<p>Oh, don’t worry. The Williamson County runners who want to use that trail WILL use it, prohibitions or not! In fact, there was a runner heading up it ahead of me yesterday! Unless there are going to be $$ consequences, it will be used. I don’t think it will interfere with hikers- and I totally understand iDad’s point. There won’t be heavy use at all by either runners or hikers, and I think it will work out. I agree with the problems involved with sharing trails and even run/bike paths. In Brentwood the paved paths are just going to be a lot more appealing to the vast majority of the runners. They are pretty, shaded and have water and bathroom stops.</p>
<p>5 miles today with H. Easy pace. 38 miles for the week and I’m chipping away at the pace bunny’s lead.</p>
<p>30 mile easy ride today in 37 degree ambient temperature. Wind chill-who knows but it was cold! Having the right clothing makes all the difference but still…</p>
<p>Dallas Marathon was scheduled today with 40,000 runners (!), so I took a rest day on the bike vs. trying to navigate traffic around my usual routes. Plus it rained this morning and is expected to rain on and off for the entire day. Temp in the low 60’s, though.</p>
<p>Brrrr, Michael. That’s definitely below my comfort zone on a bike- even with all the right gear!</p>
<p>Nrdsb4- I was on the Board of Directors for the Dallas (known to the old-timers as White Rock) Marathon for about 25 years. We grew it from a smallish race that went around the lake twice to what it is today. I don’t believe all the changes have been positive, and some of the character of the race has been lost. Most of the runners do NOT do the full marathon, which is one objection I have to “mixed” races. It has to be done just right, or the marathoners really get tangled up with the other races and it can be a really bad experience. Also, getting all those cars into downtown Dallas became a nightmare. I’ve run it a number of times, but the last was in 2001.</p>
<p>40,000? Lord have mercy on the organizers and the volunteers! Those people deserve medals. Not my kind of a race… Gimme 500 runners and a moose. ;)</p>
<p>MOWC, I heard on the radio that they were expecting 40,000 runners, but I haven’t been able to find that in writing anywhere just yet. But YES, you are right that there is half marathon. I’m not sure how they handled that in conjunction with the 26.2. When I went to the Katy Trail yesterday, I saw signs all over the place saying that the marathon was today and to be aware of traffic issues; all the surrounding streets had NO PARKING signs on them. Apparently the race will at one point go down Beverly Drive, which is one of THE most prestigious residential streets in Dallas, with houses for sale right now in the 8 million-15 million dollar range! I’m glad I steered clear. I cannot imagine trying to organize something like that.</p>
<p>Men’s winning time was 2:17:11 (Kenya)</p>
<p>Women’s winning time was 2:46:46 (Ethiopia)</p>
<p>That’s just amazing to me, though those times may not be anything special relative to other marathons. </p>
<p>I used to run Dallas. I loved that it went through fancy neighborhoods, but I liked best when it went through that more modest neighborhood with all the Christmas decorations. Last time I ran it, the start had moved to an expo center that was reachable by train. It rained like crazy that day, too, and so it wasn’t fun to hang around at the finish. </p>
<p>A little elliptical for me yesterday, nothing today. Just baking—does it count if I don’t eat too many cookies?</p>
<p>Christmas cookies don’t have calories, do they? I did a quick three mile walk this morning with my husband. This afternoon I decorated the tree, on my own. I miss the days of having a helper or two or three! </p>
<p>TRX small group class on Saturday and 3 mile walk today. I have pilates reformer class on Monday–it’s my third class. I like it. It’s not as difficult as I expected, but it isn’t easy either. </p>
<p>Football and napping today. Hiking tomorrow. Something fairly short and close by, probably Pawtuckaway State Park… Supposed to be sunny and mid 30s. Mountains farther north have snow and lots of ice. I need a couple of winter outings before I break out the snow shoes. Plus, sunset at 4:10 pm rules out long drives and/or long hikes!</p>
<p>Had to change everything over to winter backpack and make sure I’ve got gloves, hats, down jackets, and so forth. Good activity while watching Sunday night football!</p>
<p>Good job, sabaray. I looked at Twitter while I was still in bed and it was talking about freezing fog, so I went downstairs for just a couple of dreadmill miles. More later, hopefully (and outside).</p>
<p>2x around the local reservoir, so 5 miles. Lovely sunny, 33 degrees. I really dislike being too hot, so always start out being cold. Today I wore a long-sleeve quarter-zip top with a nylon vest, plus hat & gloves. After 5 minutes, I was “just right” temperature-wise.</p>
<p>Tonight we may head into downtown Boston to see the lights, have a drink at the Taj, and generally enjoy the holiday ambience. Christmas drinks, like Christmas cookies, have no calories, right PlantMom?</p>
<p>Interesting issue arose out of the Dallas Marathon yesterday. As I was saying, the addition of shorter races and relays can really hamper the marathon experience. Well, it turns out that the women’s winner ran the race of her life (I think a 2:46) but a male relay runner rushed in and broke the tape ahead of her. The guy claimed he didn’t realize she was the female winner and felt badly, but still… </p>
<p>Wow, that is really sad. I have a couple of photos from one of my races where it looks like I’m huffing and puffing trying to pass a little old lady just before the finish line. It does look funny Had to explain to some friends that the lady ran 1/2 of what I did - her bib is a different color. </p>
<p>One of my really fast male runner friends ran a 2:45 marathon one year at Bay State in Massachusetts and was thrilled. His finish line picture is complete with an overweight half marathoner right next to him with sweat pants on and a jacket tied around his waist. </p>
I did a quick three mile walk this morning with my husband. This afternoon I decorated the tree, on my own. I miss the days of having a helper or two or three! </p>