Be Back Soon

You may have noticed but I have seriously slacked in the blogging, reading blogs, and commenting departments. I'm taking a short break from the computer and will be back in January. I hope everyone has a wonderful (and safe) New Year!

Decisions

When you only see 5 other runners on a normally steady to busy running trail are you considered hardcore or crazy? I think it might be a mixture especially when the path is a bit slick from the snow shower and the temperatures are in the 20's.

I can't say it's too hardcore considering I've logged a total of 7 miles over 2 weeks. Sad...yes... Thanks to last minute shopping, shopping taking longer than expected due to crowds and traffic, traveling for early holiday celebrations, and a general lack of desire to run in 10 degrees I haven't logged much road or 'mill time. But that's all going to change soon. Over the weekend I signed up for the New Orleans rock n' roll half-marathon Feb 28th so I need to find the time or I'm going to be hurting in 9 weeks! It's going to be more of a fun run but I still need to be ready.

So now I have a motivating goal to work towards in early 2010 but I still need to figure out what else to put on the race calendar. I know I want to run a marathon and raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society to honor my dad. Other than that I don't know what I want to run or how close/far to travel. Do I want to make the first half of 2010 the time to run my favorite distance - 1/2 marathon? Or do I want to run a spring and fall marathon again? Decisions, decisions! If you have a suggestion leave it for me in the comments!

beyond cold and good luck

It's flipping cold here! Like 5 degrees cold and I have no idea about the wind chill. Sometimes things like that are best left unknown. I know it's cold I don't need specifics. I canceled my last trip today to snowy and even colder Madison, WI so I am now officially done traveling until 2010! Seems so far away ;) It's amazing how much calmer I feel knowing I don't have to travel for work over the next few weeks. January will be nuts but no need to dwell on that now! Time to enjoy the mini-break!

Today I am spending the day catching up on work, cleaning, and making chex mix in preparation for my sister and brother-in-law visit. They will be in town for a very cold wedding tomorrow. brrr... It has me chilled to the bone just thinking about taking pictures around Chicago in this weather!

And since I probably won't post in the next few days I want to give a huge shout-out to my old roomie. She is running her first marathon this weekend in Dallas! H went from non-runner to runner in a year using the Galloway method and advice from her tri-sister. So far this year she has done an 8K and half-mary. Now it's time for the Dallas White Rock full where she will be surrounded by her family and friends. I know she is freaking out (as we all do and probably did before our first marathon) but I hope she has the most amazing experience despite the nerves! Good luck H! I wish I could be there but I'll be cheering you on virtually. And on a side note if any of you are getting married definitely check out her website. She has handmade maps and invitation making talent. I only wish she had discovered her talent before I had gotten married :)

Delayed... but now I have time to post!

Most of my big weekend plans went bust with the exception of wrapping presents, decorating, and visiting my friends and their new baby (so cute!). I had hoped to find time for some running... so I'm going to make a confession. I just did not want to go. My motivation and running desire is severely lacking these days. I'm in a funk and I need to find something to break me out. Any suggestions? Maybe with the upcoming travel break I'll find my running mojo again. Or maybe I'll stuff my face with delicious holiday treats ;)

Monday I took off of work (and everything else I needed to do) to drive to the outlet mall where I met my friend Jami for the J & J annual Christmas shopping trip! 4 years running now we drive an hour out of our way to find some deals and see each other. Last year we smartened up and took a day off during the week instead of fighting the weekend crowds. So much better! Usually we end up shopping more for ourselves than anyone else and again this year was no different :) We both left we some new goodies but way behind on our Christmas lists.

Currently I should be 30,000 feet in the air onward to St. Louis but thanks to the snow and wind I'm delayed nearly 5 hours. The good news, I found out before I had to leave for the airport so I am waiting at home instead of chaotic O'Hare. And bonus - I had time to run! The lakefront path is clear of the fluffy white stuff so it was safe. I'm glad they do such a good job of keeping the path clear or I probably would never go. Maybe that's not true, I do have YakTrax. So I would probably just use the the path being covered as another excuse to not run. I'm doing fine finding reasons not to run no need to add another!

