordered into an outside lane.

Ha! Good one. You better use that Wes.

So, flat...are you going to represent me when I sue for partial custody based on regular financial support? OK, enough messing around...it's almost 9pm and I've got to go make some quick dinner so I can get kids in bed and go log some serious miles. Maybe I can reduce my stress level from 99 to something more manageable. I hate water cooler rumors that are coming true. Sigh.

hmmm I have a 205 and it does pretty good on the track--usually giving me either .25 or .26 for the distance. Looks like you are having fun playing with your toy!

that's a high school track???

very nice!!

my local high school track is locked up like ft. knox; couldn't run there if i wanted...

Sorry about the water cooler rumors. Hope they stay as rumors.

April - yep, I've got a 305 and it works really well. I should have noted, and I'm not sure if you have the option on the 205 or not, but in recording data on the 305, I can have it do "smart" recording or record every second. It says that the memory's limitation is 3.5hrs if recording every second, so for longer runs they advise having it do the smart recording. I never run that long, so I have it set to every second, which I figured would be more accurate. That could account for the accuracy on the track, but I didn't test that out. Maybe I'll switch it to smart and take my chances on Lane 1 again tonight and compare the data.

KP - yep, it's a nice track, very well maintained, and is generally open to the public. The gates are rarely locked, but they do turn off the lights at 9pm I think. I haven't run there with the headlamp...if I'm going to run in the dark, I might as well enjoy the streets or the river trail. There are people there from early in the morning until late at night walking it, especially during the spring/summer. Track season is really the only time it's not available to the public.

I'm now known as the Gangster Dad since twice I've dropped my daughter off at the stadium to watch the HS football game, then went and run at the track for part of the game. I always wear a doorag, so I guess I look like a "G"..."OG" is really more accurate, but either is fine. I really need to try harder to embarrass her. Now all her friends think I'm cool. That's all fine and dandy now, but they'll see a different side of me when they come to pick up my only daughter for a date... I may lose some coolness at that point. LOL

Thanks Flat...I hope they stay rumors too, or atleast don't affect me when they do come true.

Looks like you ended up getting in some great miles - nicely done.

Joe - thanks! I think my weekly mileage fluctuates with my stress level. Unfortunately, so does my sleep. And my eating. And it goes on and on. :-)

Way to go hitting 6 days! I've been too paranoid about re-injury to do that lately, but it is the best way to increase your aerobic fitness. My performance really took off last year when I was doing 6 days a week.

Lacing tightness can make a huge difference in foot comfort/pain/numbness. I wear mine just loose enough that I can barely slip them on and off without untying them. I've only adjusted the laces two or three times on my black 2130's in 980 miles. I usually don't keep shoes for that long, but they were so good to me I didn't want to give them up.

Thanks! I was just planning on 5 days this week, but Friday was unexpected. LOL At least I was smiling the whole way to the car. So, that day wasn't much for mileage, but I ran so it counts. I was actually sore a little that night and the next day...I didn't stretch and so that's probably why.

I'm going to try and do 6 days again this week. I should be able to keep a 30 mpw as well, but I was starting to feel the mileage a little at the end of the week so I'll probably keep it close to 30 for a couple of weeks until my body catches up and gets used to the mileage and, probably more likely, the increased days.

I was going to ask you if you actually had put almost 1k miles on those shoes or whether it was split between 2-3 pairs. That's amazing to me that they've held up that well. I started to tie my shoes looser as well as not lacing the bottom set of holes. It allows my toe box to be a little more roomy. In reading about my foot problems, tight toe boxes, compression/technical socks that squeeze the toes, all contribute to neuroma pain. I'll have to try lacing them that loose. I loosed mine up and removed the lacing from the top holes as well (by the ankle) which helped with the numbness too. I'll have to try mine that loose and see how that goes.

Thanks for the tips, Mike!

Nice week. I always feel like a big shot when I hit milestones like that, since it seemed like it would never happen prior.

It's just so funny because there are so many runners that do 2-3x that. Shoot, some bloggers do my weekly mileage in a single race...and more! LOL

Bah, we just started less than a year ago. But I know what you mean - it's always going to be a losing battle comparing yourself with some of these aerobic monsters. You're still running more than 99.9% of the country.

I think that's a good plan to stick with 30s for a few weeks. Somewhere around 35 mpw I started getting runner's knee, probably bc I kept increasing without waiting for my body to catch up like you said. But holding back is always easier said than done...

I have decided to trade in my shoes when I trade in my cars. In about 3 years. (My kids hate me.) Until the soles have holes, they're good to go.

I had issues with the toe box when I tried New Balance shoes. I'm sure they make good shoes but everyones feet are a little different. You might want to try another brand and see what happens. I tried almost all of them before I finally settled on Asics.

