Friends Don't Let Friends Ride WITHOUT a Helmet

I was shocked today at the number of people who asked about my eye and when told of the bike accident said something to the effect of "Gee, I guess I better go get a helmet". Seriously?
If this is what it takes to shake people up, then I think it's worth sharing.

This is what happened WITH a helmet. It's actually better today. It hurts to touch it even lightly.

The helmet took the brunt of the impact to my head. Without it who knows what would have happened.

Spread the word and feel free to use this awful photo if it helps.

Groundhog Day

Although I do not care to repeat this one anytime soon.
Thank you to John T, John and Nancy C, Helen and Brian, Lyn, Sammy for being there and taking care of me.

Running/walking group met for 10, 9 and 4 miles this morning at Valley Forge. Me, I managed 7. There were a few folks concerned about getting their t shirts and expressed concern that I wouldn't be back before they had to leave. So I did 5 first, came back for their t-shirts, and then went back out. I would have liked to make it to 9 but it wasn't to happen today. It was cooler than it's been but the humidity was heavy. My pace sucked and I was soaked within a mile. I don't think anyone had an ideal run or walk. It's all part of the training though. We can only hope it's better on our respective race days.

After everyone made it back to home base safely the two Johns, Helen & Brian, Lyn, Sammy and I headed out for a bike ride. About a mile in we saw a groundhog off to the left scurrying into his.... well whatever it is groundhogs live in. Another mile in there was one on the right hand side looking like he was going to cross the path. John T. wagged a finger at it and made a noise to try to scare it off I guess. John C did the same. Both times it made a move to cross then went retreated a step or two.

I guess I should have done the same. I had my eye on him (it had to be a him, sorry) and thought he was going to stay put but at the last second he decided to dart across my path. I'm still tyring to figure out what I could have done to avoid the collision. He had darted different directions twice already I just didn't know where he was going to go and it all happenend so fast. I know I hit him and rode over some part of him because I could feel the squish under my front tire just before going down.

THANK GOODNESS FOR BIKE HELMETS!!!

I felt and heard the helmet hit the pavement. I felt my right hand scrape the pavement but after that I'm not sure exactly how the fall progressed from there. That quick I was on the ground with my legs tangled up in the bike. Thinking back I have to say it's funny the things that go through your head. I was having trouble breathing. I was hyperventilating but didn't know that at the time. I've never experienced that before and I do not care to do it again thank you. All I could think was I need to breath to stay alive and my lungs aren't working and my legs are tangled in the bike dammit! Somebody got my leg out from the bike and Sammy told me to put my head down between my legs. Ahh that was better.

I sat for a bit and then decided to try to stand up. I couldn't do that. That pissed me off. Being somewhat of a control freak I did not like not being in control of my own body. Everytime I tried to get up I got dizzy and disoriented. Helen gave me some gatorade. I figured my electrolytes were messed up. I tried again and still dizzy. Now I was crying. And very pissed off. I couldn't stop that either...jeez! I was also a little scared.

Thank goodness for my friends. They were gentle but insistent that I stay put as long as I needed to. I am not a fan of being the center of attention or being cared for. These folks had their work cut out for them and they were and are awesome.

An EMT on a bike ride with his son came by and offered assistance. He ran me through the usual tests to see if I had a concussion or anything. Including asking me how old I was. I paused at that... not because I didn't want to tell him or anyone. I often have to think about it when asked. The pause made everyone laugh though. The EMT's name was Tom. I remember he introduced himself before he asked me my name. Anyway, Tom said the dizziness is caused by the blood pressure bottoming out and suggested we call 911. I insisted no. After going around on that for a minute or two Helen suggested they let me walk and the deal would be that if I got dizzy again they would call 911. Thanks for that, Helen. :)

So we walked maybe 1/2 mile (?) to the street. John T straightened out the bike handlebars which had been knocked crooked and then walked both his and my bike to the street. John C called Nancy to come over in the car. Lyn went knocking on doors for ice. Sammy walked with me and chatted me up. I told you these folks were awesome. And you know they wouldn't and didn't think twice about doing all that they did. They made me laugh when they formed a human sun blocker while I was on the ground.

While we waited for Nancy, Brian chatted me up about maybe it was time to start using air conditioning and was very solicitous trying to get me to sit down. Thanks Brian but I kind of wanted to move around I felt like I was going to stiffen up other wise. Plus I was feeeling sleepy and didn't like it. Moving around made that go away.

