My Lean Mean Endurance Teammates!

I've missed you!!!!
Tracey: 7 gallons of milk a week??

I can't even imagine feeding a big family. Some days, I get annoyed when DOOD asks for seconds on the "good stuff."Oooh, you're a fertile one are you? The doctor I had in high school once told me I had good, child-bearing hips. Creeped me out. It sounds like you had a great time visiting your DGM and her friends, and what a good thing to do, too! I'm sorry you missed your trail run, but it sounds like it was worth it for the memories.
Lisa: Great tips from
Fitness magazine. I've been thinking about getting a subscription to it--is it worth it? (Hmmm, maybe I need to see whether my library carries a subscription first....) Oh, and I bet you have a very sexyback, what with those runner's legs of yours. My sexyback is most noticeable for the fact I carry a man's wallet when I wear jeans, so one side is always lopsided.
What a weekend you had!!! I'm SO sorry to hear about your DD's accident. I hope she wasn't in too much pain and that the recovery time is minimal. 8th grade prom??? I never heard of such a thing, and I'm certainly glad to have left my prom-dress shopping days long behind me. I hope your water pressure situation has stabilized AND that you still have power; in a darkly comic universe, your household would accidentally be ready for for an alien invasion and learn to survive in a low-tech world. (Isn't that a rosy picture? It's my version of Connie's much more realistic and rational country-girl survival image.)
Mike: First, what is hypoxia training? I looked it up, but I was hoping for your reasons (your trainer's reasons?) for doing it in terms of your goals. Regardless, I think your trainer (or whatever his official term is) certainly goes by the idea of what doesn't kill you....might make you wish you were dead.
Stacie: Thanks for the Home Remedies...They made me laugh out loud. #6 is one I live by. Your 5k sounded fabulous--and congrats on the PR, the well-deserved award, and the bragging rights!!! Woo hoo to your SIL, too! I assume you'll be doing more local events?
Wendy: 
Glad you're back! Thanks for the thanks--I was looking for Lisa's Energy bar recipe and had a devil of a time (what does that phrase really mean, anyway) finding it. That's when such organizational moments happen for me. Now, if there was something in my closet I really, really needed.... Hey, I saw some pics of you on the Disney Deads site recently. You always look so happy & delighted. I need to channel some of that PD!
Maria: Yay for your "easy" 5.5 milers and then your 10 miles. And it does sound like you're getting in a lot of good activity. Not to mention the house-salad hurdle. You've done so well!

Ain't life grand when we can see ourselves making progress? And I think the 5 pounds is totally do-able--and for such an occasion, too. Are you excited about the big b-day? I'm excited for you. And yes, I'll be making a big deal out of it!!!
Dave: Ooooh, the dark side. I'm scared of the dark. You think we should all buy night lights? Maybe I should channel my inner Star-Wars geek. Dave, come to the dark side. Dave, I'm your father. Wait...there's something wrong with that last statement. Can't quite place what it is, though. Anyway, I certainly hope this week is better--for all of us. In fact, I'm always hoping the next week is better than the last, no matter how great that last week might have been. Does that make me an optimist, or just sadly uninformed as to reality?
Ooh, Indiana Jones. Love it--I actually wanted to be an archeologist for a time because of the movies. Strange, huh?
Beth: I'm glad you got your migraine meds refilled--it's good to have that stuff around. Even better news about having lost all but 5 pounds since January. Pooh on your doctor, even if he didn't know the full story. I'm in for a summer of healthy eating, especially if I can get started on it when DOOD is out of town and I have Lean Meaners for support! It really sounds like you're mentally ready to begin and the meat-pricing deal you got says that the stars are aligned in your favor. This is going to be great!!
Side note--one of the reasons I look forward to DOOD's absence is that I have the opportunity to make lifestyle changes when he's gone in a way I don't have when he's around. It's not like he is anything less than encouraging, but sometimes it's easier when you're by yourself, you know? And if I get cranky because of the changes I don't have anyone to take it out on. Seriously, when I quit drinking Mt. Dew (when I lost that 50 pounds a few years back), I chose to do it when he was gone. I couldn't stand myself for the first couple of weeks.
Connie: "All about me."

I think we ALL need to adopt that focus on ourselves, using it in a good way, of course. How was grandkids field day? Anything exciting? I tend to follow your DH's organizing plans; I have lots and lots of color-coordinated tubs and boxes. They were supposed to help me keep things in order...if I could just remember what was in each color.
As for me: Well, I did the Cleveland 1/2 and DOOD did the Cleveland full over this extended weekend, with ILs in tow as spectators for DOOD. I've got to write a RR, but here's the skinny: Steady rain, blisters, missed my goal time, but I improved from January's 1/2 pace & earned a PR. I'm disappointed but not destroyed, although I am limping today because of the blisters. Time is 2:38:33, with a much slower pace after the 10K, where I was on pace for a 2:33. (The blisters started around mile 4.)
In terms of Lean Meaner concerns, just a couple of things. I really think my core work and strength training has made a difference in my overall running and will continue to help me improve. I managed longer running intervals and it was easier for me all the way through the race than it was January. I still pronate, hence some of my problems with blisters, but I'm getting more mindful of my form and gait. In terms of fueling, though, this weekend was not good for both me and DOOD. Our problem is that we try to be accommodating to my ILs' needs at the expense of our own. My ILs are generally happy with soup and salad or the other extreme, fried foods and heavy desserts; they also tend to choose their restaurants/meal times based on when they want to rest a while. For me this weekend, accommodating their eating habits & needs meant being willing to eat at non-vegetarian friendly restaurants and "making do" with food choices that don't work for me in various ways. For DOOD, it means doing the same as well as eating off schedule. We both knew we weren't fueling properly on Friday & Saturday during the day, and Saturday evening wasn't enough to counteract our poor decisions. So we started our races with lower energy than we would have liked--and were probably affected by Saturday's all-day family gathering/museum touring schedule as well. We were both trained well enough to finish, but I should have realized my goal time, even without the rain, wasn't in the cards because of these things.
So I talked with DOOD on the way home--it was one of those talk "at" moments where DOOD doesn't say much because 1) he agrees with me, 2) I'm in one of those moods, and 3) I'm talking about his parents--and we agreed that things need to change. If his parents are going to continue to follow him from race to race, and I really hope they do because they're very supportive and feel it's the only time they get to see him (other than major holidays and summer trips and family reunions and....

), then we need to lay down some rules about what racing weekends are like. It has to be about the race, IMO, because I'm just not experienced/focused/strong enough to split my attention like that. And so, I guess Connie & I are on the same wavelength--it's all about me.
Now, I don't know what these "rules" will be yet, precisely, aside from eating good food at regular intervals. Probably something about how much sightseeing we try to do, sleep needs, etc. So I think I need your input. If any of you have suggestions for how you handle your family's needs with your racing needs, I'd love to hear them.
ETA: In rereading this post, I realize it sounds a lot like I'm blanket-blaming my ILs. I don't want to convey that impression. I blame me and DOOD, in that order. We KNOW better, and were just too gutless to put our collective feet down, me because they're my ILs, DOOD because they're his parents. Guess I win the spineless jellyfish award (it's too bad it's not a medal to add to my bling). Mike's entirely right that we couldn't expect great races if we didn't follow the training plan--always stick to the plan--so I'm just kind of sulky about things. But heck, like DOOD & I say to each other, "It's not the last donut you'll ever eat." We'll just try to do better next time.