Sunday, December 25, 2016

Tis the Season



Tis the season for celebrations, and this past week came full circle.

Eager to get back to some "regular" mileage, but still in the thrones of marathon recovery, I cautiously eased back to a somewhat "maintenance" routine regarding my off-season.  As most know, I have been doing the Runner's World winter streak, which commenced on Thanksgiving morning and will conclude on New Year's Day. I have been very conservative with my streaking mileage...most days running only the 1-mile minimum.



After running three easy miles last Sunday (on the treadmill, none the less), I decided it was time to start slowly adding mileage back to my runs. I do plan to end my streak on New Year's Day...and I look forward to having (and enjoying!) some non-running days back in my schedule.

That said, here's what went down this past week.

Monday's run was a 1-mile "quickie" after work. After a sub-ZERO weekend, the 20-degree temps felt tropical.

Temps in the 20's? Yes, please!!
Tuesday, I had another of my extended lunch hours, so I ran my 1-miler, then headed back to work. Again, temps felt awesome! And, with the Winter Solstice happening the following day, I was euphoric in anticipation of the longer daylight that was on the way.

Yes to longer daylight!
Wednesday, the temps climbed as high as 39-degrees! In Iowa! In late December! This was my first run without needing a puffer vest or a jacket in a long time!

Ahhh, no puffer vest required...
Thursday, I got up early and knocked out two easy miles under the light of the crescent moon. Total tranquility!

The moon was absolutely beautiful and so bright!
Friday, myself and some locals met up after work and ran approximately four miles. The streets were full of slush, and the air had some rain. But, we saw some beautiful Christmas lights and enjoyed the camaraderie of a group run.
Myself, Barb, Rebecca, Jenn,Sarah
My running buddy, Barb, had foot surgery a few days following our marathon (Route 66 Marathon, November 20th), and finally got clearance to lace up and hit the road. After Friday's group run, she was eager to do a few more miles with me on Saturday. We met up and ran three easy miles.
I love my Christmas red...but the green is legit, too
Sunday, being Christmas, I did my streak run fairly early in the morning (before all the events of the day began). The temps were in the mid-30's, but (again) felt mild so I ran a quick mile in shorts! Believe me, that does not happen very often on Christmas Day!

Yes, you can wear shorts in December in Iowa
All in all, my weekly mileage came in at 13 miles. That may seem like peanuts to some people, but to me it felt like a successful start to my rally-back-from-recovery. I don't have anything on the calendar until March, but there a few events in February and January that I'm considering. For now, I don't need excessive miles but I do need to conservatively build my base back a bit. I'm still having some "issues" with my hip/groin thing....I don't feel anything when I'm running (thankfully), but something is still a bit off (I notice a pulling sensation sometimes if I bend over or twist/turn abruptly). I'm not concerned about it, but am proceeding with caution. Stay tuned.

What else?

Nobody in my household is interested in helping decorate, so getting the ornaments on the main tree took a little longer than usual. I finally got all the finishing touches in place last weekend.


We had out holiday party at work on Friday afternoon...so my #FridayFashion post reflected my "party attire." FYI---I don't  usually wear knee socks with a skirt (unless it's a running skirt, and I'm actually wearing running shoes with it). But I thought, "Why not?"

I LOVE me some red!
More holiday goodies....peppermint bark.


This was our first Christmas without all three kids in the house. Our oldest daughter resides in Pennsylvania (since August of this year), and was not able to make it back to Iowa (though she did come back for a week at Thanksgiving). Fortunately, we were able to talk with her and FaceTime, so it was bearable not having her with us.


And, this little guy. Max has been with us for almost two years, but this was the first time we dressed him (briefly) in a Santa outfit. The outfit was gifted to us from a friend whose dog had outgrown it.
Isn't he adorable?

So how was your week? Any holiday parties? Do you wear red and/or green during the holidays? Dressing dogs in "clothing"....yay or no way?