Officer Steve Morris (?) I think that was his last name waited with us and when he found out that I really did have a run in with a groundhog jokingly threatened to give me a ticket for abuse of wild animals. He was entertaining in his stories about people who don't clean up after their dogs (obviously a pet peeve of his ), about bike accidents on the trail and his own car accident recently.

Nancy arrived and we loaded my bike and John's bike on the back of her car. Then her car wouldn't start. Now it was just getting funny. Officer Morris gave her a jump and we were on our way. We stopped at Valley Forge Visitor Center to get my  car. John followed Nancy and I home to my house. I had thoughts about arguing with them about that but a) I don't think John was going to let me win that one and b) I was still feeling sleepy so I let them do that.

First thing was a shower to clean up and assess the damage. Dave, good sport that he is, took care of my bike and the Phillyfit coolers and other assorted junk I brought in with me. I took an Alleve, iced a variety of body parts, had a bowl of cereal and a short nap. I'm still feeling a bit tired/foggy. I don't think it's anything to be concerned about. Dave is doling out tons of TLC so I'm safe.

Every half hour or so it seems some other body part starts to talk to me. At the moment here is the damage report.

Right side of face around my eye is scraped up and lumpy. Not affecting my vision but I imagine it's going to hurt for a few days and look really hard core by tomorrow.

Right hand; scraped all four knuckles and inisde of wrist.

My back and neck are sore

There is a ring of soreness around my right thigh at an angle just above the knee and just in the last half hour I can see the bruise coming through. That's going to be pretty ugly by tomorrow.

Front Right shoulder is raw and sore

Left knee the same.

Left ankle is a little wonky but not swollen.

So there you have it. I fell, I survived and although it won't be tomorrow I'll be back riding again soon.

Now it's time for some more ice and another nap.

The Definition of Temporary is Directly Proportional to the Degree of our Stubbornness

Email from a running friend ....

So my knee hurts and my achilles hurt down by my heel - as I got up off the couch, I ask myself "why the am doing this (running)?" Not sure I know the answer but there is something primal about this running thing and I need to do it. I know I need to go to the PT but am almost afraid to do it since they may tell me to stop running. I know you understand all this - you find this amazing thing and don't want to lose it. I know you don't have the answers but you're one of the few people who gets what I'm feeling. ......I just hate going to Dr.'s and therapists.

My reply....

I do know how you feel.

I also know what it feels like when you ignore the body signals and keep going. You end up not being able to run and barely able to walk for almost two months and in the middle of it all cheering for a whole pack of running friends at a race you really wanted to run yourself. Trust me that was depressing. As much as I enjoyed seeing you all, on the mental stability scale it pretty much sucked.

So go to the doctor and find out what's going on. If doc says don't run it should be temporary (although the length of temporary is directly proportional to how long we let our stubborness keep us away from the doc). If doc says don't run make doc tell you why until the reasons and the treatment make sense to you. If doc won't do that OR if doc does tell you shouldn't run at all ever again ---- get a new doc.

And -as much as I know this is tough to think about - if by chance you have gone too far - there will be other races. You my friend are addicted. You have plenty of running years ahead of you. You will be back. 

So I've been mulling this over today. Why do we refuse to stop when we know it's the right thing to do? Why do we push ourselves through pain or fatigue? Intellectually we know that both are messages that we need to back off or stop.

For me - thinking back on my Lehigh Valley experience - it was a combination of things. But mostly I didn't want to appear lazy and I didn't want to fail. What an ego, huh? Nobody is paying that much attention to me that they are going to judge me as lazy. And if on the off chance someone is doing just that... well they haven't got the right and I'd be stupid to care what they think anyway.

As far as failing goes. Well in the end I did fail. I didn't make it to the start line. I didn't do what I should have done early enough to prevent that failure. It's a tough lesson to learn. I can only hope I've actually learned it. :)

Why do you think we do this to ourselves?

Bob Potts is Calling Me

Not the man himself. He is dead and although I do believe in ghosts I don’t think his is haunting me.

The Bob Potts Marathon keeps popping up on my radar. I’d considered running it in 2011 but ended up at the Gettysburg Marathon instead. I bounced on the idea again for this year (2012) but after a dismal fall training season in 2011 (due in large part to the hip flexor injury I didn’t know I was nursing at the time) I decided to stick to half marathons in 2012 to try to rebuild my confidence. And now once again I find myself thinking about Bob Potts for the Spring of 2013.

