Waterdog's Group - Closed (Page 7)

Hope everyone has a great weekend

baggyman - 2008-02-11 6:38 AM

WaterDog66 - 2008-02-08 4:29 PM

Hope everyone has a great weekend

well my weekend sucked.... thanks for asking Other than a good date I am SICK, one of the downfalls of working in a hospital i guess. I cant walk across the room with out my HR getting up to 170... hell that is a better work out than my bike i guess lol Hope everyone else had a better time.

 Sorry you're sick, Chris - I was at the beginning of last week, so I really sympathize.  Kinda sent my last week's training for a spin, but I'm back on board for this week.

Take it easy, lots of fluids, you know the drill.  Feel better soon! 

baggyman - 2008-02-11 4:38 AM  well my weekend sucked.... thanks for asking Other than a good date I am SICK, one of the downfalls of working in a hospital i guess. I cant walk across the room with out my HR getting up to 170... hell that is a better work out than my bike i guess lol Hope everyone else had a better time.

Yeah, seems like the season for everyone to be getting sick. Seems like it comes with the rest of the package when it comes to training for endurance events.

At least it did not hit you during taper time for your "A" Race

Hope you  get well soon.

How did everyone's week go last week. Sounds like a few of us (Me included) were battling some sort of illness through our training. It is certainly the season for it.

We seem to be down quite a few folks from our original count. But we do have a great group of folks who have stuck around and participated with some great training and support.

I wanted to throw out for the group, the idea of opening it up for a few more participants to fill in for the missing folks. (I think most all of them have not signed in since the first week of January at the latest) I plan on keeping a seat at the table for them in case they decide to join in. (I think one of them has canceled his BT Account so he is gone for good)

As for the question of the week:

What Interesting Sights or Smells are more memorable from one of your training sessions. Do you run past a Coffee Roaster, or maybe a Bread Factory or Fish Cannery? Maybe you have seen something cool on a run like a elk, a bear or a coyote. (Hopefully not a Mountain Lion or a Grizzly)

Hope everyone has a great week

I'm up for opening it up as well.  A few more bodies around would be nice.

As for interesting sights, I have had many.  First, on a trail that I often run and bike in the spring/summer/fall, I will often scare up deer (or they'll scare me).  That run goes by a mine pit lake, and it can be really beautiful... the deep red of the turned ground against the dark of the water.  I plan to start taking my camera phone along on my runs and take pictures as I go, because I often feel like I see cool stuff.

Oh, and I also found a huge field of blackberries on this run - on a couple of runs I stopped and had a quick snack, and then came back later with my husband and the kids to pick berries (which made an awesome crumble).

Last summer I also decided (against my better judgment) to go out for a run along Lake Superior when there was a thunderstorm coming through fast.  It was so cool - the clouds just poured over the top of the hill toward the lake - again, I wish I had a picture.  It wasn't fun running, but the sights made up for it! 

Wow, everyone has seen some great stuff while out training.

I do a lot of my runs down at the beach but at odd times and get to experience the local wildlife in peace and quiet. Dolphins are common and certain times of the year we get whales close enough to see from the land. (Grey Whales)

Closer to home, Coyotes are common to hear and sometimes seen (Especially when you come around a turn late in the afternoon)

The smells seem to be what I remember most. The Annis along the northern part of the trail along Camp Pendleton (Annis smells like black Licorice) and of course, the many smells associated with the ocean. Different parts of the year, it will have a different smell.

Even when the surf picks up, it will take on a different aroma. (Southern Hemisphere South Swells smell differently than Northern Swells coming down from Alaska) I think it has something to do with the changes in the currents.

This week has been a strong week for me. My training paces have picked up as I head into my second build cycle. Have been struggling a bit with hydration and nutrition (Not getting enough to sustain my workouts) but I seem to be getting back on track with my rest day today.

Seems like the whole idea of training through a half marathon has worked out well. This is the 4th time I have tried this and I think I am finally getting the hang of it.

