I finally thwarted the reptilian bane of my fish pond! At 10:30 tonight, I was able to lure the snake out of my pond with the net and finish the job with my shovel. Now my fishes and frogs can sleep easier at night!

On the heels of yesterday's long run, I gave a hearty workout to my upper body today. A few weeks ago, someone chopped down a 25' tree, perhaps 6" diameter, and let it float down the stream. It stopped behind our house, so today I went out to chop it. Between my hatchet, pick-axe, and wood saw I managed to get the whole thing chopped up into managable pieces. But boy are my arms tired!

This morning I completed a 16.3 mile training run in exactly three hours. It's my longest run to date, and fits in nicely with my goal of marathon distance in November. I hope to get in an 18 or 20 miler (or one of each!) before my August and September races, since I won't have opportunities to hit that kind of distance while training for the half marathons.
My heart-rate monitor says I lost 2500+ calories on the run, and I'm having some trouble replacing them at the moment. I just made a triple-potency protein shake (75g protein, it's milk, Carnation Instant Breakfast, and protein supplement), and that is definitely helping. Sitting a little hard in the stomach though :-)
It looks like I'll be giving up the Rock and Roll half marathon in favor of the 29th annual Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run. Same type of course (flat), but a little cooler and a lot cheaper! I got the idea when I checked out hotels in the Virginia Beach area, which were charging $200 per night with a three night minimum. Better to stay at my parents' house, and get some company besides!

We just enjoyed another respite from the grind, as we went to Ocean Isle Beach in NC to join our Penn State friend Katie and her medical student pals. We did some boogie boarding, beach football and soccer, as well as a rousing game of Cranium. The weather was pretty good, although it included some rain Thursday and cooler temperatures on Friday. Not enough to dampen our spirits, though :-)
When we got back to Cary, the power suddenly went off. According to the lady at Harris Teeter, a transformer blew up in RTP. I don't know any more details, but apparently sixty thousand people lost power. Ours was only off for about an hour and a half.
Tomorrow I'm planning a nice long run in the morning, probably about two or three hours. Last week I finished physical therapy for my soleus (sp?) muscle, which is the muscle behind the calf. I injured it during a hill workout -- the downhills are hard on that muscle. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things so that I can be ready for my race season, starting with the News and Sentinel half marathon in August.

I saw the snake poke his head out in the pond, but was once again unable to capture him. Someday he will be mine... someday!!!!

Just got back from seeing my first nephew Ian this weekend in Atlanta. He's my brother-in-law's son. Five months old and looking very cute! He's a pretty happy guy at this point. Elise and I had a good time hanging out with the rest of her family as well.
The dogs were pretty happy to see us when we got back. Scout and Hank both ran several laps of excitement at the vet office when we picked them up from boarding. Since it's a waxed floor, it can be funny to watch them run around. One time Scout lost her footing and slammed into a wall, ricocheting her into a doorstop and knocking it out. Boy was she scared when the door came at her! We took them for a nice walk and now they are busy relaxing.

Can I have a big bonus too?

Something like 16-5 overall, and I scored my a run for the first time in several weeks (that's the downside of hitting 7th). Final stat line: 4 for 4 on-base (2 singles), and 2 runs. No RBI opportunities!

This T-shirt will soon be hanging in my closet!

This Dilbert cartoon reminds me of how some people will listen to you, and not just managers!