There are a pros and cons and one coincidence. The coincidence is that it would be my 5^th Marathon and the 2013 edition will be the 5^th running of the Bob Potts Marathon. That alone makes me really want to do it. And should everything else come out equal I’ll probably use that to push me over the edge. Truth be told, I’ve probably already made up my mind but I have to analyze it anyway. It’s what I do. So here are the things to consider (as of today):

Vacation Countdown

Three weeks from today we leave for vacation. :)

We will take the Auto Train to Florida; spend a day with my sister KT and her husband Jean-Laurent (JL); the four of us will go to the Phillies - Marlins game on Aug 14. Dave will be able to check the Marlins off his list and of course get the hat to show for it. Dave and I will continue from there on to Key West. I booked our rooms this afternoon at the Grand Guest House. I've never been to Key West. Dave was there a long time ago. We will cover route 1 between Orlando and Key West on this trip. We had hoped to take route 1 all the way home but gas prices have put that out of reach this time. We'll take the auto train back home again after spending another day or two with KT and JL. I'm grateful for their generosity in letting us stop there and also for their flexibility. Family is good :)

Today I biked 15 miles. I bailed on my original plan and stuck closer to home. My legs actually felt good. I attribute that in large part to frequent stretching sessions yesterday and use of the foam roller. I don't know how I managed this long without one. The difference the next day is amazing. Still I decided the original route was too ambitious for now. Maybe in a few weeks.

Today's miles took me in and around Media. I went up and down moderate to easy hills. Just enough to keep my legs pumping but not enough to discourage me. I explored dead end streets that I wouldn't go down in a car. It was a pleasant ride. Today was a bit more humid but still cooler than it's been.

Tomorrow is a planned day off. Earlier in the week I thought I might go out for 10 to make up for this coming Wednesday's workout that I will have to miss. I'm pretty sure though that the rest day is a better idea. My legs do feel good but rest days are important and hopefully I'll be stronger in speed workout on Tuesday if I take the day off.

Run - Breakfast - Ride

That was my morning excercise and all finished before noon! The purists (whoever they are) would probably tell me that breakfast in between is not appropriate. The purists do not have the awesome running and walking friends that I have. We slog through rain, heat, snow and cold often and together. It would take a serious family emergency to make me miss breakfast (or other social opportunity with them). They are my second family.
SOMEONE (ok me) suggested a 6:00 am start for those of us doing 12 today. The 4:30 am alarm had me questioning my sanity and wondering how many others may have been muttering at me as well. Still once you get your butt out of bed it's not so bad and there ended up being 10 of us taking off from the diner trailhead at 6 am.

I started off at 3 and 1 intervals through the first three miles. I was feeling pretty good so I switched to 4 and 1 for the next 3. I tried to push my run intervals a bit. I probably shouldn't do that on long run Saturdays but I had it in my head that I wanted to keep under 12 minutes miles (my long run average). I accomplished that for the first 6. Unfortunately, time and again people say go slow on the way out and pick it up on the way back. And there is a reason for that. I ended up switching back to 3 and 1 and my average for the whole run was over 12 minute miles. Still I finished it and really didn't feel too bad. Here is my run off the Garmin.

I tried to do without gus or chomps this time. I packed rehydrated dried apricots and chocolate covered raisins today. I had one apricot and three raisins at mile 1 (by this time it had been 1.5 hours since grabbing a glass of milk and a blueberry muffin on the way out the door) and repeated every 2 miles. I stopped at mile 7 when I had a very slight intestinal cramp. It only lasted a few minutes but I think next time I'll go every 3 miles instead of 2. I wore the camelback today. It felt heavy and uncomfortable at the beginning but after a mile I was fine and glad I had it. I'm not sure why it was weird at the beginning. Probably wasn't sitting right on my back and I was too intent on my time to fix it. :(

I have to say that doing your homework (weekday workouts) makes a big difference. This route was flat for the most part. There are only three spots with significant climbs and I was pleased to make two of them without wanting to stop before, during or after. The third is between mile 9 and 8 on the return winding up the hill and around the bend to go over the creek. I dragged out my run portion so that the walk came for that. *Shrug*.

I was grateful for company on the way back too. Caroline B started at 7 am to do 10 and turned aournd when she and I met on the trail. We finished the last five together. Having someone to chat with always makes the miles go by pleasantly.

