tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209021622012-02-16T03:39:24.896-08:00Life in the SLO lane. After 16 years in Minneapolis, I moved to the California Central Coast. I'm 58 and have been running for six years. I've finished seven marathons, with a 5:50:10 PR. I'm currently training for the Portland 2011 Marathon.Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.comBlogger2241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-57094549188472929372011-04-30T14:29:00.000-07:002011-04-30T14:29:29.009-07:00

Bonjour from the City of Light! SD and I are in France for our European vacation. We arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning and were able to check into our room at 10:30. Such a blessing when you've been traveling for 19 hours. First order of business--a bath! Then we explored for a little while until we could no longer keep our eyes open and returned to our room for a long nap.  Somewhat refreshed

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-25758736844984492162011-04-11T13:45:00.000-07:002011-04-11T13:45:58.665-07:00

The Wine Country Half Marathon was yesterday in Paso Robles. It was the second time I ran it; the first time was two years ago and I placed 3rd in my AG, running 11:15 mpm. This time, not even close! I did run hard, though, and pulled in 9 out of 11. The top three in my age group all ran under 2:15, including one woman who was two years older than me! My time was 2:36:48; 11:58 minutes per mile

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-11025387416029139652011-03-21T15:17:00.000-07:002011-03-21T15:17:01.464-07:00

Hurray, spring is here! The hills are lush with all the rain we've had. I got home on Saturday night from my trip to the other wine country and woke up to my beautiful view. It was storming, so I slept in instead of doing my scheduled 45 minutes of drills. I only ran twice in the week I was gone. Partly because of the heavy rains and partly because we were traveling with another couple. I did

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-39786249563116892952011-03-17T00:34:00.000-07:002011-03-17T00:34:03.976-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm in San Francisco with my husband and some friends from Minneapolis and I plan to take them to the Buena Vista bar later for Irish Coffee. Of course, I'll be wearing a bit of green--my Shamrock pin from the old country. First though (after some sleep!) I plan to run across the Golden Gate bridge. I brought my Human Race t-shirt from a previous year. The Human Race,

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-73238602546597103962010-10-13T11:46:00.000-07:002010-10-13T11:46:54.436-07:00

Temperature at the start: 61F. Temperature when I finished: 82F. Elapsed time from start line to finish: 6:34:17. Arrrggghhh!!!! Are all marathoners as optimistic as I am? Every time race day approaches, I think, "This time, I'm going to PR." Then the marathon kicks my butt. But I'm not here to whine about the race. Chicago has a great course--you run through some great neighborhoods and the

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-8163517264771533732010-10-09T18:35:00.000-07:002010-10-09T18:35:14.373-07:00

Greetings from Chicago. It's the night before the marathon and I thought I'd check in. Getting ready to go to bed, just need to double check that I have everything laid out. The hotel where I'm at is across the street from the start, so I have no worries about getting there on time. Race starts at 7:30, so I'm meeting my friend, Bunny, at 6 in the lobby and we'll head over. She's hoping for a BQ

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-61317663362770050152010-08-18T16:17:00.000-07:002010-08-18T16:17:14.382-07:00

The San Francisco half-marathon was better than I expected. I was worried about going the distance, since I hadn't run more than 10 miles and I'm accustomed to running at least 15 miles before a half. I prefer the challenge to be the finish time, not the distance. So I went into this race expecting it to take 3 hours, but was pleasantly surprised to finish in 2:44:05. I've started training with

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-19473200179185683312010-07-11T21:54:00.000-07:002010-07-11T21:54:47.436-07:00

Last night I dreamt that I was in a race. The woman in front of me started to run, so I started to run. That was when I realized I was carrying my purse! Who runs a race carrying a purse? Someone who is unprepared for her race. It doesn't take a Ph.D to figure this dream out. The San Francisco Half-marathon is in --Ack!--two weeks and I have too few miles under my water belt. When I signed up

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-73868755274088858062010-05-04T23:45:00.000-07:002010-05-04T23:45:34.447-07:00

The Wildflower ride was so much fun! I made it the entire 50 miles, the furthest I've ever ridden. Since I was woefully undertrained, I was worried about the distance. I had even contemplated selling my bib, although I didn't really want to. I have wanted to do the Wildflower ride ever since I heard about it three years ago. It's very popular and sells out within hours. Since I'm used to big

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-60842391878654334742010-04-19T17:39:00.000-07:002010-04-19T17:39:38.326-07:00

The Boston Marathon is a great motivator to go for a run. So I ran four miles on the treadmill. I'm still recovering from my injury, but I've run a few 3 milers on the treadmill without any apparent harm. And I have a half-marathon coming up at the end of July that I need to start training for. Man, I'm out of shape. And too heavy. Hoping that the pounds will melt off as I increase my activity.

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-64344993771929625892010-03-17T05:00:00.000-07:002010-03-17T08:48:44.534-07:00

It's St. Patrick's Day--time for my yearly Irish jokes! O'Toole died and went to Heaven. Upon his arrival, a concerned St. Peter met O'Toole at the Pearly Gates. "I'm sorry, O'Toole," says St. Peter, "but Heaven is suffering from an overload of goodly souls and we have been forced to hold an Entrance Exam for new arrivals to ease the burden on Heavenly Arrivals." "To be sure," answers O'Toole.

