I did it!

Yay! I did it! 50,028 words in 29 days - phew! The story is not finished so I have a bit more work to do but at least the pressure to get so many words written every day is done. It was an interesting challenge and I often felt like giving up but now I am so pleased to have finished! Woo hoo! November has been quite a month - wonder what December will bring? Right now I just feel like celebrating!

PS: My mom wrote a great race report of the Half Marathon we ran together last weekend with lots of pictures!

Happy Thanksgiving & a new PR!

Wow! Can you see how surprised I am? A new 5K PR today at the Clearwater Turkey Trot: 29:40!!!




I ran it with my two nephews, Andy and Tom (NOT those two guys in the picture above!) Jenny and Mark ran really fast way ahead of us and grandma brought up the rear. Everyone did well and grandpa got pictures of all of us finishing.


It was great fun, especially going out for breakfast at Perkins afterwards in our matching Turkey Trot race shirts - very festive!

On the way home we spotted an alligator at the entrance to my sister's neighborhood and we had to get out to get a better look - you can just see him at the edge of the water. He was about three feet long, so not dangerous to people. Still, I didn't want to get any closer!

After a cool off in the pool it's time to get serious about making Thanksgiving dinner. Hope you all have a very happy day!

Day of Thanks: Sunny and Warm!

Gosh, the weather has been just gorgeous here and I have been enjoying every minute of it, knowing what I have to go back to this weekend! (Fran mentioned something about snow in our part of Europe this weekend - ew!)

On the way back home from St. Petersberg on Monday we stopped in Clearwater to have lunch at Frenchie's on the beach and took a walk up the shore afterwards. My legs were still pretty sore but the sand and cold water felt good on my tired feet.

Yesterday, Jenny, Dad and I went and got the groceries for Thanksgiving, and then I talked everyone into lunch at one of my favorite spots, a local Mexican place. After lunch we stopped at Target, another must-do when I come to the States!

The plan for today is making pies and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, going bowling, and in the evening Jenny's parents-in-law have invited us over to their place for dinner and a sunset on the beach. And I nearly forgot...we are all signed up for the local Turkey Trot 5 K tomorrow - which will be a first for me and I am looking forward to it - but definitely not thinking of another PR!

Day of Thanks: PR!!!

I am so happy - I PR'd with a time of 2:18!!! The course was beautiful, but once the sun came out, it started getting hot. The first ten kilometers went really well, it took me about an hour but then it started getting harder. I really had to push myself at the end but I did it! Here are some pictures - we are having a great time with Jenny, Mark and their boys, Mom and Dad, Aunt Patty and Jay, and some of Jenny's running friends.

Here are the details (you will notice I forgot to turn my Garmin off until about 4 minutes after crossing the finish line!):

Day of Thanks 15: Safe Flight

Landed safely in Chicago after an uneventful and reasonably comfortable flight! I am definitely thankful for that! Now I have four hours to wait for my next flight to Tampa. Found a spot in the lounge and am going to work on my NaNoWriMo project. I am hoping I can get a lot done because the last few days I have gotten a tiny bit behind on my word count and I would like to get caught up before I get to Florida! Think four hours will be enough to write 4,000 words???

Day of Thanks 14: Fast (for me) Four!

Lots to do today so I decided to do a circuit workout at home followed by a fast short run. It was very chilly this morning but it looked like the sun was going to come out so I started out by warming up on the bike, taking Felix to school. Then when I got home I did the following circuit 4 times:

• 10 stationary lunges
• 10 squats
• 10 push-ups
• 10 bent over dumbbell rows
• 10 shoulder presses
• 10 biceps curls
• 10 French presses
• 10 weighted crunches

I got my running jacket and hat back on and went out to do my run while I was still warmed up. I ran to the Finnish track, did two loops there and ran back:

I was keeping an eye on my average pace and I was really happy with how speedy I was (for me)! I am so grateful this run went well, especially after doing that circuit workout first. I used to hate doing weights first before a speed workout or HIIT, but now I kind of feel like the way you feel after doing a good weight session before running mimics the tiredness you get far into a long run. So it seems like good practice to me.

After I got home I did some yoga to stretch my legs out good - they are going to be cramped for a long time in the plane seat tomorrow. I am feeling ready for Sunday and am looking forward to seeing everyone in Florida! And oh, yes, some sun!