Beeping in the woods....

Saturday's 90 min. stride run was a surprise. Why? Because Tom showed up with a new heart rate monitor! So what's the big deal? It's been 3 years since I started training diligently with a heart rate monitor and while I love the process and the numbers there are others who don't beat to the same drum. Tom has been one of my training partners for years now and he is just a free flowing runner and enjoys long and I mean long hours out in the gorge exploring trails and terrain. He doesn't follow any plan for training and has run so many 100 milers it's just no big deal. My friends have been very supportive and indulged my need to be a rigid freak with my training. They even come out and help me work harder but not without a lot of ribbing and I am not talking about a joke here and there but full blown ribbing. All of it in full support but if your skin is thin.....well ouch! Fortunately when it comes to this stuff I have super thick skin and can dish it right back with a smile on my face. But....when Tom showed up on Friday with a new heart rate monitor I was thrown for a loop. I mean, are you kidding, Tom is wearing a heart rate monitor???? I was so shocked I didn't know what to say, I was speechless. Kris, Tom and I begin our run and of course he can't get the monitor to connect so he is back behind me mumbling and complaining so I stop, turn and squirt water down his shirt and it was only 31 degrees. After a few choice words at me and a some jumping around he settled down and his heart rate monitor made connection. He asks me a million questions about the zones I am training in and what kinds of workouts go with which zones. Of course everyone's zones are different and I explain this to him as he follows us down the Wildwood. Then it's non-stop, "Ronda, what's your heart rate?". I tell him and he says mine too. This conversation went on the entire run and the scary part is his heart rate was so similar to mine that Kris named us "heart rate twins". They are both coded models so interference should not be an issue but can this really be true? Am I going to have to listen to my heart rate monitor twin all Spring???? Oh my! Now for those of you who know Tom also know that this new toy could be chucked into the woods at any given moment. One false move and that new heart rate monitor could be toast. So if you're running along the Wildwood and you hear, 'beep, beep, beep" in the woods it might be worth checking out because you might find a brand new toy! All fun and games on the trails as usual.

I dropped my camera in the toilet on Friday! No, I hadn't yet gone to the bathroom so fishing it out was not a problem. I had it in the back pocket of my running tights and when I went to go....well, plop it went. I quickly turned just in time to see it sink to the bottom and watch the bubbles rise to the top as it filled with toilet water. Darn it! I took it apart and Bill tried to blow it dry but no luck, it's dead. I have had this little camera for 5 years and I loved it. We went to Fry's on Saturday so I could get a new one. I picked them all up and measured them but none were as small as my Canon Elph. Bill thought my method of choosing a camera was interesting. I have absolutely no idea about the technology I just know I need it be small and lightweight. Those were my two important features. I got a new one and it's nice but I will miss my elph.

Sunday's 2.5 hour Z3 run took me down. I was beat! I felt like I was going so slow and the gang moved farther in the distance but actually we did pretty well. The accumulation of a this Build 1 week was enough for this girl. I bowed out of the Gorge Monday's with girls to take a rest day because I am going to need it for the weeks workouts. Just when we were finishing we see Liz, Kamm and Caroline coming around the bend. Liz is an automatic in WS100M this year and Kamm and Caroline will be pacing and crewing (if Caroline doesn't get picked on Sat.). They all looked strong and fresh.