8.2 miles for me. The last 2.2 miles were fast. Gym tonight!

AWESOME run. Felt so strong out there. I wish I was running long because it would have been a great one. Probably because it was cold and I ate a lot of pizza this weekend Also ate way too many cookies yesterday. Guess its time to pack on the Christmas pounds. LOL.

Yesterday was fun! We spent some time with HCBF's sister and when we got home I baked some Christmas cookies (baked and ate). I had to hide them because they are for other people and NOT HCBF. Fun filled family weekend but I could have used another day for some "me" time.

Ruger really wanted to go to daycare today. This was the first time I have ever heard him cry when I left. My heart broke. I always hear him cry when HCBF leaves...never with me. I am sure it was more that he wasn't going to daycare than me leaving HCBF is staying in town today so I am excited that he will be home when I get home!

Probably will be a slow week. Let's face it, its going to be slow up until Christmas. I did take Christmas week off though..so 2 more weeks and then I have 10 days off. YES YES YES. OH HR called me on Friday so I am wondering if there was a development in my complaint.

Diane – All I can say is we all have our good races and our bad races. For the amount of races we run, there are bound to be some bad ones. And you are right – patience is key! I hope your back heals up and the foot is feeling a bit better. I have had stress fractures in the foot and they are not fun. One way I tell a stress fracture is swelling. I also could not even TRY to run when I had one. The pain was pretty unberable.

Kilmisters – I wish I could have all dark hair. It would be so much cheaper! You pull it off well! You don’t dye yours though, right? My uncle bought a pizza joint. He has been talking about buying one since we were kids. Crazy he bought one in Virginia though..it was MUCH cheaper to buy one here then where he lives in Maryland. NICE job on that run! Sorry the course was tough – but you know, its good training. All courses won’t be easy.

Sandy – Woohoo nice yesterday! Do you run mostly on the roads or the sidewalk? I usually am smack in the middle of the road. At 4am I really don’t have to worry too much about cars. I tend to trip on sidewalks SO glad you went to the take and bake! Good laughs make it worth it Did you end up taking anything?? I am the same way with my hands during running – they aren’t cold but when I stop they get cold. If I stop mid run for a pit stop or to change my podcast..they will be freezing..but then no problems until I get home! You are right – no sense of getting a membership if you only go in the winter. I wonder if we have some classes like that. I am sure we do. I love my gym though..I guess I get good use out of it! I do want to buy a treadmill..maybe someday when HCBF and I move. I am not sure where I would put it right now. On my podcast this morning they were talking about the NY sports club and how hard it is to get out of a membership there. It reminded me of that Friends episode when Chandler is trying to quit the gym. LOL. OH was thinking of you this morning...and the fact that you can practically SMELL those MARGARITAS!!!

Docket – CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are so awesome! What a great year this has been for you! Your comeback is inspiring!!! Congrats to DH too BTW I didn’t realize you had been married for 18 years!!

Cathy – 4 miles?! You are building back up. Yay! Glad the foot is handling everything okay. Awesome on the workout DVD. I may look into that. So, my gym has a “build and burn” class. Its always 9am on Mondays so obviously I can’t go..but when I have a Monday off I go..that class is HARD!! H A R D! I love it thought because you are like jello when you leave. I hate pull ups. I can rock out some push ups..but no pull ups. Nope, not naturally blonde. Brown..used to be pretty dark but I think it has lightened up over the years. When we were at HCBF’s sisters yesterday, we were there with some friends of theirs from Bayview. They were laughing at how excited we were about snow And we were saying how cold it was yesterday (38) and they were like “What?! You don’t even need a jacket for this weather!” Is your next trail series race New Years?

Laura – I had eggs for dinner last night! Haha. WOW on your BF’s boss!!! That is not even close to Josh. Lol. I wouldn’t go to that party either!

HuronHeart – Awe, an afternoon with DH sounds nice Nice snowy miles for you, too! I am wondering about keeping feet dry in snow also. The few times I have done it, I just double up on socks.  I take a core class at my gym also..I think it helps! Especially with back pain!

Run4kupcakes – Adding wool socks to my Amazon cart right now!

Karen - Saw your FB post. CONGRATULATIONS SPEEDY!!!! Can't wait to hear about it!!!

Happy Monday!

Damaris - HUGE congrats again!  And I loved your RR.  I do like the smaller races - makes logistics so much easier and less stressful.  Super happy you found a solution to your sock issues, too!  Excited to see you rock your next marathon.

