baby it's cold outside

It snowed maybe an inch last night. Okay. Maybe two inches. Clearly wasn't worth the end of civilization weather reports from last night.

At about 7:30 I went out to clear the snow. Shovel, might be too strong a word. It was single digits. And very windy.

This is what I wore. I probably looked silly.

TWO pairs of gloves. When I came back in I couldn't feel my fingers
Long undies, top and bottom
Long sleeve shirt
Pullover fleece
LL Bean coat with hood up
Sweatshirt with hood up
Fuzzy hat under all those hoods
And a scarf

Except for my fingers I was not cold.

I did the front, walked up the hill, around to the alley and did the garage and the back sidewalk, then went up the hill and came back down to the house.

After getting half that clothes off, I went out to make breakfast. Bonnie called. "Let's drive to the Poconos and go for a three mile hike." "Okay." Alas, she was teasing. But I really did want to go to the Poconos. Angel was picking the girl-child up from Moseywood. I toyed with the idea of hiding in her car and walking around lake Moseywood. (Supremely jealous of girl-child—snowshoeing, cross country skiing, sledding, painting snow—why don't they have adult weekend in winter?)

I did some work, then put all that clothes back on, and headed out at lunchtime for my walk. Alone. Lydia had been a maybe for today, but she called and said it was F@*&‡!G cold out. She was going to the movies instead.

I went down to Itaska, and wove my way to Broadway. Out Broadway and back up thru Lehigh.  One reason I chose the university is I knew the sidewalks would be clear. They were so clear they were dry.

Even the stairs were clear. So I took them.

At the top of the hill I headed out 8th Street toward home.

Sadly, it was barely two miles. I only have 7500 steps for the day, but I do have 38 floors. So I'll need to do at least 2500 steps in the house later. Unless I decide to bundle back up and head back out.

 The view from 8th Street

Oh, I weighed myself this morning. Up another two pounds. I think I'm going to stop watching what I eat. More exercise. Less and better food. I do not understand.

walking thru christmas lights

My walking streak broke on Monday. It did not surprise me. Work days are tough. Add to that all the rain we had this week and little has gotten done. But I am not complaining. I don't have to shovel it.

I will not make my goals this week. Oh well. Such is life.

Tuesday I didn't walk much at all except at school. I was up to my elbows in grading. Three classes will close soon.

Wednesday was a work day but I planned to go to the Holiday Lights at the zoo after work with Angel's family. It was an adventure. I went right after work, she's less than two miles from campus. Somehow I invited myself for dinner. It was delicious. then off we went.

We left in two cars, and dropped mine at the Hellertown Park and Ride. No need to go all the way back to Easton. Then I hopped into their car and we headed to Schnecksville. And drove right past Game Preserve Road. Ultimately Angel had to launch the GPS on her phone. When we turned onto Game Preserve Road, she turned it off. I guess she shouldn't have. We drove past the entrance. Clearly the zoo is used during the day and nobody thought to put lights on the signs.

Turning into the driveway we were greeted by trees covered in lights. But it wasn't like lights in the Parkway. Just a little bit now and then. And the view from the top of the hill was great. We finally arrived at the zoo, but not until we made one last wrong turn.

I was glad I brought my winter coat. It was cold. The zoo is a circle so you can't get lost. The child kept looking for the animals. As we walked we rained on  with glitter lights. It was cool.

 We made gingerbread cookies, built an igloo from foam cubes and met the Grinch. Max wasn't there.

As a Hendricks, my knees don't work right. At some point in time I'll probably have to get new ones. When the Grinch invited us in his cave, the child wasn't me to come. Sure! Why not? I bent over and squatted and my knees didn't work. I couldn't move my legs. An hour in the cold played havoc on them. I could have gotten on the ground and crawled in, but I had new-to-me trousers on. Finally I got in. Of course, then I had to get out. I ended up dropping to the ground.

Then there are these giant snow globes. I managed to go in. I even managed to stand up. But when I left, I stuck one leg out and somehow lost my balance and fell. Thankfully the snow globe held me up. But too much air came out as I struggled to get up so they needed to help the child out. Note to self: stay out of real or imagined caves and blow ups.

