Foot problem

So Lisa is the new woman in my life. She is supposed to replace Sherlene who took her massage table with her to North Dakota, not to return. Lisa got a one time trial on Saturday and did not meet the standard of her predecessor, unfortunately. Because I need a good strong knowing hand to work on my left foot.

Owwww! On my sole from the pad of my foot back to my heel it is sore and tight. It hurts when I work it over with the stick or a tennis ball. Lisa didn't make it feel better either. I can run alright but it was swollen this morning when I got up after all the "over care" I gave it yesterday.

I will try Darrell's remedy and hit it hard with anti-inflammatories but I do not plan to stop running ... yet.

A great weekend is coming to an end. A weekend is great when you can forget about work and, when you show up for work the next time, you can't remember what you were working on before you left. Ahhhh!

I had a nightmare last night. Sweet Susie was in the starring role but I cannot remember exactly what it was that woke me up. Some sudden realization I suspect.

Son T (the West Pointy one) has made me totally jealous. He was at MY BEACH in Shelter Harbor on Saturday with my sister. It was so nice they stayed until sunset. And tonight he's at Fenway Park in the bleachers to watch the Red Sox beat the Indians. Now THAT'S a weekend.

Memorial Day Weekend

I seem to remember when I was younger that Memorial Day was the 30th. None of this last Monday stuff. When did that change anyway?

I have been disconnected to the blog for more than usual lately. It has been a time to get the rest of my life in order, to wit:

1. All three computers went out. Remember? Well the desktop is back and working faster with a new power supply, two new fans a video board and something to make pages load faster. The two laptops are back. I am writing off my favorite Acer laptop that I haven't used since February. It had a pinched wire that was causing it to crash and burn. It seems much better now and I SOOOO prefer its keyboard sensitivity. The HP laptop is still a little crazy. It had the Norton anti-virus hiccup to the registry etc. I'm not working with it because I got all the files I needed off it onto a CD. So ... I am pretty much back in shape communicating with you.
2. The sprinklers have been faulty for a year. I thought I fixed them but ... not. A guy who fixes them for a living with the school district came over after work, replaced a solenoid and charged me $10. Fixed.
3. My glasses were so splotchy on the lens that I went to the glasses store and asked what was wrong with them. After a lot of shoulder shrugging as the clerk grilled me on how I might have abused them he pulled my file. I had one day left on the two-year warranty. He replaced them for free; but not until after I had to wear my back-up one-winged "monocle" glasses for a week ... the ones with a very dated prescription. Headaches started the day the new ones came in from the lab. Phew.
4. The roof was leaking by an overhang, right where the high priced contractor had patched it a year ago. He came and fixed it and the misaligned wooden yard gate - for free.
5. I got my hair cut.
6. The pool was so groady I had to go beg for advice from the pool store. Double doses of chlorine shock and an algaecide took care of the yellow and black stuff. The only thing still not right is the Hayward pool floor cleaner. I need to replace some more parts to keep it from stopping at the wall and not turning.

So that's just the non-work part of life away from the blog. We will not venture into the work part but let's just say I wake up at three in the morning thinking about it. Thank goodness it's a three day weekend. I can forget everything. Go for a run. Go for a massage. Do some Sodoku puzzles. Read some blogs. Comment. Salute the fighting forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the globe.

Happy Memorial Day (whenever it is).

Cool!

Mrs. T and I had a nice dinner party last night for three couples I have known for years. I grilled the salmon. She spent three days cleaning up the house. A good time was had by all.

I got up at 620 this morning and, despite being tired and disinclined, I drove downtown to run with the crowd. It was a beautiful morning with cool temps in the mid 60s. Sunny and many birds chirping through the traffic noise.

Jane, Charlene, Chris, Dave and Ed were at the start line. We went out slowly and it took me about a quarter mile to get up to speed. I was trailing behind all of them for that distance, talking to myself about how quickly we slip out of form and lose top muscle tone. I also remembered that I hadn't stretched after my last two runs and I could feel it.

After awhile I was okay and enjoying the morning, the company and the run. We stopped at four miles for water and, at five miles, we had to make the decision whether to go a total of 6 or no less than 9.5. I chose the short route believing that there was no valor in going 10 when I had not run in a week. When we got close to the "barn" I picked up speed only to learn that Charlene had to run eight so I fell in for a two mile cool down.

After the run I stretched and, boy, did that hurt. Even now I am stiff and sore. A good sore, you know?

My sister flew in this morning to present at an IBM conference tomorrow so we're kicking back this afternoon, planning our Rhode Island summer. Last weekend I tuned into the sounds of power boats out on the lake. I could hear the slapping of lines against aluminum masts on sailboats somewhere. I put on some sunscreen just to add the smell sense to my summer imaging immersion. I am very ready for a vacation.

