Weekly Update - Christmas Edition....Sort Of... (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

Hi All!

I'm supposed to be training for the Princess Half Marathon in February, but my running has been about as sporadic as my posting to this blog.  I have realized, that no matter what I have been doing for exercise, running is usually the only thing that prompts me to post.  I don't know the reason, but I seem to think about possible posts while I run.  That never happens when I'm biking or swimming.  But since I seem to be in a better swing of things for my running, maybe that will correlate to my posting.  One can hope.

I've been getting in a couple of runs a week for the past month.  This past week I actually got three runs in.  I haven't had any knee pain, so I have been pushing the runs a little.  My run on Saturday was very good.  I ended up not joining the running group as I only planned on 4 miles and no one could do brunch afterward.  So that meant I could sleep in and run in good temperatures.  When I finally got out it was in the lower 60's.  Even with the wind blowing a lot, it was still great temperatures to run in.  In my neighborhood I usually try for progressive runs without looking at my watch.  Which means if I had a really good first mile, that meant that each mile after I would have to push a little bit more.  That's what happened Saturday.  I had a good first mile.  Then a good second mile.  By the end of the third mile I couldn't catch my breath, but I kept pushing.  I didn't think I had much in me for that last mile, but I was determined to push through it.  I haven't pushed on a run like that in a very long time.  And the time for this run, was as good as my times were when I was in my best running shape.  But back then, I wasn't huffing and puffing and barely getting the last steps in.  But this shows me that it is possible to get back into that shape again if I work at it.  Or maybe close to it.

If anyone is wondering, I have finished up my second week at my new job and so far I have really loved it.  Even though this is a contract position (to hire after 6 months and if all goes well), I have been made to feel like I am one of the team.  The team has been without a Scrum Master for awhile and while they are getting all the items done they need to, it's very chaotic.  I get to start reining things in and get things organized.  It's even more then I could have hoped for.  I can't wait to get things truly started in the new year. 

Christmas is tomorrow and while it will be low key as usual, I think it will be nice to spend some time with my folks.  While my dad doesn't seem to understand a lot that is going on, he is almost always in a good mood.  I'll go over to their house sometime in the late morning.  We will have the homemade Cinnamon Rolls and do the gift thing.  We will eventually start making dinner.  Throughout the day we most likely watch a couple Christmas movies, including A Christmas Story.

I didn't do much Christmas decorating.  But every year, I make sure I put out a Christmas flag.  Here is the one that is out this year.



While I don't do much decorating at my house, my mom will do some at her house.  Here are some of my favorite things that my mom puts out.

My grandmother made these figures.  When I was little, she did a lot of these Slipcasting pieces when I was younger.  I even went with her a few times to make my own.

I made this reindeer - yes, that is a reindeer - when I was in middle school.  I always hated it because it was not done very well and really needs a lot of work.  But my mom loves it.  There probably is a reason she covers it up with that big bow.

And this is my favorite Christmas decoration.  That is my cute little chubby face there.  It is an ordainment that usually goes on the tree.  But the years that my mom doesn't put up the tree, she still gets it out and displays it.  That is one item she will never let me have.  She may even be buried with it. 

This was my second year participating in the  Fairytales and Fitness' Blogger Holiday Card Swap.  This year I got a cute kitty card from Chaitali.  I was able to meet her earlier this year at the Star Wars Half Marathon in Disney World.  Included was an Amazon gift card. Love Amazon!



As I was writing this post, I had carolers come by to sing me a song.  I have never had carolers come to my house, it was amazing!  And they were giving out small bags of home made cookies.  Wow, that was just so special.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!

What are your plans this Christmas?  What are some of your favorite Christmas decorations?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Murder Mystery Dinner (Friday Five Edition)

So on Tuesday instead of sitting at home doing nothing on Valentine's Day, friends and I went out and had a Murder Mystery dinner.  We were being called "Gal-intine".  It was a really fun night.  Here are some things about it.


1. We went to Maggiano's Italian Restaurant.  They do this about once a month, usually on holidays.  The mystery part of the dinner was put on by Keith & Margo's Murder Mystery USA.  They sat us at a table with two other couples.