We all had a wonderful breakfast and visit. I estimate there were at least 22 of us at breakfast. The Collegeville Diner is right on the Perkiomen Trail and doesn't mind sweaty, disheveled looking runners and walkers a bit. The food is good too!

I drove home and got on the bike. Here is the route via Garmin. It was just over 10 miles as planned. In the interest of full disclosure I had trouble coming up Rose Valley Road. I had to get off and walk the latter part of it. I just didn't have enough in my legs to keep moving. So I have a challenge now - to make that route without getting off the bike.

In and around where I live it's hard to stay flat. I learned that early in my running. You can stay flat but you have to run circles basically. And really I don't want to stay flat I have to do hills eventually. I knew that my chosen route today was going to be a net descent for the first 5 miles. I purposely chose Rose Valley Road to come back figuring that if I struggled at least it wasn't as busy a street as 252. What I forgot was that Rose Valley Road goes downhill even further before coming back up again. UGH!

I'm questioning my route for tomorrow now. I wanted to extend my distance to 15 and was going to go out Providence Road to West Chester Pike and come back through Ridely Creek State Park. I wonder now if I'm ready for the hills on Providence Road. They would be earlier in the ride, not as steep and I will not have run 12 before them so maybe it will be ok. I'll see how I feel in the morning. The alternative is to put the bike in the car and head out to the Schuylkill River Trail. I can't avoid hills forever nor do I want to but I could practice them on shorter specific rides during the week. I don't want to do too much too fast and get hurt or discouraged.

Balance

Last night a group of us went to the Audubon Loop for hillwork. Our goal was 5 times up and down the hill. Amy earned Queen of the Hill honors for doing all 5 in good stead AND then going up for another half. Peer pressure is big in this group but none of us joined her for that last bit.

I power walked the uphills and jogged the downs. I told myself at one point that practicing the downhill is just as important. One can rationalize anything if one tries hard enough. I didn't feel like I had it in me to do run the uphills. I'm wondering now how much of that was the heat & humidity, the bike ride I did first or just plain mental breakdown. Maybe a combination? As we jogged over to the hill I was already wondering if I could do it. I wondered if riding my bike was such a good idea first. I think I psyched myself out of running the hill before I even got there. I was just so anxious to get out and ride.

So how do I balance the biking with the running? I don't know the answer. I've tried to research it but - as you might expect - the advice is all over the place. As with running it will be read, ask questions, try stuff and see what works for me.

So what do I want to accomplish right now?
- I want to build a base of riding miles.
- I have three half marathons in Sept, Oct and Nov so I want to keep running. And even after that I'm not giving up running. It's my understanding that the two actitvites are not mutually exclusive and in fact compliment eachother.
- I'm also old - at least my body is - and one, preferably two, rest days have become a necessity.

After thinking (yes, probably over thinking) this last night I've come up with a plan that allows three days a week riding, three days a week biking and two rest days.

Monday - OFF
Tuesday - Run(speed or hills)
Wednesday - Ride
Thursday - Run(tempo or progression run)
Friday - OFF
Saturday - Long run followed by easy bike
Sunday - Long bike ride

I'm going to also try to work in 4 week blocks. 3 weeks of increasing miles and the 4th week cutting back. I'm following phillyfit's marathon schedule through the 15 miler which doesn't exactly follow the 3 up one back schedule so I'm going to work with total miles (bike + run) through The Philly half in November and see where that leaves me.

Any of you who have tried to follow my progress in this blog before know that I'm prone to changing things up. I don't really like that about myself. It is what it is but I'd like to do better. I'm hoping that by working on total weekly miles I'll be better able to stick with the plan better. Stay tuned and thanks for reading. I welcome your comments, thoughts and advice.

100 Miles

- On a bike.
- I am going to do it. Don't even think of trying to stop me.
- I returned to bike riding after a 20 year hiatus on July 8, 2012.
- I will do the 100 miles as part of the ACS Philadelphia Bike-a-Thon. This year's ACS ride - July 8 - included a route option from the Ben Franklin Bridge through Wharton State Park which brought the rider's total to 97 miles. Assuming there will be the same or similar option next year that's the one I will do. For those of you keeping track, I'll ride 3 miles before the start if that makes you feel better.
- I have 50 weeks give or take to get ready.
- I will ride in memory of Lexi Speight.

