PHOTO OF THE DAY

We had our 4-year-old granddaughter Abbie for the weekend and I took advantage of the photo op. The one above is my favorite. Here are a couple more from the many:





Actually, it was a little hard to get a happy look.... she wasn't in the mood for pictures.

But not every picture has to be all smiley. Yes, those are fake tattoos on her hands. It's one of the thrills of going go Grandma's... she gets to have lots of "daddoos."



Abbie, R.N. (Or maybe D.V.M.)





Doing CPR on my ailing laptop. It's worth a try..... maybe I'll get a few more months out of it now.

GOOD TO KNOW.....

At least we can be sure it doesn't leak. Read carefully. An item for sale in our campground store.

SUMMER IS SHAPING UP!

Marathon Summer!!!

The Vermont City Marathon is May 27. I already have the go-ahead from my prospective campground-employer in Chocorua, NH, to have the weekend off for it. This will be my "see where I'm at pace-wise" marathon.



The Paul Bunyan Marathon is 6 weeks later, in Bangor, ME. It will be my throw-in-another-New-England-State-while-I'm-there marathon. I'll take it slowly as a training run. Maybe.


And the New Hampshire Marathon, Sept. 29, is my go-for-broke-qualify-for-Boston marathon. I can't wait to train all summer in New Hampshire. I'm hoping the weather will be as perfect as the climate. I also know to stock up on mosquito spray.

My plans for Boston have changed a little.... whether or not I hit my 4:15 qualifying time in NH, I am now aiming for Boston 2009 instead of 2008. Some friends are planning to gather for Big Sur in April 2008, and I really want to do that. If I qualify for Boston this fall, that time will still be good for Boston 2009. And if I don't..... I'll have another year to work on it, which takes the pressure off.

I'm happy!

CHANGED MY MIND

As soon as I went to post today's run in my new training blog, "I Keep Running Against the Wind," and that blank new-post screen came up, and I realized I had to go to my blog from the other day to find out what I ran to add the total.... I thought, shucks, this isn't any different from logging it on CoolRunning.com and in fact it's more nuisance b/c it doesn't automatically tally the cumulative totals like CoolRunning. So I'm back to CoolRunning. I've set my preferences to share my stats, so go to CoolRunning.com; my sharing password is "Ellie." I'm not sure how you indicate you want to read someone else's log. I searched all over the homepage and couldn't figure it out. Maybe someone else knows -- if so, please tell!!

Today's 4-mile run gave me < 70.3> miles for 2007 so far. Maybe that means I'm destined to do a half-Ironman in 2007 after all.

Or not....

Check my sidebar for a new addition: A link to join my BostonBound Yahoo-Group, for anyone who's training for a Boston-Qualifier marathon or for Boston itself.

MY FRIEND PATTY

I have this friend Patty from high school which was 1965 - 1969 for us. The Simon and Gar era... we used to sing their songs, Patty and I, with her on soprano and me on the guitar and singing also. We sounded good. Over the years we've stayed in touch some, more or less irregularly but never out of touch. Two years can go by and one of us will call and say, "Hi!" and the other will say, "Hi!" recognizing the voice instantly and often as not saying, "I was thinking about calling you!"

Except, when Steve and I moved into the RV and onto the road, I dropped off the face of the earth. I hadn't talked to Patty for a year or so when we did that, and I haven't contacted her since we've been on the road, and she couldn't contact me because I wasn't at my address anymore or at the phone number she had, and she wouldn't know how to contact my mother, and I changed my email address a couple years ago.

I've kept thinking about Patty and thinking I should get in touch but thinking more and more that she would be mad at me for falling off the face of the earth, and I started to be afraid to contact her.

Well, I decided I can't go on like this.... something could happen in her family that I'd need to know and she wouldn't be able to let me know. I did some stalking first, to update myself -- googled her, her husband, her parents. I found out her mother had died, which was not unexpected, and that Patty's Cairn Terriers have been winning championships. I found out her sister had a third child, a daughter. I found out her husband (a classmate of mine in elementary school) is teaching firefighting for the University of Maryland.

Prepared with this information, I called.

She was thrilled. We talked for an hour and half. (Steve said, "Why didn't you call her on the weekend when it's free?") No time has passed. It's like I talked to her yesterday, except we're all 4 years older, including all our kids. Last time I was in touch with Patty was when Abbie was born, because I needed the support of a lifelong good friend. Abbie just turned 4. So I know it's been that long. One thing my internet search didn't turn up is that Patty became a grandma a couple months ago. Welcome to the club, Patty!!

She and her husband have an RV for going to dog shows (they breed champion Cairns.) The same make and model as ours! I told her about thawing out the sewer pipes and she was dying, because she knows all about RV plumbing, holding tanks, and all the other neat stuff that goes with RV'ing.

If you've got a friend you've lost track of and wish you hadn't, and have been putting off calling..... call. I am so happy.

On a different note:
I've started a new blog, I Keep Running Against the Wind, just for my training stats -- distance, time, prep, weather, etc. -- like CoolRunning.com, but I've found that site cumbersome. I also find it a pain to keep updating sidebar information via my template, and I think I'll keep my blog up-to-date on my training more easily by having a separate blog about it. So now you can add my training site to your sidebar links and find much shorter posts than you find here at my regular blog. I'll still post training stories here, but cold stats will be there. I'm going to see how it works out. http://runagainstthewind.blogspot.com/

ALL KINDS OF $H!T

It started with the cold snap, during which the water pipes into our RV froze. The first day (Monday) we had no water at all, but with an electric heater got the kitchen pipes thawed in the afternoon. But no water in the bathroom. Brushing our teeth in the kitchen sink. Not taking showers. Pouring water from the kitchen, down the toilet.

This was the first $h!t event, the water situation. With no break in the sub-freezing temperatures expected for days and days.

Then yesterday, Steve left work early, apparently not feeling well. When I got home myself, he was asleep in bed, evidently either quite ill or milking it for all it was worth. $h!t.

The other thing I noticed as soon as I walked in was a powerful smell like a porta-pot without a deodorizer. We'd been living for 2 days pouring water from the kitchen down the toilet. The underpinnings UNDER the toilet better by-gosh-all-hemlock not be frozen... $H!T!! I lit some incense, left my husband sleeping and headed out to the liquor store.

When I got home, the odor was gone and my husband was up. I casually asked if our drain pipes were frozen. He said they were not and that we just needed to empty our holding tank, which he went out and presumably did. I watched American Idol and drank a couple hot toddies, which must have been the ticket, because the water in the bathroom came back on and we could finally flush the toilet properly.

During the night Steve bolted out of bed, dashed to the bathroom and barfed prodigiously. $hit. Now I'll probably get it. $hit.

Next morning (this morning) he was up. Said he felt better. I had a headache. Asked him how his bug started. "With a headache." $h!t. And here I am planning on a speed-interval workout a little later, going to the gym to the dreadmill, and now I'm probably getting sick. $h!t.

He put on his quilted coveralls and boots and started to go outside. He was not scheduled to work so my curiosity was up. Where was he going? "To thaw out the holding tank drain pipes." $H!T!!! Why hadn't he said last night they were frozen, instead of letting me think everything had been emptied, while I continued to pour liquid stuff down the drains? $H!T! He came back in, went into the bathroom and barfed, and went back to bed.

Little while later, to me: "Can you go up to the campground office and ask to borrow the heat gun?" Me: "Uh.... you didn't get it thawed, eh?" Him: "Unh-uh." Doze. $h!t. This is going to be a major production. He's sick. Guess I won't be going to the gym. Guess I'll be aiming the heat gun at the sewer pipes. $h!t.



Which I did. Put on Steve's quilted coveralls (he's 9 inches taller than me, with correspondingly longer legs and arms, and outweighs me by 70 pounds... nice fit, these coveralls.) And I squeeze under the RV, crawl to the appropriate area on my belly, and start blowing hot air at the sewer hose and drain pipes. The hose is frozen solid where it joins the pipe. There's a transparent section of pipe (in case we want to watch the action when dumping our holding tank, most edifying) which also is obviously ice-packed. I blow hot air. After a while I notice that there's something dripping from under the sewer hose. This is not supposed to be. I look closely. There are a couple thin spots in the hose where I've been blowing, and a little hole, from which drips thawing $h!t. $H!T!!!! I've melted a hole in the damn thing!!! CRAP!! SHIT!!! And it's DRIPPING!!! BLEAH!!!

