Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Objective: Endurance, mental strength, negative splits.

Weather: High 40's F, breezy at times (Bf. 2-4), wall-to-wall rain until mile 18, showers and sunbreaks after that. 

I wish I could tell you that my new Asics Storm Shelter Jacket kept me dry today, but no jacket made of anything more breathable than tarp would have done that.  I think I was pretty dry for about 90 minutes and then it started to get saturated and the water came through.  I would not try racing in it unless the temps were at least 10 degrees colder with rain, but I was pretty comfortable for most of this long, slow run.  

I don't usually run with an iPod. In fact, it's quite rare for me these days.  But today was my first real weather-challenged long run of the season, and I really wanted to have a positive experience so I did plug in to my tunes. Almost right away, I heard Jo Dee Messina's "Bring on the Rain" and knew I had made a good choice.  "...cause tomorrow's another day / and I'm thirsty anyway,/ so bring on the rain."  I loved hearing songs like "Heat Wave" while the rain tapped its rhythm on my head,  and some Hawaiian music that I took from my DD's Lilo & Stitch CD, reminding me of warm places.  I struggled up a hill to "Give Me One Moment in Time" and flew down a hill with the theme to Chariots of Fire.   But mostly, it helped keep my mind off the rain and how soaking wet I was.  I almost lost my will to finish the workout once, when I stopped in the bathroom around mile 14 and felt just how thoroughly wet my clothing was.  It took a great deal of self-talk and Garth Brooks' "Standing Outside the Fire"  to get back on track after that, but once running again I was ok.

I had a bit of a mental breakthrough today, regarding my goals for the next few long runs and my upcoming marathon in December.  You may have noticed I'm changing the heading for my blog: positive thoughts, negative splits. That comes from a story I read once, though I cannot recall where. I have never run a negative split marathon, and up until today I had never run a negative split long run (over 18 miles).  I think it might be the only principle that might truly keep me from going out to fast and fading in the end.  The first part of the strategy is to work on what Dale was talking about after his marathon: keeping your courage up and practicing the self-encouragement that keeps the pace up at the end when you are tired.  The second part, at least for me, is going to be telling myself I will be happy with any finish time at all providing I try to get a negative split.  That would mean I have to really assess how I feel by mile 4 or 5 to judge what pace will work for negative splits on that day.  Like today, I had to really hold back, even swallow my pride and walk parts of the steepest hills in the first half to save my legs for later.  It worked though.  I feel like I'm on to something. 

Objective: recovery

Weather: 47F, light wind (Bf. 2), some light rain

20 min. core and weights

Oh, that first mile.  It was harder than yesterday's last mile.  Still, it was great to get out and move, as always.  

How is everyone liking the time change?  I dislike DLS time very much and am glad to get back on the "true" time.  But my inner clock yelled "bedtime!" at 8:30 last night and I was so tired from the morning workout that I just gave in.  DD loves to play mommy and tucked me in. 

Objective: General aerobic w/ negative splits

Weather: 40F, heavy rain.

It's time to abandon false hopes. This new jacket is not in any way "waterproof." It is a very comfortable, good looking, overpriced wind breaker.  I no longer have the tags, but I do have my receipt and I think I will call up Footzone this morning and ask them if they will give me my money back.  As soon as it dries out.   Then I will call Super Jock N Jill in  Seattle, where I trust the staff completely, and ask if there is any jacket on the market for running that is truly waterproof.  It will be worth two hours of round trip driving if they've got one. Otherwise I shall have to make peace with my big, non-breathable, loud swishing bicycle jacket. 

So, random positive thoughts about today's run:  I did achieve a nice negative split. I saw a beautiful, large buck on Carmichael who ran with me on the opposite side of the street for about 2 blocks. (More accurately, I ran, he trotted; he didn't like my presence but would not veer off into the green belt for the longest time.) My legs felt great today.  I left the house on time for once.  I feel like a superhero for running today.  I can honestly say that getting wet is not hard (to handle I mean); hard is rebuilding strength after letting one's mileage slip over the winter.

Objective: Easy & slow, finishing with 8 x 10 sec. hill sprints.