So the "rule" of retiring shoes at 400-500 or so miles is pretty much bogus? Interesting...I haven't had any shoes get to that mileage yet, so I wasn't sure.

Mike, I tried Asics, Mizuno, Brooks, and NB. I wear custom orthotics and so I was having a hard time getting my heel to stay in the shoe with the others. The toe box, I think is fine, it is the way I was lacing them. I was tightening it too much at the top which was putting pressure on the ankle, which I think was what was restricting some blood flow. Nothing major, but enough to cause a little numbness. I'll be running tonight and I'm going to loosen them even more to see, but taking out that top lace really helped. I had tied it up that high when I first got the shoes to keep the heel down, but now that they've broken in, the orthotics sit a little lower and it's no problem. Probably would have been the same story with any of the others, but I was too new to buying shoes like that and too sensitive to a little heel slippage. Live and learn!

I really do like the NB 758s though. They have great tread for both road and trail, which I like. They look cool, which is good, but I really like the way they feel. I wasn't a huge fan of the Asics 2140s, but the Mizuno Waves were nice. Brooks were OK, don't remember which ones I tried of those. The really nice thing is that I could buy them, take them home for a run and return them if I didn't like them. After the 3rd time out to the running store, I was frustrated so I switched and went to another one. They were sooo much more attentive, let me run on the treadmill longer, had cameras, etc. so it made a big difference.

Sorry, I'm babbling again. lol

I usually do retire my shoes with 300-500 mile on them. More often than not I'll start getting blisters or weird pains around that time so I know it's time. This particular pair just never bothered me though so I kept running in them. Eventually I realized I'd need a new pair for the marathon so I bought some new ones and have about 80 miles on them already. My first run in them was 20 miles. We have a shoe store here called Fleet Feet that video tapes your feet on a treadmill to analyze your stride and help you pick the right type of shoes. The folks that run that store are awesome!

You're a NEVERNUDE!!! LOL!

Uh-oh, you DO know that germs pass through wet material just as though you had nothing on--right? I mean, not to make you paranoid or anything. Also, shopping carts are one of the germiest places ,along with keyboards. And have you ever thought about how people cough into their hands at a buffet restaurant, then go and touch the tongs? AND, to make it worse, they lay the tongs on top of the food, so even if you're wise enough to use a napkin to hold the tongs, you are still in germ danger unless you grab the item that's in the very back, where the tongs have not touched. But then, who knows what the cooks have done to the food. Not to make you paranoid, of course.

BTW, wow! Your comfortable pace is looking the same as mine! :-) I love that pace.

Burt - LOL

Cara - I guess I won't be frequenting the Chinese and Indian buffets that I enjoy downtown for lunch. I hope they can pay their light bill. ;-)

Wow, I would think the socks would make it feel more gross but I guess you're more worried about the fungus than the germs. Way to feed the beast Coach Cara!

Anyway, that's a legit fear - I spent some time at a base in the middle east where we were lucky enough to have showers but they were a recipe for foot problems. If you didn't wear sandals everywhere, there was no question that you would pay for it. So I feel your pain.

Sounds like running is good therapy for you this week. Don't worry, if you get itchy feet you will just run faster (I mean "faster", sorry, I forgot the rule).

Thanks Joe! Glad to know someone else is feelin' my struggle. :-)

Flat - running is ALWAYS good therapy! I hope to gain my "speed" through natural hard work, proper eating, sleeping, etc., rather than through the acquiring of a fungus. Besides, once the fungus is gone, I'm back to being a slowsky!

That would be like Jose Canseco going off steroids.

great story, john! i would be the complete opposite and could care less about shoes in the shower, etc. i walk around my office barefoot on most days (when i wear sandals to work, like today).

Can't be too careful.

Oh, and Cara - our "comfortable" paces are not the same. You can keep that pace for 26.2 miles (easy) and I struggle with 4-5. LOL

I won't even get into the low 140 HR you have and the high 160 that I have at that same pace. But then again, I am older than you. :-)

Awesome burger.

Paul, it WAS awesome! So yummy! I just hope my son hasn't found it in the fridge or it will be gone by the time I get home. Grrr!

Maybe it's just the beauty of the burger, but you look so handsome next to it. I guess, though, anything would.

LOL I"m sure that burger in the picture had nothing to do with it ;)

I think I would pewk it I eat that!

No way, Metcalf. If you like burgers, you would have loved this thing. Done just perfectly (Medium), lots of cheese, bacon, etc. It's a good thing I have been running or I probably would have gone into cardiac arrest! I run, therefore I can eat like that once in a while. :-)

The weight gain is all muscle!

(that's what I always say to myself)

Very nice splits indeed.

Let's just make a pact and throw away the dang scale!

Muscle it is, Cara. I'm freakin ripped!

Kelli - you're on! I'm going to stop posting my weight. Maybe I'll just post my weight one day per week. :-)

I am going back to the one day a week----THURSDAY. That gives me time each week to lose the weekend fat.