As usual, I'm linking up with the awesome Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap. Head over, check out their blogs and the (numerous) linked blogs as well.



36 comments:

  1. Loved all of your holiday run photos this week. Sorry your daughter couldn't make it back to celebrate with you. Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks, Deborah! We missed our daughter, but at least we were able to see/talk with her via FaceTime. Your week certainly looks fun!

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  2. I'm glad to see you taking the conservative approach. Not that I know anything about that...I hope that hip calms down for you.

    Thanks for the beautiful Christmas card! It looks like you enjoyed your holidays. BTW, no one helps me with the decorations either--altho Matthew did help put some ornaments on the tree. I didn't put everything out this year.

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    1. Well, our big tree is fully adorned, but the other tree has mere lights and ribbons. Oh well. They still look pretty ;-)

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  3. Congrats on keeping the challenge.

    No one helps me either.

    Love your pics. Keep em comin'

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    1. Thanks, Darlene! Hard to believe the streak is almost done!

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  4. I love the puppy clothes! If my pup would keep them on and not use them as chew toys, I would totally get him a little sweater!

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    1. I have mixed feelings on the doggy clothes LOL They do look cute.....but are a bit impractical. I do have a thick sweater we put on Max on the really cold days, though, when we take him outside.

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  5. I have a Santa fleece and Christmas bandanna for my pups too. It makes me laugh. :-) Congrats on a great week for running too! Sounds like you are doing a great job easing back into it.

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    1. I have no reason to "rush" back in terms of mileage, so "easy does it" is my course of action.We shall see... ;-)

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  6. You always amaze me with you dedication to getting in your runs. I'm still sitting over here jealous your doing the run streak. I know it wasn't feasible for me this month with 3 half's but still.
    Max is just precious! I will put clothes on my dogs when it's cold but my parents have a yorkie and she had the cutest Christmas dress on.
    Hope building up your mileage goes perfectly smooth for you!

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    1. Thanks Tricia ;-) Well, I'm still jealous of all the fun you gals had in Panama City LOL (but, I would have been a major wet blanket...doubtful I would have been in any shape to "run" 13.1 with my state of recovery) ;-)

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  7. Congrats for getting all those runs in with the crazy winter weather.
    Starting beginning of November I start counting the days until the days start getting longer. Yeah ! Its here.
    I have not been running much, really giving my body time to recuperate. But now that I have a new Garmin, I can't wait to test it.

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    1. I'm going to do more focus on strength-training for January. I will still be running (3/4 days a week, and continuing to build my base back), but I need to change things up a bit...it is the off-season after all ;-)

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  8. I can't get over the shorts! An in the 30s I wear capris at least! It is hard when your "kids" can't all be home, but Facetime does make it bearable. I'm glad you had a nice Christmas!

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    1. Well, 30's in the shorts was only for one mile....and after all the sub-freezing temps a week prior, my bare legs felt great ;-) Today, however, it's in the low 30's and extremely windy...so shorts were NOT happening LOL

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  9. Loved this holiday edition of the wrap up. I could never understand working out in the cold! I live in Florida so the "cold" temps here are always bearable. You are a boss! I truly don't know many people that are willing to continue with their goals even in the cold months like you are. 13 miles is definitely not peanuts to me! You are recovering + the focus is all that matters. Loved seeing pics of your family, they are so beautiful! :)

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    1. awh, thanks! ;-) I'm not a fan of the extreme weather we have in Iowa...but that's what I have. I can't stand the gym scene, so I do most of my "workouts" at home (or outside on the streets/trails).

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  10. Yes to peppermint bark! I've had hip problems in the past. Backing off on my miles seems to help me.