2.  Included in the price was a three course dinner, chocolates, and a glass of champagne.  Any other drinks were for sale.  The first and last course was AMAZING.  The main course was just OK.  I will look to see to get some of those appetizers next time I go there for dinner.


3.  They started the first part of the mystery while they were delivering the first course, so we were distracted while trying to figure out what was going on.  I wish they would have waited till we had our food on the table.

4.  They started off with a hit woman that came in and the detective stopped and killed her before she could kill her target.  I yelled out that the detective did it, but they wouldn't take that as the answer as that wasn't the actual murder. 

The man standing was the detective

5. The murdered person and a couple of the witnesses were there like they were guests.  They were seated and ate dinner with us (till they were accused or murdered).  They had several clues, which all were some sort of written notes and a news paper article.

Different notes found on the ground throughout the night

In the end we figured out the basis of the who done it.  We were to write down our answers, but I guess ours were not the best.  Overall it was a lot of fun.  I would defiantly do something like that again.

The "Gal-intine" Girls

Did you do anything fun for Valentine's?  Have you ever done a murder mystery dinner? 

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Christmas in Denver vlog (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I know Tuesday's on the Run's main focus is supposed to be about running, but I wanted to get my vlog from Denver up.  In my defense I do talk about the runs I did while I was there.  So I hope that counts. :)

Disclaimer:  Again, I didn't get as many videos done that I wanted to, so I filled some of it with still pictures.  I'll have to see if I can do better in Disneyland.  I hope everyone likes it.

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Surf-n-Santa 5 Miler Recap (Friday Five Edition)

I always have a hard time this time of year because I don't like the cold and I hate these short days.  Two days ago, on Wednesday, was the Winter Solstice.  My dad always said that the Winter Solstice is his favorite day of the year because the days only get longer from here.  I think of that and can look forward to the cold winter months as I know each day is getting longer and longer.  I hope you enjoyed the shortest day of the year (or longest night - how ever you would like to think about it).  Now on with my recap.

This past Saturday I did the Surf-n-Santa 5 Miler in Virginia Beach.  This was the first time I've done this race.  I was signed up for it last year but the holiday time just got in the way and I deferred it to this year.  I'm kinda glad I did as this year they were trying to break the Guinness Book of World Record of having the most Santas in a race.  Here are five things about the race.



1. This was my first 5 mile race.  I had to think about it some while I was running, but I have never done the 5 mile distance.  I've run that distance many times during training, but never as a race.  It's a nice distance.

2. Seeing all of the people dressed up in Santa suits was so much fun.  When I picked up my bib, we were given a one size fits all Santa suit instead of a shirt.  It comes with pants, coat, belt, beard, and hat.  You had to wear all 5 pieces crossing the start line and finish line to be part of the record.  It was weird to see people that were not in a Santa suit, or even in any holiday outfits.  They really stood out.

 
3. We ran down the Boardwalk and they had festive lights everywhere.  My favorite was the 12 Days of Christmas.  They had all 12 days in different lights.  I wish I took some pictures of them as some of them were really creative.  I just wish they would have started us a little later so when we got to the Boardwalk it would have been a little darker to really enjoy the lights.





4. I really like the J&A Races, especially the shorter ones as they are fun routes.  The route started at the Convention Center and went down to the Boardwalk and then back to the Convention Center.  I liked being on the Boardwalk for as long as we were.  They gave out Ginger Snap cookies and Candy Canes on the course.  They also give some sort of finisher thing at the end of the race.  This race we got gloves.

5.  The weather was unseasonably warm.  It was chilly all day, but a warm front came through in the afternoon.  It was about 50 degrees when we started at 4:30.  I knew to just wear shorts and a light shirt underneath.  I felt bad for those who had long pants and heavier shirts on.  Some were stripping down during the run to their base layer (which is legal for the record as long as they put everything back on before they crossed the finish line).

I think I would do this race again.  I know they won't do the Guinness Record again, but it is a fun race on the Boardwalk.  It's just a pain to drive 2 hours back and forth for the race.

Before I end this post, I wanted to give a shout out to Heather for my Blogger Card Swap. She sent me a very cute card with a fun sticker from #werunsocial and a gift card for Target.  I heart Target. :)  Thanks so much Heather!!