Way to thread the needle on the weather, and great times. Everybody is getting so fast.

Hey, I'm fast in your eyes. Cool.

So did she get to see the real John Bytheway or just listen to him on tape?

Thanks flat. I'm going to let the single quotes slide this once since I can tell you see me hitting sub 7:00 real soon.

Burt, yep, she saw the real deal. And we're not even in Utah!

Stretch it out, brodda!

We could make beautiful music together...

Good luck with the week a training. Stretch it out and take it easy the first few days.

Nice "fast" running yesterday - you could probably churn out a sub-7 mile if you did a time trial specifically for that purpose. Good luck this week.

Thanks, Matt. I stretched it a lot after the run and in the hot bath when I got back. It feels much better tonight, so a couple of days without stressing them and I should be out of the woods.

Joe - thanks. I am fairly confident I could as well. I'm going to get this week in and maybe next then go for it. I'm not really training for speed right now, but I do have a couple of 5ks coming up, so I don't mind doing a little speed work, but I need to keep my focus on the Half at the end of the season...and the 5mi trail race in November!

Looks like a strong run - glad to hear there is progress with your foot.

Thanks Joe. It was a good run but it sure felt a lot harder than I thought it should have. My legs were tired and sluggish. They may have been taxed from the trail work. Those were some seriously steep, slippery slopes.

You must be coole than me. I don't know who Collective Soul is.

What is coole?

And, how do you not know who Collective Soul is? Do you listen to music?

Shut up KP. Clearly I know who coole is and you don't!

I'm definitely more coole than you, Burt. You've got many other qualities that make you coole than me, but when it comes to music, I've got you beate.

KP - I know, I can't believe Burt is so out of the music scene! He acts so coole all the time, but I guess he's really just an old fart! I'm hitting 40 this year, but I keep up with the music of the new millenium. It keeps me young. That said, there's nothing like some good 70s or 80s music to really bring back the good times!

Great job, Wes! I finally got to read your blogs, and you're just doing SO well!! Whoo-hoooo!

What you do with the Garmin depends on your goals,whether you are wanting a realistic reading of your pace or of your miles. If you stop the Garmin when you are slowing down, it won't account for that, so it'll give you an unrealistically good pace. But if you don't stop it while you're walking, then it counts toward your miles, although you weren't running them. Know what I mean? Sometimes I do one, sometimes the other, depending on what info I really want for that workout. Ideally, you'd pace yourself such that this isn't an issue, but of course, most of us end up needing to rest at times. :-)

Thanks Coach! I typically keep the time running, stopping it only when I stop at red lights, etc. To me, this is the realistic pace, so all my runs and paces I've posted have been this way. So when you see a 9:00 mile pace, that could mean that I ran a consistent 9:00 pace or that might mean I walked for 30 sec then ran a 8:00 pace the rest of the way (probably doesn't work math wise, but you get the idea - lol).

Typically, I look at my runs like I would a race. The race doesn't stop the clock if I run a blistering 1st mile pace and then now have to walk for a mile to recover from it. The first mile split will be awesome, the next not so much, but over the course of the race, I may be happy with the average pace. I'd just like for my average pace to be closer to the split paces rather than having so many ups and downs. So on my run yesterday, I didn't stop it because if that had been a 4 mile race I was running, that's what my time would have been.

Looking back on it, and had I known how steep the hill really was as well as had more time outside, I would have probably slowly jogged it over to the hill (10:00 pace maybe) then made the goal to run up the hill without stopping even if it was at a 13-15:00 pace. But, when I did walk, I'd set a mark ahead that I would walk to, then I'd run again, usually at a hard pace since I figured that would build more muscle/strength than running slower but farther up the hill. Still trying to figure all this out. :-)

Right now, I don't care as much about hitting a certain pace for my runs as I do about making sure I run 5-6 days per week focusing on 5+ miles per day. I need to do a better job of working in the slow runs (10:00 pace or so) since I've started to speed up my runs and run a faster pace overall, but my splits aren't as consistent as I think they should be across the whole run. Plus, this last week my legs have been feeling like they tire out quickly. Most likely my diet/hydration are playing into it, but it is what it is at this point.

I'm just glad the weather is gorgeous and I can run outside and enjoy the sun without it being too hot!

Thanks for the help, Cara!

Hey bald, interesting comments, looks to me like you are on the right track. I'm like your coach, I stop the watch under some circumstances and sometimes not. Definitely red lights, and definitely if I don't stop it when walking then I count the miles. Sometimes if I am doing a "specialty" workout I don't even bother to track my splits. I know how fast (or slow) I run. (Sometimes I stop it when I don't mean to, but that is another topic.) With my latest injury (improving now, thank goodness) I have been counting treadmill/elliptical miles. Some people do that and some don't. Bottom line, it's your blog and you get to make the rules!