Weather: Dry! :) 38 to 40 F, calm, mostly cloudy.

15 min. core & weights

I felt pretty tired today. It's no wonder, since I was on my feet most of the day yesterday. Here is an interesting question: do runners with desk jobs recover from their workouts faster than people who are on their feet all day?

One reward for all that running in the cold rain has appeared in the east: the first real dusting of fresh snow on the Cascades. Mt. Si looks gorgeous with its newly white peak. I would like to post a photo of it, but it looks like I cannot upload it from my computer; it has to come from a url, like flickr?  

Before:

After:

Here is a paradox.  It is often so difficult to "live in the moment" with regard to happy circumstances, peaceful feelings, etc. But when one is in the middle of a distressful experience, no other moment exists.  It will rain forever. I'll never finish this chore. I will be a slow runner for the rest of my life.  Where is the button to switch those two mindsets?

Objective: Leave house. Keep hat on head.

Weather: Strong winds (Beaufort 6-8) and heavy rain.

15 min. core & weights

What a wild ride!  I feel just a teensy bit guilty that I blew off my original objectives of running 9 miles with 5 @ MP, but this is exactly the kind of morning when I would have blown off the whole run last winter.  The sound of the wind, occasionally shaking the very house, kept me from sleeping soundly, so I woke up cranky and belligerent.  Then I lost lots of time repeatedly changing my mind about what to wear (probably subconscious procrastination).  Once I did get out, it was all I could do to just see where I was going and keep my hat on.  The first quarter mile was into the wind on Laurel, then I came back the other direction on Chanticleer and whoosh! Just be sure to pick up your feet and get ready to fly.  It was kind of fun. :)

And in the ongoing search for better winter attire... You'll see in my bio that I had a little jogging phase in the 80's, from which survived my one and only pair of running tights.  I have no idea why I've kept them; until this morning they have not seen daylight since the Reagan Administration.  For one thing, they are an embarrassingly bright shade of blue that only the 80's could have produced. Moreover, I have long felt that running tights are just too immodest, at least for me.  But after Tuesday's experience in the heavy rain, and a subsequent phone conversation about wet weather running with the experts at Super Jock n Jill, I was convinced that I must try tights in the rain.  They worked great.  (Sigh.)  So much for modesty.  But I will be purchasing a pair in black.   I also donned my cycling jacket (instead of the Asics jacket), so I was mostly dry on top and wet but comfortable on the legs.  The cylcing jacket is bulky, noisy and a bit too warm sometimes, but it does the job for the worst wind and rain.

Objective: easy, finishing with 5 strides

Weather: 50sF, steady rain and light wind (Bf. 2-3)

20 min core & weights

The rain was not as heavy as yesterday, but plenty of it. I wore the new tights and scarcely noticed getting wet legs until I came in.  With the higher temperature, the challenge was the upper body. If I had been doing any kind of speedwork my cycling jacket would have been too hot.  It has nice vents -- if you are on a bike. For running, they are not positioned very well. 

Today's run felt great. I got a good night's sleep -- what a difference that makes!   I did not want to come in at 5 miles, but I must do my long run on Saturday this weekend (traveling Sunday) so this was a compromise between taking a rest day and having my normal Friday mileage.

I received "Spirit of the Marathon" from Netflix yesterday, and watched about 30 minutes of it before I had to take myself off to bed. So far, I am enjoying most of it. The part where Deena Kastor almost breaks her foot bone sent chills up my spine.  I experienced my usual annoyance at the recommendation of 20 mile max long runs.  Maybe some of you can straighten me out on this issue.  I have never stopped at twenty miles, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.  But the 20 mile max rule is so universal and I just don't see how it can work for people.  Here are 12:00 minute pace runners who are going to have over an hour more running when they get to the 20 mile marker.  I did my first marathons using Galloway method, on which I ran up to 27 miles for one race.  I'm not saying that's what everyone should do. It never made me faster, but I always knew I could cover the distance.  I currently try to go up to 23 or 24 miles.  I also notice how many people train up to 20 miles - once! One twenty mile run.  It just sounds like a 26.2 mile recipe for crashing to me.  I do hope I haven't offended anyone, and I welcome instructive comments and other points of view. :)

Another little eyebrow-raiser in the movie was a moment when a coach is talking to the runners in a training group who are about to do a long run.  Maybe I need my ears cleaned, but I think she told them to take "6-8 ounces of water every 15 minutes."  Really? The word "hyponatremia" comes to mind.  Also, "honey-bucket."

