Nothing but blue skies...

Today was the perfect ending to a nice long weekend. We don't have big family gatherings for Christmas. Our Christmas Eve is usually our family get together and then Christmas Day is mostly lounging around the house watching TV and eating a variety of leftovers. While working for a bank can have its advantages throughout the year in terms of every banking holiday off, at Christmas, I am always jealous of those who work for businesses who take the last two weeks of the year or even just Christmas Eve off. Either way, I made the most of my three day weekend and enjoyed the perfect mix of family, lounging and getting things done around the house.

Over the past week or so, I have started to get back into the momentum of a regular workout. My schedule at the tennis club is Monday and Friday nights and then all day Saturday. For the first couple of weeks after taking on this second job I was struggling trying to figure out how to fit a workout into my day. I call it "struggling" others may call it "sleeping in instead of working out". Tomato, tomahto.

What I have learned is that this schedule will require much more determination than before. In the past, I would get up early knowing I could go to bed early to make up for it most nights. Now, I can't always go to bed early if I am tired but still need to get up and get a workout in so bribing myself with extra sleep is gone. (Yes, I have to bribe myself. Sometimes I fall for it, sometimes I don't.) I considered maybe working out after work but at that point I am mostly just interested in going home. For now, I think I am just going to tough it out and try to stick to the same schedule I was on before job number two. I haven't been 100% successful at getting up at the exact time I wanted each day but HAVE been successful in making it to the gym which is half the battle for now. I have gotten in several short runs this week topped off by two runs at Stone Mountain yesterday and today so am feeling very much back on track which is a good feeling. Tomorrow the plan is to do a short run followed by a swim workout.

I am still a little sad to miss the Disney Marathon this year but am excited about doing the Goofy Challenge in 2011. I also am thinking of working in the Iron Girl this summer along with a few other local races. I am feeling good about 2010. I think going into the New Year, my goal will be to incorporate swimming back into my workouts at least once a week as well as strength training. Swimming will be a piece of cake since I love it so much but the strength training will require me to get over myself and go use the machines or weights at the gym. I still have that weird high school feeling at the gym that I am out of place in the weight area. I know... stupid. I have tried the P90X and know people who LOVE it beyond belief but I am on the fence about it. I think I need something that involves leaving the house as opposed to taped instruction. I haven't given up on the concept but am not sure it is my thing. For now, I will give the machines at the gym another try.

I also am going to try for more of this in 2010


Clementines. Seriously, as much as I love tangerines and navel oranges, how did I go 40 years without trying one of these? All I can say, is thank you Spain for sending us these little jewels in the cute wooden box!


and less of this...





I believe I have eaten my weight in peppermint ice cream since I discovered it a few weeks ago. (OK, maybe not that much but we have had more than a carton or two...) Add that to the red velvet cupcakes and 8 million varieties of Christmas cookies. Just so we are clear, I am not giving up these delicious treats just consuming them with a little more moderation. Let's not get crazy. :)

Side note, I may be a little too good at hiding the sweets in my house from Rick. In my cleaning on Saturday, I came across a box of cookies I had stashed on top of the refigerator in October. Amazingly enough, they still looked quite fresh although I had no interest in trying them. At what age does senility start setting in? I am pretty sure it might be 40!

Have a good week!

I guess the changes in life are what make it interesting...

As always, the year seems to be drawing to an end before it ever even really gets started. Around the corner is 2010. Amazing. This year has definitely been one of change and of unexpected happenings in my life. It started off with a bang with my being able to finish the Disney Marathon for my 40th birthday and then just became a whirlwind of challenges in a variety of ways from that point on. (Not to sidetrack but this is starting to sound like a New Year's resolution type post, isn't it?). So many things have happened that I normally would blog about since my last post on November 11 but the whirlwind continues to swirl and just haven't had the time or energy to give this the attention I would like.

As far as races go, the last big race was the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving. I had a blast at the race but not because of the running. I volunteered at 2 shifts during race weekend and had a great time giving back a little to the running community. My first shift was at packet pickup on Wednesday. I was part of the crew handing out the race numbers. The Atlanta Marathon (and half) have about 11,000 runners so the packet pick up is stretched out over a couple of days. I really enjoyed seeing the excited runners coming to set the their number. Some of them were running a half for the first time and were nervous chatting about their expectations and whether they felt ready, not sure what to expect, that sort of thing.

Shift two was a little more of a challenge as I had to be at the race start at 5 AM for bag check. The volunteer site said that you could volunteer at bag check if you were racing but in all honesty I didn't feel like I did all that much to help. Race morning was particularly cold and runners were holding on to their bags until about 6:45 (the race started at 7:00). By that time, I was leaving myself to get in my corral. Side note, all those races throughout the year paid off. Last year I was in the last corral. This year I was up in corral three. Progress. :)

My race time was 2:01. Not my best, not my worst. I wasn't expecting a stellar time as I had not been able to train like I had leading upo to previous races. As long as I hover around the 2:00 hour mark, I am good to go. OK, if I was being completely honest, I would prefer to hover on the inside of the 2 hour mark but whatever...

At this point, it is looking like Disney is not going to happen for me this year. I have taken a 2nd job to help make ends meet. It is making it tough to get in long runs on the weekend not to mention the expense of just going down to Disney in general is not adding up for me. The good news is that job #2 is at a tennis and fitness facility so at least it is somewhat interesting despite the fact that it is cutting into my training. Unless something changes, I think my current plan will be to scrap any out of town races in 2010 and just save up to do the Goofy Challenge in 2011. Pray that the financial picture in my household changes in 2010!

Have a great week! I do have other things to blog on and on and on about of course but will spare your eyes until next time :)