I stop the heat gun and go indoors for the duct tape. And warmer socks and my heavy boots. The running shoes and socks in which I was preparing for the gym aren't cutting the wind chill under the RV as I lie on the cold ground in the quilted coveralls. So I go back under the RV, wrap many layers of duct tape around the hole in the hose, mentally rehearse telling Steve we're going to be needing a new sewer hose, and start blowing the heat gun again, a little farther away and moving it around a little more. I'm thinking the PBJ sandwich I ate an hour earlier isn't sitting well. I'm probably getting the bug. $h!t. I should have gone to the gym as soon as I got up, before I started getting sick. Then I'd have that done now. Or maybe I'm not getting the bug... maybe my sandwich is trying to crawl out because it doesn't like that I'm blowing hot air on a frozen $h!t pipe which dripped a little puddle which smells like the aforementioned un-deodorized porta pot.

Blow and blow and blow the hot air. I can see liquid $h!t now in the transparent section. The slinky-type hose is getting a little more flexible. Progress is being made. At least right there. I think about the 10 feet of pipe, 4 inches in diameter, and wonder if it's frozen solid the whole length, and my sandwich tries to crawl out again.

This is way fun. This is possibly even more fun than when we were coming down out of the Colorado Rockies in 60+ mph wind and our awning blew loose and we had to stop, get out a ladder, try to catch the damn thing, which was 10 X 20 feet and flapping like a sail, stop the flapping by holding it tight, which took all our strength, then re-roll it and tether it down. Him on top of the trailer and me on the ladder, in 60+ mph wind. But this is way more fun than that was.

I'm thinking, Maybe if I take a break for a couple hours, enough headway has been made for the liquid portions to thaw out the remaining frozen ones. Maybe I can go to the gym and do my intervals on the dreadmill real sneaky-like before I actually do get sick. Maybe it will raise my body temperature and kill the bug. So I go indoors, take off the coveralls, and announce my intentions. I wash up and leave for the gym.



2-mile slow warmup, 8 X 1/4-mile in 2:06 - 2:09 each with 1/4-mile recovery jogs, plus a cool-down, are planned. It goes well. Except that I've been having sore Achilles tendons and they protest mildly at the changes in pace. Just mildly. I'm OK and doing well. Until I hit 45 minutes and the dreadmill, which is apparently pre-set although I have it on "manual," becomes concerned for my health or thinks there's someone waiting and shuts off. $H!T!! Right in the minute of a segment and I lose my momentum and my recollection of what the distance screen said and have to reset the whole damn thing. This pisses me off. I don't remember whether I'd done 5 or 6 of the planned 8 intervals. $h!t. Well, I'll do 3 more.



Except suddenly my Achilles heels start yelling, "We've done enough now, didn't the treadmill shutting off tell you anything???" Just all of a sudden, both of them really hurt. $h!t. So I decide this is my last interval, I'll call it 6, and watch the digital distance readout crawl up per hundredth of a mile and finally I hit the Cooldown button and jog, then walk it in. My tendons hurt and I can hardly limp off the treadmill. $h!t.

I've been reading about sore Achilles and how it's the calf muscles that are really the problem. So I do calf stretches off the treadmill. Against the wall, then on the floor. I hold the floor stretch for 2 whole minutes. And when I get up.... NO PAIN!!!! WOW!!! I am IMPRESSED!!



So, about 5 miles total, with probably 6 faster 1/4's, that's 3 miles at a minute faster per mile than the marathon pace I'll need in the fall. Maybe I can do this. I'm happy.

Head for the shower, since I can't take one at home, since, although we now have water, we have no place for it to go once it exits the shower. The locker room is FULL OF TINY CHILDREN, of both sexes, fresh from the pool, in various degrees of nudity as their mommies dry and dress them. $h!t. How am I supposed to take off my sweaty clothes and get in the public shower with the whole place full of pre-schoolers? Ooh... the handicap shower. It has a curtained "vestibule" and curtained private shower stall and is empty. If someone in a wheelchair comes in, well, they'll just have to wait, because I'm using this shower.

I get back home. Steve is up but dozing in the recliner. He opens an eye. I say, "So, how's things?" "What things?" "Well... how are you feeling?" "Wiped out." "Are you still puking?" "No." "I guess I'll get back to working on the pipes." "Oh. After you left I tried it. You must have just about gotten it freed up because after just a couple minutes it started running." Just like me.

I dread hearing about my duct-taped hose once it became a conduit for the liquid $h!t. "Any leaks?" "Nope."



No $h!t !! Things are looking up.

And so far, I am not sick.....

Pictures & stuff

Our son, Jon. Wish I could take credit for the photo, but we lifted it from the Cumberland [Maryland] Times-News.


Random shot on today's run. 66-minute run; not sure of the distance but I'm crediting myself 6 miles. I'm a little short on my long runs, for the start of my 16-week marathon-training program. Yes, that starts this coming week! The KeyBank Vermont City Marathon is 16 weeks away, WoooHOOOO!!! Think I can cut my time from the 4:45 I ran at RNR Arizona last January, to 4:30? Would you believe 4:35? How about 4:40? Truth too tell, I'm hoping for 4:30-4:35. Then I have to shave that down to 4:15 by the end of September for the New Hampshire Marathon, where I hooope to run my Boston-qualifier. If not, I'll find one a couple months later to try again. And if I don't do it there...... then next year.


View out the back window of our RV. This is my "Photo of the Day" submission. I haven't been posting any, because my computer has stopped recognizing any kind of photo card or reader. However, today I remembered the direct-upload cord I can run from the camera to the USB port and, taa-DAHH!! It's working! (So far.... knock on wood...)

SOCIAL ANXIETY UPDATE

Early in January, I made public my "New Year's Resolution" to conquer fear: my fear of making mistakes, of being embarrassed, of making people mad at me, etc.

I want to share a couple insights I've had.

Number one:
It's a contol issue. I want to be in control of people's reactions to me. If I can execute some kind of flawless performance, I can keep people from reacting negatively to me or to anything I do. This is a way of protecting myself from disapproval or any kind of retribution.

One of the fear-related things I do is to put myself down. I tell people ahead of time, before I can screw up, that I screw things up. And when I do make some kind of mistake, I call myself names like "stupid," "incompetent," "airhead," "senile," "blonde." And I've discovered that the reason I do this is, if I say it first, it keeps someone else from saying it.

Number two:
It's a result of perfectionism. Being upset at mistakes means, I should be able to do it perfectly. Not knowing something -- I should know everything. Forgetting something -- I should remember everything. Being wrong -- I should be right. Mentally shutting down when I don't know, or don't remember, or messed up --- if I can't do it perfectly, I'm going to cease to function.

Like..... do I think I'm God?????

ELLIE'S BODACIOUS IRONMAN PACKING LIST

Why now, nearly 3 months after Ironman Florida?

Because I've been working on my sidebar and saw I had a marathon packing list but no Ironman list. And when I went and found my ChesapeakeMan packing list, I saw I've changed some things since then. I've also added some stuff I wish the hell I'd had at IMFL when I was so cold on the run I could hardly move, and lost probably 20 minutes hugging the gas generators running the course floodlights.... I wanted to warm up more than I minded breathing a little carbon monoxide :-)

Here it is, folks:
ELLIE’S BODACIOUS IRONMAN PACKING LIST

Swim/Start/Finish Bag:
What I'll wear to the race and need before start and after finish (sweats worn over tri-suit or swimsuit, warm wool socks, sock-friendly sandals, hairbrush)
Sunscreen on face only, until after body-marking
Race Swim cap
Goggles (already cleaned with anti-fog stuff)
Extra goggles
Energy food easily accessible (in case start is delayed b/c of weather or surf conditions)
Baby powder (helps my wetsuit slide on)
Wetsuit
Protectant for exposed skin if jellyfish are present (Safe Sea is good)

