2008 in Review: A Numbers Game

Running Numbers:

# of races run this year: 14 (6 half marathons, 4 5Ks, 1 4 miler, 1 15K, 1 10K, 1 10 miler)

• Favorite race of the year: Colorado Colfax HM in May. It wasn't a PR, it had no significant or special meaning, but for some reason it just stands out as one of the best runs of the year.
• Least favorite race of the year: Boca Raton HM in November. Poorly designed course, too small, crappy medal.
• Thoughts: As I wrote previously, this has been an immensely satisfying year in running. I'm pleased with the race variation, the number of races, the PRs, and most of all the experiences. I think 2008 has been the best race calendar to date.

# of miles run this year: 786

• Thoughts: Missed the 800 mark, but I don't mind. Mileage goals for the year will always be a goal to challenge myself with. 2008 won't be the only year to meet or exceed 800 miles.

Other Numbers:

# of books read this year: 38

• Favorite book of the year: "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
• Least favorite book of the year: "Cell" by Stephen King -- not sure why I wasted my time on this one.
• Thoughts: This is the first year I've ever tracked how many books I've read and when I read them. I actually thought the number would be higher for the year end tally because I thought I read about a book a week, but it's interesting to see my peaks and valleys in reading (kinda like with my running). When I'm really busy with work, I get little time for pleasure reading, but when I am on break, or during the summer when I have a lighter class load, I read (at times) several books in a week.

# of bowling games: 74

Highest bowling score: 203

• Thoughts: I don't even want to add up the number of beers associated with these numbers. Let's just say it's immeasurable.

# of blog posts for the year: 407

Bringing the total number of blog posts in 3 and 1/2 years to a grand total of: 1,233

• Thoughts: Man alive, I am a blabbermouth!

Non-Numbers:

2008 has, of course, been a great year in non-measurable ways as well. I feel incredibly lucky to have such a great husband, a cute dog, wonderful friends and family. And I feel fortunate in my life in many, many ways.

Looking ahead to 2009:

Check back tomorrow for my New Year's Day unveiling of the "2009 Plans": I guarantee they're gonna blow your socks off!

MN Pics

I took about 100 pictures while we were in MN, but here are just a few from our Christmas vacation in the northland.

Jerry, carefully applying his undergrad work in icing art to the craft of constructing a gingerbread house. Me, cross country skiing. You can't really tell by the picture, but it was like a blizzard out that day.

Scooter, patiently waiting for one of the cats at my mom's house to come out and play with him. He shares a complex relationship with cats: He is simultaneously enchanted and frightened by them.

Jerry and I gearing up for our snowmobile ride. My stepdad is lurking in the background. He got to wear his fancy-pants snowmobile stuff while Jerry and I had to suit up in various cast-offs. Oh well, we were (relatively) warm enough.

Me, with my new pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8's. Yeah, that yellow just looks speedy, doesn't it?

Jerry and I on Christmas Eve at his parents' house.

Jerry, Scooter, and I -- again, Christmas Eve, his parents basement at the beginning of the "marathon of gift opening." Seriously, this process is just as ridiculously long and tiring as an actual marathon. It takes us HOURS to open everything.

Jerry and Scooter in the backyard of Jerry's parents' house. The beginning of our snowman.

Scooter hopped up on the base of snowman; he kinda didn't understand that it wasn't a perch for him to get a better lookout from.

Jerry and Scooter next to the completed snowman and the snowman's "snow Beagle."

Back to Running in FL

I didn't run at all while we were in MN.

Mostly because it was so bitter cold for the majority of the time, but also because we were just so dang busy. But really, that cold is something terrible. I guess that being away from MN for so long has caused some kind of climatic amnesia for me, and I had forgotten what sub zero felt like. I have to give props to those of you who live in MN (or anywhere in those northern states and Canada) who can remain motivated to train during the winter. Not just because you're braving the cold, but just because you commit to going to the gym or other indoor tracks when it's too cold or too dark. And my god, the dark!

