LUNA-TICS TEAM ROOM: Year-round "Looney" fun.

[normadelaney]

Whoop, whoop and FINALLY! Congratulations to our resident artist AJ on achieving a ONE million meter season! AJ's total meters have been sitting at 999,990 or something REALLY close to one million for ages. Now, he's crossed that milestone and we can add another achievement to his many. We wish you many, MANY more achievements and millions!

wooooooooooohoooooooooooooo and congrats and thanks for all that you do that makes our challenges so much fun :]

Ditto that!! Congrats, AJ!

[Kona2]

Thanks to our Lunie WEC team !

MILESTONES...Bragging Rights...Celebrations:

8.3 MM Ed
1.35 MM Kevin
650 K Anya
600 K Jeff D

Thanks, everyone, for erging with us!!

Michael O 2,832 m
Ross 4,188 m
Kevin 4,993 m
Gary 5,016 m
Bernie 5,049 m
Dana 5,132 m
Jeff D 6,575 m
Howard 7,001 m
Melissa 7,004 m
William H 7,126 m
Tim G 7,887 m ...a palindrome!
Louis 10,000 m
Peter G 10,000 m
Dan O' 10,286 m
Anya 11,510 m
Liz 12,434 m
Norma 14,141 m ...a palindrome!
Ron 14,141 m ...a palindrome just like the one above!
Steve W 42,775 m ...a full moon!
Ed 85,529 m ... a double full mooner!

[Berckes]

BG wanted to hear about my first half marathon of the year so I thought I'd share it with the group. I'm trying to run a half marathon in all 50 US States (we'll see about doing one in other continents later), and I added state #24 with the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon last week. A true college town centered around the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa was named after Native American Chief Tuscaloosa (Tascaluza). He was, as the legend goes, a gigantic man of over 7 feet in height and named Tascaluza, translated to Black Warrior. The Black Warrior River runs through the town of Tuscaloosa and the river trail is featured as part of the race course for the half marathon.

Tuscaloosa is a football town, through and through, and their facilities for all sports boast beautiful buildings and grounds that only sustained success and fundraising can build. That does make for a nice campus atmosphere and the people working race support were friendly and plentiful. For a race that had less than 1,000 participants, the amount of spectators was surprisingly high. The course was overall kind to the runners, with only one monster hill and a fair amount of shaded areas. You even get to run down the "walk of champions" that leads to the football stadium, which I thought was pretty cool. While there was a 5k that started after the race, the half marathon was the only distance for the main race - no full marathons or 10k. That is my ideal half marathon race as it truly is focused on that distance.

As for the race itself, I knew I was not in condition to perform up to even my relatively modest expectations. The winter in the Midwest provided a lot of snow and melt/freeze days that my training never got to the level I wanted it to. My longest run was only 8 miles. So, I took it easier than normal with the goal of getting to 10 and seeing how the last 3 miles shake out. That plan worked but as I got to mile 11, both of my calf muscles tightened up to the point where it was impossible to run. Risking either a severe leg cramp that might knock me out of the race or finishing, I walked the last 2 miles. In hindsight, the humidity of the south was in full effect and sapped salt / electrolytes at a pace I wasn't acclimated to this early in the season. Combine that with the lack of training, and the result was to be expected. Overall, I have no problem with the result though - a finish is a finish.

The finisher medal this year was a nice looking feather in honor of Chief Tuscaloosa. I thought it unique and tasteful and was pretty happy I chose this race to do. I then spent the next few days trying to eat all the shrimp in New Orleans. Seriously, shrimp po'boys (grilled or creole bbq) are amazing. I'm back to the erg and ramping up my training for the next race. I do think I'd like to try and row a marathon this May during the challenge so I'm starting to develop a plan to train for that over the next month. Any advice on marathon rows would be appreciated!

[Kona2]

Another episode...bunny trails of the mind...

Behold the anemometer...


You know the drill, the wind howls and you are sure that the wind gusts are gale force, but no...all that wind noise is generated by mere 12 mph steady winds. The backyard weather station is mounted on the fence that keeps the pups out of the tomatoes and pumpkins when it is that season - and today the anemometer cups are spinning like crazy. So are the interior wheels of the red bicycle spinner mounted a few feet from the station.



I do draw the line (and not the incline line) on having an incline gauge on my bikes....steep is steep, and I don't necessarily need to know that it is a 14 percent grade (there are formulas that I could apply...)...and some might say that when it's windy all you really need to know is whether your hat either stays on or blows off...snort. Once a techie, always a techie. But the stories are SO much better when you can say you rode your bike into a 25 mph headwind (both ways AND uphill).