Ha Ha, thanks Flat. Yes, it is my blog...but I like to be consistent as well. I stop it at red lights, which I think is appropriate. Otherwise I'll keep it going. I really need to try and not walk, but slow the pace WAY down if necessary. I always scold myself when I walk because I know that I wouldn't want to walk in a race, and that I know that most "real runners" don't walk during races and most likely training runs. Maybe not an accurate view, but that's my view...

are those gatorade bottles glass?!?! wow! times have changed, huh? nice commercial.

a beer float doesn't sound too bad. hmmmm... i might have to try that...

I can't see the commercial on my mobile. I'll have to wait until I get home for that. Thanks again for the FB message. All those little things like that contributed to a phenominal day!

A beer float? How about a scoop of lime sorbet in some corona? Maybe on a really hot day. Rootbeer and vanilla still sounds better.

KP - yep, I believe they are! Probably changed to plastic after a bunch of lawsuits from kids breaking them on the concrete court and cutting themselves.

RT - You'll have to check out the video - it's all about you! I don't drink so I don't know how a beer float would taste, but anything with lime sorbet would definitely pique my interest!

Sweet video!

Sorry I wasn't there for you.

Congrats to your wife, that must be a good feeling. I'm in my last semester for my stupid MBA and have hated every single second of it (I'm not smart either which makes it extra tough - no 4.0 here).

Wouldn't worry about the run too much. Looks like you took off at 10K pace (done that a few times) which always fills my legs full of acid when I do it right away without a warmup first, then makes me languish at the end; seems to happen to me in the afternoon more for whatever reason. Anyway nice job getting in the run.

Fan-freakin'-tastic to your wife!!! That is awesome. Such a great feeling!

Oh, yeah! Good job on your run! LOL After the description of your dinner, I will definitely have to go there to eat......if I ever go to Pittsburgh!

Super job to your wife! Way to celebrate in style!

Wow. You're wife must be super smart. I guess that is why she married you. Prime rib sounds really good right now.

Yep, the Pgh Steak Company is awesome. Great food and a nice atmosphere.

Joe - It didn't seem that fast or hard, so I'm thinking that it may be an endurance factor. I just couldn't hold that comfortable pace that long. Kinda sad, but true.

Twinkie - she is totally smart! I did the ol' bait and switch on her, but she hasn't left me yet since finding out the truth, so I guess that's a good thing!

I did a similar bait-n-switch thing. Kym thought I could cook because I was a "Baker" and single dad. Little did she know, there's a big difference between a chef and a grunt in a wholesale bakery :)

If you get cramps while eating Prime Rib, stop eating Prime Rib. Especially if I don't get any.

I'd be happy to share my cramps and prime rib. Make your way out here and it's my treat!

Is it getting hot there? I have had cramps today after running in the heat, I don't usually get them so I am a little worried too. Hopefully it isn't anything other than the heat. Congrats to your wife, by the way.

I blame the treadmill. I'm convinced anyone that can run well for an entire 10K on a treadmill isn't human. I never last more than 30 minutes or so before drowning in a pool of my own sweat and dying of boredom.

Flat - yep, it's getting hotter here. It's been a pretty rapid increase, so maybe that is it. Ran late last night and didn't have any cramping, so I hope it's just getting used to running in the heat again.

Joe - I feel the same way. I don't know how my buddy can run 20 miles on it. That's dedication for ya!

Looks like a good workout to me. After craping up yeasturday I am not surpised to see you legs tiring before you finished.

Crapping up?

As opposed to crapping down. It's code Burt. You gotta pull out the decoder ring to understand.

I must say that is the best shirt in the world! I used to have a shirt with a cow basketball team on it and it said 'The Cream Team'. Shirts like those a hard to find but when you do, you need to snatch them up.

Totally agree! There's plenty of them at Target if you want one. :-)

Wow...Burt missed his opportunity to comment on this one. He's a slacker...

You hit a homerun with that one Wes! He may not have commented, but you can be sure he will have a comeback :)

Way to go! Early morning runs are the best. I went at 5am today.(on my day off)

Way to go! Early morning runs are the worst. Wait, what?

Anyway, they're a requirement in TX, not sure how hot it gets in Pittsburgh. There are definitely SOME good things about morning running though, nice job.

I'm to the point I run better in the morning with no fuel. I'm at least 30 seconds a mile slower at night, that would probably change if I ran at night more.

Oh it gets hot in Pittsburgh. I'll definitely be doing the early morning (or late at night) runs in the summer!

Flat - it may be true you'd be faster at night if you ran at night more, but there aren't a whole lot of races that start at Midnight, so I'm thinking I need to run earlier rather than later.

Maybe I'll start some Midnight races in Pittsburgh and see how they go over...