Again, something I had apparently forgotten about. The sun doesn't rise until late, then it sets early, and even when it may be out (poking its face between the frequently overcast sky), it is weak and low in the sky. I honestly felt that for 2 weeks, it was never entirely light out. I must be part Kryptonian or something, because I need the bright rays from the yellow sun! Otherwise, all that darkness just makes me feel sleepy, and to be honest, a little sad.

So, again, kudos to all of you who live up north and remain committed to your sports through the winter: To continue to run, swim, bike, and whatever else you do while you go and come home in the dark and cold is really quite the accomplishment. Me, I think I'd just want to watch TV and eat carb-laden foods.

Anyhoo...I don't want to diss MN, but being away sure made me appreciate FL in the winter (don't worry, come April I'll be bitching and moaning about how awful the heat and humidity are here). It's sunny (thank you sweet baby jesus for light!), it's warm (how I love being able to wear my flip flops everyday of the year!), and it's humid (who knew I'd miss this stuff? but my throat isn't parched -- I don't wake up feeling like I just licked a Wookie -- and nothing is static-y).

So, despite the fact that it was 86 degrees yesterday afternoon, I went for a run anyway. And yeah, it was hot, and I got real sweaty and red in the face, but I was so in love with the fact that

A.) I was running! And it felt so good to have my heart beating hard and to sweat.
and
B.) I was running in shorts and sports bra. And the sun felt so good on my skin.

I just ran 3 miles, and I didn't take the Garmin, but like I said, it felt SO good. I'm definitely not going to make my goal of 800 miles for the year (although, I am very close: 783) since I had zero mileage in the previous 2 weeks, but that's okay. Strangely I'm not bothered by getting this close and not getting it done (sorry, I am not running 17 miles between today and tomorrow); maybe it's because I'm already looking forward to the new year and the fresh start, or maybe I'm okay with running however many miles I complete for the year, or maybe I'm just so tickled to be warm again that the heat has affected my brain.

Alrighty, I gots to be off. I still have lots to do (today's tasks involve exchanging and returning some gifts), and I have a lot of blogs to catch up on. Toodles!

Home Sweet Home

We arrived home last night at 1 am, unloaded the car, and promptly fell into the glorious comfort of our own bed. Seriously, nothing is better than being away and then returning home to your own bed; there is no greater comfort than your own pillows, sheets, and precious mattress. And ultimately, it's just so nice to be home.

The drive back was long and tedious and took us longer than the drive up (we hit some bad weather, some traffic jams, and had a narrow miss in a car accident), so we were incredibly grateful to get home last night and get out of the car. Today, we have a ton to do: unpacking, laundry, grocery shopping, sorting through 2 weeks of mail, etc, etc, but the sun is shining, it's 70 degrees, the sky is blue and the grass is green, so I'm okay. Ahhh, it's good to be back in FL!

Feliz Navidad, Bitches!

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone had fun-filled holiday festivities and that Santa brought you a shitload of running loot.

Personally, I made out pretty well -- got some new running shoes, some new shorts, and tons of gift cards for Nike and the local running store, so I plan to get myself all running-tricked out for 2009! I also made out like a bandit with other non-running related loot, so I guess I must've been extra good in 2008 and Santa noted my angelic behavior.

Today, we're mostly just chillaxin (Jerry's family does the huge whoop-dee-do on Christmas Eve), and tomorrow we have a lot of errands to run and packing to do before we head south again on Saturday.

Anyhoo, hope everyone is enjoying their time off with family and friends! And again, Merry Christmas!

Back in Northfield

Sorry that I've been MIA the past few days, but it's been busy. On Sunday, we did indeed go snowmobiling. It was pretty fun, but even with all the extra snow clothes, I got cold pretty fast, so my time on the sled was pretty short. But Jerry went out for a pretty lengthy ride and had a good time.

Yesterday was my brother's b-day, so we had b-day celebrations and spent the night at his place, and then today we headed back south to Jerry's parents' in Northfield. It was another long day in the car (300 miles back across the great state of MN), but thankfully, we got to break up the journey by stopping for a long lunch with some friends who live near Pequot Lakes.