The run started off chilly and I was annoyed with my new Nike tights. They were sliding down giving me the MC Hammer drop crotch pant look. Oh so very attractive and conducive to running! Also, they were not doing a very good job of keeping my knees/thighs very warm. My legs warmed up as I moved along. I really don't know why I keep buying Nike tights; I've had nothing but problems. I always think "this pair might be different!" Now I know... No more Nike tights. I still love Nike even if they can't make a decent pair of running tights. The winter fleece lined running jacket I picked up at the outlet yesterday was amazing so it totally made up for my tight frustration.

Alright on to finish packing and make my way to hang out with thousands of pissed off/frustrated travelers! This is my last trip to O'Hare for the month so I'm feeling good.

nothing much

After a long week in Texas I'm back home trying to find the motivation to write follow up letters, fix trip reports, and the other 9807865234 miscellaneous items I need to do while in the office for a day. I'm hoping to find the motivation in my nonsensical blogging :)

So it may have snowed here in Chicago this week but not before it snowed in Texas. Yes, that's right Texas was colder and had snow before the northern states! Of course after I left the warmer temps are expected to return. Not that the weather really matters since the majority of my work day is spent in research/doctor offices, in front of my laptop, surrounded by binders. Sounds fascinating I know!

This weekend I hope to go for a longish run, or maybe 2 short runs but at least something. I don't mind the cold weather running too much as long as there is not too much precipitation and I can keep my hands warm. The path is empty and I can get lost in my run. Few things can beat that. Hopefully I will make the time in between finishing up the Christmas shopping, finding a tree, decorating, visiting my friend and her new baby girl (!), and cleaning my messy condo. My office looks like the presents and papers had one wild party while I was gone! We will see how much I actually accomplish before I leave again Tuesday :)

Good luck to all the Vegas and CIM runners this weekend! And anyone else racing! Looking forward to all the race reports next week!!!

Home Again

Vacation is over for now and I'm extremely happy to be back home for the night. After a long holiday weekend spent at the in-laws it's nice to be sitting on my own couch with the promise of sleeping in my own bed. It's especially nice be watching the shows I want, not hunting or drag racing, and have access to the internet. The internet access at the in-laws was spotty at best so I am behind on everything and with everyone! The holiday included too much food and not enough activity. Though I was able to squeeze in a nice 7 mile run Friday. It was much needed for both my waistline and sanity!

I'm off for a 4 day tour of Texas on Monday for work. The following week is just as busy but at least there is an end in sight until my next much longer but just as busy vacation. I'm hoping now to normalize my eating and get some good workouts/running during December. Can anyone else believe it's almost December? Crazy! I need to start working on my 2010 race calendar!

No Excuses

Call tonight to the hubs on the way home from the airport... approximately 5:30pm

Me: I'm thinking of going for a short, quick run before dinner, is that okay?

Hubs: It's dark outside

Me: I can see that but the path is well lit

Hubs: It's cold and crappy

Me: I've run in worse

Hubs: yeah, I guess

Me: at least it's not raining!

Hubs: (big sigh implying I will never understand you and your running thing) okay

Poor guy all he wanted to do was get some dinner and I shot down all his reasons why I shouldn't go for a run. Unfortunately for him all I wanted to do was run after my long day of sitting. I sat so much today from the research office, to the airport, to the airplane, and in the car in traffic that my butt start to ache! I had to get moving. Plus instead of waking up early (like all you other good bloggers!) I re-set the alarm for an extra 50 minutes of sleep this morning and was feeling ultra guilty. Normally I don't run after working and traveling all day long; I'm too spent. Today, I lucked out in catching an earlier flight home and finding some energy.

I walked in the back door before 6, quickly changed, and headed out the front door sans garmin by 6. Before I even made it to the path I ran into some neighborhood hoodlums who were looking for trouble. They started to harass me but for whatever reason they took off and I made it by without much incident. A bit of a scary way to start. Once on the path there were a number of bikers and runners and I quickly found my groove. Not quite 4 miles later I was back home with a newfound energy! Ahhh - much better!