Favorite moments from the movie so far:  watching the elites run. Oh so beautiful.  Most of them are so graceful.  They make it look so easy. 

Objective: Endurance w/ neg. splits and MP miles: 5 @ MP+2 min, 6 @ MP+1 min., 6 @ MP, finish w/ easy c.d. mile.  4 weeks to marathon.

Weather: Low 50s F, some wind, some sun, heavy rain mi 8-12

I am quite pleased with this workout. It was very tough but also fun.  Unfortunately, I fell off my pace during the last 1.5 miles of the MP section.  It could have been the cumulative result of a long, hard week of running, but I think it's more likely that I am too optimistic regarding my goal pace. I'll continue to use that pace for MP running but I will probably add 15 seconds to it on race day.

By a fluke of scheduling (long run at each end of the week) I have unintentionally achieved a weekly mileage PR.  It's nice to see it there but in  my paper log, which begins the week on Monday, my mileage is quite low this week.  It's really a glass half empty, half full kind of situation.  I'm going to go with the full glass. :)  Next week will be low any way you look at it, since I'll be away and I'm not sure how much running I can get in. Hopefully I'll be able to get internet access to blog while I'm gone. If not, I'll fill in the days when I get back. 

Foul weather apparel report: Today was tricky. Not exactly cold, but with the promise of rain and wind I wanted to be ready for it all. This combination worked well: Smartwool socks, NIke tights, thin wool thermal top, nylon vest, gortex hat, Smartwool gloves (on and off). 

Greetings from the Oregon Coast!  I thought I lived in paradise, but this place is just about as beautiful.  Although I did not run yesterday, I had a about 3 miles of walking on the beach, with some jogging thrown in here and there whenever my DD was willing.  I brought my Aquabelt along as well, so I did about 20 minutes of hard water running too while my DD enjoyed the pool in her own way.  

This morning I only meant to run 6 or 7 miles, but I was having so much fun that I just stayed out.  First I ran up the beach about 2 miles and then back.  With a strong wind from the south, the first part was extremely easy, fast, and a bit too warm.  On the way back I had the cooling effect -- and the challenge of running into the wind on sand.  Nevertheless, I was in heaven, with the waves crashing and the mists on the forested mountains. The weather was perfect -- for me anyway: 50F, beautiful clouds and pockets of fog and mist, bits of blue sky. After 4 miles on the beach, I went exploring in the town of Cannon Beach and the time just got away from me.  It was one of those effortless runs, just playful and full of interesting things to see.  

I don't know how long I would have stayed out if I hadn't had my cell phone ringing with someone from my DH's work trying to find him to call his sister. That's never good news. So I had a "fast finish" and sure enough, my father-in-law had gone into the hospital for emergency colon surgery.  He'll be alright, thank goodness.  But it's all the more reason to treasure the health and happiness I experienced today. 

A run... in parts.  I was all courage this morning, when I decided to tackle the winds and the rain on the beach. Even the 16 minute pace (caused by running into a seemingly gale force wind) didn't bother me too much, knowing I would get the payoff coming back the other way.  But -- what I couldn't take was the painful pelting of the rain drops on my face. It felt like hail.  After just about a half mile, I was back at the hotel, settling for a pool run.  I spent about 30 min. with the Aquabelt, then another 30 just swimming around. I guessed I wouldn't be running today.  But by about 4 PM I thought maybe the wind had died down a bit, so I decided to try the beach again.  Fortunately it was fairly warm out (nearly 60 F), because I do not think I have ever been as wet on a run as I was today.  Though the tide was out, the beach was so covered with rainwater and crossed by little streams from the shore lands that it was impossible to keep water out of my shoes.  The wind blew rain into my jacket vents, down my collar and under the brim of my hat.  