MILESTONES...Bragging Rights...Celebrations:

3.2 MM Minnie
3.1 MM Steve W
1.7 MM danwho
1.35 MM Stuart
650 K Carol

Thanks, everyone, for erging with us!

Tony 1,111 m ...a palindrome! Onesies!
Rebecca 2,507 m
Melissa 5,000 m
William H 5,000 m
Dana 5,908 m
Rick 6,103 m
David T 6,500 m
AJ 7,018 m
Carol 7,925 m
Tim G 7,997 m ...a palindrome!
Bernie 8,101 m
Richard McC 8,525 m
Larry 10,513 m
Dan O' 11,009 m
Jonathan 11,523 m
Gary 11,544 m
Jeff D 11,724 m
Howard 12,133 m
Jeff B 12,421 m ...a palindrome!
Liz 12,521 m ...a palindrome!
Stuart 13,131 m ...a palindrome...lucky 13's!
m ...an odd departure from palindromes...hahahaha, took the bait I did!
Ron 14,241 m ...a palindrome!
David A 14,863 m
Minnie 17,774 m ...hula hula!
danwho 18,888 m ...wowzer, lotta eights
Ted 20,201 m
Steve W 21,097 m ....he moons us!
Derric 21,219 m ... he moons us, too!
Tombeur 23,710 m ...he moons us!
Ed 33,333 m ....a threesies palindrome!

[Kona2]

Jeff B...a half moon!

Good write up, Jeff! We're always interested in hearing about the other events that erging helps us get into shape for completing...and a finish IS a finish.

About those marathons....

Work up to getting a few erging half marathons done here in the next three weeks or so. A good sequence is to do some steady 10K sessions, then jump to a 15K session or two and then just go for the half marathon. Once you do the half marathon, you'll want to do a few of them over a week or so. When you decide that the time is right for the full marathon, just remember that you should have lots of water and some electrolyte drinks and go at a steady pace. It's not a race, and form deteriorates as you get tired. Some people even have snacks all set up near the erging machine. You can get up and walk around for 20 - 30 seconds every so often - and that is often a good plan. Your butt will tell you ouch. There are a lot of suggestions about seat cushions for that last 10K of the marathon. And know that almost all of this stuff is mental...mental...mental. But just because you are sitting down and rowing does not make it a piece of cake....although you can have that after you finish. You also have a lot of pride in what you've accomplished!

And this, Lunies, is just how Marathon Fever begins....

[bg]

BG wanted to hear about my first half marathon of the year so I thought I'd share it with the group. I'm trying to run a half marathon in all 50 US States (we'll see about doing one in other continents later), and I added state #24 with the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon last week. A true college town centered around the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa was named after Native American Chief Tuscaloosa (Tascaluza). He was, as the legend goes, a gigantic man of over 7 feet in height and named Tascaluza, translated to Black Warrior. The Black Warrior River runs through the town of Tuscaloosa and the river trail is featured as part of the race course for the half marathon.

Tuscaloosa is a football town, through and through, and their facilities for all sports boast beautiful buildings and grounds that only sustained success and fundraising can build. That does make for a nice campus atmosphere and the people working race support were friendly and plentiful. For a race that had less than 1,000 participants, the amount of spectators was surprisingly high. The course was overall kind to the runners, with only one monster hill and a fair amount of shaded areas. You even get to run down the "walk of champions" that leads to the football stadium, which I thought was pretty cool. While there was a 5k that started after the race, the half marathon was the only distance for the main race - no full marathons or 10k. That is my ideal half marathon race as it truly is focused on that distance.

As for the race itself, I knew I was not in condition to perform up to even my relatively modest expectations. The winter in the Midwest provided a lot of snow and melt/freeze days that my training never got to the level I wanted it to. My longest run was only 8 miles. So, I took it easier than normal with the goal of getting to 10 and seeing how the last 3 miles shake out. That plan worked but as I got to mile 11, both of my calf muscles tightened up to the point where it was impossible to run. Risking either a severe leg cramp that might knock me out of the race or finishing, I walked the last 2 miles. In hindsight, the humidity of the south was in full effect and sapped salt / electrolytes at a pace I wasn't acclimated to this early in the season. Combine that with the lack of training, and the result was to be expected. Overall, I have no problem with the result though - a finish is a finish.