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-29812067830609321642010-03-06T23:03:00.000-08:002010-03-06T23:03:34.442-08:00

I was cleaning out some comment spam, so thought I'd stop and say hi. It's been so long since I've posted anything, it's kind of hard to start. First, I want to thank you for your congratulatory comments on my previous post. Here's a brief update on what's going on with me: I haven't run for a couple of months now. I hurt my hip and have been seeing a PT. He say's it's tendonitis and has been

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-31442061022258139062009-11-12T11:42:00.000-08:002010-05-17T11:54:44.289-07:00

My legs hurt, my feet were sore, and I was tired. And that was at the starting line. But New York? Best. Marathon. Ever. Not in terms of my time, which once again sucked--6:06:26. But, OMG, I have never experienced such an event. From the expo, to the transportation, to the race itself, everything was very well organized. And big--over 43,000 runners and 2 million spectators! SD and I arrived

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-64030658412956565712009-10-23T05:46:00.000-07:002009-10-23T07:41:11.744-07:00

Had a wonderful time at the Nike Women’s Half marathon on Sunday and it had nothing to do with speed. I finished the race in 2:50—definitely not my fastest time, but with the NYC Marathon two weeks away, I wasn’t trying to be speedy.Several of us SLO Runners drove to San Francisco for the event. SD and I went up on Friday and stayed in S. San Francisco, thinking It would be quieter and we could

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-84440809691467404862009-10-12T11:02:00.000-07:002009-10-14T22:29:46.691-07:00

Three weeks till marathon and I'm so happy I get to taper. I ran 21 miles yesterday and am relieved to say it wasn't too bad. My legs were fatigued, but I could have gone another 5.2 miles if I had to. I was worried about it, because my 18 miler last week was the run from hell. I was holding up my running partners and felt really bad about it. But yesterday, I held my own.Belated congratulations

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-32008061467467212832009-09-27T14:27:00.000-07:002009-09-27T22:35:01.681-07:00

But luck was on my side today for the Heritage Oaks Family Fun Day. I decided to run the 5K, cuz my running friend had to leave town unexpectedly so I offered to buy her number. I have never done that before, since I'm used to the big races where they'll arrest you for that. But I did and it came back to bite me (sort of.)I thought this was just a fun run, but it turned out to be chip timed. I

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-4318660399287515712009-09-24T14:50:00.000-07:002009-09-24T16:08:38.850-07:00

I was reading my latest copy of Runner's World this morning when I came across an ad for Road ID. You know the one's I'm talking about--"Warning. Driver cut himself shaving, 500 feet" or "Warning. Teenage Driver Ahead making out with girl friend while texting with his toes." It made me think of yesterday's long run, where a car passed by and I got a lung full of second-hand reefer. "Warning:

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-58493012785755149782009-09-20T13:42:00.000-07:002009-09-20T15:03:10.314-07:00

Hey there! Where on earth did the summer go? It's been almost three months since I've posted anything; it wasn't an intentional hiatus. I "talk" to you on my runs, but when I get back feel like I don't have anything to say. I feel like I'm always running around and never catching up.My summer was spent training for New York. I was doing pretty well for a while, following the Bart Yasso training

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-39879885152960582812009-07-02T23:00:00.000-07:002009-07-11T22:21:43.306-07:00

The Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon and Half-marathon sold out at twenty-five thousand. Of the marathon, there were 5633 finishers: 2564 male and 3069 females. I'm proud to say I was one of them! Official time 6:10:59. Not my best time, and certainly not what I had hoped, but it's not my worst marathon time either.This was my fifth marathon finish (!) and I hope I'm learning from them. One of the

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-73923429097997525092009-06-04T15:39:00.000-07:002009-06-04T23:44:31.522-07:00

Yours Truly was selected in the lottery for the New York City marathon! This will be my 6th marathon and it's one I've had my eye on. Although I was raised in California and consider myself to be a Californian, I was born in the Bronx and figured I should run New York sometime. It will be interesting to run through all five boroughs. I haven't step foot in the Bronx since I was a teenager in 1969

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-30686759720082741702009-05-30T14:31:00.000-07:002009-05-30T15:46:01.083-07:00

Today is the Rock n Roll Seattle marathon and Irene is running it. Go Irene! Actually, by this time, she ran it but I don't know her results yet. It won't be her fastest marathon, but she is recovering from a serious injury and the fact that she can race at all is a miracle.It's been a good week and I ran a total of 36 miles. My running confidence is restored after running 15 miles on Tuesday.

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-51993984328548387642009-05-25T12:20:00.000-07:002009-05-25T23:31:48.584-07:00

Sadly, that title does not refer to the distance of my latest long run. I ran a whopping 9 miles on Sunday, but I plan to run long tomorrow. I'd love to be able to do 14, but that may be too ambitious. I want to get my mileage up again but not at the risk of injury. Bunny, M.A. and I are running at the beach tomorrow for a somewhat flat distance.What the title refers to is the Avila Blues

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-56352349608148970222009-05-21T11:03:00.001-07:002009-05-21T11:27:28.015-07:00

Bicycling magazine held a contest to give away a new bicycle. To win, you had to send in a video groveling detailing why you deserved a new bike. The staff came up with the top 10 and the public gets to vote on who deserves the best bike. They video's are very creative, but this one was among the best. He's not the one I voted for, though. I voted for this guy, because I have a soft spot for the

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-2271430377071169912009-05-08T14:01:00.000-07:002009-05-08T15:27:51.458-07:00

Bonjour.Still in France but through the magic of WiFi, I've been able to keep up with most of your blog posts. So before I get to moi, I want to send out good wishes to those of you running Fargo this weekend: Beth, AmyBee, Nat, and ShirleyPerly. Also to Marlene in Canada, running her fifth half-marathon and maybe setting a PR. I'd also like to bring to your attention that Danielle ran the Boston

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-53607047365561522822009-05-01T13:51:00.000-07:002009-05-01T14:36:15.223-07:00