My ortho appointment was moved from Friday to Tuesday so it looks like no swimming this week. (Unless my PT says otherwise) They are going to do some imaging of my shoulder and determine how well it is healing up. (It feels nearly 100% at this point)

Another build week for me and this rest day is setting me up nicely for another strong week.

Oh, and I opened up the group for a few more fresh faces. I think it sorta went the same way last year too. We started out with 8-10 folks and it very quicky whittled down to 4-5 active members.

Thank you all for your participation and support

I forgot to mention that there has also been some bear sign on the trail I run, so I always try to keep my wits about me.  Not sure what I'd do, but I've run into black bears before (we used to have one that would raid the garbage at our old house), so I hope I'd be able to handle it.  If not, well...

And Ken, I think what you're doing is great.  The health gains that you make with each pound lost and each mile walked/run/biked/swam are so important.  Keep it up... hopefully I'll soon be dropping a few of the 15 or so I've picked up as "winter insulation".

Well, I can't say I've really had much to look at since I started my training. Its only 24 degrees here in Royal Oak, MI with wind chills below zero. Let's just say I can't wait for summer. I'm not an indoor person and that's probably why there are times I hate living here. I'd rather be back in my house in Cave Creek, AZ, but, my wife won't move so, end of discussion. I try to envision being outside while I run around the indoor track. I'm really looking forward to running in my first 5k run this April in Tempe, AZ. That race is close enough to keep my motivation and focus on training and should get me over the hump this winter.

It is great here in the summer! We have thousands of lakes and the weather is usually pretty mild. My parents live on a lake about 25 min North of us, so I can't wait to take what I've learned in the pool this winter and apply it to some distances in open water on the weekends. We have a really great park system too with tons of mountain biking and running trails. Again the only struggle is to brave this long cold winter.

Its great to know that everyone is still on track and meeting or exceeding their goals. You're all an inspiration. Keep up the good work.

Sounds like everyone had a pretty good week

Congratulations Ken, that is some great progress.

Bears

I suspect that they are not really compatible with good running form.

Take care everyone

I think I might disagree with you here, Tim.....  If good form equals free speed, then I'd make darn sure while running away from a bear that I was using the best running form possible!<G>

Have seen them while camping, actually.  I ended up hyperventilating in a tent whilst they hit the campgrounds' trash cans in the middle of the night.  I think I prefer the mountain lions, to be honest. 

Yeah, I think you might have a point there. Better to get away then try and wrassle with him I suppose

We actually saw a few of them in Banff a few years ago while out hiking but they were more scared of us then we are of them. They told us to sing loudly along the trail and even hell out "Yo Bear" from time to time. (Better to let them know your coming then to startle them I guess)

I also learned that Bear Bells are worthless

I wasn't going to tell this story, but it's too good to pass up since we're still talking about bears and I actually have a few minutes to type now. 

 So we had this black bear that would get in the garbage.  I'd seen it a few times, walking on the road, etc.  We kept the garbage can right up near the house for a while, thinking that would keep him off it, but no... I heard noises one night and looked out the window and the bear was probably 3 feet away from me, digging in the bin.

So a day or two later (we hadn't gotten around to moving it yet), my husband was home and he heard the same sound.  Yeah, the bear again.  Well, my husband (who's really very mild mannered and normally a very smart man) sometimes acts before thinking, so he stepped out onto the porch and yelled at the bear "Hey, hey - get out of here!" (Kind of on the same theory as the singing to scare it off.)

The bear ran off down the driveway, and now we come to my husband's true moment of machismo stupidity (which he readily admits).  He ran after it.  He said that he was about half way down our driveway (the bear was at the end of the driveway... about 100 feet away), and the bear stopped and looked at him.

He said there was a moment where you could feel the power shift between him and the bear as my husband pulled a Wile.E Coyote-esque turnaround and high tailed it back to the house.  The imagery (for me, anyway) is priceless!

Thank was pretty funny

I was eating a fortune cookie as I was reading this and promptly dropped the fortune I was laughing so hard. (Still can't find it)

I guess the whole fear factor for the bear wore off pretty quickly

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone