I found that if I don't get up at the same time every day I get a migraine so...I did 3 on the TM and finished the year with 1340 well above what I thought I could do at the beginning of the year (1040 or 20 miles a week).  If it hadn't been for the deer induced back issue I could have done more but who knows...any way looking forward to seeing what I can do in 2019.

QOTD:  Cold weather gear.  I don't do well in the cold (not very well insulated) and have a Feb and then a Mar event so what would a person wear especially for cold at night for a 50 miler. I fully expect it to take at least 20 hours.

I know most people do gratitude's during Thanksgiving but in keeping with my trying to be grateful for what I have so here's today's...I'm grateful for the friends I've met here and their gracious and accepting attitudes.  Thank you for being who you are.

Good morning and Happy New Year!

I'm giving myself permission to do a whole lot of nothing today.  I'll walk to the grocery store at some point.  We have probably 6" of fresh snow on the ground from yesterday.  No one has even started shoveling.  I have to give Sydney her first injection today.  I'm a little nervous.  I'm supposed to get her test results back late this week.

QOTD:  You need layers.  The typical layering approach is a wicking layer against your skin, an insulating layer in the middle, and a wind blocking layer on the outside.  Bring more clothes than you expect to need.  Even 50 degrees can feel VERY cold in the middle of the night after running all day.  Bring a beanie and mittens and pants.  Chemical hand warmers.  If you're cold, you're going to be miserable.  Sometimes you get so cold you can't generate your own heat anymore.  That's when things start to go South.  So be proactive about staying warm.  But not too warm, because sweat is the enemy in the cold.

I think it's good to do gratitude all year long.  I've been trying to think of 3 things I am grateful for about my day every day.  They can be big or small things.  Thanks for joining us, dhuffman.    We've had a couple of new people join us this year and it's been very nice!

Mandy what kind of lizard is Sydney?  I've had Burmese pythons and have wanted an iguana but DH isn't fond of reptiles even tho I think I might be one . I like warm sunny places.

LOL.  I also think I might be a lizard.  

Sydney is a bearded dragon.  I never would have given a reptile a second thought as a pet before she came into my life, but now I absolutely love having her!  She's a great little buddy.  Iguanas are very cool looking, but they're not very nice.  Beardies are called the puppy dogs of lizards.  One of my favorite things is to sit on the deck in the sunshine in the summer with Sydney on my lap.  She soaks up the natural sunlight and I drink coffee and we just hang out together.

Here she is:

Not sure if you guys venture out to the main forums at all, but Eric knows that everything is wonky and is working on fixing it!  We should be restored to order eventually.

Unless it's all due to a single glitch, Eric has a lot of work to do.  There are multiple(?) issues on the log summary page as well as the thread name issue.  I for one will add a little extra when I renew my subscription, if not before.

 

Not sure what came over me but I just entered the lottery for Moose Mountain. What'd you think Mandy?  runtrail? right up in your neck of the woods!

Ahhhh, my slowest marathon ever!  As much as I need to make better memories on the North Shore, I'm struggling to walk right now, so I'm shying away from making plans at the moment.  But you have fun going up Moose Mountain, where they don't believe in switchbacks!

I'm not sure why it continues to amaze me at how horrible people are at shoveling every damn year.  I'm sure it's part hungover, part holiday, and part laziness.

First day of 2019 and I ran.  A little under 3.  Felt pretty good. It helped that it was 50 degrees this morning.  Weird!

RA is very wonky right now.  You would have though we were back at Y2K or something.

From yesterday - sorry to hear about your FIL Bert.  If you ever need someone to talk to about personal demons, let me know.  Not as a therapist, just a friend.

QOTD: What Mandy said.  Layers.  For me, if it's cold (low 20's and below AND there is a good wind, it's a tough run for me.  I feel like that wind just cuts through the layers.  I have a nice lightweight jacket that works really well trapping in body heat.  A layer or two under that with some gloves and I am good.

Have a great day!

QOTD: what Madison Mandy said. as a wicking layer i use coolmesh singlets. but as a northwesterner cold usually means 30's and damp. today i ran ~14.5M with a buddy and then jumped into the sea! i was thinking about the value of rituals but there seems to be a physical bonus to this polar-bear thing. it took my breath away but then when i got out i wasnt cold. weird. and there were a bunch of people cheering me on! it was puget sound so the water temp was probably about the same as the air temp (low 40's). or maybe that doesnt count as polar-bear plunge?

5k at the local parkrun this morning. It was on a paved trail so I think it counts. Holy crap does that distance hurt! But I did hit #1 in my age group. I would say, knowing my competition around these parts, this was not the most competitive crowd. Usually I'm much further back from top of my age group. 

And Harrier, that would be a solid 'no'. I would like to flatter myself into thinking I could handle that race, through good training, but definitely not in my cards this year. I know those races, even the marathon distance, are a unique kind of hell between terrain, weather and altitude by a thousand cuts.  But Rocksteady knows their stuff when it comes to races. Good luck for the lottery! 

Not sure what came over me but I just entered the lottery for Moose Mountain. What'd you think Mandy?  runtrail? right up in your neck of the woods!