Saturday 1-10

Well, it looks like most people voted to do 2 loops of Youngs lake. Ya'll really like pain don't cha? Probably the better choice anyways since the cedar river trail is probably flooded at 3-4 spots as it runs right along the edge of the river at several spots.
Shall we set up a self serve water stop at our cars? I can bring an ice chest - that we can put in extra waters, gatorade , energy bars, gu's, IBprofen? And if we do one lap each directions - then we'll at least see each other once out there.
Let's start at 9am. Who's planning on coming? And for those of you who occastionally join us - feel free to come and only run one loop - we won't torture you with two - but would love to have you join us!

thursday night

okay - so do we want to run lake union? OR.... do we want to run Andrews run from the monopoly houses to leshi? OR.... does anyone else have a suggestion? Please let me know if you plan on coming, and vote on where you want to run. And tonight I will total the votes and pick a run.

My new "best" friends

Let me introduce you to my new "best" friends

1) Epsom Salts - soaking aid for tired/sore feet (and toes). you have to use a lot if you want to take a bath - but two cups in a gallon of water is plenty to soak your feet.

2) Emily - for sending me this link to a runner's world article with five ways to lace your running shoes to relieve nagging foot pain. It even includes videos to help me. You all should check it out - it may help you too!

3) Eric - at the balanced athlete in Kent who fit me in new shoes (that feel better as far as I can tell) and helped me with my running form.

Thanks to my new best friends, I no longer want to quit running (which is how I felt on Sat afternoon and Sunday). Hopefully my toe will continue to heal (it feels much better today - I'm no longer wearing sandals in the snow) and I can break in the new shoes and get my training back on track for Austin.

Flights to Austin

Not sure who still needs to book their ticket to Austin, but I just checked Expedia and prices are $260 including taxes. A couple weeks ago they were over $300 so now might be a good time to buy.

Lodging in Austin

Right now we have 2 rooms at the Embassy Suites. One room has a King Bed in the bedroom and a pull out sofa in the suite and other has 2 Double Beds in the Bedroom and a sofa in the suite. These rooms are $188.60 per night including tax, breakfast, and snacks in the afternoon. Emily and Andrew also have a separate room at this hotel.

I did not cancel the original (2) rooms with double beds in them at the Hyatt at $182.85 including tax per night, just in case.

Both hotels are within 1/2 mile of the start.

I believe the following people need a room: Mary Kate, Lee, Lee's sister, Sarah H, Jen, Lauren,Melinda, me and Jeff. Please confirm or let me know if I have left someone out.

Pre-race Pasta

Are people interested in getting together for a pre-race pasta dinner on Saturday, 14 Feb? I think we should make reservations sooner rather than later since it is Valentine’s Day in addition to the thousands o’ people running the marathon… After we get near-accurate headcount, we can send out a few restaurant options and we can take a vote. (We are consulting with Austin locals on Italian restaurants.)

back on track?....

Hopefully all this new snow will melt by monday night ( so tired of the snow - not exactly motivating)
alright then:
Monday night 645 greenlake - speedwork? - to be determined by those who show up - who's planning on being there?

And then who would like to plan the other runs this week?
We need a 6-8 mile run on thrusday night.
And saturday I think we are due for 18 miles?