When it was over I visited Santa and the Mrs. (Sorry Bud. Next week, promise.) The child didn't. She talks to people in costume. She wanted to do the loop again, but mom said no. It was 8:15 on a school night.

Yesterday, minimal walking. I was a bit sore from the walk. But mostly, I was grading. Today Betsy and I did our Friday walk.

it was a beautiful day yesterday

Yesterday was gorgeous. The perfect fall, or maybe spring, day. Warm but not hot. Clear blue sky and not a cloud in sight. Mama Nature doesn't make them much better.

Yesterday was an Easton work day. My friend Angel emailed me to ask if I was on campus and did I want to go for a walk. She works retail and is headed into a 5-day period of no sleep and dealing with rude people. I said sure.

She met me at her husbands office at 11:30. He had his lunch break at 12. We headed across campus, and then down the stairs by the monument. Then it was out third till we we off campus, crossed and came back up College Hill. When we arrived he was waiting by the car.

It felt really good. We might do it again Wednesday.

After I returned to work there was an email from the office manager that the President was coming over at 1. Be there. Any distraction is a good one. She's been there a year and a half and I've never even seen her. The reason for the visit? Last weekend was the 150th football game between rival schools and the capital Campaign kickoff in NYC. Our office has been working on these events for about a year. Two-thirds of the staff was in NYC over the weekend.

She arrived at one on the dot with two other people carrying champagne and plastic cups. On the table of the conference room was an edible arrangement. The cork was popped, the speech made, the champagne drunk and she said "where did the fruit come from"? Further investigation revealed it came from a Trustee. So we had champagne and fruit and chocolate at 1 pm.

I was in a terrific mood all afternoon. We should do that more often.

forks trail

Usually I walk on Fridays with my friend Betsy, but she had other commitments today. So I arranged with my friend Angel to walk in Forks township. She works at Target and had a rare day off in November.

I gave her a list of places and she picked the Forks trail. She had never been there. Instead of parking at the Country Club, we parked nearer to the river and had to climb some stairs to get to the trail. It snowed last night so the wooden stairs were filled with wet leaves and ice. Fun!

After carefully climbing the stairs we arrived on the trail and followed it south along the river. When we reached the country club we turned left and followed another path until it ended, then turned around and came back.

The trail was covered with leaves and it was fairly natural. Lots of tree roots to trip over. All in all it was about 3.5 miles. The ice on the stairs melted considerably by our return trip.

Then we headed to the Forks deli for middle eastern food for lunch, and then Calandra's for cheese. On the way home I made a few stops so I figured I walked about 5 miles. I checked my Fitbit and it say "Fitbit 6.0" and made all kinds of rebooting activities. When it was done it told me I walked 16 steps all day. All before 6 am. I could have cried.

Tomorrow is the NCC 5k. I drew the t-shirts. Hopefully they look nice. They did not pick my favorite design.

autumn revelations

I walked today at lunchtime. I was stressed to the max and it was either take a long walk or say something stupid and get fired.  I chose the walk.

Dang I wish I had my camera with me. (Photo from Wikipedia.) College Hill was painted in brilliant shades of red. There isn't much prettier in Easton than Victorian mansions cloaked in bright red leaves.

Since the D&L marathon two weeks ago I've been thinking a lot about racing and what role it will play in my life moving forward. It started at the pre-race dinner. Person after person stood up and said how wonderful racing was, and how they break down in tears from joy when they finish. It was like a Hallmark card for walkers. I have never shed a tear or jumped for joy. Sure I was happy it was over. I was happy I finished. But that's it.

The day of the race I counted down the miles like I always do—7-6-5-4-3-2-1-thank goodness I'm done. They hand you a medal which is lovely for about 2 minutes. Then my mind switches gears to what shall I do with this? And I really don't need another t-shirt. Three-quarters of them go to Pat or Goodwill.

But I was signed up for another the next week. It actually would have qualified me for a group called Half Maniacs. After becoming a member the least you could do was one Half a month to keep up your membership. The highest —52 in one year. Yep. One a week. Clearly those people have no life outside of races. And an endless supply of money. Half marathons are not cheap. Plus you need to add in travel, hotels, tolls, eating out, ect.

My fitness friend Nora is a member. She rarely does a 5K or a 10K anymore. She loves the half, and I anticipate that she'll move towards full marathons soon. She check race results. She knows the race staffs. She does two every month. I think I'd rather shoot myself.