The finisher medal this year was a nice looking feather in honor of Chief Tuscaloosa. I thought it unique and tasteful and was pretty happy I chose this race to do. I then spent the next few days trying to eat all the shrimp in New Orleans. Seriously, shrimp po'boys (grilled or creole bbq) are amazing. I'm back to the erg and ramping up my training for the next race. I do think I'd like to try and row a marathon this May during the challenge so I'm starting to develop a plan to train for that over the next month. Any advice on marathon rows would be appreciated!

thanks for posting :] and you are so correct...a finish is a finish.....and with the winter you had and not being used/acclimated to the southern weather...you did great!!!!

btw...at an 8 hour ultra last summer i got really bad calf cramps and discovered that pickle juice really does work...i've been told it's the vinegar and mustard works too but i've never cramped when carrying mustard...have any lunies used pickle juice or mustard while rowing or any other activities???

looking forward to reading about your half marathon erging training :}

[Berckes]

have any lunies used pickle juice or mustard while rowing or any other activities???

Pickle juice is a staple at my house for recovery from long runs. I get the big container of clausens and I'll drink the juice (and eat a pickle) to help get the salt back in my body after long runs - anything 8+ usually or super humid weather. I don't, however, carry any with me on races... I have a friend who played college football and he said half those gatorade bottles on the sidelines are filled with pickle juice. I think that's probably true early in the season when it's warm. I had ate a couple gu's and even drank some gatorade on the course but it wasn't enough. Alas, 35 half marathons in and I still have lessons to learn.

[Thor MW]

BG wanted to hear about my first half marathon of the year so I thought I'd share it with the group. I'm trying to run a half marathon in all 50 US States (we'll see about doing one in other continents later), and I added state #24 with the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon last week. A true college town centered around the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa was named after Native American Chief Tuscaloosa (Tascaluza). He was, as the legend goes, a gigantic man of over 7 feet in height and named Tascaluza, translated to Black Warrior. The Black Warrior River runs through the town of Tuscaloosa and the river trail is featured as part of the race course for the half marathon.

Tuscaloosa is a football town, through and through, and their facilities for all sports boast beautiful buildings and grounds that only sustained success and fundraising can build. That does make for a nice campus atmosphere and the people working race support were friendly and plentiful. For a race that had less than 1,000 participants, the amount of spectators was surprisingly high. The course was overall kind to the runners, with only one monster hill and a fair amount of shaded areas. You even get to run down the "walk of champions" that leads to the football stadium, which I thought was pretty cool. While there was a 5k that started after the race, the half marathon was the only distance for the main race - no full marathons or 10k. That is my ideal half marathon race as it truly is focused on that distance.

As for the race itself, I knew I was not in condition to perform up to even my relatively modest expectations. The winter in the Midwest provided a lot of snow and melt/freeze days that my training never got to the level I wanted it to. My longest run was only 8 miles. So, I took it easier than normal with the goal of getting to 10 and seeing how the last 3 miles shake out. That plan worked but as I got to mile 11, both of my calf muscles tightened up to the point where it was impossible to run. Risking either a severe leg cramp that might knock me out of the race or finishing, I walked the last 2 miles. In hindsight, the humidity of the south was in full effect and sapped salt / electrolytes at a pace I wasn't acclimated to this early in the season. Combine that with the lack of training, and the result was to be expected. Overall, I have no problem with the result though - a finish is a finish.

The finisher medal this year was a nice looking feather in honor of Chief Tuscaloosa. I thought it unique and tasteful and was pretty happy I chose this race to do. I then spent the next few days trying to eat all the shrimp in New Orleans. Seriously, shrimp po'boys (grilled or creole bbq) are amazing. I'm back to the erg and ramping up my training for the next race. I do think I'd like to try and row a marathon this May during the challenge so I'm starting to develop a plan to train for that over the next month. Any advice on marathon rows would be appreciated!

thanks for posting :] and you are so correct...a finish is a finish.....and with the winter you had and not being used/acclimated to the southern weather...you did great!!!!

btw...at an 8 hour ultra last summer i got really bad calf cramps and discovered that pickle juice really does work...i've been told it's the vinegar and mustard works too but i've never cramped when carrying mustard...have any lunies used pickle juice or mustard while rowing or any other activities???

looking forward to reading about your half marathon erging training :}

I agree with all the BG and K2 said. I think you did an amazing job given all that was going on. As far as the marathon, if you are rowing at home and have the PM5 and connect using your phone or an iPad you can use Ergdata which is a free download. One of the nice things in doing this is the PM5 won't go to sleep on you which is great for those washroom breaks and getting a snack or stretching a bit. Remember to use exactly the meters needed which might be already programmed on your PM, if not get it set up correctly or that puppy won't count. Yikes! I don't plan on doing the marathon this year but I've done a few of them. It is a mental game for sure and I was very tired and some stiff for a day or two. I look forward to reading how you found it.
Have fun and keep on rock'n.

