I get the same “you must marathons” from people I encounter. When I tell them no— I run track, I usually get a blank stare!
Speaking of $$$ fitness equipment—I’m thinking about the following:
http://www.exergenie.com/why-exer-genie/speed-training/
@FallGirl, some folks are just clueless. I would have told the coworker, “Yeah, it is a good start. Someday, when I grow up, I will run a marathon.” Maybe he meant “at least YOU are doing something while I couch-potato my evenings.” 
I get asked a lot when my next marathon is… I keep telling that my school is taking up a lot of time, which is true to a degree. I am also hanging in the “twilight zone” when the docs are just punting my issue hoping that the other will solve something. One interesting tidbit I learned about what can be causing the belly growing larger in older women - fibroids. Most of them are painless and just sit there, even the ones sized like a tennis ball, but some can cause trouble.
Bus, fingers crossed that you finally are getting to the root of the issues!
Hmm, could fibroids be causing my increased tummy size? It couldn’t be the wine, chocolate or lack of exercise lately. 
That kind of sucks that the doctors aren’t getting to the root of the problem for you, Bunsen. Any other specialists you might be able to visit?
Woke up to snow here in the DC burbs this am. The forsythia, daffodils and cherry trees are blossoming.
Knee is swelling again; the ortho said if it did so, we were likely going to scope the knee. Sigh. Hand is no better; having a CT scan on Tuesday to see if there are indeed torn ligaments, since it hasn’t improved after a month in a cast. Have had 19 doctor appts for this accident in the past five weeks. This doesn’t count my usual doctor visits (eight during the same time frame). New cardiologist is going to put me through the full round of testing – echo on Monday, stress test and visit with EP for ICD check. She wants to change some things, which has me really nervous. It’s been working well, and I have enough stress in my life right now without mixing things up on this front.
My dear dog is on hospice at home. We are spoiling her rotten. She’s eating better than she ever has in her entire life. But every time I come home and walk through the door I am overcome with anxiety about whether or not she will still be alive.
And the stress eating…
This morning was a good 3.5 mile run with Back on My Feet. Cold and a little windy, but a lot better than it was earlier in the week. I am hoping that the weather will be decent for tomorrow’s 16 mile training run.
H didn’t go this morning. Partly because of an early morning meeting (which he could have called into after the run) but mostly because he has been having an issue with his hip for over a month now and it seems to be getting worse. I think our trainer convinced him last night that he really needs to rest it to avoid doing real damage. So I think he’s going to take a week off running and see how it feels. I am almost to the point where I want to be done with marathons. The training just takes up so much time and it never ends. And I do think that it’s hard on your body. I love running the half marathons and would really prefer to just stick to running halfs. I’m signed up for a marathon on April 22 and another in November but I’m almost considering switching to the half. I already qualified for Boston in 2018 (with a huge margin) so maybe that will be my last marathon for a few years. We have really been trying for H to qualify also but I don’t think it’s going to happen in April with his current injury and he really needs to back off on the distances. Sigh. I just think that running would be more fun if I were only training for half marathons and not in a constant cycle of needing to do the really long runs.
busdriver - so glad that you went to a podiatrist and that you have confidence in what he has in mind for treatment. Hopefully this will get to the root of your issues and you’ll be better able to do your Pike’s Peak run.
Bunsen - I am really sorry that you and your doctors are still trying to figure out what is going on. You have managed to keep such a positive attitude through all this - or maybe you just do a really good job of not complaining. Either way, I sure hope there is a breakthrough soon.
@C3Baker – that’s great you already qualified for 2018 Boston! And a huge margin is very impressive but I know you’re fast.
I’m right with you about marathons. A lot of training, hard to recover from, and not exactly a day at the beach on race day. It occupies a huge chunk of every weekend (training) and while I’m glad I did it, there is only so much time in the day. I am not signed up for NYC 2017 and I don’t think I’ll do it. I’m in for 2018 and that might be my last. I prefer half’s too.
I’d love to run a few more marathons. Someday I will get my wish.
Wow. Lots of posts while I’ve been out running and eating breakfast here on Pacific time.
I think Pilates is a great complement to running. I had a runner/cyclist friend older than me in Dallas who swore by it. He called it “pilots”, though, which stuck in my head to this day! I did some private reformer classes in Dallas and thought it was tremendously beneficial for all the reasons sabaray said.
Bus- hope this guy can solve the blister issue. What shoes did he recommend?
Classof2015- I hope you aren’t in the clear.
Bunsen- I hope they can figure out your problem. I need you back on the road!
CD-sorry about your sweet doggie.
Michael- how are you healing?
C3B- marathon training is a grind- especially when you are working every day.