T-1/bike stuff:
Vinegar or Benadryl Spray if stung by jellyfish
2 hand towels (less cumbersome than one big towel)
Race belt and number
Bike shorts (if not worn under wetsuit)
Sport bra (if not worn under wetsuit)
Jersey (if not worn under wetsuit)
Baby powder to dry the last traces of dampness from feet
Socks
Bike shoes
Bike gloves
Sunglasses
Spare contacts, small bottle of solution
Helmet (if not checked in with bike)
In jersey pockets:
Small sunscreen
Tube of Neosporin (for road rash; also a good skin lube)
Succeed capsules (salt)
Imodium
Tylenol
Excedrin (pain reliever, mild anti-inflammatory, little hit of caffeine)
Pepto-Bismol or Pepcid Complete
Epi-Pen (bees, fire ants)
Full gel flask
On bike:
2 water bottles
Aerobottle
2 CO2 cannisters taped to seat post
Bandana tied to aerobars, long enough to reach nose w/o untying
Bento Box with:
Foods of choice -- these are mine:
PayDay Bars cut in chunks
Fruit gumdrops
Cheese-filled Combos
String cheese already slightly opened
Lip balm
Spare contacts
$10 – you never know…
Saddlebag
2 tubes
3 CO2 cannisters & nozzle thingie
2 tire levers
Multi-tool
Large Bandaids
Disinfectant wipes
Eyeglass wipes
Kleenex pack in case I have to make an unscheduled pit stop
Extra shoe cleat and screws (in baggie to find easily)
Extra handlebar end piece
Small flat pack of duct tape

BikeSpecial Needs Bag(all “loseable” stuff, since I won't use all of it)
2nd flask of gel
Refill on all Bento Box food, in baggie (just empty it in)
Pringles
Dill pickle & juice in plastic spice bottle
V-8 juice
Bottle of Boost or can of Slim-Fast (I hate Ensure)
Spare tube
Spare CO2 cannister

T-2/Run stuff
Run top if changing
Run shorts if changing
Underpants & sports bra if changing
HRM to assess whether I'm still alive in later miles
Change of socks (just in case)
Running shoes
Waist pack with:
Reflective tape on back and belt
Little tube of Vaseline
Salt capsules
Excedrin; Imodium; Pepto-Bismol or Pepcid Complete
Anti-nausea pills (Nauzene)
Gum to get the taste out of my mouth in case I throw up
Long-sleeved shirt (yeah, it fits in my waist pack)
Small, lightweight flashlight
Extra batteries for flashlight
Bug repellent wipes
Epi-Pen
Spare contacts (like I'm going to go through 3 pairs of contacts)
Gels etc. if not counting on what’s at aid stations
Hairbrush – to make myself beautiful in last mile for finish photo

Run Special Needs Bag ( all “losable” stuff)
Jacket; 2nd long-sleeved shirt
Long pants
Gloves
V-8 Juice
Dill pickle in plastic spice bottle

ANOTHER SATURDAY

Photo of the day:



This is from awhile back. Daughter Avery wanted some tragic/spooky/bizarre pictures taken in a cemetery and this is one of them. I can't get my computer to accept my photo-reading card today, so I can't download any I take till I get that figured out. I think this whole computer is on its way downhill. It's old. This means, I gotta QUICK get all my photos onto CD's before they're gone forever.

But... talk about CLUTTER.... I have THOUSANDS of photos in my computer. Putting them on CD's will mean weeding out the ones I don't want or need. And that's hard to do, because I take SO MANY in the hopes of snapping that one change-the-world, Ansel-Adams, Pulitzer-Prize shot.

~Sigh~ I guess I'll just buy a lot of CD's... they don't take up that much room.

Off for a run now, 6 miles or an hour, whichever comes first. Wind is WNW 24mph with gusts at 36. Air temp is 32*F, wind chill 22*. Aw, heck, running at 22*F isn't that bad. I'm sucking it up. I'm outa here.


Today's training: 6 miles; not sure of time, forgot to restart my watch after stopping for Journey to poop. I think abou 70 minutes. Slow and slogging and definitely against the wind.

MY DAY (and it's not over yet....)

You'd think, with that title, it would be something amazing.

It wasn't.

I got a bee in my bonnet to take one good (or passable) photo a day and post it. A Photo A Day. Took this, of everyday life in our RV:



Then we decided to go to an RV show in nearby Leesburg, VA (or thereabouts.) Excited about more photos, I took my camera.

So excited was I that, while we waited in line at the McDonald's drive-thru, I jumped out of the truck to "shoot" a car's rear-view mirror reflecting the face of the pit bull who sat in the driver's seat. When I looked up from my camera, I saw Steve just pulling away from the order-speaker. I jumped back in: "Did you get me anything?" Poor Steve: "No, I didn't know what you'd want, and when you got out, I figured you didn't want anything." Poor me: At the pay window we added a Diet Coke for me. I wasn't hungry anyway. I looked at the pit-bull pic in my camera. Blank screen displaying, "No CF Card." Damn! It was still in my computer from downloading Journey and my husband's feet!! So much for cool photos of an expo full of RV's.

Home, next project: rearrange cupboards to make better use of space in our RV. Put things nearer the point of use, yeah, that's the ticket. Things we microwave, go near the microwave. Things we drink, go near the sink. Glasses are already near the sink because that's where we use them. Plates also are near the sink, because that's where we put them when they come out of the sink.

There is only so much space near the sink in an RV.

But I put the microwavable things nearer the microwave, which is under the glasses and plates and beside the sink. Actually, the cupboard where I put the microwave things, used to house the microwave. But the microwave gave out, and when we pulled it out to replace it, WOW!!!! THAT'S A BIG STORAGE SPACE!! So we bought a smaller microwave and put it on a little wire fake-shelf thingie on the counter, so I still have counter space underneath it, where my mini-food-processor goes.

The counter is now full of stuff we drink, which I took out of the microwave cupboard. (Crystal Light, milk-flavoring powders, Diet Pepsi, Gatorade, sugar for tea...) The sofa is full of cans from the cupboard. I haven't decided which new place to put each category of stuff yet.

But, moving stuff around from one cupboard to another gives me the illusion that I'm organizing stuff and reclaiming some control of my life.

In another attempt at said reclamation of control, I have joined an email group of "De-Clutterers." Maybe I'll learn how to control my stuff.... after I learn to find it. Maybe they work on cluttered-up time, too. Like, just what I need for that is, another email group to keep up with....

Just like the little shelf units and stacking baskets I keep buying to organize my clutter, which wind up just being more clutter....

Training today:
Nope. Rest day. Plus, 20mph wind gusting to 36mph... yuck.

I WISH....

I could start all over.

In a way.

I would like to be as I am now. With the experience, wisdom (such as it is), composure (such as it is) of a 50+ year-old woman, but putting that back there when I was 20- or 30-something, and raising my children.

I don't want to be 20- or 30-something again.

I just want my children to be where they were when I was there. And raise my children all over again, with the place-in-life where I am now.

I am so good with my grandchildren.

Why couldn't I have been that good with my children?

All I can pass on is the legacy of desire to do the best a person can....

I HAVE MADE LISTS.

Of what I need.
What clothes.
What shoes.
How many pairs of various socks.
How many pairs of underwear.
How many sport bras, how many regular ones.
How many jeans. Shorts. T-shirts. Regular shirts.
Skirts.
Sweatshirts.

And a few gizmos like athletic food and drink containers.

For running.
For biking/triathlon.
Hiking.
Living.

The lists are made. Now I go look at my closet and drawers.

We'll see if I get past looking.

If I get it down to what's on my list, then we'll see if it goes past the bedroom.

THE ONLY ONE

I lifted this from TxSkatemom, who lifted it from Flatman.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I've contended most of my life that no one was named Ellinor since my mother was born and her mother named her that. And her mother was named that by her mother, who was named that by her mother. (Does that make 4 of us? I've lost count.)

Among all the Lindas and Karens and Carols and Susans and Debbies was this one Ellinor.

HowManyOfMe.com confirms it. In fact, it claims there are 0, count 'em, zero people in the U.S. with that first name.

This is not correct. I know of one other. My mother.

My daughters, however, did not get the family name. They're Valerie and Avery. Which is not a common name, but I've known another one and run into 3 others. As a matter of fact, I've only known 2 other Valeries, although that's a more familiar name.

No other Ellinor's.... I'll go back and see how many Eleanor Hamiltons there are -- it's that Old English or Welsh or something spelling that throws the count off. Heck, there was an Eleanor Hamilton who finished IMFL just about half an hour ahead of me.

TREASURE HUNT 5K

Well, my busted butt hurt a little, but I ran a 5K. Had to take short little strides because long or even regular ones stress my piriformis muscle, which isn't completely healed yet.

