Mondays in Love: Staycation!!

Pretty soon I will be making decisions and signing up for spring races. Before we get to those decisions, I'm enjoying running when I wanna and having some extra family time. It was a thankful Thanksgiving in that way. Rather than doing a traditional Thanksgiving, my brood and I really needed a break and some down time, so we planned a whole staycation and had an absolute blast.

We stayed at a hotel with a pool (HUGE hit with the kiddos), went to the Thanksgiving parade and saw everything from the Grinch to this:

Yes, a huge shopping cart. wth??

We went out to a fancy Thanksgiving dinner, played games, and went to the Arch. The baby woke up just in time to take in the sights. 

I topped the weekend off with a perfect 5 miles on Sunday, done with a smile on my face and early winter in the air. Life is good this holiday season!! Were you thankful for running this year? 

Mondays in Love: The Intersection

A few times in the past week I've been struck by how frequently running habits show up in my non-running life. From the funny to the quirky to the kind, I decided to share these moments that have made me smile.

1. My hubby and I were standing in the kitchen talking when --BAM-- out of nowhere I drop back into a calf stretch without thinking anything of it. He stopped what he was saying, stifled a laugh, and mimicked exactly what I had done. Know what? It's kinda weird! 
2. The pedestrian mall through the middle of the campus where I work used to be a city street, so the sidewalk is really wide. The other day while walking back to my office from a coffee break, I realized that I was walking dead center on this sidewalk. You know, gotta keep those ankles from getting strained, run on the crest of the pavement! But it didn't even make sense. I was wearing heels, and the center of the sidewalk was a seam in the concrete, which I kept getting a heel caught in. I moved myself to the side, walked another 10 steps and realized I'd merged back to the center. Aaagh! Silly runner!
3. On Saturday night we went on a Christmas light walk that's organized by the park district. We had to park about a 5 minute walk from the park. So we parked, put the kids in their wagon (so cute!), and headed toward the park. As we were crossing a small road I thanked the police officer who was there to direct traffic. I realized while I was saying it that it's totally something I learned from doing road races. Always thank the people who are there to protect. 

How does running intersect your non-running life? Do you notice new, weird, or nice habits? 

Mondays on Notice: Sick, again

I am so tired of being sick. I don't remember ever being sick so frequently. Ever. I was so sick Friday night that I finally took myself to the ER to get re-hydrated and get the nausea stopped. Then I slept all day Saturday and did the bare minimum Sunday, by which time my older son was sick. He stayed home from school today and I worked but didn't feel great about life.

And so I put it on notice--sickness. Enough. 

But there's a silver lining. I did still run this morning, and with a friend, even. About 3.6 miles, slow and chatty in the cool (cold) morning. Since moving here two years ago I've done the vast majority of my running solo. I think it's about time for that to end. I think it's time to run with people again. This morning was fun.

I've been fantasizing about next year's races. Maybe the first training cycle can be my introduction back into group running.

October Recap

Hi guys. I know I've been really MIA lately. Things have been crazy, and the running has been inconsistent. I am in one of the worst dry spells ever in blogger history for content, and haven't wanted to post just for the sake of posting. But alas, October came and went, so I have a monthly recap (and a happy one!) to share. Yay!

Miles ran: 37.4, hell yeah!! My highest mileage month in 9 months! Also, it put me over 200 miles for the year.
# runs: 10
highest mileage week: 11.8 miles
favorite run: easily my 5 mile "long" run. It felt like a huge victory to break that 5 mile mark again!!
current goal: continue increasing the monthly mileage
current obsession: Christmas shopping. I LOVE Christmas shopping and I try hard to chip away at it over a period of a few months so it isn't too overwhelming all at once.
current need: pretty sure I need new running shoes. It's a good life! Also, work pants, which is just a sore and annoying point.
current excitement: I just got back from my annual academic conference. I always look forward to it. It inspires me and motivates me, and exhausts a bit in the process. But I have this buzz coming off it and heading back to the office tomorrow. And as excited as I have been about the trip, it's nice to be home too. I spent a lot of time away from these people in October.

current bane of my existence: nothing really share-able
current wish list: same as last month, month before that, and month before that--sleep.
current indulgence: I bought a few new pieces of work clothes last moth that felt like a nice indulgence. I tried to buy things that fit now but won't be too crazy big once I fully return to my pre-pregnancy size.

Happy November, runners! Here's to ongoing beautiful weather, inspiration, and health!