Fall girl- Non-runners think the marathon is the holy grail. Lauren Fleshman (former 5K champ) had a good column on some guy looking down his nose at her on a plane when she told him she raced the 5K.
Tough one for me this morning. Too much wine last night at the seminar wine tasting and dinner. Woke up at 3am and did not go back to sleep. I was going to wait for light to try 8 miles on the Napa River Trail. I was awake, so I drove to the park and headed out with my headlamp. I wasn’t even sure I parked in a legal place. It was dark and creepy and I was very sure I didn’t want to do it. I did ok getting into town on the trail, but then lost the trail. I wound around town a little bit, and decided to head back. I hoped I could add on at the end, but I wanted to make sure my car wasn’t towed away. My legs were dead. It was a struggle. I did the add on, saw 2 jackrabbits and a nice sunrise and made my 8 miles. 40 degrees and chilly.
Nice job, MOWC - I hadn’t really thought of wine as a pre-run fuel, but hey, whatever works! Glad you finished safely.
Marathons are hard on your body. No question. I wish there were more shorter races in close proximity - I’d love to be able to do more 5ks and 10ks but just not real feasible.
CD, hugs. For everything.
My morning exercise was getting to the car dealer by 7:00 AM and then “running” my credit card for the somewhat pricey 60K mile service! Pup walk a little later.
A week ago it was in the 70s here – today and tomorrow in the 20s. At least it’s not snowing.
H has to go for another colonoscopy – apparently he wasn’t “clean” enough. Very annoying since he followed all the directions exactly. For the next one he has to drink twice as much of the nasty stuff.
Healing light to all in need.
sabaray, Pilates is great and can be very tough! The emphasis on exact alignment, posture and specific muscle activation is just so beneficial. Whatever price you are paying will yield great dividends as you remain strong, flexible and able to move without pain over the years to come.
Bunsen, it must be so frustrating that your docs can’t come up with an effective treatment plan. Your resolve and philosophical adaptation are remarkable.
I’m down in Miami now for a wedding and am glad to be escaping the cold weather that has come back in. My calf is healing well and I have about 75% functionality for activities of daily living, a tremendous improvement from Tuesday evening when I tore it. I just can’t do dorsiflexion and plantarflexion under heavy load. Wednesday night I did a TRX workout so that I wouldn’t have to carry heavy weights and last night did a foundation indoor cycling ride for an hour which my calf tolerated with minimal discomfort. I’m at the point where active recovery based on massage to assist the alignment of muscle fiber as it repairs itself, progressive resistance training to strengthen the rebuilt fibers and gemtle stretching to prevent shrinkage and binding of muscle fiber from scar tissue is what’s needed. It’s been pretty funny how many people have told me I’m an idiot for not going to the doctor. But the reality is that there was no bulging or knotting of the muscle or tendon, the muscle (actually the tendon) didn’t snap causing the muscle to retract and I did not lose the ability to flex my foot in both directions. A doctor wouldn’t have been able to tell anything more than I could without an MRI and would most likely have told me to just practice a good RICE protocol for a couple of days and then report back. So that’s what I kinda did on my own, mixing in active recovery within my limits to speed up tissue rebuilding.
CD, hugs to you and your family - your pup is so, so lucky to have his family.
We are having a quick cold snap here and some places got up to a foot of snow. I drove to one place and skied.
There is nothing I do that I enjoy more than XC skiing. I think it might be that the season is so short that you never get tired of it. It’s so peaceful but exhilarating but hard work. I’m tired and happy. I’ve been struggling with sickness and general end of winter, no sun lethargy. It was cold but sunny out, perfect weather to ski.
Thanks all. @MomofWildChild I remember your story about Lauren Fleshman and that was part of the reason I decided to laugh. I would like to see him run against her in a 5K.
CD - I have been wondering how your knee was doing and am sorry it’s not better. And hugs about your sweet dog. I hope his days are peaceful and he is not in much pain.
That’s good news, Michael! Enjoy Miami.
Knee, wrist and neck are all still problematic. Have been doing PT for my neck, still in wait-and-see mode on whether or not there will be procedures for my wrist and knee.
Thanks for the kind words.
Hugs, CD.
deb - I completely agree about cross county skiing. The snow absorbs all noise making the activity so peaceful, yet sweat-inducing at the same time. Next winter there better be snow in the mountains!
Good god. Some folks in the office are thinking about doing this event:
http://www.northwestharvest.org/seattle-magazine-5k
It is a “non-competitive” 5k with a brunch at the finish line. Sleep. Run. Brunch. I like the motto! 
Maybe I can hobble that course.
OK, @BunsenBurner I misread that at first and thought it said “margarine” instead of “magazine”! I might run faster for a brunch with a mimosa at the finish…
Do it, Bunsen!