An alternative title for this post: What do you mean we will be in Florida two weeks from now!
I have to say, the entire month of December feels like a blur, there has just been so much going on. Dennis and I started the month by moving out of the apartment that we have lived in for the last year and a half, and into his parents basement, which we spent most of November cleaning out and re-painting. We are working on saving up for a house of our own, so this felt like a smart decision for our future. So far it has been going well, and our cats have adapted to their new surroundings already.
My work life has been crazy as well, as I prepare for a new product to launch, and try to see it through a successful engineering run - so stress has been high on all fronts really. Mix in a little marathon training, holiday get togethers that are all over my schedule, out of town family coming in for the holidays, and suddenly I understand how it is the end of December, when I feel like I just ran a turkey trot yesterday. This isn’t a complaint though, all in all I am thankful for all of the good stuff that has been going on!
After we got home from Disney late on Tuesday night, I had to head to work Wednesday morning. I spent Wednesday night unpacking and dealing with a closet that had collapsed while we were out of town, so no run happened that day. But Thursday I made plans with Mike to meet up at the gym after work, so we could run together. This weekend was to be our last Dopey simulation, so I knew that I had a lot of miles ahead of me, all to be squeezed into the holiday chaos. I was, once again, doing things a little out of order. Since a cold front had blown into NY, and I planned on running outside for Friday’s leg of the simulation, I opted to complete the simulation out of sequence – 5 mi, 3 mi, 10 mi, 20 mi was my plan. At least the two longest legs were in order this time!
Back to Thursday – I headed right to planet fitness after work, and Mike and I managed to find treadmills next to each other. We chatted as we ran, and I kept the pace easy. Five miles went by in no time, and I headed home to pack once again – I was headed to Jersey for a wedding on Friday, and an overnight stay was involved.
It was cold out on Long Island when I woke up Friday morning, and it took all of my energy to get myself out of bed, knowing that I had to get in at least a 3-mile run before heading to work. It was a real feel of under 20 degrees, so I had a lot of layers on. I felt really stiff, but did an easy loop around the neighborhood and got my miles in. Then it was off to work for a half day, and then a ride to Jersey that included a lot of traffic to get to the wedding.
I had a lot of fun at the wedding with Den’s family on Friday night. His sisters were even in town from Grenada and California, and it was great to have everyone together for a night. It was a late night, but I somehow managed to get myself out of bed and onto the hotel treadmill the next morning. The plan was for 10 miles, so I brought along my headphones and phone so that I could watch TV while the miles went by. The hotel gym was tiny and warm, so I opened a window and let the cool air flow into the room. I had the gym to myself for the first few miles, until another guest hopped on an elliptical, and was not happy about my open window. She asked if she could close it a little, and then closed it a LOT. I kept running as the room got warmer, but eventually had to apologize as I re-opened the window a few inches, as it was just too warm. I was already in shorts and a tank, so it wasn’t like I had another means of cooling off. I kept trotting through my miles, and was quite pleased with myself when they were complete. I grabbed a quick shower, and then we hopped on the road home. I got to spend Saturday with some of my family, including my cousin Jen and her husband Will, who were in town from Georgia for the holidays. We headed to Barcade and then wandered through Chelsea market, before hanging out at my parent’s house for the night.
Now, for the last and longest long run of dopey training – the 20 miler at the end of back to back running days. My original intent for this run was to get it done on Sunday morning, but I prioritized family over running (gasp, I know!). But I did eventually manage to get it done! Since my job was closed on Christmas eve and I had no hosting responsibilities, for the third year running I headed out to get the miles in then. In 2017 and 2018 I ran 18-milers on Christmas eve, and this year I successfully completed a 20 miler. Unfortunately, it was a solo 20 miler, so it didn’t exactly fly by like some other training runs have. Before the run I applied some KT tape to my injured knee, and I also ran with the band that I have been using lately. I put some fuel outside my front door as I headed out, and first did loops around the house until I made a quick fuel stop at mile 5. Then I headed over the parkway and towards my parent’s house, where I made another fuel stop at mile 10, and may have also stopped to chat with my Dad for a few minutes. 10 down, 10 to go. My knee was feeling good so far. I was losing steam, so I made one more pit stop at my parent’s house before heading home, around mile 14. When I walked in to grab water, my Mom had just gotten back from the deli, so I grabbed a pickle and it really hit the spot. I got back on the road, only 6 miles to go. I had to get a little creative with my path home so that I wouldn’t be tempted to cut the distance short, and with all of my weaving I managed to get all the way up to the 20 mile mark, with no back and fourths in front of the house required. I was exhausted, but the run was done, and my knee felt ok. As I approached the front stoop, I noticed that an addition had been added to my running fuel – a white claw had been left with my water and gel! Had Santa come early???
I spent the rest of Christmas eve and Christmas celebrating the holiday with my husband’s family and my family – I may have even been gifted a few new pieces of running gear.
Now, with only two weeks before the Florida trip, it is time to get working on costumes, and to make sure that everything I need for the dopey challenge gets packed!