Response to Trail Zombie's Rant

This is in response to Trail Zombie's blog about recent trail marking activity at Turkey Mountain. I think maybe it was a little to long to post as a comment, as it was nearly as long as his original post. Please read his original post here so that you'll have a clue as to what I'm talking about. Thanks!

First of all, I cannot believe that people actually go out there and paint the trees... Maybe I'm just a good girl, but the thought of taking a can of spray paint out there and marking the trees has just never occurred to me. However, I must say that Trail Zombie did a great job of covering it up.

Second, I think that whiny biker guy owes Glenn and the others an apology. It's one thing to ask them if they know anything about the markings and ribbons, but quite another to go off on an accusatory tirade. How rude!

On the plus side, it does seem that Turkey Mountain is getting used more for its intended purposes of running, hiking, biking, etc. But just like when we see an increase of activity on the Riverside trail, we also see an increase in lack of trail etiquette, and my guess is that this is what is happening on Turkey. While it is frustrating for those of us who use these areas frequently, I don't think people are intentionally trying to cause problems. They just don't know any better - and we need try to remember that we were new once too, and do our part to help educate others!

Of course, I could be way off base here, in which case, just let me know and I'll keep my mouth shut from now on!!

Tuesday Run

Well, I got back from Dallas on Sunday afternoon, but wasn't quite ready to get back in the swing of things! I would have loved a few more days off!! I think we had a pretty good trip, though! We saw some of Randy's longtime friends that we hadn't seen in about 2 years, and it's probably been about that long since he's seen some of his family down there. I had been in Dallas for some work about a year ago and spent some time with his family, but he didn't go on that trip. I think we definitely realized that 2 years is really too long, especially when the drive is only a few hours! (Or an hour plane ride when the fare is right!!)

I wish I could say that I was a good girl, and got some running in while I was there, but I didn't. However, we did spend about 3 hours walking around The Galleria, so I think that definitely counts!!

Last night, I went and met up with my group for what turned out to be a very nice run! I had a couple of Newbies that I helped out with, and we did a 1/2 mile warm-up walk, 2 mile run/walk at a nice easy pace, and 1/2 mile cool-down walk. The weather was wonderful, and I felt very refreshed afterwards!

I made another Tuesday night trip to Target after the run, and had a far better experience than last week! The store was practically empty! I purposely kept my selections to a minimum so that I could use the express lane, but they didn't have any express lanes open. It turned out to be okay though, because the other lanes were all pretty empty anyway!

So far, so good this week! Let's hope it stays that way! And I'm really looking forward to another 3 day weekend for Labor Day!!

Greetings from The Big "D" y'all

Howdy! While I did bring a pair of running shoes (and appropriate attire) to Dallas with me just in case I wanted to run this morning, I opted to sleep in and rest, and update my blog. After the long week I've had, I think a little rest is what I needed!

I had a very busy week at work, and was a little stressed that I wouldn't get everything done before I left for my trip and before my bosses returned from theirs. At 4:45 on Thursday, I was finally able to breathe and I guess there weren't any problems because I didn't get any phone calls.

Tuesday night, I was a little bit unenthused about our group run when I showed up. I've just had so many bad runs lately and I wasn't looking forward to another one! I felt much better though, when Susan showed up and I got to chat with her a bit. I realized that I should be thankful that I can even run at all, even if it doesn't always go my way. I'm sure Susan would trade places with me in a heartbeat. A few bad runs is better than not being able to run at all! I also felr better when I found out we were doing a new route! YAY!!! Instead of our normal out-and-back on the east side of the river, we ran across to the west side, did a little trail loop, and back across to the east side. I loved it! Finally, a good run! Hopefully, I won't be so discouraged next time.

After my run, I stopped at Target to pick up a few things for dinner and lunches. I had more than 10 items, so I couldn't do the express lane. I picked a lane that had 2 other people waiting. One of them was almost done, and the other was starting to load her full cart onto the belt. I figured it wouldn't be too bad and settled in. A few minutes later I was about to start loading my own stuff on the belt, when a girl with a another full cart tries to squeeze past me. Apparently, she was with the lady in front of me. It would have been nice if the lady had mentioned that she had another full cart coming... and now all the other lines were to full for me to switch! Personally, if I had been in her position, and seeing that the person behind me only had 15-20 items when I had a full cart and another on the way, I would let them go in front of me. But that's just me... I hope they enjoy their $425 worth of weight watchers food...