Elina - oh dear, I have quite the reputation, huh?  No doubt I deserve it!  haha  But, nope, in this case, produce included carrots, celery, lettuce and bananas.  Sounds like another crazy busy week for you!  Is this related to end of year activities?  Hope you catch a break soon - even though I know you enjoy living on the edge of craziness 

HCK - glad you figured out the missing trail!  BUMMER on the no shoulder road.  i have a section like that near me but luckily it's only about 1/4 mi so I just pick up the pace.  2mi is a bit far to deal with such.

Cathy - 4mi - WOOHOO!!  I feel like you are on your way BACK!!  Cardio Core sounds tough!!  In school I remember the girls had to do "bent arm hang" while the boys did pull ups.  Basically hang in pull up position until you couldn't anymore.

Laura - OMG sweaty clothes in the winter freeze you up right quick!  I HATE it haha.  NIce job getting out there in the wind.  Did you get the tree decorated?

HH - nice snowy run!  Smartwool socks are the bomb.  3 hours to the airport - was that one way??  Sounds like a long day!!

Lizzie - awesome run for you today!!  Wow, girl.  Super excited for your next marathon.  Glad you had so much fun this weekend!  You and your Christmas spirit hee hee.  Awww poor Ruger buddy.  Glad HCBF will be home!  Hey, I have Christmas week off, too!  For MX   Nope, did not take anything from the take and bake.  Just left my toffee.  I toy with the idea of buying a dreadmill but I really don't have a place for it and I really don't think I would use it that much.  Though, on a day like today I want the convenience SO bad!  You guys are talking about moving?  For a job or?  Okay, laughing at your conversation with the WI friends - they are correct!  LOL  Glad you won't have to deal with that creepy dude anymore!  Not weird you feel bad because you are nice person but, it's good he will no longer be around.  You don't need that.

Regular rest day for me.  Though I had half a thought of getting out there this morning.  But, we got about an inch of snow overnight - just enough to cover the crappy ice on the roads.  I'm a little more cautious after falling on similar a few years ago and breaking my arm.  Plows didn't get out until 6am and it gets annoying trying to dodge them.  And it's now started sleeting again.  Sigh.  Mentally I needed a run.  These tokens are going to be the death of me.  But, just need to make it 4 days this week.  Took Friday off to tend to this mop of hair!  LOL

Morning!  Karen gave me a rest day today so not sure what I'll do with myself, ha.  Weights tonight.

Lizzie, nice run.  Glad the guy got kicked off and you shouldn't feel guilty.

Sandy, we'll see on the socks. I have trained without socks before and the blisters are bad.  It all depends on weather.  Enjoy the rest!

Susan, excellent race!  Congrats!

Good Morning, as good as a Monday morning can be, I guess!

2 TM miles plus a 15 minute weight workout. I am just in maintenance mode right now, trying to get through these stressful weeks!

Lizzie - awww on Ruger crying.  My dog always lays in his bed like he is so depressed we all are leaving him, it is cute and it works cause I feel bad for him.  About the name, funny thing is, his brother's name is 'Jason' so he is kind of used to being called that.  I think the owner is just old and out of touch, he really has no idea who most of the people at the dealership are, other than his family members.  I am glad they got rid of the pervert guy, that's what he deserved!

Sandy - enjoy the rest day.  We are supposed to get a few inches of snow this afternoon/tonight. **Sigh**  Yes, we did get the tree decorated, it looks nice.  My DD and DS helped and it was fun

Hi Sue - glad you had fun with Karen!

Damaris - loved the RR, great job!!  You deserve a rest day!

Hi Judy!!

Karen - awesome job on the marathon!!

Oh, someone asked about work....it is 'ugh'.  My work partner is likely leaving next month, she had a job interview that she thinks will lead to an offer, she'll find out this week.  They have yet to fill the other nurse position.  I haven't heard about my application, I am thinking she will set up an interview this week or next but who knows since they are losing people left and right.  Supervisor is done next week, my co worker was supposed to hear if she was being offered the job but as of today, nothing's been said.  It's crazy...I am trying to just take it one day at a time.  

Happy Monday!     Planning to do another workout from my new DVD's tonight.  I think tonight is upper body.  It will be a surprise.    A blogger that I follow is planning on running the Houston Marathon in January and to raise money for the Houston Food Bank.  The way that he plans to do it is to start in the very back of the field (dead last) and you can pledge money for each runner he passes or do a straight donation.  He is planning on running a 3:30 marathon and based on the results from last year he would pass about 5000 runners.  I hate weaving around people during a race, that would drive me bonkers!    I am interested in how much more distance he runs with all the weaving.