Bonjour!Writing this on the last night in La Maraval, our vacation home away from home. We've had a wonderful time here and it flew by. Here's a link if you'd like to see pictures of the property and read about its history.Yesterday we drove to St. Emilion, a wine region in Bordaux. The town itself is ancient and one of the oldest vineyards in the world is located there. While the guys went wine

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-50235845510682665572009-04-26T14:03:00.000-07:002009-04-26T14:43:44.263-07:00

Bonjour! Writing this from St. Front a la Riviere, in the Aquitaine. SD and I landed in Paris on Wednesday and joined two friends for a fun-filled adventure in France. We spent three nights in Paris and drove to our 17th century manor house in the French countryside yesterday, stopping in Chartres first to see the magnificent cathedral. Our friends rented this house and it's way cool and will

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-41425442991135044002009-04-14T22:47:00.000-07:002009-04-14T23:14:10.809-07:00

Thank you all for your condolences. It does mean a lot to me. Life goes on and I have a marathon to train for. Today I ran 18 miles in incredibly windy conditions. Bunny ran with me and we pushed the pace a little bit. When it got really hard, I thought about all my cousin Gwen had to deal with. When I questioned why I put myself through this, I came up with three answers: because I can; because

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-89004115508635101332009-04-13T13:45:00.000-07:002009-04-13T15:56:08.037-07:00

My cousin lost her battle with ovarian cancer yesterday morning. She was in the hospital for 48 consecutive days. She leaves behind her husband, baby girl (pictured below), parents, siblings and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. I didn't know her well. We are several years apart in age and she grew up hours away from me. Still, I remember her and it's a sad day. The picture above was taken at

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-26945797440121909192009-03-31T22:30:00.000-07:002009-04-01T15:30:18.631-07:00

Time: 2:29:32.170 Pace (Min/Mi): 11:24 Overall Rank: 384 Female Rank: 214 Female 55-59 Rank: 3 That was one tough race! The course itself was relatively flat, but there was some wicked wind blowing and the sun beat relentlessly towards the last three miles. Plus, there was that awful hill at mile 13. Ugh! I'm still sore.So, I didn't get my 11 minute miles as I hoped. This was actually only my

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-49361614514341119632009-03-28T18:50:00.000-07:002009-03-28T19:40:22.021-07:00

Today I attended the San Luis Obispo County Track and Field Meet, for high school boys and girls. I had never been to a track meet before, but had two good reasons for going; one was to see Bunny's son, Jack, run the one mile event. Jack is a freshman and he shows strong promise. The other reason I went was to see senior Jordan Hasay run. Bunny gave me a heads up that Jordan would be running and

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-39616635203229965962009-03-17T14:32:00.000-07:002009-03-17T16:09:56.437-07:00

Today's run was a 16 miler, same as I did last week. Last week I was supposed to do 15, but took a wrong turn which added a mile. So today I was saying 16, but thinking maybe 17.Not! Although the course was relatively flat, we had a couple of killer hills and it was all I could do to run 16. Bunny and M.A. ran with me, although mostly they ran ahead of me. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I wore my

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-85188652010670261252009-03-14T16:41:00.000-07:002009-03-14T18:21:34.871-07:00

I made the cut! I submitted a story in Steve Stenzel's Tales of a Virgin Athlete contest and I'm in the top 10. There were 34 submissions, so that's a big deal to me. I was actually nervous about it and was hesitant to open Steve's email naming the finalists.I read all the submissions and they're great! Some are funny, some are poignant, many are inspiring. Steve had ten people judge the entries

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-12474432786917941552009-03-07T22:18:00.000-08:002009-03-07T22:43:29.960-08:00

As of Wednesday, I had run 28 miles for the week. I skipped my run yesterday, because a friend was visiting and she was leaving sometime in the morning. I normally run in the morning and even though I promised myself that I would run later, I didn't. I did manage to catch up on some Brothers and Sisters episodes, though.So instead of cross-training today, I ran on the treadmill. I decided to do

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-52169754608371850592009-02-27T21:29:00.000-08:002009-02-28T18:38:18.044-08:00

Don't hate me because I live in California. ;-) I heard Minneapolis got 6-8 inches of snow today. Yikes! Remember that old adage, "March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb." It's almost March and soon it will be spring and another winter will be behind you.It's just as well that I didn't take pictures on today's run, because it was absolutely gorgeous. No rain in sight and I actually had to

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-84630727705488233612009-02-25T19:06:00.000-08:002009-02-25T19:30:25.809-08:00

Where life's such a groove, you blow your mind in the morning*SD and I have spent the last three days in Mendocino. The coast is rugged and reminds me of the Oregon coast. There's even Scotch Heather in bloom. I went on a couple of morning runs, which were pretty good, if not mind-blowing.Yesterday's run was a 5 miler around town. Part of that consisted of the Headlands State Park. I actually did

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-38167409041775619292009-02-20T22:38:00.000-08:002009-02-20T23:49:33.354-08:00

It was a fun but exhausting day. I'll tell it in pictures.I drove SD to Justin Winery, where he was participating in the first, annual, Justin Tour of Paso Bike-a-thon. It was a 16 mile fun ride from the winery into downtown Paso, and a fund raiser for the North County Wellness Community.Then I headed into town to check in for my volunteer assignment as Course Marshal. There I met my friend M.A.,

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-35081353236486844792009-02-18T16:38:00.000-08:002009-02-18T17:54:26.604-08:00

Stage 5 of the Amgen Tour of California will finish in Paso Robles tomorrow! I've been watching it on TV all week and this morning there were flags from all the participating countries flying on the Niblick Road bridge. That brought it home for me. I'm so excited that quiet little Paso Robles will be on a world stage!Yours Truly will be a course marshal. Look for me on Charolais Road, near River

