MC-whew on the MIL--that drives me crazy. not that I have a MIL, but dbf's mom is a piece of work. she gets offended easily and his family gets in spats all the time so i hear you, i can't stand it--glad you survived your weekend without a big fight!

snowed-did you and DBF do anything fun on your day off together?
Morning!

rtr-oh that is too bad about dbf being sick. when its this cold, its better to be inside! white collar is about a crimnal (art thief/forger) that becomes an FBI consultant in the white collar division. its with matt bomer, read eye candy, and is a witty smart show. tiffani theissen is also in it. its on usa network.

seattle-how are you feeling today?

java-whew busy lady, you do need wine! how is winston adjusting?

RR: 10 miles this morning, put new inserts in my shoes so that felt nice. bitter cold through the weekend so not sure of a long run this weekend. we'll see when it gets closer...

NRR: bitter cold here, its 1* outside. worse with windchill. i hate january. supposed to last a few days. otherwise, nothing much happening, dbf and i are boring after work. we make dinner, chat about our days then watch tv.

FR: mint choc chip cookies are deliciously dangerous

Hi all,

RR: Did 6 miles on the trail at lunch yesterday, and it was just about perfect -- great weather, and I wasn't overdressed for once. Felt like my pace might have been a bit snappier, but I don't time those runs. Will get back to yoga tonight ... would have gone this morning but the 6:30 class had been canceled.

NRR: Strategy meetings at work today, so lots of sitting surrounded by food. Yikes.

RTR: Hope the swim goes well today. It is now weirdly warm here ... supposed to be up in the 60s today. Crazy.

SJP: Thanks for the sympathy on MIL ... We haven't had a flare-up in a long, long time so I assume things will settle down again soon.

Seattle: You are tough to keep plugging away on runs and lifting even when your stomach's acting up! I guess it's good that work isn't boring, but those crazy days can be so draining.

Snow: How did the foam roller and/or DBF massage work out? :-)

Jen: Welcome! You sound like a busy lady. Congrats on taking up running, dropping pounds, and quitting smoking -- that's a lot! This is definitely a good group to encourage you as you prepare for your RnR Half coming up ... great goal!

Morning Everyone-

RR- Yesterday I ran ten miles! I was so thrilled I did a happy dance in the shower. Definitely the longest I've ever ran. It was a goal in the back of my head for this month. I ran the entire portion of trails that are included in the marathon in Aug. So about half trail half sidewalk. Some decent hills too. My time was at 1:35x. I was aiming for 1:40(would be at 6 mph). Anyways I'm super excited about that. I think my February goal will be a half marathon distance. - Still seems pretty far away but we'll see. My hips were really tight after my run and are still a bit today. Today I think DBF and I are going to do a shorter hike before he goes to work so its a running rest day for me.

FR- I logged my food yesterday and stayed within my limits. I still ate a ton of food because of the calories in the long run. Do you guys eat back all your exercise calories. I'm thinking of eating back running calories but not calories from walking the dog since that's a part of everyday life.

Questiong- Only if you want to, but can we be "friends" on MFP. I think it'll help me not snack so much at night knowing other people can see it too. And then I can get food ideas from your guy's food log. I get stuck on my food items and I think I over eat/snack too much when I get bored with them and don't find other healthy things. My user name on MFP is m4snowden.

NRR- I haven't seen the sun in quite a while and its been getting to me a bit. Thankfully yesterday it didn't rain much.

rtr- sweet potato fries. yum. Can you post your recipe?  When I tried to make them last week they ended up just as baked slices. Good- but not fry like at all, no crisp.

sjp- DBF stared cleaning and have more to do today.- it was really messy. But, we did go out to Mexican last night. It was nice to have dinner with him! DBF and I are mostly "boring" too in the evenings. We sit next to each other on the couch every night and look at our laptops. lol But its a nice way to unwind.

Seattle- Nice going on getting a good run in even with stomach issues! Glad your feeling better.

MC- I didn't foam roll or get a massage! I stretched in the a.m. and went for my run and my back was better. I do need to foam roll though. ...and I can always ask for a massage just because. 

Jen- Nothing wrong with being a penguin  I'm the type of runner where I can't walk. If I start walking when I'm tired I don't start running again. So I "trot". It's basically a bouncy walk when I'm really tied, but it keeps me going. A gift box sounds nice. I love making gift boxes for my friends. I live so far away from them now I feel so helpless when they are having a hard time with things. It's kind of my way of saying "thinking about you, hope this helps".

Never got around to posting yesterday... I was too wiped out by the time I got on the computer. Just turned it off and got in bed! Shoutouts first so I can play catch up with y'all...