Now, I am not complaining. Really. Except for the brief and painful "facial" of my morning attempt, I had a wonderful time. November is a great time for paradigm shifts.  The question of how wet is wet, how much wind is too much, etc., can be established now while we are still in a fairly good humor and then the storms of winter won't bother us so much.  

And about those threshold miles... I'm on vacation. But there is just no other word for the last two miles, heading into the wind, carrying a couple of extra pounds of water in my shoes and trying to get back to the hotel on a deadline.   

My house sitter tells me there is quite a bit of wet weather back home as well.  We'll be back to it soon enough, and I'll have a whole new perspective on stormy weather. :)

Objective: 3 mi easy + 5 mi @ MP + c.d.

Weather:  High 40s F.  First half of run dry and calm, w/ moonlight on western clouds, second half pouring rain and breezy (Beaufort ~3).

20 min core & weights

I'm running back at home now.  I thought I'd have a lot more energy this morning since I did not get a run in yesterday, but I felt a bit sluggish.  It's nice to be home, though.

Objective: General aerobic w/ negative split and form drills.

Weather: High 30s F, dry :) and mostly calm, thin layer of clouds with moonlight coming through.

15 core & weights

A nice run today. The first thing I saw when I went out the door was a little family of racoons in my driveway.  I know they can be a nuisance for many, but I just love them. There was very little traffic this morning and the neighborhood was unusually quiet. Maybe it was just the absence of raindrops pattering; I've gotten used to that. ;)

For my form drills I concentrated on a different aspect of form for a block or two and rotated through a sort of list: cadence, arm swing, belly breathing, heel lift, posture, toe push off, etc.  And by the way, does anyone know what this means: "sinking into the hips?"  It was a line from Marathon Woman by K. Switzer where she talks about having to "sink into the hips" in the latter part of a marathon when exhaustion is setting in.  I don't have time to go find the exact quote, but that phrase has always stuck with me and I cannot figure out what "sinking into the hips" is supposed to mean.  Maybe I'm too literal. If anyone has insights on that I'd love to hear about it.

I want to address something today from yesterday's "comment" section, because I feel it is so important. Jefferey and I were talking about mandatory national service for youths and he asked me for further details.  There is quite a lot on the internet about it, but I like the perspective of this op-ed piece. Regardless of your political party, this is an issue pertaining to our precious Constitution.  I hope I'm not out of line in bringing up a political topic here.  (And btw, another public Congratulations! to Jefferey and his family on the arrival of their new baby girl!)

I'll be volunteering at the local Turkey Trot tomorrow, then one last super-long run on Sunday, which will be 3 weeks from my marathon (CIM).  I don't think I'll taper until the following week however; I'd like to see how a shorter taper works for me and I have nothing to lose since the main goal for CIM is Have Fun, and Run Negative Splits.

Objective: endurance, with hills.

Weather: mid 40's to 50's F during course of run, mostly clear and calm

A lovely morning, with just enough clouds to keep me from whining about the sunshine as much as I do the rain.  I like that middle ground; a few drops -- of rain or sunlight -- are just fine with me. 

On runs which go over 20 miles, there is always a great debate in my mind about Where To Go.  I prefer not to repeat a lot of terrain, and I usually end up doing a bunch of loops, like a four leaf clover, around the central area of my neighborhood. Each loop is anywhere from 3 to 5 miles long. 

But today, I decided to act on an idea I've had for a while. I had already covered the Heights and Palisades neighborhoods and the retail area when I decided to go... (cue dramatic music)... Down The Parkway.  Snoqualmie Parkway is a curvy, 2 mile hill leading to the older, flatter part of town.  I often go up the Parkway in the other direction, but not for so much distance. The advantage of going down to the old part of town is that 1) it's different from my usual routine, 2) it's nice to see what it would be like to live and run in a flat neighborhood, and 3) it adds a nice chunk of mileage (total round trip for that section of the run today was ~8 miles). 