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-91549182642671204702009-02-11T14:18:00.000-08:002009-02-11T14:50:37.637-08:00

On Monday morning, SD returned home from the gym and exclaimed, "There's snow on York Mountain!" Frankly, I don't care if I ever see snow again, but this is a rare enough occurrence that we went out to take pictures. Unfortunately, the good camera is not working, so I didn't get as good of a shot as I would have liked. If you squint and use your imagination, you can see the snow. Of course, it

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-1757913097650580482009-02-03T20:26:00.000-08:002009-02-03T22:52:57.016-08:00

Monday is my day of rest--from running at least. I spent the day cleaning my house; I actually have to schedule that in, or it won't get done. I've never been one of those women who say no to fun because they have to wash the floor. Now I'm trying to be that woman. Probably because my husband's now around to see how much I've been skating. ;-)Today was my first long run of this training schedule.

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-81536125635222380242009-02-01T16:49:00.000-08:002009-02-01T23:07:47.719-08:00

Sunday is the start of a new week and this week begins my marathon training! Last week I managed to run 28 miles. That's not much, but it's a lot more than I had been doing. Bunny is going to train with me, even though she's probably going to run a half marathon. We start our first long run on Tuesday--10 miles. We've put in a few 8 milers these past few weeks, so although 10 will be challenging,

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-2328509954333896832009-01-27T21:57:00.000-08:002009-01-27T22:22:37.841-08:00

I'm getting soft. I didn't want to run outside today because it was too cold when really, it wasn't all that cold. Regardless, I thought I'd be running alone, so opted for some indoor training.It turned out my running partner, Bunny, met me at the gym and we did intervals on the treadmill. Since she's so much faster than me, it's a good way for us to do speed work together. We warmed up for a

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-59957527544593894572009-01-24T12:47:00.000-08:002009-01-24T15:24:36.714-08:00

Hi There! Happy New Year and I hope you had a nice holiday season. Sorry for the lack of posts lately. And thanks for the gentle nudges from some of you, letting you know you missed me. Everythings fine, great even, but I haven't established a new routine for posting. In Minneapolis, I'd be home after a run and would post while the memory was recent. Here, I run, and then it's like the next day

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-23512222235568950912008-11-11T13:53:00.000-08:002008-11-13T23:03:40.116-08:00

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift."Steve PrefontaineThe above quote was on the back of a t-shirt I saw while running the Big Sur Half Marathon last Sunday. It helped me get through to the finish.Not that I have a gift for running, as Pre did. But I was running to the best of my ability, chasing a PR. And I did it--2:26:35, an 11:11 pace!My fastest half-m time prior to

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-40511818016077235152008-10-28T09:29:00.001-07:002008-10-28T16:22:56.791-07:00

"This one's for Stephano," I proclaimed as I crossed the starting line. I was running the 10 mile Monster Dash in Minneapolis and I dedicated the race to the Black Knight, who will be undergoing another surgery on October 31st. He is an avid runner and the recovery will have him sidelined for a while. But hopefully he'll be running faster than ever when this ordeal is done.I was visiting the City

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-89242106604806444662008-10-03T22:19:00.000-07:002008-10-03T23:16:53.285-07:00

Greetings from Tokyo. I’ve been having a wonderful time. SD was here on business, so I joined him at the end of his week and we are spending a week vacationing here. SD has been to Japan many times over the years and has made a lot of friends. Since he’ll be retiring at the end of the year, this will be his last reason to travel to Japan for business purposes. So this is a bittersweet trip for

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-26056116543507103842008-09-15T13:23:00.000-07:002008-09-15T13:58:34.969-07:00

It's hard to imagine fall when the temps are in triple digits, but there are subtle signs. This is my first autumn on the Central Coast and I was surprised to see apples at the farmer's markets already. But the leaves are starting to change on the grapevines and the poison oak is bright red! I'm very careful to not brush against it when running in the country, but it grows awfully close to the

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-85288531206284678032008-09-05T13:53:00.000-07:002008-09-05T15:33:35.349-07:00

...when you run with people faster than you.I've started training for the Big Sur half and my goal is to run faster. To achieve that end, I'm dabbling in speed training. My training partner, whom I'll call Bunny, and I run around the track every Tuesday. The track is good, because she's so much faster than I am and this way she doesn't have to wait up. Bunny is also training for Big Sur.Wednesday

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-3462107194288143402008-08-17T23:01:00.000-07:002008-08-18T00:27:51.902-07:00

You don't ever have to put an age limit on your dreams. -- Dara Torres, 41 year old Silver Medalist I've been getting into the Olympics this year. Dara Torres is an amazing athlete, beating the bathing caps off of swimmers more than half her age. Personally, I think her team let her down, although it's easy for me to judge. But Michael Phelp's team didn't let him down--eight gold medals! It's

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-52360579306699085512008-08-05T12:19:00.000-07:002008-08-05T15:02:04.671-07:00

Summer is in full swing on the Central Coast, and I thought I'd show you how it looks. The grapevines are filling in, the hills are a golden brown, and the sun shines daily. These are scenes I witness when I run and ride through the country.I don't know what kind of flowers these are, but they sure brighten up a field.The grapes will be ready to harvest in October. This vine is at the Turley

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-70524044137356381212008-07-22T22:04:00.000-07:002008-07-22T23:15:49.292-07:00

As luck would have it, the August issue of Runner's World arrived with an article written by Dean Karnazes on how to run a faster marathon! That is going to be one dog-eared page. With the Rock and Roll marathon almost two months behind me, I need to start some serious running. I followed a five week recovery plan and am gearing up for a 10K in September. Without a race, I get complacent, so last

