Let It Snow!!

So, the first time I decide to not run the Jingle Bell Run, it SNOWS!!! It all started last night ...

It started while we were in the middle of watching Elf. It was
the perfect ambiance!!

... and, then, we woke up to this!

Plowed roads are great for cars, not so
great for runners!

I had mixed feelings about not running the JBR, but the prevailing one was, "Excellent!" I didn't spend more money on a race than I wanted, I was still in bed when the starting gun went off, we didn't have to leave extra-super early to find parking in snow-covered areas, ETC. It would have been fun to run with a snowy backdrop, which was my only pull to wanting to be there, but that's what tomorrow is for, right?!

Elly checked it out for us today, though:

"It's all good out here, mommy, particularly
the eatin'. Good stuff!"

It'll be a trio tomorrow morning as I've already convinced Aaron he needs to join us!! Woohoo!! He's already warned me he'll be in a bad mood and will complain about it. Funny, that doesn't deter me from holding him to going! We'll check in after, and I'll let you know how everyone held up!

Just Beat It

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Days Run: 187 Nancy's 2013 Mileage: 887 Elly's 2013 Mileage: 448.2 Money Found For Food Bank: $1.85

As of yesterday, what I knew was that this morning's run was to beat the snow. It turns out, it was to beat the freezing rain (woah!! way worse!). But, before we got this ...

Just as it started, about an hour after our run ended. Looks like
not much but would be a total buzz kill to run on it and
face plant! Just. Sayin'.

... we had this!

How do you beat that?!

It changes in seconds ... much like from this to freezing rain!

In between these two weather features, Elly and I had a really good run this morning! My cupcake last night did not do in my energy (thanks to a dinner well-planned around the dessert indulgence! You gotta have priorities, right ?!), and that was a good thing since it was the week's longest run. I had on my new fantastic-blue shirt Aaron gave me, and I have to mention it feels so good to not only have warm running clothes that aren't black, but to also have ones that are not so old that there are crusty, unwashable spots where deodorant likes to live. I guess there's something to be said for proof that I make an effort not to stink even when I do ...

Anyway, while my pooch and I were having a perfectly lovely outing, it seemed someone recently had a bit of a bummer ...

In between penny finding, I also saw this:

Original slug bug white!!!! Wait ... there's no one to slug ...

(In our house, the original slug bug brings about the privilege of temporary immunity from being slugged. Immunity stops when the car is turned off so everyone can begin again with a clean slate.)

We went, we ran, and now, we cruise through the rest of Friday but not before a couple of notables. First, I was looking at the printed blog pages Aaron gave me yesterday, and last year's numbers show Elly has already logged more than 100 miles than she did in 2012!!! I had no idea she'd gone so far this year as compared to last!! I was thankful for this, too, because I sometimes see my numbers, then I see hers, and I wish I could up hers more. I'm not wanting hers to match mine as that's impossible due to protecting her from weather issues and understanding she's a lazy hound not built to stress herself on double digit runs. But, I do want her to have as much opportunity as possible to be out there as it's probably the best way I can possibly take care of her.

"With all of the running and the ear
rubbin'-teeth brushin'-huggy-kissy times, I
am the picture of health, mommy! SLURP!"

The other notable is that I'm a tool ... I thought I was going to hit my goal of 900 miles on Sunday and was all blown away by how fast that came about until I double checked before patting myself on the back only to find out that 887 + 4 does not equal 900. Math whiz, at your service!

Dr. Phil always tells people who are having money issues and can't decipher what is really going on, "It's math, not magic." So, apparently, my mileage only goes up when I actually run them and not by magic, so that excitement has to wait a few days! Until then, though, we not only have a miles to run, but we also have Rest Days to enjoy! One of those is scheduled for tomorrow, and I'll check in then!

And, That's How I Do 45

YEAHHHHHHHHH!!! It's my birthday!!!!!!! And, it's been full of great!!!

I got to spend the whole day with Aaron, and the celebrating continued with the rest of my favorite people:

Favorites in front of the camera and the one behind it!!

Yes, my diva running partner needed a pic of just her:

The green-eyed monster is about to get in trouble for being
nasty to the kitty who is evidently infiltrating her territory of
fun and attention. The green-eyed girl is also about to find out
how much fun it is to celebrate outside by herself. She just
doesn't know any of it yet.

And, I got a bunch of good stuff including ...

More installments of the Puppy Pacer printed and in binders,
a cool running shirt and sparkly shoe strings!! YEAHHH!!!

... and ...

Awesome. Sauce.

