HOLIDAY WEEKEND WRAP-UP.


Its been long! I've been off work since Wednesday and, sad to say, I think I am ready --no, I need--to go back! Not necessarily to work, just to get back to a normal routine.


My NJ daughter came to visit on Wednesday, bringing her two dogs with her, adding to the total chaos we seem to experience when everyone gets together. If getting up at 4:30 on Thanksgiving Day (to go stand in line at Meijer for their Thanksgiving sale) wasn't enough to tire me out, the dogs wake you up at 5:30 every day just to go out. They seem to still be on NJ time, when it is light out an hour earlier (same time zone, however). Once I hear people up, I'm up too. And I can't go to bed until everyone settles for the night, so its been late nights and early mornings.



We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner. Everything got cooked and done all at the same time, despite having no oven. Don and I went out before everyone arrived for dinner and did a 4 mile run. It wasn't an easy run for me though because I felt weak and tired. I actually hadn't felt too well the day before, and what with all the cooking and being on my feet for hours, I hadn't eaten much either, so when we headed out on Thursday morning, I was hungry. My stomach was actually growling. So we (I) walked any hill or incline. But by the end, we (he) decided we needed to do some speed intervals. That's just what I needed because it gave me a chance to push it for a block and then I got to catch my breath for a block.


The weather has turned colder, probably in the upper 20s, and we had about a 1/2 inch of snow overnight, but by the time we got out, it had all melted, except what had fallen on all the leaves just now coming down. There were piles and piles everywhere. We have had a late leaf drop due to the extended warm weather, so I'm pretty sure a lot of people are not going to get their leaves bagged up this year.


And that makes it difficult (for me) to run on the sidewalks at times, because I can't see anything because the leaves are so thick, and I'm always afraid of tripping or slipping. Its much easier to just run in the street, but obviously not always safer. And I couldn't help notice that most of the people who drove (zoomed) by us all were on cell phones. I don't want to be a target again for a distracted driver, so I'm a lot more cautious now.

Friday morning, after again waking at 5:30 on an off work day, I decided to go to the gym for their one spin class of the day. They were operating on a totally reduced schedule, but I haven't done a spin class in ages, and it seemed a good day to just stay inside, since our plans for later in the day called for outside activities. And did I mention it was COLD?!

A woman who came to the class said I must be a "pro" since I was dressed in bike shorts, shoes, and jersey. "You must race a lot." Well, yes, of course! I had to laugh though.

Friday afternoon, we decided to head over to the lakeshore. Renee's friend Ed wanted to see Lake Michigan, and since he is also a photographer, I figured Friday's weather looked to be better than Saturday's. The lakeshore had snow on the ground, probably at least an inch, but the winds were calm. Walking on the pier was a trick, however, since the snow that had fallen had iced over quickly. The waves were also calm, however, allowing us to walk at least part way out on the pier without fear of getting washed off. Slipping might happen, though! The water was a steel gray. My mind went back to all the warm sunny days we had spent there in the past, and more recently just the first part of October!

Saturday, I again woke up at a ridiculous time: 4:45. My neck was aching badly, and I figured it was from the spin class! Just one time on a bike, and my sore neck was back. After a few hours of coffee drinking and waiting for the sun to come up, I got dressed to go out and run. I wanted to run alone though. I didn't really have a true agenda, but thought about doing a 5 mile route that included a number of hills. I decided to see what happened once my legs actually got moving, and was pleasantly surprised at how good I felt. I did, however, resort to my 8 min. run, 2 min. walk plan to get me through this. I wasn't tired, as I had feared, it wasn't as cold and windy as predicted for later in the day, probably about 28 degrees though, and the sun was in and out of the clouds, so a pretty good day all around. And I had decided to wear this running jacket I had bought probably 11 years ago, that has a hood, a flap to cover the behind, and pockets, a good combination for a long run. I was so comfortable I wondered why I didn't think to wear this thing more often. Who cared if it was purple and green??? LOL!

After I reached the 1 hour mark, I decided I had better head back home. It was 9:30 and I still had some food prep for a family party later in the day. And the kids were talking about going to a movie first.

The "girls" and Austin ended up seeing Bee Movie, which was very cute. The "boys" saw Mist, which was nothing I would ever want to see! Too scary for me! For the most part, I like family or kid movies the best.

Saturday night was a family get together with my sisters and sister-in-law and their kids. Ten boys of ages ranging from 7 to 24. And 4 girls. What a noisy crowd! It was fun catching up with the college boys and the "hockey" boys, my brother's boys who are big into hockey. Three boys, and the tallest is 6'7". The "smallest" at 14 is 5'11"!

Sunday came, and I again woke up way too early. It was still dark, and I was starting to feel like a total slug. I lolled around watching movies until 11 am and finally got ready to go out and do some shopping. Later, I took the grandsons to bowl and then we hit the pool, so I did get in a half mile swim.

When I got home, I got a big surprise: there was a pair of crutches propped against the wall. What happened?? I wanted to know. Don had a racket ball match and either blew out his Achilles or at least strained it. He won't know for sure until he sees the ortho doc tomorrow! Yikes! There goes my running partner!

Hopefully, he will be okay soon. I need him to keep me focused and working on my speed! And I hate to see him get set back even further with his future training. Its always easy to mentally take off the winter season, but I would hate to have this stretch out into the spring and summer. It would be very difficult to come back after that I would think.

Please keep him in your prayers! A super athlete is sidelined and any good vibes can only help!