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-23294768716899914772008-07-15T16:30:00.000-07:002008-07-15T19:06:49.517-07:00

I recently turned 55 years young and have been thinking of a post to commemorate that. I was going to list the things I witnessed in each decade (color TV, long-haired men, disco, Olympic marathon for women [go Joanie Benoit!], fall of the Soviet Union, rise of terrorism, and finally a women presidential candidate--oh wait! Scratch that one.) But today I had a dentist appointment and I have

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-67356311382899394682008-07-11T21:50:00.000-07:002008-07-11T22:46:36.674-07:00

Greetings from Denver. I've been in town for a couple of days to take care of some personal business. I had a free day today and looked for the perfect place to run six miles. Nothing went as planned, but I did get my run in.I had a light breakfast at the hotel, and left at 9:30. I was going to go to a state park, which I envisioned as being miles of trails with large green trees to provide shade

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-69834587865992219902008-06-29T22:24:00.000-07:002008-06-29T22:59:35.374-07:00

Thanks, everybody, for being so supportive of my marathon. You really are the best!Sorry I've been away so long. I haven't been licking my wounds, I've just been trying to keep up with life. I've been following Hal Higdon's marathon recovery plan, to ease myself into training. I've also been riding my bike!I think I mentioned that I bought a bike. It's something I've wanted to do since I moved

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-33099677936538970982008-06-03T22:03:00.000-07:002008-06-04T00:18:26.807-07:00

The race is over but I'm so disappointed in my finish time that I've been unable to bring myself to write about it. I'm also embarassed by it, but that's my ego and I'll get over it. My goal, which I thought was conservative, was 5:40. I was off by almost an hour! The stats:Chip Time 6:36:31 Age Grade 42.5% Pace 15:08 10K 1:22:13 Half 3:06:23 21 Mi 5:14:31That is my second slowest marathon. Only

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-4200724834991946072008-05-30T21:04:00.001-07:002008-05-30T22:05:08.271-07:00

Hi Everybody. Writing this from San Diego, two days before the Rock n Roll marathon! SD and I drove down today and it took us a lot longer than we expected. But that's because we took the scenic route, and sometimes the traffic was horrendous. I've gotten spoiled living on the Central Coast with its relatively low population. :-)So I'm ready to run. I'm not too nervous, just a little bit. I've

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-1770839249623473612008-05-07T22:33:00.000-07:002008-05-08T21:54:49.672-07:00

Here are some pictures from the Big Sur race, photographed by SD.Early morning wake-up call.Fortunately for me, this Denny's was just across the street from the hotel and open 24 hours for pre-race nutrition. Love is walking your wife to the bus before the sun is even up.How far is that marathon? Medaled!Michele and Eric met us for some post-race coffee later that night. They're wearing their "I

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-27065132392616635542008-05-03T19:29:00.000-07:002008-05-04T09:08:40.497-07:00

I am so glad I ran this race!Good thing I'm too cheap to back out of a race I already paid for. :-) I was concerned about the hills; concerned about my inadequate training. But I finished and I enjoyed myself.But let's start with the Blogger meet-up. Donald had graciously arranged for us to meet for carbo-loading at an Italian restaurant in Carmel the night before the race. SD and I attended,

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-89300116548320678552008-04-24T20:43:00.001-07:002008-04-24T22:01:47.983-07:00

Holy, moly! I can't believe three weeks have gone by already. I had a great time in Portugal, but it's not much of a city to run in. The streets (and sidewalks) are paved with cobblestone. It's really pretty, but not a very forgiving surface. I managed a few training runs on my vacation. I did do the 16 mile run that I mentioned in the previous post. I wish I could say it was spectacular, but it

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-8377184162833406602008-04-02T16:13:00.000-07:002008-04-02T16:35:09.974-07:00

Well, I had a wonderful time in San Francisco. Had a great run to the Golden Gate bridge, which brought back memories from the marathon. And had my virgin Irish Coffee while talking to an Irish cop from New Jersey. How appropriate.But that was then and now I´m in Lisbon with SD. We left California on Sunday night and arrived in Portugal on Tuesday morning, just after midnight. It took so long

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-65856223842694947032008-03-17T11:36:00.000-07:002008-03-17T11:42:32.811-07:00

One evening, twenty-two years ago, I was sitting in a classroom in Santa Ana and wishing I was in San Francisco. It was St. Patrick’s Day and I wanted to be celebrating with an Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista. They specialize in Irish Coffee, making it with Tullamore Dew whiskey. Instead, I went home from my night class and turned on a Clancy Brother’s special. I grew up on the Irish songs of the

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-80941744365213080762008-03-14T22:01:00.000-07:002008-03-14T22:14:07.702-07:00

Fellow blogger, Waddler 26.2, is trying to get a full Ironman sponsorship from Evotri. They are offering 3 sponsorships to the blogger with the most votes. Go to Waddler's blog (http://1waddler.blogspot.com/) to read her very compelling reasons for wanting this and if you agree then help a girl out and submit your vote. Voting ends March 21, so there isn't much time left. All you have to do is

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-65428088593361762062008-03-04T21:27:00.000-08:002008-03-04T23:01:44.859-08:00

I can't run!!! Actually, I can, but I'm afraid hurting myself more. I'm fine when I run, but then the next day my foot hurts.In the previous post, I mentioned that I thought I hurt my sciatic nerve--I had pain from my butt to under my big toe. That was about 3 weeks ago. After the 10 mile run in Minneapolis, I took a week off. I woke up on Sunday with not even a twinge and the next day ran 3.5

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-81658888817529451262008-02-20T08:06:00.001-08:002008-02-20T08:36:54.791-08:00