I took Journey! In these Shenandoah Valley Runner's Club Winter Series races, there are always dogs at the start and finish, and although I hadn't seen any of them actually running the race, and since I've seen jogging strollers in these runs, I decided to stick my neck out and try a dog. No one complained, everyone petted Journey, the finish-line guy yelled, "Come on, puppy, come on, puppy!" and she loved it. I started in the back on the left-hand side and stayed there till the crowd (about 160, I think) thinned out, so she wouldn't trip anyone. It was two loops around a field on a gravel path. At the end of the first loop, someone said, "You've got that dog worn out!" Yeah, right. Like halfway through a 5K, Journey's going to be tired, right. I got the same from a few people at the finish. Journey did not look worn out in the least, although she was thirsty. I tried to make her drink before we left home, but you can't make an unthirsty dog drink. She scarfed down a pint in the truck afterwards, though.

She cost me about a minute for a poop stop (which I cleaned up in a baggie and threw into a trash can, yes, I did.) My cautious pace cost me more. A large section between the loops was over grass and through mud, and that cost me more. But I wasn't racing, just getting back out there. Time: 33:40. Place? Don't know. Due to the drawing (below) they didn't do place announcements, just said check the website.

Everyone had to bring some kind of "white elephant" to give away, and along the course were randomly-placed cards with numbers on them. You picked up a number wherever you wanted to, and at the end, when your number was called, you got your pick of the loot on the table. There was nice stuff and dumb stuff. A birdhouse kit. Hickory-Farms-type cheese plates. Boxes of Russell Stovers. One of those "As Seen on TV" plunger things that's supposed to peel hardboiled eggs perfectly (I've heard it doesn't.) A bag of marshmallows. A twin-pack of paper towels. Mug-and-tea sets. Games.

There was a "The Stick" massager I had my eye on. But some teenage kid took it before my number was called. When I did get up there, I asked him if that was for sure what he was taking. He said, "Yeah," and then looked at it and said, "I'm not really sure what it is." I told him it was to roll along sore muscles, and he said, "Sweet!" and started rolling it on his quads. I asked if he was sure he wanted it, and he said he was... darn. But I got a nice LED booklight, the kind that clips onto your book so you can read in bed without your spouse complaining.

There was a book called, "The Mullet," which was, yes, all about the mullet haircut, its history and its heyday, lots of photos, cutting directions. I thought about getting that for Nancy :-) Someone actually chose it.

I contributed my swim paddles and pull buoy. No one took them :-)

VARIOUS

Item 1:
Revelation in a novel I've been reading:
"If your heart is in the right place, how can you make a mistake?"

Well, I'd revise that a little...... If your heart is in the right place, you'll be forgiven your mistakes. No one says we can't make them.

I'm still coming to terms with still being an OK person even if I screw up. But my heart is almost without exception in the right place.

Item 2:
My computer is preventing me from accessing my Blog account, my Yahoogroups, and any other link I try to access from any webpage I've gotten to. I can get to the main page but can't sign in, comment, or otherwise get to another part of the website. This is only on my own laptop. I'm on my husband's laptop now and I'm able to go anywhere I want. Anyone have any clues on that? On my computer when I click a sign-in or submit button I get "Page cannot be displayed." I'm getting my mail OK.

Item 3:
I ran a mile today, first run in a week since the last time I buggered up my piriformis muscle and surrounding support structures. It felt OK, a little something but not much. Guess I'll go to the 5K tomorrow and take it easy.

Item 4:
I GOT ON MY BIKE for the first time sine IMFL. Didn't ride far.... about 1/10 of a mile down to the neighbor's (who happens to be my employer) to see their new puppy. It's a Labradoodle, or would be had they gotten it from a breeder for mucho bucks (I've seen those Lab-poodle mixes in the classifieds for $1500.) But they got it from the SPCA for only whatever the adoption fee is. From a breeder it would be a Labradoodle, but we've decided that since it's from the SPCA (an abbreviation) it's a Loodle. Looks like a yellow Lab with odd little "furlets" here and there. 8 weeks old. Sooooo adorable... I want one......

Anyway, the new puppy was excitement enough to get me on my bike. I figured, to their house and back was not a big commitment to biking. I could hardly remember how to shift. My chain has rust spots. The bike was covered with dust.

However, with a bike-shop gift card my mother conspired with Steve to get me for Christmas, I put a new saddle in layaway last week; while there, I signed up for a series of 3 bike-maintenance classes, and put in requests to be off work those 3 evenings.

So I must be planning on doing more biking sometime.

Who knows, I might even do another triathlon.

Wish my own computer would let me into my own accounts.

MY IRONMAN FLORIDA PLANT

I got a plant from the campground we stayed at in FL. It was a sprig that had fallen off the mother plant, and the groundskeeper had put it in a styrofoam cup with some potting soil; it was sitting on the counter at the camp office desk. I asked about it and the desk guy said, "Take it. The groundsworker can't stand to see anything die, he's always potting up pieces that fall."

So I got this plant. All my houseplants (in my case, RV-plants) have sentimental value.... the Christmas cactus I planted the day I found out grandson Collin (now nearly 11) was on the way; the spider plant I planted the day Gracie (now 8-1/2)was born; a new sprig of the Christmas cactus when Abbie (almost 4) was born. The Christmas cactus sprigs were from a plant given to me by Steve's grandmother as a "congratulations" gift when she learned I was pregnant with first-child Valerie. Val's 33 now and still has the mother plant, which is huge, in addition to the cutting I started for her when Collin was born.

I had a piece of a schefflera from my father's funeral, but that got frozen, ironically, when we were in AZ. Valerie has the mother plant and I need to get a new piece from her.

So I have this plant from IMFL. It's setcreasea pallida, AKA "Purple Wandering Jew," but more commonly, "Purple Heart Plant." I thought that was supremely appropriate as a memoir of IMFL, which is why I begged for it. I saw the plants growing around the campground and went into the office to ask if I could take a cutting, but there sat this sprig already potted (but not rooted.) It's rooted now and I just repotted it into a real flower pot.

Purple heart.... I can't say I was wounded at IMFL, but I can't say I wasn't. I can't say that the piriformis-muscle issue I'm having now didn't come from trying to do speedwork too soon after the Ironman. I can't say my aversion to being cold isn't a lingering result of being so cold during the run. I still don't ever, ever want to be cold again. I don't mind my hot flashes anymore. I know they pass and I can put up with them for a couple minutes at a time a couple times an hour. Just don't ask me to be cold. I don't even want to eat ice cream. It makes me cold from the inside out. I never, ever want to feel cold inside again. I was colder in the last 6 or so miles of that event, than I have ever been before or ever expect to be again. I needed to run to generate some body heat, but couldn't run because I was losing too much energy to the environment. I have never been so cold in my life. Bless whoever put those gas-generator floodlights on the course. They wrecked the full-moon ambiance, but they put out HEAT. I hugged every single one trying to get warm.

Another possible injury... I'm not enamored of doing another Ironman, or even more triathlons. Apparently, however, I do intend to get on my bike again, because my mother gave me a gift card to my favorite sports store here in Winchester, and I put it towards a new bike saddle. Even though I haven't looked at my bike since Nov. 4. Well, I've looked at it, in passing, but I haven't even washed the Gatorade off the aerobars from the race. There were lots of things at the store I could have gotten instead of a bike saddle. Socks. Books. $40 worth of GU. Goggles. Swimsuits.

Except I haven't been in the pool, either. It feels cold when you first get in. I know "it's fine when you get used to it" but I do not want to get into water and feel cold and have to get used to it.

Here is the question:
I made it through the swim with nothing worse than a little seasickness, a little puking, a little "Thank God that's over," a little "I would never have believed I could swim in that." But I do not want to swim now.

I got through the bike with nothing worse than a sore bottom which resolved as soon as I got off the bike. But I don't want to bike now.

The run, though.... it was on the run that I was freezing, and exhausted, and lonely, and worried about Nancy, who hadn't looked good at the half and said she might not make it, and in fact (wisely) called it a day. It was on the run that I sought medical aid in case I was dying or something. It was on the run that I considered bailing at every single aid station. It was on the run that I hugged every single heat-projecting floodlight, losing probably half an hour in time overall. It was on the run that I walked (if you can even call it walking) the last 9 miles not sure I could keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Why, then, am I now averse to swimming and biking, have no triathlon plans, and won't even eat ice cream, but am gung-ho for running, planning on speedwork to get me to Boston, am injured because of same, and chafing at the bit because I can't run?

