November Recap

Still running (even with a sometimes painful foot)

NOVEMBER GOALS:

  • RUN (regularly)!!! YES. At least 3x a week.
cold windy run on the Corning Bike Path

it’s getting colder…

  • Do not overdo and listen to my body…REST when necessary!! YES. At least 3x a week.
  • Start daily planks! I should give up on these.  Only did a few.
  • Attend 2 yoga classes! YES.  Attended 4!
  • Complete a 15k race. YES!
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15K

  • Run at least one other race. YES.  2 others.
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Delmar Turkey Trot

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Stuff the Sleigh 5K

  • Continue running longer on the weekends. YES.  6-8 miles.
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8 miles on the Nisky bike trail

  • Run a new routeNope. 
  • Run at least 50 miles this month. YES. Ran 79 miles!!

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  • No theatre this month but I saw several movies (Enough Said, 12 Years a Slave, Philomena – all good)
  • Ate out fewer times this month, I think (2 Tuesdays after tennis, NYC,with mah jongg friends, with tennis friends, Thanksgiving)
the whole group minus 2

Mah Jongg Chinese dinner

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tennis dinner

  • Ran with some new running partners
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Adrienne & Heidi

  • I got matched with a running buddy (through IRUN4)
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a 9 year old with special needs – he is now my motivation to run

  • Went to Central Park & saw the NYC Marathon finish line as well as hiked the High Line.
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at the finish line (closest I will get)

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with my college BFFs

DECEMBER GOALS:

  • RUN (regularly)!!!
  • Do not overdo and listen to my body…Do NOT run if foot pain gets worse.
  • Attend at least 2 yoga classes!
  • Walk or run at least 1 mile a day while at work.
  • Cut back on the sweets and eating out.
  • Start knitting again (socks or something else)
  • Run before work at least once a week.
  • Run a new route.
  • Continue to run some of my long runs with others
  • Run at least one race.
  • Continue running longer on the weekends (to train for January 10 miler)
  • Complete the RW Running Streak (run at least 1 mile everyday from Thanksgiving to New Year’s)
  • Run at least 70 miles this month. 

Happy Running! How was your November? Anything exciting planned for December?

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RWStreak Update

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Last Week:

  • Monday – 3 miles before work 4 miles after work
  • Tuesday – 3 miles before work on the TM during work (cold and rainy), tennis
  • Wednesday – DAY OFF, yoga
  • Thursday – Thanksgiving 5K race (and the Streak begins), dinner out
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Delmar Turkey Trot with a friend

  • Friday – DAY OFF, rest, 1 mile, Movie, mah jongg

best movie I’ve seen in a long time!!

  • Saturday – 5K race + 5 more

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5 cold miles on the Corning Bike Path

  • Sunday – rest, 1 mile

This Week:

  • Monday –  3 miles before work, tennis
  • Tuesday – 3 miles after work
  • Wednesday – trip to NYC (how will I get a run in…the Streak may be broken!)
  • Thursday – 3 miles after work
  • Friday – rest, 1 mile, mah jongg
  • Saturday – proctor LSATs, 8 miles
  • Sunday –  rest, 1 mile, dinner out

Happy Running! How is your running going? Any upcoming races?

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I RUN For John Anthony <3

This is John Anthony:

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He looks like a normal 9-year old boy.  Unfortunately he is not.

