windchills & running & holidays

Mornin' blog-a-roonies! Its almost time for the jingle jingle of the Christmas holiday to officially begin. For those of us hosting said holiday jingle it can be a bit stressful. Not to mention trying juggle all the emotions of missing my mom, no set pattern for seeing my family...its just all so mixed up and messy. That said, I am still GRATEFUL for the life I have and the people I share that life with.

As for my running, knowing that it will be a hectic few days before me, I went for a run this morning. Normally on the weekend I hightail it over to the park for my weekly "long" run. Last weekend I hit the 5 mile mark so normally today would have been that as my mile marker...that didn't quite workout. Today was the first time I had to run with this thing called a "wind chill" (insert me chuckling here). Although it was a balmy 32 degrees (no really, bump that up 10 degrees as a runner and 42 degrees is very doable). However, again, this thing called "wind chill" kicked in...a 27 degree wind chill. Now yes, I ran in 27 degree weather late last month, but NOT with wind. Cut to middle of mile 2, eyes tearing, causing little frozen tracks down my face, cold then hot, cold then hot, my internal thermometer was all over the place. Part of the problem? I know I'm not running in appropriate cold weather running gear...which anyone who isn't a runner, doesn't seem to understand you kind of "need" this sort of apparel so that your runs don't turn into what mine did! Which is a body crying out for a warm room, a cozy chair and a hot cup a' joe. I continued to push through and found that my pace was really kicking ass. Maybe it was because I was trying to avoid the amount of time I was spending in the cold, but the last two 3 mile runs have be averaging at just about a 10 minute pace.



I'm also very happy about the calorie burn, and need to burn even more because Lord knows I'm going to eat loads of stuff I don't normally eat over the next 4-5 days. I'm vowing to not go overboard and will be drinking tons of water. All I know is I'm very grateful for these runs. They truly are keeping me centered and sane. Oh! And I am doing the New Year's Resolutions 5k Run (virtual) on January 1st. My bib number and t shirt should be coming soon. I've never done a virtual run before but there's a first time for everything! And with the time I've been clocking lately, I should have a decent showing (i hope :).

So, i guess that covers everything for now. Off to have breakfast the man and his girls and then errands galore, then back home for cooking and phone calls and sorting out the fine details of our day tomorrow. Going to work hard to enjoy every moment and be present amidst the laughter and smiles and refuse the getting lost in my own head thing that I tend to do. 

I am a blessed and lucky woman.

Merry Christmas everybody!