Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a restful holiday like mine! I was in Key West soaking up the sun and lounging by the pool. It was a very unorthodox Christmas...but SO great. I highly recommend trying it one year :) So there is a lot to say about my vacation, so here are the highlights:

1. I discovered my love for key lime pie...mmmm...just thinking about it makes my mouth water. (apparently I am hungry since that is my #1)
2. I snorkeled with a shark.
3. I got a new book!!!! I'm 300 pages into it; it's a Margaret George book about Henry the VIII.
4. I drank margaritas.
5. I ate delicious, fresh fish almost every night...all cooked by David of course
6. I relaxed by the pool every day.
7. I got engaged!!!! (this is really my ultimate highlight...I just put it down here to make sure you kept reading!)
8. I saw Ernest Hemingway's house.
9. I got tan.
10. I watched the sunrise on the beach one morning with David.

Those are my top 10 highlights~

I gotta run...literally. I am off to do a short 5 miles or so with Deb. Cross your fingers that my blisters don't get worse. Oh I forgot to update about my insane blisters. Stay tuned!!!

Merry Christmas Eve!

It's 8:32 in the morning, and I'm all packed, fed, dressed, and ready to go. Our flight is at 11 this morning, and will hopefully remain that way without a delay. In just a few hours we'll land in sunny, warm Key West and begin our relaxing week of vacation! I can't wait! I'll try to post while I'm down there, but I might be super busy relaxing that I forget :)

Don't worry, though, I won't forget to run. I packed all my running gear, and I've even mapped out a 10 mile run for the weekend. For some reason running ten miles in Key West sounds so much better than running ten miles on the "dreadmill" like I did last weekend.

Until next time...

Winter Wonderland

The snow is STILL falling...now we have maybe a foot and a half out there. It looks pretty right now, but the weather is supposed to get ugly and wet tonight. Then we'll welcome freezing temperatures, which will turn everything to ice. Good thing we're leaving for Florida in three days! I can't wait!

In the meantime, this weather has temporarily halted my outdoor running until, well probably until I get back from Florida. Speaking of running, I bet you are wondering how I did on my long run yesterday. Hmmm...I contemplated leaving that out of my blog since I am not too proud of it, but you read my blog to get the truth (the two or three of you that read my blog). Well, I HATED every second of my time on the treadmill. I didn't quite complete the 11 miles I should have; I only did 10. And boy was that 10 hard. I rarely (if ever) stop during a run, and I probably stopped 5 or 6 times yesterday. I told you I wasn't proud. Thankfully David was there doing 10 right next to me, but he's faster than me and finished first. But he stayed on the treadmill for most of the time I had left and told me I could do it...and I did it (finally). Anyway,
I hope I don't have to do too many of my long runs on a treadmill because I'll cry.

Well that's all for now. Oh, one more thing: GO PATS!

Here goes nothing...

Remember that last post about the snow? Well, it's here for real this time. We have about 8 inches or so (I have no concept of measurement...so I could be way off) out there and it's still snowing. I've run in the snow in the past, and actually it's kind of fun but not at all productive. I usually run a good 30-45 seconds slower per mile and spend most of my time dodging icy spots and searching for plowed or shoveled areas to run on. To run a long run out there would be insane and would take up the better part of today. So I decided that the treadmill will be my best bet today. Wish me luck as I try to bang out 11 miles on a treadmill! I'll post later this weekend to share my jubilation that I will be finished...as for now, I dread that hour and a half more than you know.

I spent the weekend starting (and almost finishing) my Christmas shopping! I can't believe it took me so long to get to the stores and start my list, but I really think this year feels different. It doesn't feel like Christmas is almost here. Maybe it's because I am going to be in warm, sunny Florida for the holidays or maybe it's because the weather has been pretty mild. I'm not sure. Anyway, I was glad to cross off most of my list this weekend.

Running is going well. I did my first team long run on Saturday morning, which was fun other than the bitter cold. We did 10 miles and didn't get lost; although, Deb and I did almost take a wrong turn ;) I know some people have been wanting to see the courses I am running, so I am going to work on embedding my run from mapmyrun.com...if anyone knows how to do that, please let me know!!!

I'll try to post later this week, so stay tuned!

Here's a quick update on my running: On Saturday I clocked in another long run at 9 miles. It went much better than last weekend; I felt good and my knees didn't feel like they were going to give out on me. Our course was pretty simple--Deb and I ran through Wellesley and back up and down the Comm Ave Heartbreak Hills. Still chuggin' along...

Let's take a minute to talk about the weather. Today was the first snowfall, which is exciting if you like that sort of thing. But for me, it marks the beginning of the worst months in the entire year. I hate cleaning my car off in the morning. I hate shoveling my driveway just have a stupid plow push a foot of snow right on top of what I just cleared. And I really hate when every school is cancelled except for the one I work at. So seeing the snow today was not on top of my list for what made my weekend fun. I don't mean to sound like a downer, because really I'm not. I do love Christmas lights, the smell of freshly cut trees, peppermint mochas, and buying gifts. Oh wait, I have a vague memory of myself last winter making snow angels on the front lawn. Maybe winter isn't all that bad.

It's too early to be stuck, but I am...

Yesterday we had a runner's meeting for the DFMC team. Although it was certainly helpful to hear the speakers talk about fundraising and neat to meet fellow teammates, it was also quite a wake up call to me. I am SO behind in my fundraising!! I only have $220 dollars, which is $6,280 short of my goal. I have been focusing too much on the running aspect that I have lost sight of the larger goal, which is to help raise money for cancer research. At the meeting someone called us "fundraisers with a running problem," and I think I've been a "runner with a fundraising problem." I have to refocus, regroup, and rethink...

Any ideas?