I may form a team with friends and family. I challenge you to join me. I'm 52 and a half years old. The most miles I've completed since my return to riding is 13 miles. If I can do this so can you !!! You just have to believe, keep smiling and keep moving. If you are local we can train together in person if not we can do so through Facebook.

Glowing in the Dark

Last night - and into this morning - I volunteered at the Back on My Feet 20 in 24 race. This was the 5th year for the race and my third year volunteering. If you don't know what Back on My Feet is here is the description from their website. It says it best 

Back on My Feet (BoMF) is a national nonprofit organization that is dedicated to creating independence and self-sufficiency within the homeless and other underserved populations by first engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem.

I think it's a great program and am proud to say it was started in Philadelphia and has now expanded to cities across the country.

During the race, which takes place over a 24 hour period, runners and walkers complete 8.4 miles loops solo (Lone Rangers) or in relay teams. There is a Midnight Madness Loop at..wait for it.. Midnight and a Pajama Loop on Sunday morning.

This year I decided to volunteer as what they called a "Farsighter". My phillyfit friends Kristi Y and Mike K joined me. We arrived at Lloyd Hall around 9:40 for the start of our 10 pm to 2 am shift.

Kristi brought glow in the dark stick which we used to decorate ourselves in various ways. It was fun and we really should have had someone take a photo. A van took us to our location about 2 miles out from Lloyd Hall. Our job was to call in relay runners' numbers to the folks back at Lloyd Hall who in turn would announce the runner so that team could prepare for the next lap in the relay. Sounds simple right?
We flubbed the very first runner.

Running in the rain....

It is one of my favorite runs (in the summer at least) and for the sake of my fellow runners it's better than me singing in the rain. Phillyfit met at Forbidden Drive today. It was raining when I woke up - in fact the rain is what woke me up initially. I recieved an email, a text and a FB post from folks asking if we are still meeting. We generally run in everything except lightening. We had a good turnout considering the weather.

I've been drop-dead-on-the-couch-tired every night this week. I ran on Tues and Thurs and biked on Wed but had to force myself to go. I got my second wind for a little bit after each one but shortly after arriving home each night I was asleep. Yesterday I left work at noon and slept most of the afternoon and evening. So I was surprised that despite all that I was looking forward to 10 miles today. Damn... I'm addicted. The weekday workouts were the only things that revived me this week.

I ran my first 8 miles with Swati. She's joined Phillyfit last year but this is the first time I had to spend any time with her. No one else in her group was doing the 8 so I decided to keep her company and get to know her. She is trying to add running to her walking this year so I set my gym boss to 1 and 1 and tried to keep a step behind her and let her set the pace. Easier said than done but I think I did mostly ok. We talked most of the way and I learned a lot about her and her family. This made for a very enjoyable 8 miles.

Higgs Boson

Granted physics was not my favorite science. In high school I learned nothing. The only reason any of us took physics in high school was because the teacher was really cute. He couldn't teach worth a damn though. In college I had to take physics as part of my major and I dreaded it. I made a deal with a friend who dreaded calculus just as much. I got him through calculus and he got me through physics. My answer to how planes fly is wishful thinking on the part of the passengers and pilot.

However, I'm not a stupid person either and generally if I try hard enough I can make some sense out of a lot of things that do not come naturally to me. I've read several news stories on the alleged discovery of the Higgs Boson Particle and today I listened to some guy on NPR attempting to explain it. Still, I have really no clue.

I'm starting to think it just a hoax on the part of physicists everywhere to see if they can get away with talking gibberish and get everyone to ooh and ahh over it.

In other news, I did my first speed workout today. I wasn't really in the mood to run or do anything. I fell into a weird funk somewhere along the way today. I have no clue why. Was almost crying on the way to the workout. While I admit I could have tried harder on the workout, I'm glad I did it and that 20 minutes of running (only 8 of it speedwork) and about an hour total with my wonderful whacky running buddies (we attempted some core work after) pulled me right out of the funk. I'm feeling much more positive now.

Virtual Race July 9 - 16

Are you going to do an hour of excercise this week? You can help yourself and others by donating to my friend Kristie's virutal race to raise money for Children of Nepal.

It's easy.

Riding a Bike Really is Just Like Riding a Bike

The hardest part was remembering to stay on the right hand side of the road. All the miles of running have conditioned me to go against traffic.

