Randomness

I'm still in sugar overload from the weekend so this post will be all over the place and completely random. I hope everyone is enjoying the post-Christmas festivities and preparing for the New Year.

First, our Christmas tree actually made it into the house and in upright position prior to us leaving on Christmas Eve. It even has lights on it...but no ornaments happened before Christmas. For those who asked the very obvious question on why we even get a tree. Well, the process of locating and purchasing the best tree as a group is tradition on my husband's side of the family. What happens after that point doesn't matter as much.

On Christmas Eve, I slept in later than I have in over a year. Then, I laced up my shoes and headed outside for a 5-mile run. That energized me enough to hit the kitchen for one final round of baking. After that, all the final cookie and treat trays were assembled. The car was packed up and we hit the road again, for Christmas weekend get-together #2.

After making it back home mid-day on Christmas day, it was time to do absolutely nothing. I put on a pair of flannel pajamas and hit the couch and read The Lost Dogs from start to finish. It was a book that I wanted to read and it made it my way as a Christmas gift. I'd read the Sports Illustrated article that Jim Gorant wrote about the Michael Vick dogs a couple of years ago and when I saw he wrote a book, I knew I had to read it. Certainly recommended for anyone interested in reading about what happened to the dogs after they were rescued. I had no intentions of reading the entire book in one sitting, but that's what happened!

Sunday morning, I was back to my normal routine and went for a 10 mile run and it was cold...and windy! My hands were so cold, even through the gloves I was wearing. I'm finally starting to get back into a normal groove with running again and that feels good. Tallying up my mileage, I see that mileage is starting to creep back up after being somewhat low for November. I've signed up for a 5-miler in January which will start the races for the year and am very excited about the group Sherry and Lesley started: Run for the Bling of It. I'm going to have a full post right around the first of the year with my 2011 plans.

Finally, here's the PEZ since there appeared to be some interest. Don't mind the mess on the open shelf. They get knocked around a bit by dog tails!

Wardrobe Fail + Tag

Over the weekend, I was back in my hometown to celebrate the holidays with my family. We don't really do traditional things so this basically meant getting together and going out to eat a bunch. My dogs also got some fun time to play in the woods and the snow and were quite tuckered out by the time we headed home on Sunday.

My hometown is itty-bitty, in the mountains, where's it's cold and snows a lot. Saturday morning I was scheduled to run from the lake into town. Obviously that doesn't mean anything to anyone unfamiliar with the area but that was the plan. It was an informal holiday tradition to 'run' checks into town where they were hosting a food drive for a local food bank.

Since this is a festive, holiday thing, Santa hats were to be worn. I can't really say I have any festive holiday wear for running so I tried my best with black pants and a plain white long-sleeve shirt, thinking that was the best I could do and pair it with a Santa hat. Well...I mentioned it snows a lot...and we were running on a main road. By the end of that 8+ miles, my white shirt was no longer white. Between all of the slushy, dirty grit on roads and getting splattered by every truck that drove by, I was very dirty at the end. Then, of course, it was about 18 degrees outside so while what I was wearing was appropriate while running, I was freezing until we drove back to where we started and was able to get my coat. All in all a great time though. My sister and I finalized our 2011 running schedule during that run and I was very excited...only to find out that one of the major events we were planning has now been cancelled. :-( Oh, well, just means I need to research some more...

Part II: Tag
Christine recently tagged me for a random 7 things post. Thanks Christine!
Here is some randomness:

-Throughout high school/early college, my summer job was at a state park. It's rather ironic that I pretty much hated all things outdoorsy at that age yet still worked there. How times have changed.

-I have a somewhat insanely huge collection of PEZ dispensers. I should take a picture.

-I have a favorite sandwich and while back at home this weekend, I got to enjoy it. It's the best roasted portabello & mozzarella sandwich I've ever had. Even after several years, it was as good as I remembered.

-Other than running shoes, I pretty much only have two other pairs of shoes - a pair of Birkenstock sandals and a pair of Birkenstock clogs. No one will ever call me fashionable!

-I have a slight fear of birds. I've also had really bad luck at disturbing a few bird nests unintentionally and ended up very concerned over the birds. It's all related. :-)

-I've never broken a bone but have had plenty of stitches.

-Until last year, I had a very part-time second job at a yarn store. This reminds me, I need to start a winter knitting project!

I'm feeling a little lazy about tagging 7 other people for this - maybe I'll come back and add this later!! I love reading these though, so anyone reading, feel free to post away!

Three Things Thursday - Holiday Edition

1. I ate about 3/4 of a bag of Cherry Cordial M&M's yesterday. They weren't even that good - it was just one of those days. I wouldn't recommend them. I still have a bag of Mint Chocolate in the pantry to try - I hope they are better and last longer than 2 days.

2. I've seen many bloggers sharing pictures of all their lovely holiday decorations and Christmas trees. It's only fitting to share ours. It's impressive. I'm warning you before scrolling. If anyone would like to hire me to decorate their home next year, feel free to contact me. My rates are cheap.

