for Nancy B

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high

And the dreams that you dreamed of

Once in a lullaby ii ii iii

Somewhere over the rainbow

Blue birds fly

And the dreams that you dreamed of

Dreams really do come true ooh ooooh

Someday I'll wish upon a star

Wake up where the clouds are far behind me ee ee eeh

Where trouble melts like lemon drops

High above the chimney tops thats where you'll find me oh

Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly

And the dream that you dare to,why, oh why can't I? i iiii



Well I see trees of green and

Red roses too,

I'll watch them bloom for me and you

And I think to myself

What a wonderful world



Well I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white

And the brightness of day

I like the dark and I think to myself

What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces of people passing by

I see friends shaking hands

Saying, "How do you do?"

They're really saying, I...I love you

I hear babies cry and I watch them grow,

They'll learn much more

Than we'll know

And I think to myself

What a wonderful world (w)oohoorld



Someday I'll wish upon a star,

Wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where trouble melts like lemon drops

High above the chimney top that's where you'll find me

Oh, Somewhere over the rainbow way up high

And the dream that you dare to, why, oh why can't I? I hiii ?



Israel Kamakawiwo Ole'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ltAGuuru7Q

waxing gibbous moon

1. Distance assigned: you suggested between 15 & 22. ran: 14.9 k under a waxing gibbous moon. The beach was silver and black, with white breakers and dark golden sand - no yellow in it - more like a mustard colour. The good kind, not baseball hot dog mustard!

2. Pace Assigned: none ran: average 9:26/km total time: 2:20

3. Walk breaks assigned: none ran: I didn't take regular walk breaks tonight. I walked a couple times, but generally just kept a steady relaxing pace in the dark.

4. Speed work: none.

5. Aches & Pains: I tried running with my shoes again because of the cold weather. Got another blood blister on the right foot. I'm tossing the shoes. I hope to get an insulated pair of Vibrams. I like barefoot better.

I would have chosen the longer distance, but I just did not have the time - I didn't get up early enough and the whole weekend was filled with orchestra performances for my two sons - lovely, but smack in the middle of the day (one on Saturday and the other today), when I like to get my long run in. I laced up at 7 pm tonight even though my motivation was at an all time low. I think the cold, wet, darkness is doing a number on me. But tonight was warm-ish and dry-ish (I still ran with wool socks).

6. questions: not really - just to let you know, I'm a bit at cross-purposes at the moment. I am really pushing to lose some weight, so I'm eating a lower calorie menu than I have the last couple months. I think ultimately, my running will be easier with these last 10 pounds off. I felt like I had good stamina tonight - I ate more yesterday and today to prepare for the run. My goal is to be at my goal weight by new years.

7. Next week: I'm not sure -  here's what you had put together - I'm off by a week since my household had the flu and I ran a 5k instead of distance last weekend.

Nov 22--22K
Nov 29--5K
Dec 6--27K
Dec 13--6K
Dec 19--16K

23 November 2009 5k

I got more than I bargained for last night when I headed out for a little 5k before dinner. I had asked my husband whether it was raining - he had just returned from the market. Although he said no, I pulled on my winter coat, thinking I'd probably just end up carrying it.

Odie and I headed off down the beach. As I got to the 2.5k turn-around point, the wind started gusting to 80 knots, kicking up the surf high on the beach and it started to rain so hard I couldn't see. I leaned into the wind, unable to run, worried now about sneaker waves. I leashed up Odie to keep him out of the surf and cinched my hood, barely able to keep my eyes open in the blowing sand & rain.

All that was okay until the lightning. I had been running on the hard pack near the water. With the lightning, I no longer wanted to be the tallest thing on the beach. I hustled up to the fence line at the dunes, kept walking into the wind, while waiting for my neck hairs to stand on end so I could collapse to avoid a strike. I kept going, thinking it didn't make sense to lie in a hole and that no one was going to come get me anyway.

Well, my neck hairs stayed flat. The storm was moving so quickly that the next crack told me the business part of the storm was quite far away already. When I climbed the hill out of the dunes to the street, the wind stopped, but not the rain. My husband met me at the door with two towels.

I think that was my most frightening run ever. Maybe next time I will dig a hole to wait out the storm.

easy five k 15 Nov 2009

1. Distance: 5k ran 5.75 I managed to turn my Garmin watch off as I pulled off my shell when I got too hot. So the run ended up being 5.75. I kinda' knew where to turn back along the coast. But I was enjoying myself and went a tad bit longer. There were plenty of dogs with their ball-throwers. Mine was content to carry his most of the run, occasionally teasing me with a toss-and-snatch when I went to throw it for him. He loves to wade in the surf. In Holland, people seem to train in groups or with clubs. There was a group of about 20 runners on a distance run, loaded up with camel-baks and packs. They were going pretty fast. Or maybe it's just that I was going pretty slow!

2. Pace Assigned: none ran: average 8:30 min/km total time: 50 min

long slow distance 9 November

The weekend overflowed with kids' activities. So I made up my long run Monday afternoon, running into the darkness as the sun set, and beyond. New discovery: Seagull poop glows.

I intentionally kept up a faster pace and took fewer walk breaks (4:1) than my usual long runs (1:1 or 2:1). I don't particularly want to go past four hours as I train for a marathon. Nor do I want to get used to running at barely a jog pace.

This run was entirely in my Vibrams. I liked them. I need to trim a spot inside one shoe that gave me a blister.

1. Distance assigned: 18 k ran: 19.4k (was enjoying the run, and not paying attention to distance....It's good I don't run in traffic.)

2. Pace Assigned: none ran: average 9:53m/km total time: 3:11

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18388850

3. Walk breaks assigned: none ran: 4min run:1min walk. I ran out of intervals on my watch and ran the last 7 k with ad hoc walk breaks - more frequent than 4:1. Walked the last 2 k, since I knew I was overdistance.

4. Speed work: this week I ran sprint intervals for five k. Sub'd a row for the second mid-week run. It was fun.

5. Aches & Pains: not really. About an hour into the run, I noticed the pain I usually get in the ball of my right foot. It's from a bone in the middle of the ball. I massaged it, put my foot in cold water (in the surf), and kept running, paying attention to how it felt. It stopped hurting, so I continued the run. No big deal. knees seem fine. They'll probably complain a little in the morning.

6. questions: nope.

7. Next week: 5k (that's a disappointment!!)

Another NYT article on running

I like this one on the human physiology of long distance running - by design.

A place for every pace.

I enjoyed this piece from the NY Road Runners about the essence of a marathon.

To us, it’s about conquering the distance and conquering self doubt. The marathon is about dreaming to achieve and putting in all the work to make that dream reality. That quest, and the runner's ultimate success, routinely changes people’s lives in rich and meaningful ways. Our runners, no matter the pace, typically overcome all kinds of hurdles and challenges to reaching the marathon finish line. It is that ability to persevere that translates to other parts of their lives. Making them stronger and better for the pursuit – well beyond improved physical fitness.

slow is the new fast

This NY Times piece on running the marathon at the back of the pack captured how I feel about running. It's an honour to run, particularly in the back.