I love my purple heart plant. It grows. It gives me hope. It gives me inspiration. It's alive. I am, too.

GORGEOUS DAY...

...in the upper 60's F, sunny, windy but incredibly warm for January. And it's not a "January thaw"..... it just hasn't gotten cold, at all, except for a cold snap right around Thanksgiving.

It's freaky. Cherry trees are blossoming 90 miles away in Washington, D.C. -- not due until April.

I have seen maple buds around here in northern Virginia. If the apple trees start blossoming here.....


...and then freeze, as predicted will happen in the next few days.... it will be a disaster for this area's apple harvest.

We're just on a gig here, working at this campground for the winter, but I have made a couple friends, joined a running club, and I must be feeling some ties to the place, if I'm worried about the area's apple business. At our RV park here, two of the biggest weekends of the year are the Apple Blossom Festival and the Apple Harvest Festival. I guess the festivals will go on regardless of the apple status, but it just shows how important apple-growing is in this region.

So, in the beautiful weather ..... Did I go running, or biking?
No.... I went to the massage therapist.



That sore butt muscle I complained of right before Christmas was nearly healed up, I was running again, but yesterday setting out on an hour's run I tripped, causing me to take a flying leap and land hard on the foot on the gimpy side, jamming my hip into itself..... egad, I saw stars. Hopped around a little on the other foot deciding whether I'd need to call some wheels to get home. Ended up limping it.... I was only half a mile out.

So today I went for my second visit to the massage therapist. Wow.... big difference right away. I'm not going to run for a few days but boy is it ever loosened up. Wow. My husband would like me to go to a PT because our insurance covers it, but gee, if this girl is doing me so much good per treatment.... shucks, I'll keep on paying her. She said today I'm a lot looser than I was 3 days ago, despite being re-injured in the meantime.

In the mail during the past week, as my injury waxes and wanes, have been coming books.



Daniels' Running Formula.... whew, heavy going. Great method but I'm not sure I'm up to the math. Hey, Sheila.... tell me I can figure this out, OK?
:-)




Joe Henderson's "Marathon Training: A 100-Day Program to Your Best Race" hmmm, easy going. Basically a training log with helpful hints and a skeleton program that you fill in yourself. Less than I wanted. (Not sure when to start the 100 days, either, with a bum bum.)

Ooh, ooh, my husband just brought in the mail.... OOOH!
Jeff Galloway's "Running Until You're 100!!"


Now, THAT may be just what I need.... maybe I can't run today, or tomorrow, but at 55 I'd sure like to think I'll be running another 45 years.....

Rules for 2007

My friend Carlene in Canada sent me this. It's quite possibly making the rounds on the Internet, but I wanted to do my part to make sure everyone gets a chance to read it :-P

New Rule: Stop giving me that pop-up ad for classmates.com! There's a reason you don't talk to people for 25 years. Because you don't particularly like them! Besides, I already know what the captain of the football team is doing these days -- mowing my lawn.

New Rule: Don't eat anything that's served to you out a window unless you're a seagull. People are acting all shocked that a human finger was found in a bowl of Wendy's chili. Hey, it cost less than a dollar. What did you expect it to contain? Lobster?

New Rule: If you need to shave and you still collect baseball cards, you're a dope. If you're a kid, the cards are keepsakes of your idols. If you're a grown man, they're pictures of men.

New Rule: Ladies, leave your eyebrows alone. Here's how much men care about your eyebrows: Do you have two of them? Okay, we're done.

New Rule: There's no such thing as flavored water. There's a whole aisle of this crap at the supermarket, water, but without that watery taste. Sorry, but flavored water is called a soft drink. You want flavored water? Pour some scotch over ice and let it melt. That's your flavored water.

New Rule: Stop screwing with old people. Target is introducing a redesigned pill bottle that's square, with a bigger label. And the top is now the bottom. And by the time grandpa figures out how to open it, his ass will be in the morgue. Congratulations, Target, you just solved the Social Security crisis .

New Rule: The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole.If you walk into a Starbucks and order a "decaf grande, half-soy, half-lowfat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n'-Low, and one NutraSweet," ooh, you're a huge asshole.
(Editor's note: I don't think you can even GET just a "medium black coffee" in Starbucks, can you?)

New Rule: I'm not the cashier! By the time I look up from sliding my card,entering my PIN number, pressing "Enter," verifying the amount, deciding, no, I don't want cash back, and pressing "Enter" again, the kid who is supposed to be ringing me up is standing there eating my Almond Joy.

New Rule: Just because a woman's tattoo has Chinese characters in itdoesn't make her spiritual. It's right above the crack of her ass. And it translates to "beef with broccoli." The last time she did anything spiritual, she was praying to God she wasn't pregnant. She's not spiritual. She's just high.

New Rule: Competitive eating isn't a sport. It's one of the seven deadlysins. ESPN recently televised the U.S. Open of Competitive Eating, because watching those athletes at the poker table was just too damned exciting. What's next, competitive farting? Oh wait. They're already doing that. It's called "The Howard Stern Show."

New Rule: I don't need bigger mega M&Ms. If I'm extra hungry for M&Ms, I'lljust splurge and eat two.

New Rule: If you're going to insist on making movies based on crappy, old television shows, then you have to give everyone in the Cineplex a remote so we can see what's playing on the other screens. Let's remember the reason something was a television show in the first place is that the idea wasn't good enough to be a movie.

New Rule: No more gift registries. You know, it used to be just for weddings. Now it's for babies and new homes and graduations from rehab. Picking out the stuff you want and having other people buy it for you isn't gift giving, it's the white people version of looting.

New Rule: When I ask how old your toddler is, I don't need to hear "27 months." "He's two" will do just fine. He's not a cheese. And I didn't really care in the first place.
(Editor's note: One of my very favorites was when I asked a lady how old her little girl was, and she answered, "She'll be three the first day of deer season.")

New Rule: If you ever hope to be a credible adult and want a job that pays better than minimum wage, then for God's sake don't pierce or tattoo everyavailable piece of flesh. If so, then plan your future around saying, "Do you want fries with that?"

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

It's not to lose weight, or to train a certain amount, or to get my shit organized, or to practice my music or photography more, or even to qualify for Boston.

My project for the New Year is..... letting go of fear.

I am so often mentally, emotionally, and intellectually (can't think, brain shuts down) paralyzed by fear of other people's reactions, especially to any mistakes I make, that I'm surprised my shrink hasn't added "social anxiety" to my list of anxiety disorders. I asked him once how come something or other wasn't listed as a diagnosis on my insurance papers and he said, "Ellie, there are only so many diagnoses I can list and still justify treating you as an outpatient." Sheesh!!

I don't take jobs because I'm afraid of messing up. (Yes, we're "retired," but we need to work part-time to supplement our retirement income.)

I stay out of games because I don't know how to play and am afraid of looking stupid.

I turn down invitations because I'm afraid I'll be at a loss for what to say or do.

I let my husband make all the decisions because I'm afraid he won't like mine.

I don't contact people because I'm afraid they're mad at me for not contacting them.

If I do commit some faux pas, or social gaffe, or hit the wrong key on a cash register, or don't know the answer to a question I'm asked.... my mind shuts down like a power switch shutting off. I can't think. I can't move. I blank out. I pass out emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, and sometimes feel like I might physically.

I hate this paralysis and don't want it to control me anymore.

I do have a plan. Some of you will appreciate it, some won't. I'm going through Scripture with a fine-tooth comb. In French. I have a French Bible, a French-English dictionary, and a Frech thesaurus ("dictionairre de synonymes.") I can manage to speak some, understand some, converse some, read some, write some, in French, but I am not fluent. I know the Bible fairly well in English, but in French I have to look up a lot of words even though I already know essentially what it says. I have to think hard about what I'm reading. I have to ponder the nuance of difference between the French word and the English word (maybe I should capitalize "Word.") I have to slow down. I have to pay attention.

I'm going to start a file box with cards of verses that deal, or can be interpreted to deal, with putting away fear.

I'm starting not with Genesis or even with the Gospels but with the Epistles, because they were written intending to instruct further in what the reader has already begun to learn. It took me about 4 hours to go through the short book of Philippians. About an hour to do Philemon (which is less than two pages.) Now I'm doing Colossians. Studying it in another language is opening up a whole new way of thinking about it.