Those are nice benefits, but ah, the costs!  The Parkway descent/ascent varies between a 3% and a 12% percent grade, with the steepest at the top 1/2 mile.  Going down thrashed me, and coming back up thrashed me again.  I'm sure it builds character and all, but the work-to-fun ratio was way out of balance.  At the top of the hill, I still had another five miles to run and they were painfully slow.  No negative split today.  I have to conclude that, on the whole, the Parkway is not worthwhile in a super-long run.   Maybe in 15 miler though...

Objective: active recovery

Weather: High 40's F, dry & calm. A little cloudy.

15 min. core & weights

I usually don't let my brain have any say in the matter when the alarm clock goes off, but today it somehow horned its way in.  "Wouldn't another hour of sleep do more for you than a short, slow run?"  "You are going to feel SO sore." "You ran so far yesterday; why not take some time off?"  Oh, it almost got me.  But then,  that still small voice whispered in my ear. And it said...."it's not raining."  OK! I'm up! I mean, really. It is November after all; how many more days like this will I get?  Just last week they were piling up sandbags downtown by the river.  I couldn't pass it up.  Surprisingly, I was not horribly sore or stiff. I only felt like my legs were quite heavy, and some of that was probably due to the big Mexican dinner I ate last night.

Objective: recovery, general aerobic

Weather: High 40s F, intermittent light drizzle (almost imperceptible)

DOMS, delayed onset muscle soreness.  I've heard that it can take 2 days for muscle soreness to really set in, but this is the first time I've experienced it so dramatically.  It was actually difficult to come down the stairs this morning, although I proudly did do so without going backwards, ala post marathon.  I took about 5 minutes to massage out my legs with The Stick before heading out and that seemed to help quite a bit, though I was still feeling a bit weak. I was extremely slow.

Has anyone seen this farcical website?  It's rather funny, in a somewhat offensive way.  I only found out about it because of that page on marathons.  Do people really view our sport that way?  I started to think about the fact that I share very little information about my running with my non-running friends, so it might stand to reason that the only runners they really hear from are those flash-in-the-pan types who are not life-long participants.

Objective: General aerobic, form elements

Weather: High 30's, lots of fog

20 min core & weights - AND! I'm trying this program out. I love a challenge.

Nice run today.  I just love fog.  Even in the dark, which is really stupid, because the headlamp reflects all that light back and you can hardly see 6 feet ahead.  There was one weird patch of clear air down by Stellar Park, where suddenly I was running under a starry sky and quarter moon.

My legs feel much better today, but still not 100%.  I had scheduled hill sprints for today, but I'm not ready for those yet.  So I just concentrated on cadence and form, and ended up with a bit faster pace than I thought I was capable of today, about 20 seconds slower than MP.

On the recommendation of friends, I finally checked out Chi Running from the library and have been reading it this past week.  I was already a fan of the leaning stance for running, ever since I read Thomas Miller's Programmed to Run. Chi running is centered on that same theme, but with several other elements (and a lot of rubbish, imo) thrown in.  I know there is quite a debate about leaning, and I appreciate the logic of the non-lean argument. But there is just no doubt that I run faster with less effort when I do the lean. It's right there on the Garmin. The only effort I used to have to add was reminding myself to do it; now it is automatic.

I like Miller's presentation of this running style much better than Dreyer's, whose constant references to Eastern philosophy irritate me and muddle the issues.  But I did learn some new concepts, both simple (like the shoe tying method** - genius!) and more complicated (like the notion of opening up one's stride to the back instead of the front).  Overall, I think it is worth reading, though I'm glad I could get it from the libary rather than purchasing it. 

** Shoe tying: Instead of doing a double bow tie (which can be hard to undo, especially with cold fingers),  tie a regular bow but go around the first loop twice before pulling the second loop through.  It will stay tied while running, but pull apart easily just like a regular bow.

Objective: General aerobic w/ 3 mi @ MP + or - for wind. Even effort w/ wind, hills. Form focus: arms.

Weather: Low to mid 50's F, very windy (Beaufort 5-6) w/ gusts (7-8), but dry! :D 

20 min core & wts.