Have you done the Surf-n-Santa race before?  Have you done a 5 miler race, there doesn't seem to be a lot out there?  What is your favorite holiday race?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Back in the Saddle Again (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

Between tapper, races, recovery, and Thanksgiving, I have not had a regular routine since mid-October.  This week, my goal was to get back to my normal schedule.

Monday I was able to get a 3 mile in before work.  It was in the mid-30's and cold.  I'm still trying to remember how to dress for the colder weather.  I didn't do too bad, just cold arms and legs, so my core was a good temperature and that's what matters.

Tuesday I made it to the gym.  It was a really good workout.

Wednesday when I got up for my run it was in the mid 60's.  Yes a 30 degree temperature change in two days.  That's Virginia for you.  I woke up just a tad hung over, but I knew no matter how bad the run would be, I would feel better.  It ended up being a pretty good run considering.

Thursday I made it to the gym for a second time in the week.  The first I've done that in a few weeks.

Friday the temperature was back down to freezing.  Yes another 30 degree temperature change in two days.  I dressed a bit better, so I'm starting to remember.  I ended up doing 5 miles because I would be out of town over the weekend and wasn't sure if I would get a long run in.  I wanted to do 6 miles, but that's hard to do before work for me.

I tried to do a 3 mile run on the treadmill at the hotel.  First trying to get into the fitness center was complicated.  Apparently there was a key scanner on the other side of the door that was camouflaged.  The treadmill itself was probably the cheapest that I've seen.  There really wasn't a shelf to put my iPad on.  It wasn't really big enough for a magazine.  I did the quick start and it still had the numbers from the run before.  Stop/clear did nothing.  I had to pull that emergency tab off to reset the numbers.  Once I got going it took forever for it to speed up to the number on the treadmill.  It took awhile to find the right speed cause the change was so slow.  I finally found a good speed and got a little over a mile in and my iPad slipped and hit the emergency stop and everything came to a complete stop.  It took awhile to get back to a good speed again and 2 minutes later my iPad slipped again.  I was so sick of this stupid treadmill that I just gave up.  Not worth the aggravation.

Going forward routine is going to be hard for me.  I'm not good getting my runs in if my routine is not there and my last day of work is Friday, so out the door goes my routine.  If I'm not getting up for work or meeting people I usually hang out too long and then I change my mind on going.  I'm also out of town all the weekends in December so trying to get my long run in on the weekend will be a challenge.  Might be good that I don't have work, so that I an do a long run during the week.  We will see what the next few weeks bring.

How do you keep up with training without a routine?  Does your weather get all funky like in Virginia in the fall?  What is the worst treadmill experience that you have had?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Remaining Goals for 2016 (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

So as we are less then two weeks to what I consider the kick off of the holiday season - Halloween.  Less then three months of the year left.  What are my goals to get me through the holidays?

With running while I'm signed up for at least three more races, my one and only goal is to finish the Marine Corps Marathon (without being picked up).  We are less then two weeks from race and that is the only thing that I'm focused on right now.  But there is life after MCM.

There really isn't much else on my running docket.  I have the Richmond Marathon (or half) and then the Surf-n-Santa 5 miler that I'm signed up for.  There also is a Tacky Light "run" that we do every year that is a lot of fun.  It's a 4 mile course through a neighborhood that has the most lights up for Christmas.  We never run this (though some people do) as it's dark and we like to take our time and look at the lights.

I'll also be doing the Star Wars half in Disneyland in January.  I'll have to make sure I keep my training up for that through the holidays.

There are a few goals that I have for my personal life.  One is to get a job.  I am with my company till the end of the year and then have 6 months severance.  I need to make as many contacts in the next few weeks as I can cause when Thanksgiving hits, no one will be focused on hiring.  I'd like to get something that would start early February if I can.

I also need to start looking at retirement homes for my dad.  We need something lined up just in case something happens to my mom.  She will also be having a knee replacement in the next 6-9 months and we need something lined up so that they can take care of my dad while my mom is in the hospital.

Hopefully I won't let my personal goals interfere with my running.  With a half marathon in January, that will at least keep me focused on getting in some miles. 

What goals do you have set for the rest of the year?  How do you not let the holidays interfere with your running?

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.