Greetings from Minneapolis! No, I didn't move back; I'm just visiting. I went for a run around the lakes last Sunday, when the weather was 30 degrees, with an 18* windchill. I had all my winter running gear and was proud of myself for not being a weather wimp. It was a pleasant 10 mile run.However, I have not run since then! The mercury sank like a fruitcake and barely reached double digits above

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-10903841640273183352008-02-04T16:25:00.000-08:002008-02-04T17:50:41.486-08:00

Gosh, thanks for all the comments. I didn't think you would be checking my blog anymore, since my posting has been so sporadic.Life is good, but I'm still adjusting. It's hard to get used to how far away everything is; I drive 15 miles in either direction to shop or get my mail. The post office won't deliver to my house because you need 7 addresses within a mile and we're the only one within 3

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-2684784891232528722008-01-29T20:55:00.000-08:002008-01-29T21:27:21.589-08:00

A poignant moment for me; I just sold my car, a 2001 Audi TT Roadster. We got her in July 2000, one of the first to hit the streets of Minneapolis. She's been a good car, but SD thought it was time for a newer model. I didn't like the 2008 TT; well, I liked driving it but it didn't have the style of the original model. I had a lot of fun with that car and it holds a lot of memories. The buyer is

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-39112282998002273552008-01-08T20:50:00.000-08:002008-01-08T21:15:56.797-08:00

As you can tell from the previous post, I'm at the Consumner Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I'm not having as much fun as in previous years, probably because I'd rather be at my new house, getting it in order.The big news of interest to some of you will be Garmin has a 405 coming out. It's supposed to be released in March. It's way cool, of course. Smaller, and with an interface that's a little

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-38816898767110475002008-01-08T16:59:00.001-08:002008-01-08T17:04:30.190-08:00

I'm writing from the Microsoft booth at CES in Las Vegas. Right now I'm testing the Live Writer feature which let's me write my post online  and upload photos, then upload it to my blog. Sorry this post isn't more interesting; I'll give you a more updated account when I get home.  

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-5070941942970972992007-12-25T21:15:00.000-08:002007-12-25T22:18:10.544-08:00

Hi Everybody,I've missed you! It's been so long since I've been able to update or catch up on you all. I've been a whirlwind, trying to get settled, getting things unpacked and trying to find a place to put it. I'm not one for wasting effort so I like to figure out where it's going to go and then that's where it stays forever. Add onto that, Christmas, and I go into overload with activity.

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-42754529271113424032007-11-25T15:11:00.001-08:002007-11-25T16:00:56.220-08:00

Greetings from the Golden State! My husband and I had a great trip, driving across the country. We left on Saturday and took I35 to Wichita, Kansas. We stayed on the outskirts, but drove to downtown the next morning to get some exercise. We walked around downtown for about an hour and stumbled upon this cool Old Town area. Best part was we found a Dunn Bros. Coffee Shop! It's a small outfit that

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-27643819176105698852007-11-17T18:52:00.000-08:002007-11-17T19:27:43.583-08:00

Here's a picture of the house I'm moving out of, taken this morning. The men are finishing packing and loading up the truck as I write this. They spent all day yesterday packing but didn’t finish. Take my unsolicited advice and don’t accumulate stuff. I really hope I learned my lesson; I’ve been throwing away running magazines from three years ago and performance reviews from thirty years ago (!)

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-86984196692397377282007-11-09T18:42:00.001-08:002007-11-09T19:16:45.237-08:00

I got tagged by Peter to reveal 5 things you don't know about me. Since I once posted 100 things about myself, I'm not sure I have much new. Here goes.When I lose something, I pray to St. Anthony to help me find it. He usually comes through. :-)I iron my pillowcases.I participate on a running community board and my screen name is Not2Fast.I haven't had an alcoholic drink in 20 years. I registered

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-11597909782011897842007-11-02T21:20:00.000-07:002007-11-02T21:51:27.992-07:00

Bruce Springsteen is in town! SD and I went to his concert tonight in St. Paul. I've never been to a Springsteen concert--never was a very big fan although I enjoyed his hits--and was amazed at how much energy he has. I wonder how he stays in shape. What a fabulous concert! Of course, YOU KNOW what I wanted to hear. SD said he wasn't going to play it; I guess The Boss consults him on his playlist

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-43203949962445090892007-10-25T19:45:00.000-07:002007-10-29T15:03:14.481-07:00

I'd better write my race report while I can still remember it! SD and I stayed at a small hotel near Union Square, which is where the start was. The room was too small for any amenities, such as a coffee maker, so we went to a 24 hour restaurant a couple of blocks away. Although a Mariott was nearby, their restaurant didn't serve until 6 a.m., and that was too late to eat for a 7 a.m. start! I

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-79255761337031639392007-10-23T16:26:00.000-07:002007-10-23T16:43:27.471-07:00

Hi Everybody!First, thanks for all your encouragement in the previous post. It really means a lot to me to have so much support.I had a wonderful weekend, including a RBF meet-up with Irene, Michelle, Juls, YaYa, and Espeed. I'll have pictures and will talk about that in another post.I'm still in California and have to go to a coffee shop to use the wi-fi, so I don't have a lot of time for a race

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-55536415471425853392007-10-16T19:20:00.000-07:002007-10-16T14:41:35.187-07:00

My marathon is coming up. Sunday. 7 a.m. San Francisco. Breathe in, breathe out. I have certainly trained for this race, and I'm as ready as I'll ever be. So why don't I feel ready?I was doing OK until I watched the runners go past at mile 21 of the Twin Cities Marathon, and then it all came flooding back. The fatigue. The heat. The pain. There shouldn't be any heat in San Francisco, and I