Last week I was bored to tears at the Deja Vu. Solitude was not one of my life skills. There was no joy at the finish. Just relief. The shirt went into the hand-me-down box.

The 10K on Sunday was great. But was it because it was half the length or was it because I was walking over a beautiful body of water? Again, no joy at the finish, just relief. And wanted to be sure I caught the right bus back.

Saturday is a 5K. Looks like I'll be going it alone. Again. Bonnie just had surgery, and Megan can't make it. It's at NCC and I designed the tee shirts. I got to go. The money benefits my kids. But I'm not sure I want to.

Bottom line: With the exception of NCC, races are expensive and getting more expensive. I have to buy health insurance next year so there goes my disposable income.  I need to get really picky.

I'm not sure if I've signed up for anything next year. I have to look. (Oh wait—The Yuengling Lager Jogger with Angel and Eryn, and the Hangover 5K on New Years Day....bet there's more.) I need to evaluate how much racing I will actually do. Will 2015 be more Volkssport? More state parks? More fitness challenges. Not sure.

In the meantime,  I found a plastic box for the medals. Not quite ready to recycle them to Medals4Mettle. Maybe when the box is full.

half the hills in easton.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/old-photos-pennsylvania/33064-hacketts-park-easton.html

Today we were supposed to walk at Columcille in Bangor, but just as the weather people predicted it was pouring this morning. There were quite a few people who wanted to do the walk.

We were supposed to start at 10. When I turned on the computer this morning there was a message from Angel. "Let me know when you leave for Columcille if you're online. I'm on the fence with the weather". I assured her the weather would clear up by nine. It didn't. In fact when I was prepping to leave it started to pour. After Angel's email, then Lyd called. Pretty much the same conversation. She opted for plan B. "Even if it stops raining it will be really muddy". Then I called Bonnie. They were out also. A text to Dawn confirmed she was bagging it.

Angels child is at camp for the weekend. There are not many opportunities for many childless activities with a 10-year-old in the house. Another email comes...

"Is there someplace Indoors we can go?" And another ...

"We could Mall walk. *cringe*". 

The rain had stopped and it looked like it might clear up. Since I had to go to the farm for eggs I suggested the Palmer rail trail. It's paved. Then Angel sweetened the pot with "You want to come over, get cauliflower and walk from here to Hackett park? Or I can make lunch..."

So that's what we did, Angel, her husband and I walked from her house to Hackett Park on the Wilson section of the rail trail. Like the old cliché it was up hill in "both directions". When we entered the park I had 30 stairs on my FitBit. And it was park-like with swings and pavilions and things. Not a field like when I entered from the rail trail. And there's a cemetery in the middle of the park. With a cannon. And obsolete plaques. Who knew? Wish I would have had my camera.

When we came back we left the trail and hiked up the hill to Northampton Street. I have always wanted to walk up that damn hill. Why? It's steep. But only earned us another seven flights.Then we worked our way back to Angel's house including a set of stairs. Who knew there were stairs on Northampton street? Total stair count—46!

We made lunch—huge salads with peanut-sesame dressing — and then I ate and ran.

First stop, the farm. I had to get a pot roast, a steak and eggs. I eat a lot of eggs. I also got some cherry tomatoes and some peppers. This is pretty much the end of the veggies. They also had pumpkins and squashes of all varieties. While I was shopping others came, and then the hay truck. Nobody yelled HAAAAAAAY! Shocking. But we were stock for a few minutes. Let me assure you that they hay truck driver had some driving skills.

Second stop ArtsQuest. We have a race tomorrow and today was packet pick up. I should have told them "event" instead of "packet pickup". I had to park in the casino overflow employee shuttle lot and hoof it in.

I ended up with 6.5 miles and I still have a deficit in my goal for this week. I'm only at 75%. No way I'll get to 100% this week. Oh well. But damn certain I will make 50 stairs. I will walk up and down the hill until I do.

When I arrived home there was another email from Angel. "Are you blogging about today? Because if you do:
- we walked about 4.2 miles
- we had crazy fitbit issues (hers got stuck and somehow turned on iTunes which played do-wop)
- we ate good food
- we had a great time
- and my fit bit gave me 92 active minutes!!! (mine gave me 1.25 hours active, 31 very active. That's good. I rarely get double digits for very active minutes, yet alone out of the teens.)
- next time let's do six miles!"