Wednesday night, we started the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University at church. I'm really looking forward to it. It may bring up some unpleasant conversations between me and Randy, but if we ever want to start getting ahead and planning for our future, then it needs to be done.

Thursday, instead of running, I was busy getting ready for our trip. I rushed home after work to get the dog to the vet for boarding before they closed. Then I went over to the store for a few last minute items, went home and fixed some dinner, and started packing. I got in bed at 10 but it was closer to 11 by the time I went to sleep. When my alarm went off at 3, I was up and ready to get going. I finished packing after a nice long shower and then tried to get Randy up when his alarm went off at 4. Shortly after 5 we were on our way to the airport for our 6:30 flight.

As we made our ascent out of Tulsa, I came to a startling revelation. What started out as a cloudy, gloomy day, actually appeared quite beautiful and peaceful when I was looking at it from a different perspective. Now if I can just try to remember that at other times as well...

Since we've been here, I've just been resting and taking it easy. Tonight, Randy's aunt and uncle are having a big fish fry and they're expecting about 90 people, so that will be interesting. Of course, after a couple drinks, anything gets a little more fun!

We fly back tomorrow afternoon, and then it's back to the grindstone. But for now, I'm on vacation! WooHoo!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend!

Rain or Shine...

Since it's Wednesday, I guess that means I'm way past due for an update!

Thursday evening, I had planned to do Saturday's long run mileage (8) with a friend who wouldn't be able to run on Saturday, along with a couple of other runners. About 2 miles in, I realized that I wasn't going to make it for a full 8. I'm not sure if I was still trying to recover from all the excessive heat lately, or if part of it was the Subway sandwich I'd eaten 1 1/2 hours earlier, or what was going on, but as soon as we got to a spot where I could easily bail out and get back to my car, I did! The others were super nice and made sure I was okay, and made sure I got back to my car safely, which I greatly appreciated! I just hope I didn't mess up their run too much!

Friday, I went and had lunch with my friend Susan! She has a heart condition and hasn't been able to run with us for a while, and I've missed her terribly!! It was great to see her, and I hope we can do it again soon!!

Since I only ended up with about 3 miles on Thursday, I probably should have done 8 on Saturday, but I opted to sleep in a bit instead. I showed up in time to meet the 6:45 group for 3 miles, and it was sooo nice. The weather sure does play a huge role in how good (or bad) a run feels! Part of me wished that I'd gotten up earlier and done a few more miles, but the other part of me was glad to get a little sleep!

So that brings me to last night's (Tuesday) run... which I didn't do at all. I was completely ready to do it - I brought my running attire to work with me (and it's still sitting under my desk). But a last minute dinner invite to Joe's Crab Shack for a friend's birthday was just a tiny bit more appealing! I haven't been there in years! Some may say that I should have run first, and then gone to dinner, but there wouldn't have been enough time for that. Even in a perfect world, I would have started running @ 5:30, finished a 3 mile run by 6, got home at 6:30 (have to pick hubby up - can't drive his work truck out and about) and wouldn't have gotten back to Joe's until 7 at the earliest. And I would have had to skip a shower at that - yuck!! So now that I have completely justified my actions, why do I still feel a tiny bit guilty???

So since I've been such a slacker lately, I vow that "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these runners from the completion of their appointed mileage." See ya Thursday!

Tuesday Run

Well... I got in trouble for not updating my blog lately, so here it is! To be honest, I haven't had anything interesting to share. Work is busy, weather is crappy, and my best friend (aside from hubby) is out of town. On the plus side, I do have a wonderful hubby, and it is Tuesday, so I got to see my friends and I got to run. And by run, I mean that I walked 1/2 mile, jogged 1/2 mile, and then walked 2 miles. Like I said - the weather sucks. It hasn't made for any easy runs, but at least I'm trying!
So anyway, the picture above is from tonight's run. Seeing Ken and Roman has been the highlight of my week! :-p