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-46863264550988755892007-10-08T21:08:00.000-07:002007-10-08T21:58:53.105-07:00

...was not had by all. What a tough weekend for races, weather-wise. The Chicago Marathon was closed, due to intense heat. I called my friend Marcia yesterday and she said she was re-routed and told to walk when the race was canceled. Marcia is a back of the packer, and she told me that there was no Gatorade at mile 2. She said that had she finished, it probably would have been 6.5 hours. She got

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-49962263170716945722007-10-06T20:29:00.000-07:002007-10-06T21:00:19.384-07:00

Tomorrow is a big marathon day. In my home town, there's the Twin Cities Marathon. I'll be out with my neighbors cheering on the runners. I know a lot of people who are in that race tomorrow, but they don't read my blog so I won't name them. Chicago, of course, is putting on its own marathon, and several people from my running club, as well as fellow bloggers are running it. Good luck to Marcia,

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-24748389300233361292007-10-01T13:05:00.001-07:002007-10-01T20:11:19.994-07:00

Hi Everybody. Sorry I've been incommunicado. Blame it on marathon training. Or house selling. Or both, because lately it seems like when I'm not running, I'm cleaning the house to get it ready for a showing. But let's talk about running, shall we. I just finished the third 20-mile run of my training. I ran alone, parking my car and running ten miles out and back, then swapping fuel belts and

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-85722516503893760342007-09-06T09:03:00.000-07:002007-09-06T20:56:52.362-07:00

The Disneyland Half Marathon was last Monday--Labor Day. SD and I spent a few days at our new house, then drove down to Anaheim for the weekend. We stayed at a Residence Inn, which was handy because it had a kitchen. I was able to burn make oatmeal before the race.The race started at 6 a.m. and they wanted all runners in the staging area by 4:30. Oh, man! That meant I had to get up at 3 so that I

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-27326146629511293692007-08-28T20:26:00.000-07:002007-08-29T21:28:12.902-07:00

The Minnesota State Fair is on! SD and I went yesterday, our last chance before it closes on Labor Day. Music is a big attraction and in adddition to the paid Grandstand acts, there are many stages that are free. Greg Brown was performing last night at the Leinie Lodge, hosted by Leinenkugel beer. It was a great concert in a nice outdoor venue. Those in the know arrived early to scope out a good

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-80677117517470608072007-08-28T12:00:00.000-07:002007-08-28T12:32:14.454-07:00

Congratulations to Journey to a Centum Eric, who finished the Cascade Crest last weekend and he has the belt buckle to prove it. That's a 100-mile endurance run! How do you spell stud: E-R-I-C! Eric is Back of the Pack Michelle's husband and she was his road crew. She give's a great account of the race from a road crew perspective. Bring a hankie.Congratulations are also in order to some of my

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-15135580763859806102007-08-22T11:43:00.000-07:002007-08-22T20:36:02.977-07:00

My running club is the best!Three years ago, after a failed attempt at the Twin Cities marathon, I joined the St. Louis Park Club Run. They had a marathon training class, and I thought that training with them would get me across the finish line. Although I was 50 years old, I was as nervous as a ten-year-old starting a new school. Would I fit in? And more importantly, can I keep up? Everyone was

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-79525253787160078982007-08-21T14:27:00.000-07:002007-08-21T15:47:41.475-07:00

Ten miles along the Mississippi River. Although there are plenty of water fountains along the route, hydration was an issue because I use a sports drink. I could not bring myself to wear the back pack; my shoulders are still sore from Saturday! Fortunately I have lots of water bottles, so I filled two of them with sport drink. I parked my car at Lake St. and put one of the bottles in my belt.

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-40478532542032100682007-08-18T21:04:00.000-07:002007-08-19T21:26:30.570-07:00

Nineteen miles in the rain. Sigh.My running group was going to run 17 miles, and I needed to run 19, so I got to the gym early and ran two miles on the treadmill. When I do my long runs, I really try to go a minute over race pace, which means 13-13:30 minute miles. That's a lot of time on the road.Marcia and I ran together. She wanted to run/walk 5:1. That was fine with me. So we set out, slow

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-90421101368421451892007-08-17T14:11:00.000-07:002007-08-17T14:54:24.701-07:00

Today's run called for 9 miles at race pace. It's hard to figure out race pace when you take walking breaks, so I cut out some of them. After a one mile warm up, I picked up the pace and ran strong. A little too strong--miles 2,3, and 4 were under race pace. Even as I was running it, I knew I wasn't being smart. Part of me was thinking, "Damn, I'm good!" (roll eyes) The other part was remembering

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-91909178717189451462007-08-14T12:12:00.000-07:002007-08-14T13:32:51.817-07:00

Thanks for all your comments regarding the bridge collapse. It's been almost two weeks and they've recovered most of the dead. Life is returning to almost-normal. One of the consequences to the running community however, is that the TC 10 miler, which is the same day as the Twin Cities marathon, will have to be re-routed. In the past, it went under that bridge, and now the route is closed. The

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-88295817173495127612007-08-07T19:10:00.000-07:002007-08-07T21:44:22.233-07:00

Tragedy struck my home town last week. Of course, I'm talking about the freeway bridge that crumbled during rush hour traffic. It happened last Wednesday around 6 p.m. and although I only live about two miles away, I was unaware of any calamity when I went for a quick 4 mile run an hour later. My next door neighbors saw me while I was waiting for a satellite reading on my Garmin and told me about

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-29735784348763408022007-07-30T11:32:00.000-07:002007-07-30T11:54:10.434-07:00