I have to admit that at this point, I'm pretty much ready to go home. Actually, I think I was ready about 3 days ago, but now I am officially declaring that I'd like to go home. Unfortunately/fortunately, we're not heading back to FL until this coming weekend, so I have several more days to yearn for my own home with my own bed, my own kitchen, and the sweet, sweet promise that I will one day be warm again.

But at this point, do you think there's any way I can convince Jerry to load me onto a direct flight back to Ft Lauderdale, so I can skip that bothersome 1,800 mile drive back?

Winter Sports

Low-down on the x-country skiing yesterday:

• It was snowing and blowing pretty hard. Hard enough that we only spent about an hour out there. On our return leg to the car, we were all pretty frozen.
• I fell down 3 times.
• Not hard, just sort of plopped over into two feet of snowy fluff.
• It was a good workout. Despite the wind biting my cheeks, the rest of me was quite warm from the exertion.
• Afterward, I was very hungry. Must mean I burned some serious calories. I hope so. The rest of the time, we've done nothing but eat and lay around.

So to continue the full MN experience, today, we may do some snowmobiling. See, my parents' garage is like a warehouse of gasoline powered toys: They have snowmobiles, ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles. Essentially, if it requires oil, they have it. Several of it. So, my stepdad (who is the manager of quality control for Arctic Cat) has been eager for us to try out two of his brand new sleds, and since we just got a fresh dumping of the white stuff yesterday, I guess it's good snowmobiling conditions.

Me, I'm not so into driving them, but I'll ride on one if Jerry drives. I would NOT ride with either of my brothers or my stepdad. They like speed. Like, 120 mph kind of speed. That is not for me in a car, let alone on a snowmobile. No way.

Heat Wave

Well, we're having a "heat wave" here in Northern Minnesota today: It's a whopping 13 degrees. ABOVE zero! But that high temp is only because it's snowing out there. Tonight, the wind is supposed to pick up and the windchill is supposed to plunge temps into (possibly) -40 degrees. Ack!

But in the meantime, Jerry and I are going to take advantage of this "warm" weather and meet my brother for lunch and then some cross country skiiing. It'll be the first exercise I get since leaving FL, so that should be good, but how well I do with x-country skis will be interesting. I grew up downhill skiiing in CO, but I have never once in my life gone x-country skiiing.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Cross your fingers I don't break my legs. Not sure how I could do that on flat ground, but it's always possible with me.

Gonvick, MN: The Edge of Existence

Yesterday morning, Jerry, Scooter and I loaded back into the Escape for a full day of more driving. We headed 300 miles north from Jerry's parents' house in Northfield to my parents house in Gonvick. As we headed north, the snow got deeper and the temps got colder, but we made it, and today it is a "heat wave" of -3 degrees. Yeah. This morning when I took Scooter out at 5 am, the thermometer read -18 degrees.

I looked up the definition of -18 degrees in the dictionary, and you know how that temp was defined? "Fucking freezing!" Literally. The dictionary doesn't lie.

So, needless to say, I haven't run one inch since last Friday. My parents don't have a treadmill, the nearest gym in about an hour away, and to be honest my primary interest right now is curling up under a blanket by the fire with a book in my lap. And actually, it feels pretty nice to be relaxin like this. My mom brings Jerry and I hot chocoa, and it's pretty dang nice.

Tomorrow, we travel to the great metropolis of Grand Forks, ND because my mom recently earned her PhD, and tomorrow is her commencement and "hooding" ceremony. She worked pretty frickin hard on that PhD (the past 2 years have been solidly devoted to writing, writing, and writing her dissertation), so we're all proud of her accomplishment, and I know she's pleased that Jerry and I can be home with the rest of the family to attend.

Anyhoo...that's the news from "up nort." I'm gonna try to catch up with some blogs today (thankfully, they still have high speed internet at the edge of the world), but apologies if I don't get to you. Hope everyone is doing well!

Peace out.

Northfield, MN

Today I type on an actual computer because last night, we made it to my PIL's house in Northfield, MN around 8:30 pm, and we were greeted with warm hugs but frosty temps. It was about -10 degrees last night when we got here and that's not counting the windchill!