You are on Angel. Now what to do about the child ....

fitness challenge—making believe you are still 10.

Yesterday was the 75th Anniversary celebration at Camp Mosey Wood. The oldest Girl Scout there was 92. Yep, it's true. Our blood is green.

I picked up my friend Mary Liz first. Her mom was instrumental in the creation of Mosey Wood. Her father designed some of the buildings. They courted there. It's so romantic. Have her tell you the story of the trees.

Then I picked up Angel and Little Miss at the Rt. 33 Park and Ride and we were off. You should have heard us driving down 80 singing girl scout songs. You just knew it was going to be a good day. And it was.

We arrived in an hour—there is no traffic at that hour in the morning. Mary Liz immediately started her reunion. Because of her walker she spent the bulk of the time visiting and talking with old and new staff members and scouts. I missed a great picture. The vintage girl scouts sitting on the dining hall porch talking. I ran in for my camera, but the moment was gone.

There was a lot to pack into a small amount of time.

First stop—archery. On my second round I hit the target four times. One is even in blue.

Second stop—hiking. We started on the lake trail and then branched off to Harvey's Hike. HH was part of one of the Ranger's Gold Award projects. It's in fairly good shape. The back end of the lake trail, not so much. Bug is looking for a Silver project. This just might be it.

The back side of the Lake Trail, and Harvey's Hike are great places to pick blueberries. It's no coincidence that they call it blueberry hill. In addition to having a nice snack, we carried some back for Mary Liz.

 After lunch we went to the waterfront. We had about 20 minutes to kill before it opened so we ran up and down the steps. The real 10-year-old is still a bundle of energy.

The waterfront opened and Angel and I chose the row boat. It was cool, we had no interest in getting wet. The child chose stand up board paddling (SUP). She actually dove in a couple times. I had a mommy moment and yelled that she was too far away from the other people, and the lifeguard boat. She had to come back. The real mommy didn't whack me for overstepping my bounds.

We were trying to get back to shore and the child is giving lessons on the waterfront. She has an incredible memory (except when mom requests something) and was doing pretty well. The waterfront staff didn't stop her. Somehow she convinced mom to SUP. Mom did stand up, but fell off the board. The child didn't have her adjust her paddle or use it as a third leg. They probably don't teach children that. Balance comes naturally to them.

Next stop—climbing wall. The child was a monkey and did all the walls at least twice. Angel did two. I could not get past the first row. She wanted to go again, but then there would be no high ropes course (HRC).

We hiked back up the hill to the HRC. When we arrived there was a backload of people. Someone was stuck on the swing. She couldn't jump. It took at least 15 minutes. Waiting is not good. I was no longer feeling confident after the rock wall, and now I get to watch someone sweat it out. The child, on the other hand, took to it like a fish in water. She kept saying she was terrified. That she couldn't do it. Does she look terrified? No. Did she come down and say can I do it again? Yes. I gave her my spot if she gave up a swim. Angel also completed the course successfully.

That was the end of the adventure portion of the day. We headed back to DJs Place for dinner. On the way back we stopped for our t-shirts and or "cookies" for the wishing ceremony.

First in the water was 1939-1959. Little Miss took Mary Liz's and placed it in the water. (She also created it.) I get a little bored at a Scouts Own so mine is sitting on top of the sandbiodome I made. As you can see I picked some gnarly wood and doodled on it.

 It floated well.

The night is nearly over. It was 9 when the ceremony was over and the campfire was yet to begin. We all agreed we could skip the fire. The child—and the adults—were fading fast and the child slept all the way home.

I arrived home at 10:30 and went straight to bed with a realization. I am no longer 10.

fitness challenge 4 & 5 -- boxing and a bike built for two

My friend Angel has built a fitness space in her garage.  Her garage is huge. the people that own the house before her made it two stories and had a print shop over the car space.  Some is used for the bike and mower storage like any other garage. But does yours have a sink? Her 10-year-old has claimed most of that space for her play house (and storage for outgrown toys).