And I am also planning ahead for the fall. If I get into the NYC Marathon, fine. But I am definitely going to the Army-Navy game (Mrs. T got the tickets) so it is time to find lodging and make plans for that trip to Baltimore.

Tide going out

I still am down three computers which has contributed to my recent funk. One of them - according to my Tech-man - is sufferening from some gagging software condition caused by my recent upgrade download of Norton Antivirus. And I paid good money for that!!? Wait 'til I get that customer service rep on the phone.

I have missd quite a few runs too. I ave totally skipped running on Tuesdays the last three weeks. I did some speedwork at the track way back when but I have been lazy and undisciplined. I manage to get a late week run in every week ... except this week (one last chance tomorrow) .... The race and abbreviated long run last weekend were my last highlights.

School is almost out for us. All the high school graduations have been going on this week. Maybe I am just ready for it to be over. Before we can rest the state test scores come out next week an then the school grades next month. Always a period of high anxiety.

I have not slept well in a long time either. Having #2 son home from college is contributing to the disturbed nights. He's on Hawaiian time, running about seven hours behind the rest of us.

I lie in bed and try to remember all the visual sights of the Marine Corps Marathon last October. I usually doze back off before I get to the Kennedy Center.

Too much rambling. Keep reading and writing. This is the neighborhood park for stories. Join in.

Timberrrrrrr!

Moments ago, as I was reading your blogs, I heard a rather loud noise. The dogs barked like crazy. I thought it sounded like an ironing board slipping on the terrazzo and falling to the floor. No it was a huge oak tree branch falling in the street. And that oak tree happens to be a few feet into the neighbor's yard so I'll let him deal with it. I had the branches on my side trimmed three years ago to avoid them falling my way.

I raced yesterday. A 5K. My goal was to see if I could PR. It was the Trees race. Point to point with a private dirt road over the last 3/4 mile. The road is open to the public only once a year. It is a habitat for a lot of peacocks that live there. All 1000 runners got to take home a small tree in any number of varieties. Winners got bigger trees.

I needed to do 7:30 spits to PR. I did so through the first two miles. I was right on it. In the third I could feel me fading. The heat and humidity were nasty. There was also some wildfire smoke to contend with. Regardless, I didn't have the juice and did the third mile in 8:15, finishing in 23:58. Any time I can cut under 24 minutes is a good thing but yesterday was a long way from where I wanted to be.

Today I went downtown for my Sunday run. My new fast crowd had left at 600. I was standing there in the intersection all by myself considering a long slow lonely run. I should have taken it.

Jane and Mary showed up a few minutes later. They took a different route than usual and went out fast; faster than my legs wanted to go. After finishing a four mile loop back downtown after 37 minutes I said, "That's it. I don't feel like running any more."

So I quit. I was good with that. I had a good weekend otherwise. Happy Mothers Day to all who qualify.

Hello again

I have been away. Away from my blog yet still commenting around the land. It was a curious lull.

Jon (from) Michigan commented on Susie's blog recently about bloggers falling like flies or something like that. It got me thinking. Where have all my old blogging buddies gone? Why did they tail off and leave? Will they make it to Jon's Dead Blogger postings?

• There was Sweet Sarah who really did Run Away From It All, from CT to Seattle, and dropped out in April of 2006.
• Beverly who took One Step at a Time stopped stepping in October.
• The Running Red Sox Fan went down in October too and never came back after the Hartford Marathon.
• April Anne is still around but not writing.
• Naomi went to Africa and posts when the electricity is working.
• Oldman moved to Philly, went back to Florida and I haven't read him since.
• Running Rabbit stopped hopping.
• Thank goodness Lara came back from a hiatus.
• Dianna and jeff have become lighter writers.
• And then Susie Finally Stopped Writing. That was the hardest to take. She brought me into this world and now she has left for awhile. Very sad.

What's this blog world coming to?

I appreciate my current crop of friends and neighbors that populate Bloglines with their latest accounts. It's nice to make new friends, to hear encouraging words, coaching and crazy stories. But when you've been here for three years or so and your baptismal pals die off, it starts to make you wonder.

Thank you Jon, my longest running runner blogger; and to my long standing favorites: Runner Susan, Jeanne, Bex, Mia and Michelle. Everyone else who writes, reads and comments - thank you too. Please stay and make yourself comfortable.

Running.
I ran 10 miles last Sunday with the fast crowd. I promoted myself to push myself to be faster and fitter. I ran faster than ever before and know I could have gone even faster.

There's a 5K this Saturday. I hope to smoke it but it may require the fires in Georgia and Florida to blow their smoke the other way for a few hours. Where's a good hurricane when you need one?