Lizzie, great that you had an awesome run!  I am sure doggie daycare is much more exciting that staying home!    Nice that HCBF will be home!  I have Christmas week off also!  My brother will be in town after Christmas.  My foot still has a sore spot on the side of the heel.  I have been massaging it and that seems to help.  I am wondering if it is a trigger point.  So you don't know what your natural hair color is anymore?    I wear a winter coat in the 30's.    My kids don't like to though.  Even today younger DD just wore a lighter jacket!  It was about 25 this morning.  The next race in the Winter Series is New Year's Eve.  It's a morning run though, not a night one.  They have a 5K downtown that day where you can run into Lake Michigan at the end if you want to.  They clear a place in the ice so that you can splash in and dunk yourself if you want to.  Not my idea of fun.    You are too nice.  I am glad that guy is not coming back to your site!

Sandy, Ouch, I don't blame you for not running in the ice.  My RB fell a few years ago and hurt her shoulder.  So if there's any sign of ice I use the TM.    I imagine MN is like WI, on the first day in the spring when it's 50 people are out wearing shorts.     The Cardio Core wasn't too bad, maybe all these ab exercises help.  I could definitely feel my abs on the TM yesterday!

Sue, sounds like you had a fun weekend!  That is a great HM time for not training!

Damaris, nice race recap!  Nice restraint at the beginning.    I watched the route video, love how flat is is there.    That is awesome that you hit the McMillan estimate!  That is tough going up to the longer races and hitting the estimates.  Though for me that usually indicates I can run faster at the shorter distances.     Nice that DH PR'd again!

Laura, you don't need extra stress!  Still amazed you can keep that streak going!    Jason, Josh, close enough, lol.

HH-Kathy, I wear my trail shoes in the winter and that, along with Smartwool or other merino wool socks keep my feet pretty nice and dry.  Most of the time it's so cold here that we don't get a lot of slush.  That's the worst!  I have a yoga DVD that I should use also.  

Waves to everyone!

Cathy

Sandy – Moving would be a few years away and it would be local. We want to be on some land..we actually toyed with the idea recently but I said I need something sparkly on my finger before we went down that road. LOL. Enjoy your rest today! You broke your arm on ice?! Oh boy! Were you running at the time? I would be scared to run on ice, too. I am not real confident of wearing trax on ice…I can’t see them having much traction but maybe because I have never done it before. I can’t remember – did you say you had a pair?? I broke my foot in a step class at the gym. Note - do not attempt a step class on 2 hours of sleep after partying the night before. A year later I got 2 stress fractures in the same foot. Too much too soon kinda thing. WOOHOO for short week.

Susan  - Congrats on the race this weekend!! Glad you had fun with Karen!

Docket – Enjoy that rest today!

Judy – Hope you have a good gym run! They have an indoor track, right??

Laura – YES stressful weeks! Your work is crazy right now. Hang in there. Taking it day by day is the right attitude. Ruger does the same thing when we are about to leave! He gets so sad..it makes my heart melt. I just want to take him everywhere with me.

Hi Diane! I haven’t done a training plan like that but I am sure its doable!

Cathy – Whoa! That’s crazy about the Houston Marathon. So..how do they figure out how many people he passed?! I guess I can see if he started DFL. That’s too many numbers for my brain to compute. Maybe you should tape that sore spot up and see what happens  I am all about that KT tape. I tape my Achilles every time I run. Uh, I would not want to run into Lake Michigan on New Years Eve   BRRR. Maybe if it was a pool of champagne I would consider.

Kathryn – Oh no on the cramps! Hasn’t that happened to you before??? 100K for a car…phew must be nice! I love my Ruger buddy so much!

Boring day. Just trying to avoid mammel. Off to the gym shortly! Have a good night all!

What an absolutely crappy day.  Was supposed to get blood work done but lab didn't have the orders so that was a wasted trip.  Then took car to dealership for routine oil change...nope there's a crack in the brand new radiator and it's leaking.  Took it back to the shop who fixed it and they have to replace it so now I have another rental car.  3 in 6 months is a record for me.

Then as part of my VA request I had to see a hearing doc.  He did the test and was like well you don't have normal hearing loss so hearing aids won't work very well for you.  Going to put the paperwork in anyway and see if I can get some disability and some other type of hearing aid.

On top of that the little kitten, Jasmine keeps peeing on things.  She's in the little bathroom during the day and over night and uses the box in there just fine, there's another one that when she first got here she used but in the last 2 weeks any time she's out she'll pee where ever, this morning it was the bed.  Sheet are in the washer, blanket needs to go in next, and the bed has been sprayed with anti urine stuff.  If she doesn't stop she'll have to go.  Kat, any ideas?