According to his mom:

… He has been on a long journey. He has been misdiagnosed several times. Currently a skin biopsy showed he has SCAD which is an inborn error of metabolism. a metabolic disorder. His current geneticist thinks he also has glycogen storage disease type O and 2 of his specialists thinks he has Mito. We are currently waiting on whole genome exome sequencing results to come back. Its where they look at thousands of genes and also the parents to see what is going on and hopefully get the complete diagnoses once and for all. He has been in the hospital more times than i can count. He can go from doing great to really sick low blood sugar / metabolic acidosis in a minute. He has a g tube and gets formula all night through it. It helps him gain wt and keeps his blood sugar up. His disease caused failure to thrive among many other things. He is a wonderful little boy and very active loving sports when he is able too. Sometimes he is even in a wheelchair due to pain/dystonia/weakness. Thank goodness for now it is sparingly. He sees neuro, genetics, gi, pediatrics, pediatric surgeon, endo, and a nutritionist. We are trying to save money so he can see a mito specialist. In ga there are only 2. one takes private insurance and the other one does not accept insurance. Dr Kendall is world known. And is a top specialist. Too bad it takes moving mountains to see her. A new pt visit costs 5 hundred. Which is cheaper than the other doctor. sorry. not to get off on a rant Anyways. JA never cries for blood draws or ivs. He watches and shows them where to stick him. He is a brave warrior. He lover life and seldom complains. He lives with chronic pain from his disease but only complains if its unbearable. He love art. And actually is a very good artist. He lover watching scary movies too. He lover music and he loves God Oh and he loves the Georgia Bulldogs which i know NewYork is in the SEC , right? so we are rivals lol

And unfortunately his disease makes him happy and playing like a normal boy one minute to very ill and weak the next. He just now started his heart racing and nauseas…

I won’t go on anymore but you can see that it brings tears to my eyes.

Just Friday night after months of waiting, John Anthony was paired with me as my “running buddy.”

Here are some of our messages from FB from just Saturday:

Me: I am running a 5k today for john.

 Mom: Hey Darlene! Awesome. JohnAnthony says COOL! Good Luck and YOU got this!
Mom: Good Morning Miss Darlene!! JohnAnthony and I want to tell you Good Luck today. Its cold out there even here in South Georgia  JA says you got this! He sends high fives *bam*bam* and a hug ((♥))
Me: Tell I won a medal for him
Mom: Yay! Thats awesome If you can take a picture and post it to my wall so i can show him. He is beyond exited! We are so blessed. And i know the Lord will bless you for being JohnAnthonys runner!
Me: I will for sure. He brought me luck. I hope to do the same for him.
Mom: Oh. pm me your address. JA might want to send you a drawing JA is going to do for you
Mom: Hey everyone! We are proud to announce that JohnAnthony got matched with a runner in the I run for Michael group! We are so exited. This is an awesome group that is there to match special kids/adults to a runner buddy. They encourage each other, pray for each other and the runner runs for the buddy. We got matched last night. Its an amazing group of amazing people who encourage each other. Lets face it we could all use some encouragement. Especially those of us on a special journey. And there are currently 1,7OO runners still waiting to get matched wit a super awesome buddy. Yall should definately do it. JohnAnthonys runner is Darlene in New York and she already ran a 5k this am and won a medal for JA! Woo Hoo!
Mom: We are blessed. You are already such an encouragement to JA too.
I plan to send him my tee shirt and medal from the race.
So if you are interested in being  a special needs child/adult’s running buddy, check out I Run For Michael at http://www.whoirun4.com/ (But be patient, it takes awhile to be matched.)
This program adds new meaning to running motivation.
Happy Running! Any of you bloggers matched or waiting to be matched?
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Stuff the Sleigh 5K Race Report

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The original plan for today was to do this race:

I did this race two years ago and remember enjoying it. It was a  small local race and and I loved the gloves (Unfortunately I lost them).  I have enough shirts and bags.

But this race was in Altamont (30-40 minutes away) and a little hilly so I noticed a new race advertised that took place at the Corning Preserve – where I like to do my long runs.  (It is closer and flatter) so I changed my mind at the last minute.

I knew nothing about this race besides that you get a tee shirt (yay!). Anyway it is a good way to run off that turkey and I could continue to tack more miles on after the race.

The race started at 10 am.  It was VERY COLD (the coldest morning yet) but at least it was less windy than on Thanksgiving day.

I dressed in layers again…this time with fleece lined tights and fleece lined gloves.