Later, we will be having these:

Yes, indeed. Turning 45 is a very, very good thing!

And, those scrumptious cupcakes might just make the run a wee bit more sluggish tomorrow, but I do. not. care. !! Tonight, we celebrate, and tomorrow, we run! I hope your day has been as good as mine, and I'll check in tomorrow after the morning run (running to beat the potential snow!!)!

Watch Your Step

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Days Run: 186 Nancy's 2013 Mileage: 881 Elly's 2013 Mileage: 442.2 Money Found For Food Bank: $1.79

What's this?

See how intent she is? That's your first clue.

THAT is a dog looking for more of this:

Yeah, those are meatballs. Because why wouldn't  I find those on the sidewalk in the middle of December while out for a run? Actually, Elly found them first. She put forth a good effort to get to them, but she sometimes forgets her mama's a little stronger than she.

"You might be stronger, but that didn't keep me from giving
the meatball we found away from those other two a hearty
lick on the run. SLURRRRP!!"

Meatballs on the sidewalk. For real.

So, it's a very happy Wednesday to all!! You've already seen we started ours out with a run. And, Elly got a gift in addition to her meatball sampler in that she was able to come at all! The snow melted off the sidewalks from yesterday morning, so I had no worries about her paws in taking her today! She certainly does make these outings even more annoying entertaining, so I'm glad she was with me! I'm also glad neither of us slipped or fell. There were a number of patches of ice that snuck up on us. Oh, and there was this other moment when we were supposed to turn left, but I did, and Elly didn't, so I almost went over the top of her. Nice. THAT would have been a show!

Anyway, it was a chilly one, but it was also almost three times warmer today than it has been for about a week, so I really can't complain. Besides, a friend of mine sent me a birthday gift of new base layer clothes!! WAHOO!!! New base pants and base shirt to go with the new jacket I bought myself this weekend ... sweeeeeeet !! I felt all kinds of fancy in my new duds!

Gotta say, new yummy-colored jacket
trumps excitement of today's 4-cent find!

I LOVE my new jacket ... and, I'm even a huge fan of the thumb holes at the end of the sleeves (that I wasn't sure I'd dig) because that's what kept extra warmth over my hands so my hands wouldn't freeze off. Genius move by whomever designed that.

Oh, and my birthday? It's tomorrow!! Twelve-Twelve, baby!! (Best birthdate ever if you ask me, but confusing as a little kid learning how to numerically say the month and day by using your birth date as an example, just sayin'.) Now, had a run been on tomorrow's schedule, I would have more than happily complied. But, it's NOT, so I will use that time to maximize birthday celebrating! I'll check in then!

I Hate Watching TV To Learn, So Why Would I Want It In My Running?

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Days Run: 185 Nancy's 2013 Mileage: 878 Elly's 2013 Mileage: 439.2 Money Found For Food Bank: $1.75

 

Yesterday's calendar page from my someecards calendar is perfect, don't you think?

We're fortunate to have a few inconveniences; 'still thinking
about those who got hit way harder and are still dealing with it!

It was 9 degrees when we went out this morning, and the sidewalks were exactly as I predicted: unpredictable! Fortunately, no one fell. Well, Elly kind of did when I had to work the snow out of her back paws, but she's fine. That little slip was totally worth it to her because even this little bit of snow, snow that's not even really wet, still managed to pack in between her pads requiring two rounds of unintended foot massage for the pooch! The only other time that's happened to her was when we were running on packing snow. That was our first Winter together, and it never crossed my mind that would happen with what is on the ground now. Apparently, I don't know everything there is to know about the snow's particular properties. Go figure.

And, can I just say that as much as I do love snow and Winter weather, this little bitty round that we received really wreaked havoc on the ol' money finding venture! Suffice it to say, snow and a little bit of ice fill in that gap where money tends to fall at my go-to drive-thru! I never even considered that possibility when mentally routing my run today. Okay ... that's two things learned today! (Am I running to learn?)

I did take today as an opportunity to investigate a place I can only go when there are no cars in line because that store is actually open. Its drive-thru traffic tends to be very low, though, so it's always worth a look even if I have to pass. Elly and I ran by today, and I saw an opportunity to cruise through the drive-thru lane. I like to do so as quickly as possible while trying to demonstrate to anyone who might see that I'm just passing through and not lingering. Having worked a drive-thru as a teen, I can speak from experience that no drive-thru employee is interested in seeing anyone approach a window on foot. Just sayin'.