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    1. This hip/groin thing is a first for me. And, I think it's more groin than hip...it's kind of low. I don't feel anything from it when I'm running, but I'm sure running (in some capacity) is a factor. When my streak ends (on New Years Day), I'll be having some non-running days...hoping that will be the final little tweak I need ;-)

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  11. Being somewhat of a fashionista myself, I can't help but notice all of your clothes first and foremost! Tuesday's colorful puffy vest is absolutely awesome! And your Christmas day running attire is perfection! The peppermint bark looks divine and Max is a cutie! I'm enjoying keeping up with your running streak on IG ...I'm just so dang impressed with your resilience running in that insane Iowa weather!

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    1. Ha ha ha...thanks!! I love fashion. Living in Iowa, I see everything (and a lot of it just ain't pretty) LOL. I certainly don't consider myself an expert, but it's really not that difficult to "not dress like a slob," you know?

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  12. I have pugs. They are made to be dressed in clothing. We dolled them up from time to time during the holidays. Unfortunately, they are mostly too ... stout for regular dog outfits, so it was a bit of struggle LOL.

    It was a really nice holiday. Little man did a lot of the decorating (which was against my OCD nature), but it ended up lovely. We had a Chrismukkah party on the 24th (we celebrate both) and then Christmas Day at our house. It was really low-key and nice.

    merry Christmas to you and yours!

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    1. My OCD nature would be all too happy to have the kids pitch in and help these days ;-) (Or even the hubby LOL)

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  13. Aww. Max is super adorable! How fun to briefly dress him up for the holidays. I like to don both red and green for the holidays! I'm jealous of all your fun outfits! :-)

    So amazing that you got to run in shorts on Christmas Day. I've acclimated to the Vegas weather, so 30s is now super cold! Definitely leggings weather for me. LOL.

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    1. Well, the "warm" temps on Christmas Day were short-lived. Today, it was a few degrees cooler, but the wind was massively freezing. Full tights on the legs today!

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  14. First of all, your tree is awesome, your family is beautiful, and Max is adorable! Looks like a wonderful holiday and we got some crazy warm temps here, too! Mother nature certainly has a sense of humor. I really admire this run streak - I don't think my body would tolerate it. I do like my rest days :) Well done!

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    1. Believe me, I like my rest days, too! I don't do the streaks very often, and when I do...I always look forward to them ending LOL Keeping my mileage low is what makes the streaks work for me...there's no way I could do them if I was running crazy high mileage (daily OR weekly).

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  15. Max looks so cute! You are a beast to run in such cold weather. I actually wore shorts and a t-shirt on Christmas eve for my run last year but this year I had to wear capris and long sleeves.

    So sorry your daughter didn't make it home for Christmas. I'm in PA, I could have hosted her here for the Holiday!

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    1. Yes, the Iowa weather is pretty beast-like itself ;-) I simply cannot stand the treadmill; mentally, it's SO boring to me, and physically, it's a recipe for injury. Just not my thing LOL so I have to take it outside. I'd rather do a short 2-3 miler outside (in the cold) than a longer more "thorough" run inside on the 'mill.

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  16. All your running pics were great this week! Love all your themed outfits-work too! I know it was tough missing on of the kids for Christmas, I am sure one day our day will come but we are lucky to have them all close :) 13 miles is a great week! Cheers as we head into the new year!

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  17. Yay on keeping up the streak! Love that you had shorts on in the 30's... I would have looked like the kid on "A Christmas Story" :-)

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    1. ha ha! I don't wear shorts too often (outdoors) in December, so it was a rare excursion ;-)

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  18. Max is adorable in his holiday attire. We adopted our dogs over 8 years ago and have never dressed them in a sweater...until this year. Ha! They tolerated them quite nicely. One of them actually likes it! Have you thought of going to physical therapy for your hip? It really helped me last winter and I was able to run right through "rehab". I love all of your festive clothing this week. Red is my favorite. Thanks for linking, Kim!

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    1. Yes, I have considered PT...but I have been procrastinating (my bad). It's more in the "lower" groin area than hip, so it's a really odd place LOL I feel pretty much nothing when I'm running (unless I turn a corner too sharply). #perplexed

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