Plus, I'm learning more French. :-)

I am amazed at the number of references, in these few chapters I've read over the last 3 or 4 days, to how and why we need not be afraid.

Colossians 3:23 says: "Whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, not unto man.... it is the Lord God you are serving."

With that in mind.... what's a cash register mistake, or a decision someone else doesn't agree with, or a foot-in-the-mouth?

I'll know I'm getting it the first time a mistake is just a mistake, a decision is just a choice, a misunderstanding is just that, and I don't fall apart from fear and self-beating when one of those things happens. I don't expect it to be good every time at first. Like everything else, it will take study, and practice.

I'm not aiming for the "I'm not afraid to say what I think" that can be blunt and hurtful. I know people who say exactly that, and it's not "honest," it's often downright unkind.

I say mean things to myself every time I don't do something exactly "right." Things I would never say to another person... it would be unkind, it would hurt them. I am kind to other people. Or I intend to be. The person I need to learn to be kind to is myself.

IT'S HARD TO RUN....

..... when you can't move your leg backwards or forwards.

Nevertheless, I just got in an hour's worth, probably a little sort of 6 miles, with teeny little short steps that weren't all that uncomfortable or even any slower than my usual.

But I'm behind in my distance plans now, and I can't do the speedwork in the FIRST program as I had hoped for an April marathon. In fact, I might not make an April marathon at all.

Thanks to Vickie and Sheila for tips and links to fixing my butt :-) And runr53 for suggesting massage therapy -- I called one and left a message, but she must be away for the holidays. I'll try her again. I think the piriformis muscle is the one complaining. I think it would complain less if I spent less time sitting on it, too, in front of the computer.....

MY NEW HERO

Meet Ruth Thomas, and marvel at her Journey Of The Ages.


Here she is studying her route in Hawaii.


She's 25 years my senior and this past spring she finished a voyage that makes my dream of a Pacific-to-Atlantic bike trip look like a training ride. She rode her bike to the smallest town in EACH of the United States. Not just coast-to-coast on Rte. 50 or the "Northern Route" or the "Southern Route" but into every single state to that state's smallest town.

It took her about 8 years. I love her!

Here's another, earlier story. Senior Cyclist A Bit Battered, But Not Blue

Old ladies of the world, unite!!!

AMEN! AGAIN

Now that people are reading my blog again (maybe because I'm posting again?) I want to say more about what I posted a few days ago in "Amen!"

Here's what my trusty online dictionary
has to say:

Main Entry: amen
Pronunciation: (')ä-'men, (')A-; 'ä- when sung
Function: interjection
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek amEn, from Hebrew AmEn
-- used to express solemn ratification (as of an expression of faith) or hearty approval (as of an assertion)

Most of us know the translation as "So be it." Depending on use, it has nuances of "May it be so," or "It is indeed so," a word of general agreement and belief.

I noticed, when I heard someone say it on the radio, how much it sounds like "I'm in!" -- either way it's pronounced. This made me think.

I thought about what "I'm in!" means.

"I'm in" for the long haul. I won't back out. I'm committed.

I'm promising my contribution.

I've entered the race.

I will be an active participant.

I'm part of the team.

You can count on me.

I will give whatever it takes to achieve the hoped-for result.

I will do all in my power to keep what we have accomplished.

In a way, it's not all that different from, "So be it." "Amen."

I thought about what I would mean if I said "I'm in!" instead of "Amen."

It charges me to continue what I have begun, or, more properly, what the Lord has begun.

The prayer is not over. It's just getting started. It's ongoing. I have footwork to do, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, when I "end" a prayer with "I'm in!" I am not done with this prayer or this endeavor.

"I'm in." It's my new "Amen."

BUSTED MY BUTT

Yup. Doing speedwork. Going along at a perky pace, put the hammer down some more, got a sharp pain deep in my mid-right-cheek that caused a simultaneous yelp and mid-stride stop, and a discouraged slow limp home.

Been on the Internet. Blinding flash of the obvious: Gluteal strain. Internet wisdom reveals that it's commonly suffered upon a sudden increase in speed or stride for which the body is not prepared.

So today I'm stiff. And limping. My butt cheek hurts. My hamstring is tight. I'm frustrated.... will I be able to pick up my 16-week-marathon-training program (which was officially to start with a 10-miler today) in time for an April 15 marathon?

Maybe I better go down a rung to a 12-week program.

Don't forget to read my previous post, in which I ask for opinions on reading/study material....

WHAT BOOKS WOULD YOU GET?

I'm cruising amazon.com for running books. I got a $50 gift certificate there from my husband for my birthday (I turned 55 on Dec. 22.)

Recall a couple of my goals and dreams:

• Run a 4:15 marathon to qualify for Boston (and then run Boston)
• Run a marathon in every state
• Dabble in ultra-marathoning

These are some of the books I've been considering. I can also get magazine subscriptions there. Thinking about Marathon and Beyond (although at $34.95/6 issues it would use up over half my gift allowance; all of the books below are available used at discount prices.)

Running Through the Wall: Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon by Neal Jamison

Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger

Daniels' Running Formula by Jack Daniels

Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Running, Second Edition, (Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Running) by Robert G. Price

The Competitive Runner's Handbook: The Bestselling Guide to Running 5Ks through Marathons by Bob Glover

Four Months to a Four-hour Marathon by Dave Kuehls

Running Past 50 (Ageless Athlete) by Richard Benyo

Ultra Running With Scott Jurek (Robbie Readers) (Robbie Readers) by Jim Whiting

Running Until You're 100 by Jeff Galloway

What would you get? Any choices from among these? Any I haven't listed?

Workout Stats

Pursuing my goal of running a Boston-qualifying marathon next fall (2007), I put in this workout today. Oh, yeah, I've forgotten to post: I'm eyeing an April 15 marathon in Indiana as a time-trial, then rest a couple weeks, and start the program over again aiming for a late-Sept. hopeful-qualifier, with maybe a November one as a backup in case something screws up the Sept. one.

Qualifying time at my advanced old age of 55 is 4:15, which is 9:45/mile.

I'm using this program and these paces. Nancy steered me to it. What would I ever do without her? The "official" 16-week build-up won't start till next week; you're supposed to be able to run 10 miles. I'm sure I can; after all, I just did a frickin' Ironman. But I took time off and then time easy and I'm building up again, so I won't hit 10 miles till next week.

My HR goals, I got from some other running article.... I'll have to look it up. I did a 10K time-trial a couple weeks ago; my time was 57:30, which is 9:16/mile, and the max HR I was able to provoke was 183. I tried to inch it upward but it stuck there. I could only maintain that for about 0.2 mile. The HR formula I'm using is based on Max Rate - Resting Rate (mine is usually 60) X % effort.

So here's what I did today, in case anyone is interested:

Type of workout:
Pace/intensive endurance, approaching aerobic threshold; week's long run
Purpose:
Increase endurance at quicker pace (I've been doing long runs at 11-13min miles training for Ironman's the last 2 years.)

Goals:
A. 9 miles at 10K pace + 60-75 sec./min (= 10:15 – 10:30)
Met? Distance - Y; pace -N

B. Keep steady pace
Met? N

C. Keep steady perceived effort
Met? Y

D. HR 75-85% (152 – 164)
Met? Y

Notes:
OK, explaining the “No’s”:
A. Overall pace quicker than expected
9 miles at 1:31:28 = 10:13/mile
B. Not steady at all, but terrain varied.
Mile 1 – 10:28 (warm-up mile)
Mile 2 – 9:56 (mostly downhill)
Mile 3 – 10:02 (rolling, predominantly downhill)
Mile 4 – 11:10 (long slow upgrade)
Mile 5 – 11:01 (turnaround in middle; upgrade till then)
Mile 6 – 9:19 (downgrade)
Mile 7 – 9:51 (rolling w/ uphill trend)
Mile 8 – 10:29 (mostly uphill)
Mile 9 – 9:38 (rolling, mostly downhill)

C. Actually HR reached 170 (90%) on a hill; otherwise within range. Perceived effort was quite steady.

AMEN!

I noticed the other day....

How much the word "Amen" (either way you pronounce it) sounds like "I'm in."

Try ending your prayer with "I'm in!" and see if it has the same effect on you that it did on me.

I'm in.

HAMILTON THANKSGIVING

We had everyone together at son Jon's house, except our youngest daughter Avery's husband Scott, who had work conflicts. Our get-together was Saturday after Thanksgiving, the most do-able for the most people. Daughter-in-law Jamie had worked all night (NICU nurse) ans spent the day sleeping at her mom's, but came over later in the afternoon.

