I'll be Home for Christmas

The gifts are wrapped, the house is clean, Zero had a bath, the suitcases are packed...we're ready to go.

Tuesday morning J and I pack up the car, with Zero in tow, and drive to my parent's house in sunny Sarasota, Florida for 10 days of 80 degree temperatures. Woo!

And just in time too. It's been FREEZING here the past few days. Not the good kind of cold where there is a beautiful blanket of snow and an opportunity to go sledding and make snow angels. Just cold with freezing rain, ice, wind, grey and numbness.





(iPhone takes pretty decent pictures.)

While I truly love wintertime, I have to say, it will be nice to be in warmer temperatures for a few days. It's good to have a break in the middle of winter so you don't go crazy. One of the reasons we were OK about moving back to the land of winter is because we knew we would be heading back to Florida for a few vacations a year, Christmas always being one of them. The idea of winter is a little more bearable when you know you will have a sunny vacation smack dab in the middle.

And, of course it will be nice to see my family and crazy-ass friends again too.

I am a little worried about running in the warmer weather though. I have taken a fondness to winter running and I have a feeling it will take a little getting used to running in the heat and humidity again. Funny how quickly the body forgets.

Speaking of running, yesterday I did my longest run since the marathon - 10 extremely chilly miles.

It just so happened to also be the first time I have run with J and the first time I have run along Kelly Drive since the marathon. It was good to be back running with my buddy in my favorite running spot.

Now that he's all healthy again, he sure runs a lot faster. It was hard to keep up with him, but the weather was decent (although very cold) so I decided to push it and see if I could keep up. Although I was pretty tired the entire time and really felt myself pushing it, I managed to keep up the pace to average an 8:40 pace for 10 miles. That is definitely the longest I have been able to keep up that pace, which made me feel pretty good about how my body is reacting to life post-marathon. I do know, however that if the weather had been warmer, I wouldn't have been able to keep up that pace. Running in colder weather makes me feel like I could run forever. Or at least with a little less effort.

The only bad thing about the run was the awful headwind the 5 miles back. The temps were in the 20's and the wind was freezing. When we were done my butt and the back of my legs were completely numb.It was a very odd sensation. When I went to shower, my body was covered in random red marks. Not sure where those came from. I love running in cold weather but I may have to think about investing in some better winter gear. My long sleeved tech shirts and capris may not be as effective in January.

Now that I think about it, maybe a couple of runs in Florida wont be as bad as I think...

I'm taking my laptop, iPhone and cameras with me so I'll be updating, probably mostly with pictures. 

I hope all of you have the most wonderful holiday season ever and enjoy the time with your friends and family. Or at least keep yourself from wanting to wring their necks :)

Stay safe, happy and warm. I know I will :)

Happy Holidays!!!



Monday, 12/15 - lazy
Tuesday, 12/16 -lazy
Wednesday, 12/17 - 6.5/59:25 -9:08 pace
Thursday, 12/18 - lazy
Friday, 12/19 - weight lifting/elliptical - 35:00
Saturday, 12/20 - 10/1:27:15 - 8:40 pace
Sunday, 12/21 - lazy

Total Weekly Mileage: 16.5 (RUN) LOSER!
Total Weekly Mileage: 0 (BIKE)