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all layered up and ready to go.

I didn’t get there early because  had a feeling that the race would not be crowded. So I parked in the parking lot and there were only a few cars..uh oh!! So I slowly ran the 1/2 mile to the start.

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looks nice but it is 10 degrees!!

Yes, there was music, food, raffles and very few people.

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this was where the race started

As I do at every race, I quickly made friends with two runners.  One, Valerie was my age and has run all 35 Freihofer for Women races,  Her PR is 26:XX but she only runs several times a year and only 5Ks.  Another was in  her 40s and just ran her 2nd half marathon & finished under 2 hours.

from the TimesUnion

We waited and waited.  And it was freezing.  Finally 2o minutes late, all of 15 of us started the race.

from the TimesUnion

My plan for the race was to not go out fast and die like Thursday.  I also wanted to finish under 30 minutes and beat Valerie (how shallow).

So I lagged behind Valerie for the first mile, The 2nd mile, I caught up to her and ran behind her for the rest of the race until I saw the finish line.  Then I smoked her.  Yay me!

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This was the finish line – how professional. They just took the bottom of our bib – no clock or chip.

The three of us stood around waiting for awards.  I won 1st place in the 50+ age group. (there were actually at least 3 of us.)

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We all won medals.  We joked that we should have formed a Team called the Old Lady Runners.

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the ladies with the medals

Valerie was the only one that brought money and won about 10  raffle prizes –  she really made out (one was a one month gym membership.)  She felt guilty and shared a few with me –  visit for 2 to a yoga studio and 2 tickets to Saratoga dance museum.

They had lots of food left so I had a egg & cheese sandwich and ran back to my car to change my shoes (I do my short runs in Mizuno Sayonaras and longer ones in Brooks Adrenalines), warm up and motivate myself to do 5 more miles.

I did it.  At first I was running into the wind and the sun went in and my face was freezing off and my hands went numb.  Then I turned around and it was bearable, even nice.

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Of course, I had to turn around once more to get to my car and it was cold again.

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done – 8 miles for the day

As for the race.  It was not my best but I enjoyed it a lot.  I finished slower than Thursday with a time of 29:41 (according to my Garmin since there was no clock.) I finished under 30 minutes and all my splits were under 10 minutes (and mile 3 was faster than mile 2).

Splits:

mile 1- 9:29
mile 2 – 9:53
mile 3 – 9:49
.1 –          7:22

So as you can see, I still need to work on my speed.

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The biggest news is that I got matched last night with a running buddy through I Run for Michael.  His name is JohnAnthony.  I am very excited (more about this in another post.)

This is what his mother posted in FB today:

Hey everyone! We are proud to announce that JohnAnthony got matched with a runner in the I run for Michael group! We are so exited. This is an awesome group that is there to match special kids/adults to a runner buddy. They encourage each other, pray for each other and the runner runs for the buddy. We got matched last night. Its an amazing group of amazing people who encourage each other. Lets face it we could all use some encouragement. Especially those of us on a special journey. And there are currently 1,7OO runners still waiting to get matched wit a super awesome buddy. Yall should definately do it. JohnAnthonys runner is Darlene in New York and she already ran a 5k this am and won a medal for JA! Woo Hoo!

Happy Running! Did you run off that turkey?

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Our Towne Bethlehem Turkey Trot 5K Race Report

November 28

November 28

This is the 2nd year that I have run this race. I did it 2 years ago and enjoyed it.  There are several turkey trots in the area with the big one (10,000 runners) being in Troy. Most of the elites run that one. But the best thing about this race is that it is so close to home and it is flat.

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photo from the start in 2012 – bibs are just printed on the shirt…no timing

Last year, they changed the race to be informal in that there are no chips or bibs and only prizes for the winners of the race (No AG awards or any timing.) I didn’t realize that when I signed up and the competitive me was a little disappointed.