A portion of the playhouse is made into a fitness center. There are hand weights (Angel used to lift 20 pounds. Say what?) from 20 down to three. The child uses fives. Mom 10s. There is a punching bag, sparing gloves, mats and all kinds of fun stuff.

Yesterday I tried boxing. I played about 15 minutes and was wiped out. I spent about 5 minutes punching Angel. I had to be sure to hit the yellow dot otherwise I'd hurt her hands. "Harder." "Faster." she would say.  The sweat was pouring off me. (My fitbit didn't budge. Maybe I should have placed it on my wrists?)

Then it was time for the bag. A little low for me but it was still quite a workout. Angel is petite and the child is 10. It works at that height for them. That bag is a lot harder to move and control than I thought. It looks so easy in the movies.

Then we attempted the bicycle built for two. Someone gave it to Angel and she took it to the bike shop to have it checked out. A few weeks ago her and her daughter tried it, but Angel isn't tall enough to stand while on the bike. Gayle to the rescue.

First I tried it myself. Cumbersome, but doable. Then We tried together. There is a slight hill at her house, and we couldn't get started. We walked it to the top of the hill and tried again. We got it going and moved forward. We looked like a drunken sailor, but we did it. Eventually it smoothed out, we figured out breaking, balance and starting and stopping. Angel also had to figure out body language.  Then I got overconfident and we tried to turn into the alley and almost hit someones bushes. Oops. We only went 2K and I felt like I rode 5 miles.  Next time we are going to walk it to the bike path and try there. And take someone along to take pictures!

Afterwards we drove up to Mosey Wood to pick up the child at camp. "Worse time ever*" she declared as we met. And then spent the next half hours talking non-stop about how much fun it was and what she wants to do next year. 10-year-old drama.

Now I am headed off to pick up my niece. She's helping with a gold award project today—a walking tour of the murals in Allentown. Apparently there is more than the one in post office and in the art park.  The whole gang, plus, is going. She needs 10 for it to count. I think I'm delivering eight.

 This is Blue Franklin "Houdini" Ackerman-Parry. His name is really just blue, but when he escapes and gos to the neighbors the children call him Franklin. I call him Houdini because of his love of the escape.


 (*Roommate issues and a counselor who frowns on middle of the night latrine runs.)

color me disappointed

Yesterday was the Color Run in Allentown. I signed up again because we had so much fun doing it in Philly. Color me disappointed.  I came home fairly clean.

The race took place in and around Cedar Creek Parkway and Muhlenberg College.  We all met at Betsy's and Ranger Bob drove us to the start and picked us up. We arrived about 8:30 and the line to start was huge. It took maybe a half hour for the 13th wave, that was ours, to go thru.

First stop, Ott Street and blue. The lack of volunteers was immediately apparent. They had maybe four people throwing color.  It didn't get much better. Mostly you had to stop to get color, and then they really didn't hit you with much.  There was no blue cloud to walk thru. No disorientation.

I can't remember what street we turned up, maybe 31st, but it was a hill. Followed by four more hills. We were hit with orange on one of the hills. It landed in my ear and on my face. Again, maybe 6 color throwers. At Muhlenberg we were hit by yellow.  And finally near the end by pink. They had tons of people at the pink station they were mostly cheering the runners/walkers on. Excuse me stop cheering and go throw color! This was the only station where there was a small cloud of dust.

You can see by the finish line pix how clean we all were.

As people come in they have a color throw in front of the stage. Maybe every five minutes or so. Finally, we got a little color on!

the electric run fizzled

The Electric Run looked like it might be fun. But as we were waiting in the que lightning was off in the distance. Then, when it was just about our turn, the fire department pulled the plug. Really. It was on the news and everything. All 14,000 of us had to go home at the SAME TIME. It was a nightmare. It created the worlds largest vacuum.

We all assembled at my place at 5 and were on the road at 5:20. We had to take two cars because no ones car would hold 6. Lydia followed me. She kept saying I was doing 80, but I was being diligent stay under 70.  Is my odometer broken?  Anyway, following people on the sure-kill is hard. Bonnie and Bug kept looking out the window to see if they were still behind us. We never lost them. Getting on the Sure-kill took a good 15 minutes. Getting off, and to the lots was probably another 15.