Poor Scooter. He does NOT want to go outside to use the bathroom, and I'm afraid he may be suffering from a little constipation currently, since he basically goes outside and just shivers uncontrollably. He has no under-coat, bare little puppy feet, and with temps so low I don't blame him for not wanting to wade through snow to take a dump. So, even though I don't like clothes on dogs, I am seriously considering running to Petsmart to buy him a little dog sweatshirt or coat or something. Plus, some booties. Poor paws.

Anyway, aside from freezing our tookises (not sure of the plural on that one) off, it's good to have finally reached our destination. We got up early on Sunday morning, and left our house in FL at 5:30 am (where it was approximately 70 degrees, why god did we leave that blessed place?) and drove until about 9 pm Sunday night, and we stopped for the night at a hotel in Kentucky. Then, Monday morning we got up and were on the road by about 6:30 am, and drove until we got to MN, which was at about 8:30 pm last night, like I mentioned before.

In total, the trip was just shy of 1,800 miles, and took us about 30 hours.

Today, we are just chillaxin at Jerry's parents' house, and allowing the Escape to warm itself in their garage, and tomorrow morning we're going to head even further north (where it is almost certainly even colder) to my mom and stepdad's house. They got a bitch of a winter storm on Sunday night and many highways were closed up there, but hopefully by tomorrow, roads will be cleared some. Still, it may be slow going.

As per the running? I don't know how much I'm gonna be able to do now. I was counting on temps in the 30s, not the negative 30s. You can't be outside for much more than a few minutes in this weather, so until these temps break, running outside is just not gonna be possible!

This picture sucks, but...

We're still in the car. See Scooter in his bed in the back? Cute, right? We're in Wisconsin, so we're almost there! It's freezing!

Truckstop in TN

So far we've gone 851.5 miles! About halfway.

Journey to the Northland

Tomorrow, we begin our journey to the NORTH. Where it is cold. And snowy. I have my reservations about leaving.

Today, we pack, then tomorrow, we will get up early and begin the long drive to Minnesota. It will probably take us 2 (maybe 3 -- depending on the weather) long days to reach Jerry's parents' house in Northfield, MN. We'll stay there for about a day, then load back into the car and drive about 5 and 1/2 more hours north to my parents' house in Gonvick, MN. For those of you unfamiliar with towns whose populations are less than 300, you may have never heard of Gonvick, MN before. Well, I am here to enlighten you:

Don't go there.

It's not the edge of the world, but it's close enough that you can see the edge. And really? There's not much to do at the edge of the world. But, we're not going there for entertainment; we're going to see family.

So, we'll stay with my family for 5 days, and then we'll again load into the car, and drive the 5 and 1/2 hours south to Northfield again, and stay there for 5 days. Then, again load into the car and drive the 2 (maybe 3) days back home. So, we will be gone a grand total of 16 days. That's a long time to be gone from home, and I'm sure that the entire time we're gone, Jerry will worry about whether or not we left a random appliance on and whether or not checking all the windows and doors' locks 3 times was adequate. But, we don't see our family very often, so it's good that we have the opportunity to go back and spend some time with as many people as we can. Because apparently, many of them have an allergy to airplanes and flying to warm, sunny FL (goodness, I must've been bit by the sarcastic bug in my sleep last night!).

Anyhoo, here's the lowdown on a few FAQs:

• Yes, we're bringing Scooter with us. He's our fur-baby and we can't leave him in a kennel for Christmas! Bringing him along is part of the reason why we are driving.
• I will blog while away (I mean, c'mon I just learned to mobile blog for all your sakes -- you'll be gettin' updates from the road, yo!), but the regularity of it may not be like the clockwork posts you have come to rely upon.
• I will try to run while up there. It will be cold and snowy though, so when weather permits, I'll run outside; otherwise, there are some strategic gyms and indoor running locations I may end up using as well. Clearly, I will keep you apprised of the running while I post.
• While I will be a diligent poster, I don't know how much I will be reading blogs. So, if I disappear from commenting, don't fret, I will eventually return.

So, before I depart tomorrow, I'd like to wish everyone out in blogland very Happy Holidays! And if you are traveling too, please travel safe!