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My last 3 races have been two 10Ks and a 15K.  It has been awhile since I have run a 5K race (like Oct 5) .  I wasn’t sure that I would remember how to run fast.  I definitely was not expecting the 27:xx that I ran this course 2 years ago but I was hoping for something around 30 minutes.

Unfortunately it was VERY COLD and WINDY (8 degrees with the windchill) and I am a weather wimp.  I wanted to wear a skirt and compression socks but probably not too smart when the temps are in the teens. So I put on my tights under my skirt and bundled up as much as I could.

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This was the short-sleeved cotton tee shirt which I didn’t wear, of course. I picked it up last night during the fireworks display on my way hone from yoga.

I got to the race early and got a great parking spot. But I had a long wait.

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Eventually it got very crowded – about 2000 runners. I waited inside until the the very last minute. I was even cold waiting inside. I never found my friend MaryPat who called me but I didn’t hear the phone.

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you can see my head to the right in this pic

With no timing, there was no pressure.  Just run and get it done. And that’s what I did.  I just started my Garmin and stopped it at the finish line.

I won’t lie, it was cold but the wind died down a bit and the sun was shinning.  My face and hands were cold but the rest of me was fine. I am glad I didn’t add on as many layers as others.

I had done NO speed work and I felt it.  I was dying by mile 2 but I willed myself to continue and not walk at all.

So although it is not official, I finished at 29:38.

(My Positive) Splits:

mile 1 – 9:28
mile 2 – 9:38
mile 3 – 9:48
.1 –          8:32

Afterward, I texted MaryPat and we met up inside for a donut and pic.

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I think this is the first race that I have done without timing.  I am not sure if I will do it again.  When I pay for a race, I want to be timed. Otherwise, I can just run for fun for free. (That’s just me.)

But I do love starting Thanksgiving Day with a race.  And I am happy with my time. I finished under 30 minutes!! All my splits were under 10 minutes!!

There’s always room for improvement!! (On Saturday I have another 5K race and it is timed.)

To celebrate Thanksgiving, my hubby & I went out to the same restaurant as last year. (It has a great view of Lake George and a nice buffet.)

The food was good…not as good as home-cooked and no leftovers but it was relaxing not having to shop, cook and clean-up.

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I had 2 plates like this plus 2 desserts!!!!!

What happens with a buffet is that you eat too much…and I did.

great view from the window while eating dinner

Afterwards, we drove up to Bolton Landing to our marina & the Sagamore… just needed to walk around a bit.  Then on the way home, we promised to stop by some boating friends’ house.

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with the hubby and our friends Chris & Mike

Believe it or not, I turned down dessert there!

Hope you had a

Thanksgiving Hanukkah

Happy Running! Did you race today? Would you run a race that is not timed?

What I’m Reading Wednesday

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From Goodreads:

In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts. The home’s new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year-old daughters. Together they hope to rebuild their lives there after Chip, an airline pilot, has to ditch his 70-seat regional jet in Lake Champlain after double engine failure. Unlike the Miracle on the Hudson, however, most of the passengers aboard Flight 1611 die on impact or drown. The body count? Thirty-nine – a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of bolts in that basement door. Meanwhile, Emily finds herself wondering about the women in this sparsely populated White Mountain village – self-proclaimed herbalists – and their interest in her fifth-grade daughters. Are the women mad? Or is it her husband, in the wake of the tragedy, whose grip on sanity has become desperately tenuous?  