We found our way to the assigned parking, paid our $15/car and finally parked. It was a sea of humanity. We had a picnic on the hood of my car. I had packed nutritious snacks—fruit, cheese, multi- grain chips, humus, eggs, water—to eat when we arrived. After cleaning up we hiked over to the shuttle station. The buses filled up quickly. More buses were coming but stuck in traffic. We decided to walk instead of wait. We barely got across the street and a bus pulls up and starts loading the walkers.

It was still only about 7:30. We hit the port-o-potties, got out our glow stuff, and decorated ourselves. At about 8:15 we headed to the start line. The waiting began. We were in the front half, probably close to the front third. Watching how people were dressed was fun, for a while, but it was hotter than Hades and the sweat was pouring off us. Everyone was bored. Especially Bug. We saw lightning in the distance. It was finally 8:45. The waves of people started rolling out.

It was starting to be fun. We had finally reached the start chute. There was one group in front of us. We were next. Finally. Each wave left with a countdown, and a cheer. The group in front got the 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-----and then the words we never expected to hear. "I'm sorry but the Philadelphia fire department has closed down the event due to severe lightning in the area." WTF? A wave of disappointment hit the crowd. People were angry. Bug was puzzled. "Mommy, why must we leave. it's our turn."

We followed the crowds and hiked back to the car. We pulled out onto the road and then stayed there for the next half hour+. Everyone in front was leaving other people out. It was two blocks to the main road. The traffic headed for the zoo/Sure-kill was not going anywhere. I put to use my 3-day walk memories and tried to get us to Route 1 by going around the park. We got there after a few wrong turns and enter the highway on City Line Ave.

It was a little long but we were moving. Wish we would have had Bonnie's car with the GPS but we did it. We probably didn't save any time. We got home at 11. Probably the same time we would have gotten home if we had walked.

Should have gone to the Moon Walk in NYC instead.

put our tails on the trail

Today we (Lydia, Dawn, Bonnie and I) began the "Tail on the Trail" challenge. The challenge is to walk all 165 miles of the D&L tow path before the end of October. Today we started in Slatington, and walked two miles south, turned around and came back.

As we train for the Half-Marathon, we'll be doing longer and longer walks. Sometimes leaving the car in one town, and taking a second car to the other end. Then driving back for the first car. Much like we did for the Allentown to Easton walks while training for the 3-Day.

For example, Slatington to Laurey's Station is 6.9 miles, and then another 4 to Northampton. We could park in Northampton, drive to Slatington, and then walk back to Northampton. Grab the car, then go pick up the other car. Or leave one car in Northampton and have someone drop us off in Slatington. Do you see how it works? It take a lot of logistics. I think one of the Volkssport walks, runs on the D&L — the New Hope one. I'll have to check the site.

Here's Lyd modeling out new "participant" backpacks.

I'd like to see if maybe Angel and Bug want to take the bikes on the Delaware side. We can cover more miles.  Bonnie want to get a bike too, but she keeps hurting herself. I think biking might be out. At least for a while.

technicolor!

This morning Lydia, Angel, Bug, Bonnie, Dawn and two of Dawns friends did the Color Me Rad race. It was a technicolor wonderland. A few thousand of our closest friends joined us. In the rain.

It started with everyone clean. As in the before photo (above) Angel's husband took. We also had the pro shot taken before and after.

It started at Arts Quest and we got hit with pink pretty much right away. It wasn't until we reached the north side that we were squirted with yellow. Yes, it was liquid color. We continued on Lehigh, Went down Conestoga thru Musikfest and back through the historic quarter. When we arrived atMain and Lehigh we we hit with orange. Back over the bridge and out Columbia. When we approached the Steel, we we hit with liquid blue and then at the finish lavender. There was a camera at the finish line with a big sign that said smile!

We never lost the child, and found the husband pretty easily considering how many people were there.

Bonnie's cast was beautiful!

Now I need to take the car to the car wash. Even with blankets and plastic, Aretha is a technicolor diva. Won't work well for carpool!

a new challenge

I'd miss so much if I didn't read the newspaper. I'm too lazy to log on to my FREE digital subscription, and have no desire to search for bad news. The ore me go digitial, the more ignorant I will become.

In today's paper was a photo of children walking. It got my attention. The caption said it was BASD school children kicking off a new walking challenge—Get Your Tail On The Trail. That got my attention!