After the hip flexor stress in March the doc said cross training is more necessary than ever. He specifically suggested bike riding. So I dug my bike out of the garage. It's not like I've never ridden before. In fact as a child I would spend hours and hours on my bike. Being the social klutz that I was bike riding was a great activity for me. In fact, when my family moved from Havertown to Bala Cynwyd just after 6th Grade I spent many days that summer riding from Bala Cynwyd back to Havertown to visit family and friends because these were people I already knew. (yeah I AM a dork).

I continued to ride through my early adult years. In fact, to give you an idea of how old my bike is I'll tell you that Emma rode this bike with me when she was an infant and toddler. She is now 22. In fact she's ridden the bike as a passive child seat rider and as the moving force rider. :) Stuff happens in life and my focus changed. I kept the bike though. It's been through at least three moves.

Emma works in a bike shop how and graciously offered to have it checked out and tuned up. I picked it up yesterday. She and the bike store owner both expressed concern that the bike frame is too big for me but adjusted the seat and handlebars as best they could for me.

Hot Hot Hot

It was 78 when I left Media at 6 am. It's 93 now at 11:00 a.m. Phillyfit ran their miles somewhere between 7 am and 9 am depending on pace and distance. They all deserve medals for just showing up but instead of medals we settled for Sammy's magnificent frozen orange towels.

I was really pleased with my run today. We were scheduled for 9. I settled for 8.5 which is the distance of the loop around MLK Blvd and Kelly Drive from the Art Museum to Falls Bridge. This loop has not been my friend in the past. And the heat predictions were not helping me to look forward to it.

Today though the miles flew by. I was surprised each time my garmin chimed another mile. We decided to run 2 and 1 intervals (we've been doing 3:1). The conditions made 2:1 a good choice and I'm certain that made the difference at the end. I was able to pick up the pace at the end instead of dragging my butt across the finish. I wanted to run the last mile complete but opted instead to stay with one of our new Phillyfitters. She had planned to do 7 today but instead of turning around she decided to keep going with us instead. I didn't want to abandon her while she was doing more than planned on such a brutal day.

Besides the shorter intervals hydration made a big difference. I wore my Cameback today and besides holding more water than the waist pack it really does keep it colder. I ran out just at the end of the run and the colder water felt really good. I took an electrolyte capsule BEFORE the run and one again at the Falls Bridge. No dizziness today and I don't feel like I have to crash for a nap either. I was happy to be finished the run and I feel like I managed it well.

I also think I have an advantage over most people with the heat. We are in day ten of the heat wave.  I know most of the group has been running and walking and biking despite the weather but I'm one of a very few people around who do not have air conditioning at home and I do not use it in the car when I'm alone.

Too feel this good on a day like this is a good sign. A very good sign. It could mean I didn't go out hard enough ....... but I'm confident that's not the case. I know we kept a good pace during the run intervals.

Never Regret the Distance

The alarm clock went off at 6 am. Not unusual for a Wednesday morning. Except that today is a holiday and that should mean a day to sleep in. And I would have except that a group of fitters was meeting at 7:30 to put in 4 miles for the 4th. I admit to taking an extra minute to get out of bed as I contemplated rolling over and going back to sleep. I'm really glad I didn't.

There had been rain in the early (earlier) morning hours. The tree lined Betzwood trail provides nice shade but it also holds in the moisture for a kind of rain forest affect. Not that I've ever been to a rain forest. Maybe someday, though. So conditions were very humid. I think this run ranks up there as one of the mosy sweaty... for me.

There were quite a few Phillyfitters out and I'm pretty sure there was a partner for everyone. As we started out I fell in with and stayed more or less with Helen, John, Mark and Julius. Toward the end their pace really picked up it was a push for me to keep up but since it was toward the end I decided to stick it out. We were doing 2.5 and 1 intervals.

I love running with these folks (not just the four I hung with today)and I miss their company on Saturdays. The red group which I am keeping watch over on Saturdays is great and I'm getting to meet new people- some of them brand new runners which is fun - but I miss the 'gang'. I'm grateful for weekday workouts where I can run with them again.

Much of the training advice for easy runs encourages a person to use the talk test to guage your effort. I swear with this group it's more like the laugh test. If we can't laugh across the miles we are going too hard! :)

Why would I want to sleep in and miss that? Oh and it's a good feeling to have put in some miles to start the day but not really the primary reason for getting up early to run.