During the Fargo Half Marathon last May, I spotted this sign on a bank building. Clever, no? I thought so. So later, when this company was soliciting slogans to print on their shirt, I submitted it. It was a contest and the winner gets a shirt of her/his choice and a check for a couple hundred dollars. There were lots of entries,and I never expected anything to come of it. I was mostly just

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-20832912103443842007-07-16T06:47:00.000-07:002007-07-16T19:52:39.545-07:00

This is AmyBee, my hero! She did the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon last Saturday--the Olympic Distance. That's 1.5K Swim, 40K Bike, and 10K Run. She's wearing her "Engines of Change" shirt, provided by her sponsor, Toyota. Look at how buff she is! She's been working hard and it shows. I was scheduled for a long run that day and planned to get out early so that I could be done in time to cheer Amy on

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-49264221563332214022007-07-10T20:23:00.001-07:002007-07-11T09:29:40.488-07:00

Today's schedule called for seven miles. Coach Higdon said time didn't matter, just get in the miles, so I stopped and took pictures along the way. I'm not sure he meant to take it quite that easy, but he wasn't here to tell me otherwise. :-)There's a great trail that runs along both sides of the Mississippi River. I started in the Southeast part of town, at the Mill Ruins. This rapidly

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-58263983531065307572007-07-08T20:39:00.000-07:002007-07-09T08:38:59.445-07:00

Sorry I've been gone for so long. I've been traveling and (still!) trying to sell my house. We get showings, which means I have to spend the day cleaning and straightening to give the impression my house is always this neat and tidy. :-)But mostly, I've been marathon training. I just completed week 4 of Hal Higdon's Intermediate II marathon training schedule. I started it the week I returned from

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-36365725758018600302007-06-12T14:08:00.000-07:002007-06-22T13:17:46.651-07:00

I had a fabulous Italian vacation! SD and I went to Modena and visited a farm where Balsamic vinegar is made the traditional way. We went to Roma and visited the ancient sites, and brought back beans from our favorite coffee roaster. We went to Florence, along with half the United States (!), and saw Michaelangelo's David. The pictures did not do it justice. Then we went to Milano and rubbed

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-39029852297864878422007-05-27T08:49:00.000-07:002007-05-27T09:07:19.428-07:00

My sugar-free diet has finally paid off--I just bought a pair of Size 6 jeans! To reward myself, I splurged on a pair of David Kahn's. Last December I was wearing size 10, and now my "fat pants" are in the closet. I was going to give them away, but experience tells me that as I age, my metabolism will undergo yet another slowdown, so I might as well be ready. But I hope that doesn't happen.SD

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-13435900852081320342007-05-20T13:38:00.000-07:002007-05-22T19:35:07.859-07:00

The race began at 8 am and started at the Fargodome. There were shuttle buses to the start, but they were on the other end of town, so I just drove to the Fargodome. Bev, who is in my running club, called to see if I was there yet. She was running the half while her husband Patrick ran the marathon, and we planned to start the race together. She was calling from the Fargodome and I asked how

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-64154126804519955532007-05-20T12:37:00.000-07:002007-05-21T15:17:11.075-07:00

The Fargo Half-Marathon was a blast! A well-organized race in a friendly town. It didn't hurt that I PRd--2:28:57!My concerns about bad organization were for naught. The reason the course map wasn't updated was because the Red River had overflowed its banks, so part of the race was re-routed.There's an old joke that Minnesota has two seasons--winter and road construction. I drove up to Fargo on

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-71648775588565568322007-05-16T11:07:00.000-07:002007-05-16T12:07:32.392-07:00

Sorry I've taken so long to update. I was in California two weeks ago, and then trying to get caught up last week. No time to blog!I did have time to catch up on some of you, though. First, I want to congratulate the racers from a few weekends ago. Wannabe finished her first half-marathon at the end of April. I love this line from her post, "I could not run 60 seconds 11 months ago, but now,

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-21830944590997666082007-04-28T12:29:00.000-07:002007-04-29T10:11:33.378-07:00

The Get in Gear 10K was today. This is the fourth one I've raced since 2003; I missed last year because I was out of town.I haven't run all week because I've had a sore throat and cough. I wasn't even sure if I would be able to race today; I occasionally get coughing fits and wasn't sure if my respiratory system would hold up. I hooked up with some of my friends from LTF at the starting line.

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-42056022108818430642007-04-22T20:28:00.000-07:002007-04-22T21:30:16.975-07:00

It looks like my sister caught the marathon bug. I mentioned before that she's walking the San Diego R&R marathon with some friends. Now she's signed up to walk the Nike Women's Half-Marathon in October. I'm doing the full, so it will be great to be able to share the event with her.Yesterday she did a long walk (that sounds weird) of 16 miles and Gary and I did a long run. We planned to run 14

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-46092850143015871262007-04-20T17:41:00.000-07:002007-04-20T21:05:47.031-07:00

That's what I'm feeling like. We did two speed workouts this week. On Monday, we warmed up for a mile, then ran 1 mile loops at half-marathon pace, with 30 second recovery. We did four of these. I tried to slow down to 12 mm, but it was too hard. First loop was 10:45, second was 10:22. Oops! Slowed down to 11:01 for the third loop, then the last was 10:59. Coach Sarah joined me at the end and I

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20902162.post-30174530398984004492007-04-15T18:40:00.000-07:002007-04-16T07:30:46.479-07:00

On Saturday, I ran 12 miles with Gary and Bev. It was a nice day but a tough run. Not too tough, though. We managed to make it through without injury, althoug Bev's knee was hurting her at the end. We ran around the lakes, stopping twice at the water stop the club had kindly set up for the marathon training group, as well as some of the public water stops. The picture above is Gary pumping spring

Dorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489181738411546254noreply@blogger.com9