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!

The blur that is my life

So, I know. Ok, I know. I've been a little MIA. I've always referred to October as academic napalm and this year is no exception. Things have been crazy. Fortunately I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is close. Also fortunate, I haven't had to forsake the run. In fact, last week I surpassed a handful of goals: made October my highest mileage month, finally hit a 5-mile "long" run, and cleared 200 miles for the year. But I felt like I plastered that excitement all over dailymile......and, that's about all the running content I've got around here. So instead, a photo dump and glimpse into my life. 

apple pie is the way to my hubby's heart

Ha! Found in the bathroom at a coffee shop near work.

Skyping with 2 of my 3 boys while I'm on the road for work

Chocolate covered pretzels. Only on a college campus.

Stay dry everyone! If you can't run outdoors or get to an indoor track safely, then it's time for some at-home cross-training. Be safe and live to run another day!!

Messages for Runners

This week you get a message I love and a message that clearly need to be put on notice. The first is from this month's Runner's World and really inspired me. The second, complete with its actual grammatical errors, is something I received at work. I can't make sense of either of these "handy tips" we got. Can you??

September Recap

I am feeling like I am finally back into a consistent enough swing of things to resume monthly recaps. My first monthly recap is modest, but ever so happy. Here goes.

Miles ran: 24.6
# workouts: 8
highest mileage week: 10 miles (woot! first double digit week in a loooong time!)
Favorite run: my first post-baby 5k! The second 5k of the month was also great, but nothing beats your first time :)

Current goal: increase mileage in October
Current obsession: kinda into Halloween decorating right now, mostly because my 4-year-old thinks it's the most exciting thing ever, and I can't resist egging him on.
Current need: a new sports bra
Current excitement: on the work front, I got a paper accepted to a journal I've long targeted. That felt good! On the home front, I'm continuing to very slowly lose weight. I'm definitely under my Christmas 2010 weight and still going strong.
Current bane of my existence: lack of sleep.
Current wish list: to wear a dress to work. I miss wearing dresses. Especially my tweed one.
Current indulgence: I recently purchased two winter weather running tops from REI online clearance. One of them in particular is just absurdly nice, especially for the $40 I paid for it. It has a hood, thumb holes, covered zippers, interior mp3 pocket, ventilation, thermal, etc. And I love the color (I got the cobalt). There will be pics once the weather gets cold enough, which won't be a while yet. I'm still in short sleeves.

What's your favorite piece of running gear? New or old, winter or summer? Simple or bells and whistles?

Happy October--my favorite running month of the year. Run strong and smile!!