I beat the rain, which is supposed to start any minute now. Actually, the sky is an amazing red glow. I don't think it will rain until much later. Another day of muscle soreness, especially when just getting out of bed.  Once I was running however, everything felt pretty good -- yet another reason to ignore everything your brain says to you at 4:30 am.

Objective: Easy effort.

Weather: ~40F, Calm and dry until mile 4 > light rain and occasionally breeezy (Bf.3-4).

15 min. core and weights

Nice and easy run this morning, with mild weather.  I still haven't started my taper and that feels fine; I think I'll run something like 15-18 on Sunday and then start cutting back volume a bit.

I am a sleep wimp.  A friend of mine is staying up until 2 and 3 in the  morning these days to finish a project (self employed); she is probably getting around 4-5 hours of sleep, which is obviously a significant hardship. A hardship for me is anything less than 7 hours, under which I get incredibly cranky and become a walking Pity Party. One of my least favorite holidays is New Year's Eve, because the thought of staying up until midnight is absurd to me. For the past 2 nights, I've logged a decent number of hours sleep, but I have not slept soundly.  (Oh dear, can you hear the whine coming on?)  Tonight we are hosting a parents' group and my biggest worry (which would normally be something like how clean the house is or whether I've got enough food) is how I am possibly going to stay awake (let alone pleasant) until 10:00 PM.  "Would the last one out please lock up and turn off the lights?"

Objective: 5-6-7 progression, endurance: 5 miles @ MP + 2 min, 6 mi @ MP + 1 min, 7 mi @ MP  -- all + or - for hills and wind.  2 weeks until CIM.

Weather: Sunny with some cirrus clouds & a sliver of moon. During course of run it went from 38F to 42F, and from calm to breezy to very windy (Beaufort 7). 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... and it's beginning to look like a PR. Dare I say it?  I had so many awesome runs in August and September and then Portland was a disaster.  So maybe I'm foolish to count on anything right now.  But today's run was fabulous. This is essentially the same workout I tried to do on 11/8. I couldn't quite hold my pace through the last segment on that day. Today I couldn't quite hold it -- when going uphill and into the 20 mph wind!  [Insert crazy happy dance here.]  It was pretty tough at times, but it was doable, enjoyable, and I had LOTS of energy left when I came inside. 

As a harpist, I know of a little saying: "bad dress rehearsal, good concert -- and vice versa."  I've often seen that come true.  In light of my unexpectedly horrible Portland race in October, I'm sticking with my CIM goals of 1) having a good time, 2) getting a negative split, and 3) going for a PR only if I feel good by the half way point.  But after the good runs of the past month, I have this tiny little hope for much more that won't go away.  I'll have to gag it; I really don't want to be disappointed again.

This week I will start to taper my volume and run some MP miles every other day or so.  Next week will be more of a cut back but still do some faster running and hopefully keep what I've got.  I am so glad I did not taper much this week. Everything feels great.

Objective: Easy/recovery (tapering)

Weather: 43F, partly cloudy, windy (Bf.4), another gorgeous crescent moon.

20 min. core & weights

I had no muscle soreness but my legs feel pretty dead. Still, it felt good to get out and work them a little. 

I've enjoyed seeing some stars these past few mornings.  My DH and I were discussing this rarity; we concluded that in summer we are normally in bed before it gets dark enough at this latitude to see a lot of stars, and the rest of the year we so frequently have a cloud cover.  Venus and Jupiter were very near each other last night and very bright.  Our DD became very interested in how we could identify them, and we subsequently found this software for her on the internet.  I know a lot of other people on this blog homeschool, so I thought I'd pass this on.  But it's pretty cool for us grown ups too! Excellent graphics. 

Objective: General aerobic + 3 miles @ MP + cool down. (tapering)

Weather: ~40 F, cloudy. Mostly calm but breezy in open spaces.

15 min core & weights

I am delighted  to have bounced back from Sunday's 18 miler so quickly.  The second mile of my MP segment was actually much closer to a tempo pace, 9:01! I really should have slowed down, but I'm excited that I was able to do it so soon after Sunday. I think I saw Sean out there this morning too, though it's very hard to tell in the dark; we're just two passing headlamps.

