You Know You're Getting Old...

...when you get up to run in the morning and you have to cut it short because the metal in your hip (yes you read that correctly) does not mesh well with the 30 degree temperature. Apparently I am going to have to start running at the gym on the treadmill. Funny how our preferences change over time. I used to prefer the treadmill but nowadays, I would much rather be outside. Here's one of the reasons why.

Hoping you all have a terrific Friday and weekend!

First 10-K In the Books!

As I mentioned earlier this week, my first 10-K was yesterday in Chicago. And I am very pleased to say that it was probably my best race ever! I felt like the MK before the hip injury and surgery. I don't want to gloat too much (aww heck, why not) but I ran all but .25 miles of the 6.2 mile race. And I didn't walk until after the first 4 miles. It felt so amazing! And before the race, we all got a little bit funky!

Here's the proof kids...

It was such a great feeling to finish that race! And then, of course, was the 5 hour drive home. But it's okay because I capped off the day with a soak in the hot tub. YAY!! I'm back home for a couple of weeks and that means, heading to the gym for the first time (even though I joined like a month ago!) Looking forward to getting back on a regular schedule at the gym. Oh...and I did a bit of decorating as well.

I love Halloween! And I'm having a party so of course I have to go all out! It should be a fantastic event and let's all remember..."what happens at the Halloween party, stays at the Halloween party!" Have a great week!!

Where Does the Time Go?

I feel like I've used that title before...but alas. It's been a long month already. I've been on the road for 9 of the last 12 days and I'm in Chicago this week so no rest for the weary. Actually, this week is exciting though because I am at the network office covering for my boss while he is on leave. So I get to learn about being a network strategic planner at a time when the Network Director is getting ready for his FY 13 briefing with the Secretary of VA. For those of you who are not in VA (or don't know much about it), that basically means that I get to help prep my boss' boss for his meeting with his boss' boss' boss (aka the big dog). It will definitely be a learning experience for me and will help me show the folks at the network office (besides my boss) what I am capable of which bodes well for me. Last week was week 3 of leadership in San Diego. I can honestly say it was not my favorite week of leadership but I did learn a few things. But my favorite part of the week was getting to my 19th ballpark!!!

Remember those 23 questions I told you all about in July after my leadership week in July? Yeah...it turns out there are actually 50 questions!

So, of course, we had to go through them. Plus a few of us had come up with our own questions since July. Needless to say, we had a FANTASTIC evening last week. Mind you, we did not do the questions on the same night as baseball. We would not have been able to handle that much excitement in one evening. But a good time was had by all on both nights! HALF MARATHON UPDATE: So in the process of all this traveling, I have actually managed to continue my training. I have kind of surprised myself with that. A week ago Saturday, I did my longest run to date...8 miles. I still can't believe I did that many. It was brutal and I thought my legs were going to fall off. The saying in the running world that you "hit the wall" during a race?? Yeah, I hit the wall at mile 7 of my 8 mile run. But I keep running and this weekend I am doing my first ever 10-K here in Chicago. I'm excited about it because I think after doing my 8 miles, 6.2 shouldn't be too bad. Of course, I'm scheduled to run 10 miles this weekend so I will have to fit 4 more miles in when I get back to Kingsford. My fundraising for St. Jude has kind of stalled at $1500 but I am having a fundraiser party on the 29th so hopefully the few people I know in the U.P. will bring a few people they know and we can raise a little bit more money. If you are one of those folks and reading this, please mark it on your calendar. If you are not in the U.P. and haven't donated yet, please please please please do so!! The kids of St. Jude need your help! Let's see...what else is going on?? Oh, I recently decided I need to play golf a heck of alot more than once every two years. Yeah...it wasn't pretty. But I had a good time and that's the most important part of golf, right?? Anyhoo...hope ya'll have a great week!!

I Usually Don't Go by Societal Standards

God love my friend Karissa. She always gives me the best titles for my blogs. And there are usually good stories behind them. Unfortunately for all of you, they are usually stories I cannot share. Just know that it was a fantastic story and had us laughing for a few miles as we drove home from camp. Yep. That's how I spent my Saturday, up at camp. It was so much fun. It was Karissa's best friend Carrie's camp over on the eastern end of the UP outside a little town called Rock, MI. Beautiful part of the world. Of course, Saturday was also the season opener for both Alabama and Michigan. I had to represent (read: wear my Bama gear in the middle of a Michigan bar) but I promise all of you I was relatively well behaved. In fact, there was another Bama fan in the bar and we were nice and did not rub it in when the game was over. Here's some pics of that night and camp.

So I decided that I need to buy recreational property up here. It was one of those decisions you make when you are caught up in the moment and have had a few beverages. No...I did not purchase anything just yet. I wasn't that drunk!! But I did propose to my mom that we buy a piece of property. Yeah, that was a pretty hard sell. She loves the woods more than I do. So now I am going to spend my spare time looking on line and in person at different properties. Haven't decided if it will be river or lake, UP or Wisconsin so stay tuned. For now, have a great week!!

Week's End

What a week! It's been fantastic to be home all week and not feel like I'm running a marathon. Pun intended. But it really has been nice to be home. Though you would think Rolo is not sure I'm really not going anywhere for a few days. Every day I come home, she is at the top of the stairs waiting for me to open the door and come home. It's kind of pitiful! I think she will be very happy come winter when I am home all the time! My training this week kind of stalled. Well, ok. I was just lazy! But I have solved that problem. See what I realized is that when I was in Memphis I was getting up at 5 am EVERYDAY (well Monday through Friday) to either run or go to the trainer. Since I've been here, I've only been getting up on Tuesday and Thursday at 5am and sleeping until 6:30am the other three days. That apparently was not nice to do to my body :) So I joined a gym this week and starting next week, I will be back to getting up at 5am every day. Which also means I will be back to going to bed at 9 or 9:30pm every night. No more fun and games for me. But it's worth it. And between now and then, I'm going to enjoy my three day weekend!!