From the website: "It doesn’t matter if you are fifteen or eighty five, physically-fit or a self-proclaimed couch potato, this challenge is for everyone. Get outdoors, get active and explore nature by walking, running or biking the D&L Trail, 165 total miles of natural beauty in our own backyard." I've always wanted to do this, and the AT. So this is the perfect time to start. I have 6 months to finish. Like all these programs you logo you miles via the Trail Tracker and receive free prizes as you achieve your milestone goals.

Just signing up allows the mail carrier to bring you goodies! Travel water bottle, drawstring backpack, flyer with list of key events, information on how to track your miles, D&L Trail Map and of course, St. Luke’s Live Your Life Program Information. The hospital is a major sponsor. Apparently they want people to get healthy so they don't have any customers! That would stop the expansion plans...

Reach your 50 Mile Goal and receive a Get Your Tail on the Trail t-shirt. Reach your 100 Mile Goal and receive a Get Your Tail on the Trail hat. Reach your 150 Mile Goal and receive a Get Your Tail on the Trail cooler. Reach your 165 Mile Challenge Achievement Award and receive a Get Your Tail on the Trail fleece jacket and 165 Mile Challenge car window magnet.

I think this is doable. We'll be training for the half marathon so we'll need distance and space. I don't think you have to do the whole trail, but I'd be game. We've got many sections covered. Kathy has a section of the trail in Mauch Chunk, Angel in Easton, Bonnie in A'town and Catty, Lyd's in Northampton,  Dawn in the slate Belt, and me in the Christmas City.

I signed up today, but the tracker isn't active yet. They better get it working soon. Schools almost over, and I can start serious walking. I have this, the Passport to Fitness, the Walk This Way program. I can kick some walking but this summer. Not to mention my walk around the world. I might post that on the virtual run Facebook page.


Speaking about milestones, I hit the 500 mile mark on my Fit Bit Tracker a couple days ago.

Saturday is the Dirty Girl mud 5K is Saturday in Scranton. Tatalicious is down two members—Bonnie and Lydia. Kathy, Dawn, Bonnie, Lydia and I are still going to get mighty dirty. It benefits breast cancer research.

Sunday is the Lung Assn. Walk For Life at Rodale Fitness Park in Trexlertown. Not sure if we are doing that or one of the Passport walks.

color run #2

Today was the color run. The top pix is "before". The bottom is "after". Enough said? Probably not, you want details, right? Right.

You twisted my arm.

Angel, Darrell and Bug arrived about 4:45. Lyd and Adonis were back by 5. We hit the road at 5.  wore Birks.

Everything seemed to go great. We past the area on the Turnpike that was problematic Saturday.

After we past Lansdale, Angel said, Gayle, you gas light went on. Oh poop. In the chaos of Saturday I didn't get gas. We go off the same exit as Saturday and no gas stations. When we finally started finding some, they weren't open! I was starting to panic. We'd miss the race. It took a half hour, and I was running on fumes when we finally found gas.

Thank goodness the rest of the trip was fun.

We parked at a garage at 21st and Market and walked to the Ben Franklin. We just followed the sea of white shirts. Since I had checked us in the day before we didn't need to do anything but get in the start line. They were leaving 1000 people thru at a time. 2300 were registered. It took about 20 minutes to get thru the line. We might have started walking at 8ish. Darrell followed us on the sidewalk to the first color station—pink.

You cannot imagine how dense the cloud of dust is. You can't see a thing walking thru it. 

The second station was in Fairmont Park, kind-of near Zoo. It was blue. The blue people were much more aggressive with color than the pink people. I somehow escaped most of it.

 Then on Lincoln drive we had Orange, followed quickly by yellow. I got the full brunt of the orange people. I think I was too clean!

Yellow was the last station. As we went got to the other side Angel and Eva dropped to the ground and started playing in the dust. People were making snow angels!

We were almost back at the art museum when Bug yelled "there is daddy!" I told her to run over an hug him. He had no interest in attending the rainbow color throw. he waited on the steps of the museum.

After the throw we got into the circle and were blown off by a leaf blower.

We retrieved Darrell and went looking for the changing tent but didn't find it. So we changed in the parking deck.

Then went and looked for a place for brunch.