Pardon me if I've asked about this before... I still don't understand peaking.  Maybe someone out there can clarify it for me.  Let's say "Billy" took a job splitting wood one winter.  In November, he is weak and feels sore muscles all the time from his labor.  By December, he is feeling more comfortable.  In January, he is able to really get through a woodpile quickly and without undue stress.  Does it make any sense that he would "peak" at this point and be unable to perform his job as well in February?   There must be something here I am missing. 

Objective: Easy. (Tapering)

Weather: Mid 30s F, very starry w/ patches of fog. Frost on cars and grass, icy roads! :o

20 min. core & weights

I was very glad to have a slow day scheduled -- it's slippery out there today.  Very chilly too.  A lot of people get cold ears; I get a cold chin. Like, really cold, hurting cold.  It might be time for me to break out the merino neck gator soon.

Objective: meditative reflection. :)

Weather: Mid 40s F, breezy (the wind storm of last night died down just in time), mostly cloudy.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my blog friends!  I am so glad to have this support in my life!

I may have to go on and on a bit here, so feel free to just change the channel right now if you have better things to do.  I spent my run enjoying the daylight (an actual sunbeam landed on me once) and reflecting on the many joys of my life. These range from the mundane (such as, it's great that my running is more than just The Price of Eating Pie) to the deeper issues: my good health, my wonderful husband and daughter, our home and our beautiful Northwest.

As I have done many times before, I thought about my grandparents. Both my father and his father were "old" parents, so I have to look only two generations back to see my ancestors crossing the Atlantic, dreaming down in steerage of a better life.  They had very little money, almost no English, and they were not "young and strong."  On my mother's side, I come from pioneers and cowboys.  My mother's family was so poor that one year she received only an orange for Christmas, and was delighted to get it.  

They are all dead now, both my parents and grandparents.  How they would be amazed to see what a change in circumstances has taken place.  I live in what they would have considered a palace.  I have every toy and gadget I could want.  My cats eat human-grade meat.  I could be wrong, but I believe that what would have made them happiest is that I have a loving family and a good education.  And they would be incredulous that, at my age, I am healthy and strong enough to run marathons!

One thing my grandparents had, however, that is almost completely absent in these times is a Bottom Rung on the ladder of success.  My grandfather was a cobbler and could step off that ship with his tools and go to any street corner to begin his new life. 

I believe we are facing the kind of future in which conditions will approach those that prompted my grandparents' emmigration.  I do hope I am wrong.  But when the feds are "giving out billions of dollars" that they don't have (all they have is a printing press), I see a domino falling, and it is landing awfully close to the one next to it. The domino at the end of the line is not just a Depression, it is Fascism. 

Objective: Easy progression: 2 mi easy, 2 mi moderate, 2 mi @ MP.  These were effort levels, a little off the actual pace (pie on board).  Tapering.

Weather: mid 40s F, occasional light rain.

Core & pushups.

I was reminded this morning of why I never run the Seattle Marathon, held just 45 minutes from here every Thanksgiving weekend Sunday.   Even with a little over a week to go before my CIM,  I tried hard to restrain myself at dinner yesterday.  I was not successful.  I begin to wonder whether pie has some supernatural powers. 

Objective: Some MP miles, marathon rehearsal of clothing (if weather is as predicted) & gels on the run.  4 miles easy + 6 miles MP + 1 mile easy. Tapering; one week to CIM.

Weather: high 40s into low 50s, light fog and mists- gorgeous morning.

I was about 10 seconds off the marathon pace this morning. I decided not to push any harder but just concentrate on relaxing, keeping the cadence up and running form. I still feel kind of heavy; maybe I put on a pound from TG dinner and the continual aftermath of attacking the pie.  (I made my family finish it yesterday while I was out xmas shopping.) I rarely weigh myself but even a small weight gain or loss seems to make a difference on my small frame.  

What a great day for the Seattle Marathon!  This weather is just about my favorite for running, with the tiny exception of the sun coming out near the end of my run (I prefer clouds).  But I am so glad for the volunteers and the runners in Seattle this morning.  I'm sending good wishes to the only blog member I know of who is running it today: have a good race Saamijeff!