Ou: I love running in the early morning... but I much prefer when the sunrise is going to happen at some point during my run! I usually have to be out the door by 7-8am most mornings, so in the winter if I run outside I don't really get to see daylight. At all. Ugh that makes getting out there when it's cold, and dark, and I know the sunrise is nowhere close to happening... let's just say it doesn't always happen. Hah. Oh well. That's what the TM is for, right? Yeah, I'm really lucky that my mom is my best friend in the entire world. No one gets me like she does, and it seems like we get closer with every passing year. She comes with me to all of my races and is my number one fan... she'll be there at the next 50k and will even be running a loop with me (the course is a 10k loop done 5x). As for her races this spring, she's doing the full marathon at VA beach with me, the half in Charlottesville on her bday weekend (I'll be doing the full), and we will be running the Gettysburg marathon side by side at the end of April. We're also looking at a half marathon in Williamsburg at the end of May... I went to undergrad there at William and Mary... I've been really missing the town and wanting to go back to visit, so we might make a long weekend out of it.

Sjp: You've never had a pedicure?! Oh my goodness you need to get on that ASAP. Pedicures are the best most relaxing thing ever. Well, I suspect that a massage might actually be better, but I've never had one of those before. I get pedicures all the time. I had a manicure with my mom last weekend. I liked it a lot, but not as much as pedicures. Mostly I just kind of love to have my fingernails painted. It makes me feel girly (and I'm kind of a tomboy hah). Wow your weather makes me feel like I really shouldn't be complaining haha... I'm such a cold weather wimp! Brrrr. Can you do a LR on the TM this weekend? Do you have any races planned for this Spring? Haha I think that DBF and I do the exact same thing as you two in the evenings when we're at his place... boring is relaxing and nice! I love our little evenings together.

Jen: Brrrr it's so cold where you are today! That's pretty awesome you have a TM in your house. Where do you keep it? What kind do you have? I'm thinking I might want to buy one once I graduate and move into a more permanent place. I would so love the convenience of a TM at home, especially when I have kids. Haha I always, always cut it WAY too close when I run before class in the morning... I usually convince myself that I have time for "just one more mile"... then I'm left taking the world's faster shower and shoving breakfast in my mouth while I'm driving. Oh well. I don't think that will change anytime soon. What kind of back surgery did your friend have? DBF had back surgery this summer and it was pretty rough. You could get him some good magazines, books, DVDs, iTunes gift card... does he like crossword puzzles or anything like that? You're sweet to make him a gift basket that is so thoughtful.

Java: How do you like the cloth diapering? I've read a few articles about it before... but I just don't think I could handle it. I don't know. I like the idea.

Seattle: Nice job getting in the miles even though your stomach hurt! It must have been a bad day for stomachs yesterday... you, Sjp, and me! I had a stomachache all day too. It's better today though. Hope yours is too! Um yum that mac n cheese you made sounds awesome. Great idea with the chicken... I will definitely have to try that sometime. What book are you reading? I'm looking for something good...

Runtravel: Bummer that you and DF didn't get to see the movie last night... I kind of want to see that one too! You'll have to let me know how it is if you see it this weekend. Hope the swim goes well today. It's freezing here today too, although I'm pretty sure you have it worse than we do. I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to cold weather. It's SO much easier to get out and run in the pre-dawn when it's warm outside. Also, I love sweet potato fries! Do you make them yourself or buy them? I like the brand "Alexia" is really good, but I also like to make my own. It's just really hard to cut up the sweet potato raw! I don't have very sharp knives hah.

MIa: Congrats on your race! It sounds like you had such a wonderful time in AZ... it's always SO tough to come back to reality after a perfect vacation. Weird about your friend, though. Have you talked to her at all since the trip?

MC: Way to go on getting in some good running over the long weekend! I don't think running and yoga in one day would be too much. I've done that before and it's actually pretty great to stretch out and relax after you run. Ugh bummer about the problems with your MIL. That is a crappy situation. As for keeping my legs healthy... I don't do anything too special. I try to foam roll once a week, and stretch maybe 2-3x per week. I've been playing sports/running my entire life, so I think my body is pretty accustomed to it. I also run most of my mileage at a pretty easy pace. Like really easy. As in, my marathon pace is just under 8min/mi, and most of my runs are done 9:30-10min/mi (I think, that's just an estimate as I don't have a garmin or really track mileage very specifically). I don't do formal speed work. Ever. I just run fast when I feel like running fast... and trust me, that doesn't happen too often. Hah. Also... I hope you get to see the sun soon! I know how much that affects my mood.

Snowden: CONGRATS on the double digit run!!! That is SO exciting! I still remember the very first time I ran 10mi. It was a great feeling. I think the half marathon distance as a goal for February is a great idea. How is the knot in your back doing? Foam rolling should definitely help loosen it up! I've been distance running since I was 17 (I think)... so about 6 years? But before that I played lacrosse competitively all my life, and played the position of "center" which basically required me to run around the field for the entire game... so I probably got in a good amount of miles that way hah.