It's rare to have all 4 generations together, every single one of my mother's direct descendants.


The oldest and youngest of our clan: My mother, Ellinor Benedict, 85, and our granddaughter, Abigail Hamilton, 3 yrs. 10 months


Our three grandkids being goofy: Abbie; Gracie, 8; Collin, 10



The whole family!
Left to right:
My husband Steve; grandson Collin Clevenger; daughter Avery Elefante; daughter-in-law Jamie Hamilton; son Jon Hamilton; granddaughter Grayson Clevenger; me, Ellinor Hamilton; daughter Valerie Hamilton; Val's husband Anthony; Anthony's son Bradley; granddaughter Abbie Hamilton; matriarch/mother/grandmother/great-grandmother Ellinor Benedict

And as if a humongous turkey dinner topped off with 2 kinds of pie, 3 cousins to play with, and all her family together (Abbie LOVES her family, especially her grandpa and her great-grandmother), here is what her daddy found in their garage after dinner.


He had seen a stray cat in there a couple times but had no idea there were offspring. For an almost-4-yr-old, Thanksgiving doesn't get any better. His name is Walrus -- Abbie's new word of the week. Walrus hissed and spit and bit when Jon caught him, but calmed down remarkably within just a few minutes. After some tuna, which he gulped like a dog, he got a bath, a nap wrapped in a warm towel, and then was deemed fit to play with. Within a couple hours after capture, he was purring in our laps and playing with strings the kids dragged for him.

Thanksgiving is about so much more than the food. Although that was good, too...

MY "SLEEP" THEORY

Maybe I should call it more a "rule of thumb."

We know lots of "rules of thumb:"
When you race (running), no long runs or speedwork for as many days as there were miles in your race.
After a race or long run, calories don't count for as many hours as there were miles run.

And so on.

I have a theory that I think I will develop into a new personal rule of thumb:

For each hour in a hard effort (i.e., long run or ride, race, speedwork), an extra hour of sleep per hour of effort will enhance recovery.

Thus:
For the 16 hours and 20 minutes I was on the course at IMFL, I needed to "replace" 16 hours of sleep. Not all at once. Maybe an hour a day for 16 days. I didn't do this religiously, since I thought of it about a week later, but I had been going to bed earlier each night just because I was tired. This was when the "hour of sleep per hour of effort" idea dawned on me.

A 6-hour marathon, then, would suggest 5 days of sleeping an hour extra per night (or day.)

For a hard 10K effort, extra sleep for however long that took.

Maybe, any training effort that we're still tired from an hour or so later, or the next day, should trigger the "sleep alarm" -- however long that effort lasted, get its equivalent in extra sleep.

It might not always be possible.
It might not be indispensable.

But it couldn't hurt.

JUST SOME CLUELESS OLD LADY

Well. I left a comment on Dean Karnazes' blog about how great it was to talk with him, and how I decided that if this campground customer could run 20-30 miles a day after just doing 50 marathons in 50 days, certainly I could go out and run for half an hour 2 weeks after an Ironman. And that I ran faster than usual because I was thinking about this daily-ultra-runner I'd talked to. And how excited I was later in the day when I discovered who he was. How I'd been on the web all evening learning all about him and feeling high.

Comments are subject to moderator approval.

Mine didn't get in.

Nor did I get a mention in his descriptions of people he'd met that day.

When he asked if I was a runner, and I showed him my IMFL mug, and he said, "Great! Congratulations!" he was probably thinking,

"Oh, you did an Ironman. How cute."

He probably was thinking, some woman goes through the motions of being a runner, and calls herself an Ironman, and doesn't know who I am???

Really, I didn't know. I don't surf running websites, I don't do forums or chatrooms, I only read an occasional couple fitness/athletic magazines other than Triathlete, I don't read running books. The magazines and books haven't changed much over the last 20 years, and I don't pay much attention to them anymore. I just do it.

I'd have known Jeff Galloway. Or Frank Shorter. Or Bill Rodgers. Or Ingrid Kristiansen. Or Joan Benoit Samuelson. Or Grete Waitz. Runners who were in the news when I was into the news.

I'd have known Lance Armstrong.

I'd have recognized the names of Tim or Nicole DeBoom, Natascha Baddman, Heather Fuhr, Lisa Bentley, Laurie Bowden. I'd have known Andrea Fisher by sight, since she was my neighbor for the week in the campground at IMFL.

This man.... somehow he just slipped through the cracks.

Like I told Nancy.... the Lord must have been so appalled that I hadn't heard of or read about Dean Karnazes, He just had to send him to me in person. And then get my friends to tell me who he was.

At least I noticed his thighs.

Back to my safe place under my rock.
______________________

Update: 21stCenturyMom has commented that I am, indeed, there in his comment section. I'm finding what I wrote in this blog but not the one she quoted (correctly!) from Dean's Run Home.

Why should this whole thing even matter to me? I have my friends. Why do I need feedback from some celebrity who never heard of me and whom I'll never meet again?

THE CELEBRITY AND THE BLONDE

Remember to be hospitable to strangers, for you never know who you're entertaining unawares.

This morning at work at the campground office, I was talking to my mom on my cell phone (slow day at the office) and told her, "Oops, gotta go, got a customer coming. He's dressed for running. He's got awesome thighs." She laughed and wished me luck and I hung up.



The man brought in a little bag of garbage and asked where the dumpsters were. I told him, but said, "That's small, just give it to me, I'll throw it in the trash can right here," which he did, and I did.

"How far you running today?" I asked. "Oh, 20 or 30 miles I guess," he said. "Great!" I said. "What are you training for?" He said, "Actually I'm running across the United States."

"Cool!" I answered. "So you're almost done?"

"No," he said, "I'm just starting."

"You're going east to west against the prevailing winds in late fall at this latitude? You're going to have fun when you get to Colorado!" We both laughed and he said he hoped Colorado wouldn't be too bad.

So he says, "You must be a runner. You didn't go blank or do a double take when I said how far I was running." I lifted my M-Dot Florida mug in a toast gesture and took a sip of my coffee. "Great, congratulations!" he said. "I barely survived, but it was fun," I observed. "I haven't run since, but I might go out today."

Then he says, "I just took a break from my trip, flew down to Texas, and did a 24-hour ultra. Plus I just finished running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days."



"Awesome!" I said. "I want to do all 50 states. Except I don't think I'll make it in 50 days :-) Another thing I want to do is cross the country, not on foot but on a bike, Pacific to Atlantic."

"That's a great goal," he said.

"You better go run, you've got goosebumps on your thighs," I said, thereby letting the cat out of the bag that I'd been ogling his thighs.



He laughed. "Well, we gotta break camp first.... my dad is driving the camper, he's my support crew."

"Well, good luck!" I said, and he said, "You, too!" and he left. I watched them disconnecting their utility hoses getting ready to leave. Another customer came in. "See that rig leaving?" I said. "The guy was just in here.... he's running across the country east to west on Rte. 50." "Hmph," said the man. "Wonder if he knows what he's getting into as he gets into West Virginia and Western Maryland. I hear they've had snow in Garrett County already, and you know what the hills are like out there."



I was wishing I'd given the runner guy my email address so he could let me know when he got there, like the guy I met on the bike trail last summer. I was wishing I'd had my camera so I could email his quads to my friends.

So I told some of my email friends, including Nancy, about this encounter, and told them they missed some great quads. Nancy emailed me back, "Uhhhhhh, Ellie.... did he look like this guy? (Gave me this link) Dean Karnazes????" I emailed back, "Yeah, that was him! I just put his registration info in the campground computer this morning!" So then I went to the link to see who he was.

Geez.

Dean Karnazes. I guess every runner in the world except me knows about him. He has a blog (actually several) and I left a comment on this one. On his Daily Archives page, you can see that he was staying in Winchester, VA (except they listed it as WV.) That was before he left for the ultra in TX and he just got back yesterday. That was here! That was Candy Hill Campground, Winchester, VA! I threw away his trash for him!



I'm glad I had my eye makeup on :-)

OH, NO....

I'm not really thinking of doing this, am I?

It's February 17.

I worked backwards on the calendar and determined that I could get in the lon runs. It's not like each increase would be new territory I haven't entered before.