As I came up on the spot where money would drop, I could see I needed to take a bit of pause to do some picking up (yeahhhh!). So, I ran the last few steps in a crouch (oh, yes ... picture it), kept my head down and furiously grabbed coins in a way I never knew I could wearing gloves. (I used to have a cat ...

This one!

... who closed her eyes when she was doing something wrong. Clearly, her logic was if she couldn't see us, then we couldn't see her. I have to admit I adopted that mindset as I kept my head way down under that drive thru. 'Think it worked?)

Nineteen cents later, Elly and I were on our way! By the way, just to put it into worth-it perspective, that 19 cents is almost 3 pounds of food for the Food Bank. I call that winning!

After that, Elly and I kept motoring along without drive-thru distractions or further unbelievable, sudden construction obstacles that were a surprise to me but, to on onlooker, made me look like the biggest idiot to running along such a route. Oh well. We made it, and we did so very safely, I might add. It was a really good outing, and I was very happy to find out after we were finished that we went more than 5 1/2 miles when I thought this particular route was closer to 4. The only regret I have about it is that the extended distance is why Elly's paws had to be cleaned out twice instead of what would have turned out to be once.

"I'm a big girl, mommy. I can handle it.
Chalk it up to 'any attention is good
attention', and let's not worry."

Tomorrow's another adventure! I think I'm leaving the hound on the couch, though, and giving her paws a break! I'll check in after the morning run!

Running Imitating Life Imitating Running

The only really good thing about not having running on my schedule today is that it was one less thing I felt the need to accomplish! Whooooooo, Nellie, this girl's to-do list was mighty long today, and, even though I gave it my all, I simply did not get it all finished! However, having given it my all, I sit here toward the end of the day proud of what I did accomplish and not at all cranky or disappointed at what I did not. I'll just keep chipping away at it tomorrow, and it will all work out.

Huh. Sounds like a philosophy used by a runner I know. Oh, wait ... that's me!

For real, I was thinking about the parallels of how my world played out today and my running adventures.

• The list of things I wanted to do today was probably unrealistic for one day, but that didn't mean giving up before ever starting.
• Some things were priority, some things were not. So, those that were priority got my attention, and those that weren't were put in the right place with no regrets.
• I got to the end feeling highly accomplished even though I didn't completely fulfill my original intent.

That's how it works when you give something everything you have. And, that feels awesome!

Speaking of giving something everything you have, one of our very persistent kitties keeps stealing one particular ornament off of our tree. It's this one:

This little bluebird of happiness has had a time around here ...

No matter how deep we've put it, she finds it. Then, we find it somewhere around the house. I think we finally have it in a place out of her eyesight.

"Stop with the pics and show me what
the hell you did with my bird!!"

Even though there are lingering action items from today's to-dos, tomorrow will begin with a run! While we didn't get a lot of snow yesterday, there was enough to cover the sidewalks. And, today, it was cold enough to keep them covered. Tomorrow's going to be one of those ... not quite sure what I'm encountering around each corner! My eyes will be on my footing for sure, and I'll check in when we finish! See you then ...

Little Surprises All Over the Place

Look what we woke up to this morning!!

Puppy and people paws checking out the
awesome! SO PRETTY!!!

It's not much, but anything is better than nothing when it comes to snow!! At least, that's how we feel! I definitely would have been able to go out and run in this, but I was glad the plans were to Christmas shop instead. Just sayin'.

Oh, and don't you love when you go shopping for others only to find a little something for yourself while you're at it?!

Super. Yum. Pit Crew #3 was highly
complimentary when I tried it on, so
that totally sealed the deal!

Since the cold weather hit hard enough to move into running jacket temps, I finally decided I wanted to get one more so I didn't have to do the wash just to have my purple one available two days in a row. Running should not require immediate laundry as far as I'm concerned. I mean, really.

Okay, so I actually woke up to two awesome notions this morning. The first, of course, was the snow (yeahh!!!). The second was the realization that by moving my running day from today to yesterday, I get two days off (today and tomorrow) in a row!!! LOVE THE UNPLANNED HAPPY SURPRISES!! My still-pretty-tired lower half is most appreciative ...

I have no idea what's on deck for tomorrow's Rest Day, but Mondays are always busy, so I'll just get on board and go for the ride! Before wrapping it up, though, I have to show you how very worth it it was to freeze my digits the other morning to get those bows on that bush just in time for the snow:

To all of those still dealing with really nasty weather (especially those under ice!!!), we're thinking about you!!! In the meantime, ready or not, Monday's a'comin'!!! I'll check in tomorrow, and we'll take it on together!!