It was kind a creepy especially reading it before bed, but it kept your interest.

sisterland From Goodreads:

From an early age, Kate and her identical twin sister, Violet, knew that they were unlike everyone else. Kate and Vi were born with peculiar “senses”—innate psychic abilities concerning future events and other people’s secrets. Though Vi embraced her visions, Kate did her best to hide them.Now, years later, their different paths have led them both back to their hometown of St. Louis. Vi has pursued an eccentric career as a psychic medium, while Kate, a devoted wife and mother, has settled down in the suburbs to raise her two young children. But when a minor earthquake hits in the middle of the night, the normal life Kate has always wished for begins to shift. After Vi goes on television to share a premonition that another, more devastating earthquake will soon hit the St. Louis area, Kate is mortified. Equally troubling, however, is her fear that Vi may be right. As the date of the predicted earthquake quickly approaches, Kate is forced to reconcile her fraught relationship with her sister and to face truths about herself she’s long tried to deny.

Why am I reading books about disasters?  Anyone, I enjoyed this book especially the relationship between the sisters.

penny

From Goodreads:

“Hearts are broken,” Lillian Dyson carefully underlined in a book. “Sweet relationships are dead.” But now Lillian herself is dead. Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow’s garden in Three Pines, shattering the celebrations of Clara’s solo show at the famed Musée in Montreal. Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide at the Sûreté du Québec, is called to the tiny Quebec village and there he finds the art world gathered, and with it a world of shading and nuance, a world of shadow and light. Where nothing is as it seems. Behind every smile there lurks a sneer. Inside every sweet relationship there hides a broken heart. And even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they’ve found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light.

I chose this book based on a recommendation from AJH.  Though I haven’t been in years, I love Quebec and I am liking the story so far.

wife

From Goodreads:

For much of her life, Anne Morrow, the shy daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, has stood in the shadows of those around her, including her millionaire father and vibrant older sister, who often steals the spotlight. Then Anne, a college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family. There she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the celebrated aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong. Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. Hounded by adoring crowds and hunted by an insatiable press, Charles shields himself and his new bride from prying eyes, leaving Anne to feel her life falling back into the shadows. In the years that follow, despite her own major achievements—she becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States—Anne is viewed merely as the aviator’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness.

I can’t wait to read this one.  My hubby used to have a plane and is obsessed with anything regarding aviation including Charles Lindbergh.

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From Goodreads:

Alice is twenty-nine. She is whimsical, optimistic and adores sleep, chocolate, her ramshackle new house and her wonderful husband Nick. What’s more, she’s looking forward to the birth of the ‘Sultana’ – her first baby.  But now Alice has slipped and hit her head in her step-aerobics class and everyone’s telling her she’s misplaced the last ten years of her life. In fact, it would seem that Alice is actually thirty-nine and now she loves schedules, expensive lingerie, caffeine and manicures. She has three children and the honeymoon is well and truly over for her and Nick. In fact, he looks at her like she’s his worst enemy. What’s more, her beloved sister Elisabeth isn’t speaking to her either. And who is this ‘Gina’ everyone is so carefully trying not to mention?

This is another recommendation from AJH.  I am looking forward to reading it.

I have 5 days off now…to read…and to run!!!

Happy Running! Have you read any of these and do you have any must-reads to add?

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Running Update

Last Week:

  • Monday – tennis
  • Tuesday – 3 miles before work, mall walk with BFF
  • Wednesday –  rest, 3 miles on the treadmill, yoga after work
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Revenge on the iPad

  • Thursday –  3 4 miles before after work
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still warm enough for capris

  • Friday – 3 miles before work, REST, HOLIDAY PARTY at work, mah jongg after
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my favorite part of the meal

  • Saturday – rest, 8 miles, dinner out
windy 8 miles on the Nisky bike path

windy 8 miles on the Nisky bike path

  • Sunday –  7-8 miles REST, dinner out
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birthday & farewell dinner

This Week:

  • Monday – 3 miles before work
  • Tuesday – 3 miles before work, tennis
  • Wednesday – DAY OFF, yoga
  • Thursday – Thanksgiving 5K race (and the Streak begins), dinner out
  • Friday – DAY OFF, rest, 1 mile, mah jongg
  • Saturday – 5K race + 5 more
  • Sunday – rest, 1 mile

Happy Running! How is your running going? Any upcoming races? 