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Yep, the treadmill box was promptly removed out of the garage last week. We lugged it upstairs (OK, my husband lugged it up the stairs - I acted like my pushing and holding was actually doing something) and has been in use since. The Christmas tree? Been sitting there ever since - I don't anticipate it moving in the near future either. I'm a bit of a Scrooge around the holidays and don't see much point in taking the time to decorate if we aren't hosting anyone.

3. I tend to hate all of the unnecessary gifts and such this time of year. However, I do like baking and am responsible for providing cookies for others to enjoy. I have started the process and need to start cranking out more - I usually have many more varieties made by now.

Tag

Rene at the The Amherst Shuffle tagged me with a set of questions. So, here goes:

1. What was your toughest race? Hoover Dam Half Marathon, hands down. Had to walk more in that than in the marathon. It felt like a major effort 2 miles in, I was already extremely thirsty, hot and had an unhappy stomach.

2. What are your goals for 2011? I'll be repeating a few events and then branching out into some new ones. The Pittsburgh Marathon is the only thing I've officially registered for so that's the big goal right now, although I plan on registering for some other events in the next couple of weeks.

3. If you could live anywhere, where would it be? I don't think I've visited enough places in my life to answer this. On one hand, I'd say somewhere with a mild climate year round but I think that could be boring. I like changing seasons despite complaining about that. I'm probably right where I'm supposed to be for now and wherever I end up in the future is where I should be!

4. What is my guilty pleasure TV show? Currently, the DVR is set up to record Glee, The Sing-Off and the Ellen DeGeneres Show (although it's hard to keep up with those since it's a daily show). Most of the time, the TV is on in the house and I might be sitting in front of it, but I don't really watch it all that often - hubby controls the TV.

5. How do I keep my sense of balance? Running certainly helps! I live my life by schedules and lists. If I don't, I feel lazy and unmotivated and end up in a terrible mood.

I tag...Caroline, Elizabeth and Fran.

Long Run

On Saturday, I set out for a 'long' run which ended up being 12 miles - certainly not the length of some of the runs that happened over the summer but it was enough to remind me why I so enjoy trying to go longer rather than faster! After being out wandering on foot for two hours, I came back feeling refreshed, energized and in the best mood ever!

The first six or so miles were normal as usual - feeling good and enjoying the day yet still focusing on the things around me...

-Is that ice? No, just snow...good.
-I'm in love with Adele's latest single - "Rolling in the Deep"
-That was ice - glad I didn't fall.
-Shot Bloks are hard to chew when frozen (I never eat beforehand)
-Do people really think these Christmas decorations look good?
-Is that ice?
-The people in this neighborhood are so much friendlier than mine. They don't look at me like I'm a freak when I smile and say hello.
-Is that ice?
- I'd love to understand Pennsylvania's criteria taking care of snowy roads - guess I'm too used to Maryland roads in the winter time.
-So many people in this neighborhood walk their dogs and they all look like mutts, that makes me happy...the people in my neighborhood should take cue from this one.

...but then something happened. By now, I'm completely warmed up, in the zone and lost in my thoughts...and I don't remember a single thing from those last 6 miles. Somehow, I just covered 12 miles and it felt like nothing. I hit my front door energized, happy and completely out of the winter blues I'd been feeling.

With that, I'm ready to start training for something. And, yes, I might have plans other than Pittsburgh - to be revealed soon...

Distance Dreamers Wednesday

Race Reports
12/9 - Edited to add part one of Julie's recap!!

Pam - Las Vegas Marathon
Julie - Las Vegas Marathon, Part I recap
Sherry - White Rock Marathon
Becka - Las Vegas Half Marathon
Caroline - Universal Studios 5K
Jill - Boulevard Bolt 5 Mile


Other Updates

I don't have anything this week! This week finished up everyone's races for the year! There may be a brief hiatus in these posts but they will be won't be gone for good. Maybe I can finally come up with something else to do with these!!

Is it too early to wish winter away?

Things are pretty boring around here lately and I haven't had anything to say. There's been running but nothing very interesting. Although, I did go on my first run with the local running group this weekend - there'll definitely be more of those. New surroundings and new people - those 8 miles flew by!

It's getting colder each day and the motivation to get up and out the door has been a little lacking. I've still be able to make myself do it but dark, cold, windy weekday mornings aren't anything to get excited about. This morning's was the worst so far of the season and it took effort just to get through 3 miles. I have a solution though. A freight truck came and dropped this off:

That's a new treadmill. Now, I just need to figure out how to get that out of the garage, into the house and up a flight of stairs to the back bedroom. Suddenly that plan of saving the $200 for delivery + set up isn't making as much sense. That box is huge!

Hopefully once it's set up in its new home, we'll all be happy. I'm sure it'll be better than the basement (oh, lookie there I was complaining about how hot it was!) and if I'm too lazy to get out the door in the mornings, hopefully I can at least make it down the hall!