 minute 5 K, and a BQ in the marathon. But where you end up is not as important as the effects it has on your health, mental outlook, and the development of the capability to achieve. Even a 2 hour marathon is still slower than what a drunk can do on a bike for that distance.
I personally don't think a singe day should go by without some chocolate!!! 
Don't you know no good running can happen without chocolate?
Sasha--thanks, that is a boost. How many miles per week is that assuming? I hope less than 160!
Andee and Christi--chocolate seems to fuel MichelleL pretty well. We should all plan on going out for some high quality chocolate (Friday's Brownies?) after the Striders half.  Could be worse!  Think of it as cross training.
And Andee, I'm so glad to see you on the blog. I have been concerned for you.
I am assuming consistent 50 miles a week over 2 years with proper diet and good sleep. This is a fairly wild guess, though - I have never actually observed a woman with no prior competitive experience do all of the above. I know that Katie Danner went from sedentary to a sub-3:00 marathon in a few years. Maybe we should ask her to provide some details on her experience and progression. I have seen some good results with Sarah, though. In high school she did no sports, and one time ran an all out mile in 8:30, then threw up later. She has been able to improve that to 6:52 after 3 kids. She also ran a PR in 4 miles (31:57) after 5 kids recently. But her consistent mileage never exceeded 30/week, she had not been doing 30 for very long yet, and she's never been non-pregnant for longer than 18 months. I do not think she's ever been non-pregnant and non-nursing for longer than 3 months since 1998. She does eat a very good diet, though.
Another interesting detail. Shayne Culpepper at one point a few months after having a baby was so out of shape that she overtrained by doing her tempo runs at 8:00 pace. Yet somehow she was able to recover and perform at the elite level again. I wonder what it is that allows somebody out of shape to get back to the previous shape so quickly, but more importantly, if and how somebody who's never been there could possibly tap into the same mechanism and get faster.
One thing that I noticed especially among women is that the faster ones have some sense of rhythm, the runner's drive to keep and push the pace at all costs, regardless of what shape they are in. The slower ones do not have it. It also coincides with the observation of a much bigger gap between average and elite in the womens vs mens.
Interestingly enough, even for men, while it is more common to have that strong rhythmic drive, I do not recall ever seeing a guy under 50 with a decent rhythmic drive that would not be able to break 20:00 in a 5 K. The men that are slower also struggle with it, although not as much as the women.
Sasha, where does one get this strong rhythmic drive? I lost mine, where can I get another one? This may seem like a silly question, but, I really, really want it back.
Brent - can you describe in more detail what you mean exactly by that. Which components did you lose, how you used to feel and how you feel now, at what age did you start feeling different, what happened to your 5 K times when you experienced the change, etc.
I sure wish I had a lab. There are a lot of things I can feel intuitively, but it would be very nice to tie those perceptions to precise measurements of various human body parameters. A lot of interesting discoveries could come out of that.
Holy smokes! I have been out of the blog loop for a couple of weeks and you guys are already trying to hit 100 comments again.
It's because we missed you so much, James. What else are we to do when we do not have your animal attack reports to read?
Sasha, when you say "rhythm," are you referring to leg turnover?
Lybi - not necessarily leg turnover. There is something that is not easy to measure but you can definitely perceive when running with somebody if you pay attention. Faster runners have it in greater measure than the slower ones. I have thought about the mechanism of how I sense it, cannot be telepathy after all, and came to the conclusion that what I am sensing is their nervous system drive. I have to match it in myself to be able to vary the pace exactly like they do. So I would have an idea of what kind of signal is coming from their brain to their muscles.
Regardless of the level of fatigue, faster runners tend to have a very steady signal, it feels musical, while the slower ones would have a surge, and then painfully, randomly and unnaturally fade it, then maybe have another surge.
I would imagine there is a correlation between that drive and the leg turnover - when that drive goes down the turnover would probably drop off as well. But the push off power drops off along with it too, I would think.
Oops. There goes my title as Sleep Champion. I'll tell you what, the Shuffling Sista is NOT to be trifled with! She is the Queen of the Quilts, the Champion of the Chaise Lounge, the Princess of the Pillows! Let us take a moment to offer obeisance...........okay, that's enough.
3 miles outside with the double jogger and the dog. I rigged it up so that the dog pulled the weight of the stroller, and I just ran. (At least it worked that way for the first half of the run. The second part, I was dragging both the dog AND the stroller.)  A little hot for my pooch--I had to stop in the middle and give him water.
Barring unusual circumstances (which actually happen quite frequently) I will run 3 more with Christine tonight. Well, Christine bailed on me, so I ended up running 2 more miles alone around 8:15. I guess I am STILL freaked out from that one scary run last week. I just can't do this night running alone anymore! I was running through a short dark alley in my neighborhood, when I saw some movement from behind a bush. I was startled by a piercing scream...until I realized it was coming from my own darn throat!  I was SO close to pepper spraying them, thinking they were a big dog or something. Well, I hope they will find somewhere else to be sneaky in the future. Otherwise I will be there to scream at them, and threaten them with pepper spray. I'm gonna need therapy if these sort of things keep happening on my runs....
I have a 5K race tomorrow. I haven't run a real race since last September, and I have no idea what to expect. However, if I don't break my old lady PR (26:31) I intend to be miffed.
 It works for me when I do speed by myself.
I am soooooo jelous of you lovely temps right now. But it is actually not to bad here around 42 and super sunny.
Alright! I'm laughing out loud at your praises to my sleep. Let me confess what is really going on here. My running partner (Heather) & I are big ol' flakes!! Thurs. she ditched me and today I slept in. I keep rushing to bed early every night thinking I'll be getting up at 5am to workout only to be stood up or stand Heather up. Too funny! I'm ready for this contest to be over- how 'bout you?!
SOOOOO- I'm THRILLED to read you are running a 5k tomorrow!!!!! Yippeeee!!!! You are gonna ROCK it and I can't WAIT to read your report!!! Should be nice weather?
I'm probably going to be in big trouble for this but....just thought I'd mention that lots of "health nuts" eat plenty of chocolate. They just buy it at the health food store without the fats and sugars they don't want to eat. How's the good conscience diet going? I loved your sleeping contest....I would so lose...I hate taking naps...unless I'm in a really boring physical science class which hasn't happened for years. 
Can I just say that I absolutely LOVE your entries!!! Good job on rigging up the double stroller and the dog - you are my hero! I would be scared to run alone in the dark too...better to be safe with a running partner. I bet you scared those 2 kids - he,he! Good luck in your race, can't wait to read your report!
Many good things to report about this race!
1.) I took 1 min. 51 seconds off my post high school PR.
2.) I placed in the top 10 chicas, which I have NEVER done in my entire life for a race over a mile. I was 8th for the women, 4th in my division, and 27th including the guys. There were about 300 participants, I'd estimate.
3.) I beat "Ded Moroz," the 8:00 guy. My average pace was 7:56, and that is not accounting for the slightly long course.
4.) My improvement in time was not because it was a super-easy course. There were several smallish hills and gradual inclines. It was an out-and back course. I asked several people with Garmins what the