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Running and Eating

Not this bad…I don’t do both at the same time!

This seems to be a familiar topic.

I am not delusional to think that a run can burn off the huge quantities of fattening food that I have been eating. But things would be a lot worse if I were a couch potato.

  • Thursday – Thanksgiving Lunch
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turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, run, bread pudding

  • 1 walk before and 1 walk and a 4 mile run after – I don’t think I even burned off the homemade bread pudding (not pictured.)
running in the dark with my new "white" shoes

running 4 miles in the dark with my new “white” shoes

  • Friday – Holiday Party
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lasagna, chicken, roast beef, veggies, baked potato (not pictured)

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I had the pecan pie & chocolate cake

  • No exercise at all 😦 (I’ll blame the rain.)
  • Saturday – Dinner out with Lake George friends
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I added a sweet potato instead of pasta

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pumpkin cheesecake – yum!

  • 8 mile run beforehand on the Nisky Bike Path 🙂

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started out cloudy but then the sun came out

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now that the leaves have fallen, there are better views of the Mohawk River

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happy to be done …NO FOOT PAIN – YAY! more fun last weekend running with others but they were running today when it was COLDER, cloudier & WINDIER!!!!

  • Just another “normal” Saturday…
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I have the oatmeal first and only run 8 miles LOL

  • Sunday – Dinner out with a few tennis friends & former coach
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Maybe I’ll order a salad…

Happy Running!  Are you able to avoid holiday over-eating?

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Cold Weather Running

It’s starting to get cold.  I know it’s going to get worse. So there are decisions to be made:

that’s a fake smile. I hate cold weather!

  • When and where?
  • It’s is colder in the morning before work but it is at least light outside. That means I usually run in my neighborhood when I run in the morning.
running in the dark with my new "white" shoes

running in the dark with my new “white” shoes

  • That being said, it is warmer after work but it is dark. So I always run where there are lights.  That’s means that my neighborhood, the bike trails and the rail trail are OUT 😦  I don’t have a head lamp and even if I did, I prefer to run where there are street lights.  So I choose to run near work or in the town where I live when I run after work.

iPad & water are my 2 necessities on the mill.

  • When it is raining, snowing or too icy, I run on the treadmill (even though I hate it.)

  • What to wear?
    • Layers – coolmax shirt, fleece vest, windbreaker (I try to wear light, bright colors in the evening)
    • Tights (I usually wear a skirt or shorts over them – I am self-conscious about my fat thighs)
    • Gloves
    • Smartwool socks
    • Hat or headband

  • YakTrax  (if there is snow on the ground)

they really work on the snow.

No matter what the weather, you still have to go out there and RUN!

Happy Running! Any tips for running in the colder weather?

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Holiday Cards

As you may know, I love to take pictures.  Every Christmas, my holiday card is a photo or photo collage.  Since I started running, I have added a running photo or collage.

I decided to create them in Shutterfly because I store all my photos there.

2013 holiday card

for friends and family

2013 running card

for running friends

Then I looked at the price and the options.  You had to order a box of 12.  I wanted 20 of #1 and about 6 or 7 of #2.  They cost about $10 each plus you had to pay shipping.  That’s not a lot but these days, everything is digital and I get fewer and fewer real cards.

So I decided to look at my second option – Walgreens where I have made several collages and photo books.

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for friends and family

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for running friends

The bottom one is just a collage which cost about $.30 and the top one, I was able to order a box of 20 with 40% off for about $10. And they have same day pick-up. (No shipping fees) If I need more of #1, I will choose the collage option.

If you like to get cards, I recommend that you join Runner Luck’s Christmas Card Swap. Sign up here before Dec. 5.

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Or if you like to get a sock full of gifts, join Third Time’s A Charm’s Secret Santa Sock Swap. Sign up here by Dec 6.

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Happy Running! Do you send paper Holiday Cards?  Did you sign up for the card or gift swap?

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