Time to Party

Today is my department's Christmas party. So, how do a bunch of English professors par-tay? We go to lunch at a buffet. Yup. Doesn't get more wild than that. Of course, last year, I managed to get somewhat hammered at our buffet luncheon, but I have a list of chores for this afternoon (throwing a x-mas party for our friends tonight), so I don't think I will be partaking in any BEvERages this afternoon.

Play "Misty" for Me

Despite spending some time playing with my new CrackBerry and learning to mobile blog, I did actually get a lot of work done today. In fact, I finished reading/grading the remaining essays I had, and I finalized all my classes' grades, entered them in the computer system, and viola! I'm done for the term! Tomorrow, I am just going in to my office for a few hours to get some things organized for January (when I return), and to make sure all my hard drive files are backed up to my jump drive (they are "ghosting" our hard drives over the break). So, just a few hours of work tomorrow, and then I'm home free for about 3 weeks!

Ah, what a relief.

Also, on my way home, I picked up Jer-Bear's final Christmas present, so that means I'm done with x-mas shopping as well. (And yes, as per your questions regarding Tuesday's post, we did open one gift each. Really, I just wanted Jerry to open one of his stocking stuffers: "The Dark Knight" on DVD because I wanted to watch it again. And it was just as good the 2nd time around as it was in the theater. I got to open one of my stocking stuffers too: An iTunes GC, totally sweet!)

Then, this evening I went for a "misty" 4 miler (39:14). See, it was pouring rain earlier, but by the time I got laced up to run, it was really just a light drizzle, so light that it was more like a fizzy fog. Quite enjoyable actually since it kept me nice and cool.

P.S. Who can tell me where the title of this post comes from? The first person to tell me will win a...virtual pat on the back. Lame, yes, but you didn't think I'd offer an actual, tangible prize, did you?

More testing

I should be grading, but playing with mobile blogging is way more fun!

Enter Jess in the 21st century!

So, I got a BlackBerry on Saturday and I set up mobile blogging and now I can blog from anywhere! This is all going according to plan: First, I conquer blogger, then the world! Now, I just have to learn to text with greater efficiency.

Mobile blogging

Testing

OCD

This evening I returned to the running with 2.9 miles in 28:30. Why the odd distance, you ask? Well, my log has a pesky .1 in there for mileage, and you guys know I'm just a touch OCD with my recorded digits, and I want nice round numbers in there, so I cut my planned 3 miler a tenth of a mile short in order to accommodate such even numerals.

So, now we can all rest assured that my mileage for the month, and the year, will be without any kind of decimal.

Some may find such need for even numbers in my log a bit out of character for me, and some of you have expressed surprise that I'm like this, and I agree, some of my compulsions and desires for perfection do seem to contradict my general laisse-faire attitude. And while I like to give Jerry a lot of crap about his lock-checking (locks always need to be checked 3 times to ensure locked-ness), the fact of the matter is that I have a lot of weird compulsions of my own; here's a short list:

• Our dishes are 3 separate, solid colors. I do not allow any two plates, bowls, or coffee mugs of the same color to be stacked on top of one another. The colors must alternate. One time, Jerry pissed me off by re-arranging our entire cabinet so that all the colors touched each other. I nearly ripped his eyes out for the work he had me re-do.
• Despite being a voracious reader, and despite encouraging my friends to read selections I have enjoyed, I do not loan out books. Scratch that. I loan them reluctantly. And then I hover. My behavior is so reprehensible that friends choose not to borrow from me and simply purchase the book for themselves despite the fact that I have shelves of books. I'm sorry, I'm just very, very, very neurotic about my books.
• I like household things to be in their designated spots, and nearly everything has its designated spot. For example, Scooter's leash hangs from a hook near the door. I like it folded over that hook. But frequently, Jerry returns from walking Scooter and just tosses the leash on the counter by the door. Unacceptable!

So, yeah, there's a small peak into my neuroses, but don't you judge. I know all of you are particular about something. What is it?

Skipping

I am now officially done with classes for the term. Now, I just have two classes' worth of essays to read, their final grades to calculate, and then I'm home free! The end is near, my friends, very near!