[Kona2]

Keep it going!

MILESTONES...Bragging Rights...Celebrations:

8.4 MM Ed
2.55 MM Norma
2.4 MM Ron
2.25 MM Gary
950 K Liz

Thanks, everyone, for erging with us!

Tony 1,111 m ... a palindrome!
Steve W 4,020 m
Peter G 5,000 m
Dana 5,118 m
Bernie 6,016 m
Larry 6,216 m
David T 6,500 m
Tim G 8,008 m ...a palindrome!
Matthew 10,000 m
Tom M 10,000 m
Ed 10,001 m ...a palindrome!
Jeff D 11,810 m
Norma 12,121 m ...a one and a two palindrome!
David A 12,431 m
david w 13,447 m
Liz 14,074 m
Anya 14,270 m
Dan O' 15,326 m
Ron 15,441 m
Gary 21,097 m ... he moons us!

[Kona2]

Whoop, whoop, and well this turned out to be quite a good year! Congratulations, Tombeur, on achieving a THREE million meter season! We wish you many, MANY more!!

[Edscapade]

Whoop, whoop, and well this turned out to be quite a good year! Congratulations, Tombeur, on achieving a THREE million meter season! We wish you many, MANY more!!

Congratulations on a great achievement!!!

[Kona2]

We might call this section "they're almost there!". We've got FIVE people who are closing in on this season's meter millionaire status...and we need to CHEER THEM ON!

Larry with (7,860 m) to go!
Ted with (17,134 m) to go!
Liz with (33,230 m) to go!
Dana with (64,493 m) to go!
Tim G with (96,849 m) to go!

MILESTONES...Bragging Rights...Celebrations:

3.75 MM Dan O
3.5 MM David A
3.05 MM Derric
3.0 MM Tombeur
2.45 MM Louis
2.1 MM Ken G
1.05 MM Tom M
900 K Tim G
350 K david w (GBR)
250 K Tony

Thanks, everyone, for erging with us!

Tony 1,111 m ..a palindrome!
Emma 1,386 m
Steve W 5,000 m
Dana 5,182 m
Tom M 5,500 m
Teresa R 6,021 m
Jonathan 6,105 m
Rick 6,245 m
Todd 7,255 m
Tim G 8,118 m ...a palindrome to keep him moving towards that ONE million!
Larry 8,686 m ...whoa! A double 86! Isn't that some kind of military code?
David A 8,808 m
David T 9,500 m
Ted 11,000 m
Doug 11,553 m
Jeff D 11,735 m
Howard 12,050 m
Dan O' 12,056 m
Anya 12,119 m
m ...more sheep counting...one...two....three....four...five...zzzzz
Ron 14,241 m ...a palindrome!
Liz 15,640 m
Stuart 16,161 m ...a palindrome!
Ian 16,761 m ... a palindrome!
Louis 18,000 m
Tombeur 19,070 m
david w (GBR) 19,621 m
Gary 21,097 m ...a regular mooner he is!
Derric 21,220 m ...another regular mooner!
Ed 33,333 m ...another moon!
Ken 62,500 m ...emptied the meter piggy bank!

[Kona2]

Whoop, whoop and that's a lot of Cheerios! Congratulations, Larry, on achieving a ONE million meter erging season! We wish you many, MANY more!!

[Kona2]

I like this graphic!

Our galactic adventures continue!

MILESTONES...Bragging Rights...Celebrations:


1.3 MM Howard
1.0 MM Larry
200 K David G

Thanks, everyone, for erging with us!


Tony 1,111 m ...a onesies palindrome!
Jean M 2,017 m
Rebecca 3,012 m
David T 4,500 m
Steve W 5,000 m
Bernie 5,028 m
Dana 5,131 m
Jonathan 6,265 m
Rick 6,315 m
Teresa R 6,532 m
David G 6,751 m
Tim G 8,228 m ...a palindrome with some special 8's as bookends!
Larry 9,227 m
Matthew 10,000 m
Ed 10,001 m ...a palindrome of one aughts!
Norma 10,101 m ...a different palindrome of one aught ones!
danwho 11,111 m ...a palindrome of onesies!
David A 11,141 m
Howard 12,236 m
Ted 14,022 m ....getting closer to that ONE million!
Ron 14,241 m ...a palindrome!
Dan O' 15,211 m
Stuart 16,161 m ...a palindrome!
Derric 21,221 m ... he moons us!

[normadelaney]

Good luck, bg, on the marathon tomorrow!!!