The timing would be the same as last year, when I ran RNR Arizona in January after doing ChesapeakeMan the end of September.

I was very pleased with how I did at RNR AZ.

Oh, no.

What am I saying?

I'm not even running yet following IMFL. I'd have to do long winter runs in northern Virginia.... not southern Arizona.

Oh, my.

I can't afford it. $$$$ The main costs being travel and lodging.

A $52 entry fee, after an M-Dot race, feels like scoring a terrific pair of jeans for $6 at Goodwill.

What started this? I signed on to a Shenandoah Valley Runners list and someone told me she's training for MBM. She did IM AZ last April. Her pace is similar to mine and we could train together. I'm calling her..... maybe we could drive and room together.

I can't fly. $$$$$

I am really afraid I am going to try to do this. I made a training calendar. Here we go again....

CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD

Yeah. Another one of those religious posts.

I don't sleep well. I have hot flashes and sweats and then when I throw the covers off I get cold. I'll wake up and find it still nearly dark but I hear birds and think or say out loud, "Are those damn birds at it already? Why can't I have a couple more hours?"

So this morning I woke up in the dark, looked at my watch. 4:30. I said a silent "Thank you, God! I get another 3 more hours of sleep."

Nope.

Awake. Not stewing over anything in particular, just wide awake. Couldn't get comfortable. Too hot. Too cold. Bed too hard. Thinking about music.... how to adapt the theme from "Legends of the Fall" to play as a waltz that would sound old-timey on the fiddle, like "Tenessee Waltz" or "Beautiful Dreamer." What a stupid thing to be thinking about trying to sleep.

No sleep.

I said prayers. Lord's Prayer. Psalm 23. Both generally have a hypnotic effect on me. I rarely get all the way through Psalm 23.

Nope.

I said silently, "Lord, what do you want?" (And I didn't say it nicely.) "I'm trying to sleep here. I'm going to be tired. My whole day will be a mess if I'm tired. I'll feel crappy and I'll mess things up and I won't be any good for anything. If you're so great than make me sleep."

And I got..... "We never spend any time together. You're so busy during the day, we hardly cross paths." So I brought up all the things I'm worrying about. It just got me riled. I said, "So, this isn't helping me any. What do you want to talk about?" I got...."Who said we had to talk? I just want to keep company with you." So I stopped but my mind just went into uncomfortable-silence mode. After a few minutes, I volunteered again, "This isn't helping me. I'm going to be tired." I got, "Would I wake you up to keep company with you and let it hurt you? Be still, and know that I am God."

And after a spell of dwelling on that verse.... well, I seem to have slept. I woke up before the alarm feeling rested and ready to get up.

Gotta go take the dog out now and get to work.

I RAN!

It's so long since I've run, it's like I've forgotten how. I couldn't find my running shoes. I put my socks on upside down.

I wore the dusty-rose long-sleeved running top my Calgarian friends, Dianne and Dawn, gave me as an IMFL present when they sprung their surprise visit to Nancy and me, as if their visit wasn't gift enough.

I ran a little over a mile, measured afterwards with my bike at 1.1. Whoopee. Time was 11:14.

Then I went on the bike and measured a real-mile course out to the road and back through the campground, in case I don't want to get out on the trafficked roadways during the winter. I can do laps. And I can also measure my mile-pace progress, although it's not flat. I might go to a track for that.

It feels good to have gone running again.

WHY DID HE DIE?

I just did a search hoping for news on the cause of the death of Barney Rice, whose hopes for everything ended during the swim at IMFL. All I'm finding is "cause of death was not immediately evident, but an autopsy will be performed."

He had 3 young sons. The youngest is 6 months. And a young wife, who went through his year of IM training like every other Iron Spouse. He had, the same as all of us this whole past year and that cold race morning, anticipation, excitement, a sense of adventure, and high hopes for a grand achievement. He had his bike shoes and helmet in his transition bag, his water bottles and GU packs on his bike. His ready bike waited in the transition area and.....stayed there all day.

I felt glad to make it out of the swim alive. When I reached the finish line 14 or so hours later, I found out that one man hadn't.

I'm still having dreams.

Last night it was being on the bike leg of the Ironman and finding, not hills, I don't know what you'd call them.... rock dunes, or something. They undulated up out of the ground like mountains, as high as a 3-story house. I was thinking, this is no place for a road bike; I need a mountain bike. They rose one after another. I saw a dip between two "dunes" coming and thought, oh, no, here it comes..... got my speed up and almost, but not quite, made the jump between them. My bike was bashed between the two rocky swells, all bent up. The wheel rims were creased into mere slits. I was unhurt, but finishing the race was out of the question. Even if I could get a mountain bike, there wouldn't be time afterwards to make the cutoff.

I've dreamed about being in 20-foot seas in a tiny boat; about crying as I tried to resuscitate a drowned cat; about being rejected from a music program and offered violin bows made of glow-necklaces instead of carbon fiber; and now about rocky swells coming like ocean waves destroying my bike.

I need closure. I hope they make it public when they find out why he died. And if it was simple drowning.... why??? A 35-year-old triathlete shouldn't have just gone and drowned out there, 2/3 of the way through his swim. It doesn't make sense.

I KEEP THINKING ABOUT BOSTON....

I started a Yahoogroup, Boston Bound, and a blog, Boston2008 (Boston Bound wasn't available, darn), for people trying for a Boston qualifier. We've got such a huge triathlon brigade here.... there have to be Boston hopefuls as well. Maybe even Boston-repeat hopefuls.

Let everyone know, 'K? People in Blogland, people "out there." Ship 'em to Boston Bound , Boston 2008, and/or here.

I think I'm serious about training for this..... think so? :-D

Except right now I'm still in my self-enforced 2-week no-training recovery period after IMFL.

Man, I REALLY want to get out there and run. I need to be careful not to go out too fast..... take this training year like a marathon, sensibly paced so I can hang in there the whole time.

SERVING

On our trip back from Florida, we passed a big Salvation Army HQ building. On it were the large sculpted letters:

"Serving others through Christ."

I don't know whether this is the Salvation Army motto or not, but I was thinking, shouldn't it go:

"Serving Christ through others" ? That is, you serve Christ through serving others?

IRONMAN DREAMS

1. I'm in a small open boat, tossing and heaving in 20-foot seas. I'm thinking, "At least I'm in a boat."

2. I'm fishing and feel a bite on my hook. As I'm reeling in my catch, I discover it's not a fish, but a cat. I have to reel it in to save it, but reeling it in drowns it. I'm crying as I try to resuscitate it. (Probably most readers know, a man drowned at IMFL.)

3. In real waking life, I am learning to play the violin, self-taught, country-fiddle style. In this dream,I'm accepted at a large university music department, to major in violin performance. I show up for my first session with my professional private instructor, who finds that I'm slightly better than Vera Violet Vinn (you have to know Dr. Seuss to get that.) After hearing me play a couple measures, she signals me to stop, shakes her head, and says, "Do not finish your piece. You should not have entered this institution." I yell, "That's what I'm HERE for! To LEARN HOW!!" She senses how much I want this and says, "Well, let's see what I can do to help you perhaps a little." She starts by saying I need a better bow. The one I have is about 6 inches long. But all the ones she offers me are useless: floppy, not rigid. One is made out of a straightened-out glow-necklace. None are wood or carbon fiber (even violin bows are carbon fiber nowadays.) I appreciate her (condescending) gestures but realize I am simply not prepared to play the violin; I don't even have a bow.

OFFLINE

We're about to take the satellite dish down to start our trip back north. Probably won't bother putting it up for overnight stays. So I won't be able to send or receive, unless we're somewhere that Steve's computer can pick up a Wi-Fi signal (mine's too archaic for that.)

 

Catch ya later!

A QUESTION

Do you think it's reasonable to combine these goals during one year?

1. Dropping about 45 minutes from current marathon ballpark time, to hopefully run a Boston Qualifier in the fall, and

2. Continuing through that same year to run a few other marathons to add to my 50-state quest?


Background: In 2001 (before I started doing triathlons and was just a runner) I ran a 4:21 in late April and a 4:12 in October. The 4:21 inspired me to try for a BQ, which would have been 4:05 at the time. I went out too fast and blew it, walked a few miles, and still made 4:12. This was 5 years ago.

My qualifying time at my age now is 4:15.

Do you think I could do the necessary speedwork AND get in a number of marathons to increase my state tally?