So, after class today, I went and did some more Christmas shopping, and with the exception of one more thing I want to get Jerry, I am done with that too! Woo-hoo!

Because the shopping and wrapping dipped into my evening, and because my quads are still a little sore from Sunday's HM, I decided to skip a run this evening. Instead, I'm gonna have dinner with the Jer-Bear and try to convince him that we should each open just one Christmas present this evening. Just one can't do any harm, can it?

2008 in Reflection

I know it's not quite the end of the year, so it's a little early to do a "look back" at 2008, but because my race calendar for the year is officially closed, I figure I can go ahead and reflect on 2008's running and racing.

For those of you who were reading this blog around this time last year, you know that I regarded 2007 as a year of running failure. I didn't meet a single one of my running goals, and while I did a lot of running and racing in 2007, none of it was very successful (by the standards I had set forth for myself in 2007). So, I began this year, 2008, with a set of goals that I was determined to complete.

So, how did I do with them? Let's see:

• Achieve race variety. CHECK! I ran 6 half marathons, 1 10 miler, 1 15K, 1 10K, 1 4 miler, and 4 5Ks. I think the only major road distance left out of that grouping is the full marathon.
• Set a new 5K PR. CHECK! I set a new PR of 27:49 at the Weston 4th of July 5K back in July.
• Focus on speed, strength, and stretching. Well...I somewhat did this. I definitely tried to focus more on speedwork, and while I had some attempts at creating strength and stretching routines, I never followed through with them. However, the goal of focusing on strength and stretching was to avoid injury, especially ITBS, which I have suffered from twice, and I managed to avoid injury almost entirely in 2008 (there was just a strained quad back in April, but that was due to playing soccer, not to my running). This year, I think in large part I was able to avoid injury by not training for a marathon. Keeping my weekly mileage to 20-25 miles a week has been enough to keep me in shape, but I haven't had any over-use injuries.
• Enjoy the running. CHECK! Sure, I've had some bad runs, some bad races, some weeks where I "just don't wanna" but on the whole, I think 2008 has been the most enjoyable running year to date.

So, what did I get from running in 2008 (besides a shitload of rad medals)? Lots.

Primarily, I think I learned a lot about myself as a runner. I think that in the running world, the marathon gets a lot of attention as "the" distance for a runner to prove him or herself, but I'm just not sure the full marathon is for me. Realizing that is a huge thing for me. As a runner, and as a person, it's important to figure out what works best for ME. So, this year, I discovered that perhaps I'm best suited to middle-distance running: I like only having to run 20-25 miles a week; I like not having my entire life revolve around training; I like being able to go for a "long run" and be done by 8 am and still have the full day ahead of me; I like avoiding injury due to over-use; and I like the sense of accomplishment that a HM or a 10 miler can still bring.

Who knows? Maybe a full marathon will be in the picture again someday, but for now, I don't see it in my immediate future. Instead, I'll settle for reading about those of you who continue to pursue the full marathon, and I will live vicariously through your accomplishment of that distance.

Now, I know what you're thinking: What will be the 2009 race plans and running goals, Jess? The answer to that will have to wait a few weeks. I need to mull them over and give careful consideration to what's in store for me and running in 2009, so I'm afraid I will have to tell you to "keep your pants on" until the dawn of the new year. So keep tight for a few weeks, and in the meantime, I still have those 800 miles to chase (I'm currently at 770.1, so I think I shouldn't have any problems getting 29.9 done in the next 3 weeks), so you can keep tuned for that!

Half Marathon of the Palm Beaches Race Report

The race was, in short, my worst half marathon. Not because of the race itself, just how I ran it. In fact, the race is really nice and I'd love to run it again: Scenic course, flat, well-organized, entertaining water stations, nice medal, well-stocked food and drink at the race's end, and we had great weather.

I just ran the slowest 13.1 I ever have: 2:27:34. There's no particular reason why I was so slow (well, with the exception of that 5 and 1/2 minute wait at the porta-potty at mile 4 -- that was just ridiculous); no, I just couldn't muster up any speed.

I think that with so much going on lately, my head just wasn't "in the game" and I guess running it just to run it wasn't enough to motivate me to do my best. Oh well, I'm not really that disappointed. Bad runs and bad races happen, and I'm honestly just happy to be done with it and be done with the 2008 race season in general -- it's been a busy one!

Special thanks to Wendy for allowing me to stay at her place: She provided excellent accommodations, thanks Wendy!

Now...I think I may go take a nap.

Palm Beach, Here I Come!

Today, I am heading north to West Palm Beach. I am staying with my gracious hostess, Wendy, for the evening, and her accommodations are quite convenient: She lives within walking distance of both the expo and the race itself. And then tomorrow we will both run the Palm Beach Half.

This will be my 6th and final HM for the year. So, I'll fill you in on the race report tomorrow when I return home, and until then, Auf Wiedersehen!

Not Much

There's not much that's very exciting to report about today. I am finished with one more class for the term. 3 down. 3 to go. I finish one more tomorrow and then the last two next Tuesday. The end is in sight.

Jerry and I went for a 3 miler this evening, and it went well despite the fact that when we finished I proclaimed: "Good job! We ran the entire way!" and his response was: "Ugh..."

Went well for me anyway.

Oh, I also got my bib# for Sunday's Palm Beach HM: 1983. I like the fact that it's a date, but I wish I had something to attach to that year, like someone's b-day year or something. Anyone out there born in 1983?

I was born in 1978. Totally sweet year.

Checking Off Items on the "To Do" List

Some days, I really just astound myself with how awesome I am.

I mean, really, I have been on top of my shit today. I:

• Went to the dentist this morning. Had to get a tooth re-bonded. That motherfucker keeps wanting to chip off. I told the dentist to make the bonding "extra sticky" today because I don't want to be back in that chair in 6 months again for the same thing.
• Went to the Post Office and mailed two packages. Line was miraculously short and I didn't have one inkling that I might have to break someone's legs.
• Finished the grading I had, met for the last time with 2 of my classes, returned their work to them, gave them their final grades, and bid them "adieux." 2 classes down. 4 to go.
• Many students told me "thanks for being such a great professor!" and "you're the best English teacher I've ever had!" True dat.
• Since I didn't hold either class for their full time, I was home about an hour and a half early, so I "surface cleaned" the house -- you know, the kind of mid-week pick-up and vacuum kind of stuff, not the scrubbing toilets kind of stuff.
• Got dinner prepped and ready.
• Went for a 5 miler (46:19). Felt glorious -- my 4th mile clocked in at 8:55, but that was my fastest; otherwise, it was an average 9:15/mile pace. It's only about 60 degrees outside, so this cool, dry weather really is to my running advantage.

Ta-da!

And, it's only 5:30 pm now. Are you people impressed by my awesome-ness now? You should be! If I just had a little more coffee, at this point, I think I could solve the financial crisis.

The Common Crap

I have a case of the "I don't wanna run" today. Symptoms include lethargy and a desire to lay on the couch and watch TV.

Is there a known cure for this?

***Edit: The cure for the above ailment appears to be suckin' it up and gettin' out there for a run whether I want to or not. I did a 3 miler (29:41), and once I was out there, I was glad I "womaned up" and determined to do it. Now I can go lay on the couch and not feel guilty. Score!***

November Miles

I did get out last night for a short 3 miler (29:17), and I even managed to fit it in between showers, so I didn't get rained on at all. But it was WINDY! So, with that run, my mileage for November was 90.5. Shucks. If I had actually done an 8 miler yesterday, I would have tied my mileage for January, which was my year's highest mileage in a month (95 miles).

Total mileage for the year is 746, and I don't think I'll have a problem getting 54 miles in during December to round out the year around 800 miles. Originally, at the beginning of 2008, I had kinda thought I could aim for 1,000, but incredibly low mileage in June and July prevented that from happening. So, I suppose it will have to remain a goal for 2009.

Always something to aim for.

Anyway, it is still cloudy and blustery today, and it's Monday, after a 4 day weekend, so...yeah...I SO have a "case of the Mondays"!