Through Rain and Sleet and Snow and Political Hangovers...

So, I'm a political junkie. With help from Google and NPR (Washington DC's WAMU is a fantastic station!)  I have stayed up on the political scenery, both nationally and locally, as well as I possibly could.  I was also very scared of what our political landscape could look like under the candidates I didn't support, and what it could mean for our country's continued existence (and lets NOT bring up the fiscal cliff and its frustrating absence in the discussions.)  So how this relates to running you ask?  Well, its more the lack of sleep that this caused last night.  I couldn't go to sleep until the "Fat Lady had Sung."

(as a side note - I am very proud of my new state, we passed Same Sex Marriage and the DREAM act!)

But on to the running.. As the Alarm went off this morning, the last thing my body wanted was to roll out of bed and go or a run.  But since, I blew it the day before - up I went.  It was 38 degrees out, so noticeably warmer than yesterday! Talk about a fantastic starting point.

Hanging at the parents

This weekend we headed up to see the loved ones we left behind in NY. We came up Friday evening with the goal of seeing my wife's BFF (and our kitties that now live at their house.). The fun part of surprising people is when they aren't home! We did however get to see our cats, and their kids! The babysitter (also a friend of ours) seemed to think it was funny, at least she did when she got over the shock of us "out-of-staters" walking through the front door! We had come, supposedly, for the Annual Penguin book sale, so we did head out there on Saturday after visiting people (and eating a cinnabon. Sooooo good, and luckily we haven't found them in Maryland.). We stood in line in a cold drizzle and decided that this year it simply wasn't worth it. This morning I did three miles in my parent's treadmill. Booooring. Yet it was still a far better idea than running in the snow flurries! Its 20 degrees colder than Maryland was. I will say that it was awesome seeing the whole family, my brother and sister brought their families. Seeing my ten month old niece Micah Rose was awesome!

Friday's Ramblings... Or why its always nice to give clean pants to a neighbor's child after a dog throws up on them.

So its friday.. I draaaaaaaaaagged myself out of bed this morning (notice all the "a"s?  It was that hard to do..) and headed out to run.  The first thing I have to say, is I have completely forgotten how to dress to run in 40 degree weather.  I was nice and comfy when I got outside and started my run... At the end I went in the house and couldn't get the layers off fast enough!  But I get ahead of myself...

I decided I was going to hold myself back today and take it easy. I have been doing my runs at about the "maximum" speed that I could - for the distance I was running.. I haven't been planning on doing this, it's just that my speed that I ran an easy 4 to 5 mile run last year, is now my "maximum I can handle for 2.5 miles.."  It occured to me that running consistently at that level is probably not the smoothest of moves I could make, my goal today was for a 10 minute mile.  So with that goal in mind, I headed out of the door.

I started my Runtastic.

The streets, without the pitterpatter of little ghouls and goblins.

Ghouls and Goblins.. I don't think anyone actually dresses up as ghouls or goblins anymore.  I know mine went as a Witch (though half way through she took of her hat and proclaimed herself to be a vampire) and a skeleton.  And I don't know about pitter patter either.. They halloweeners I saw were certainly having too much fun (aka loud) to hear any pitter pattering!!!!  But no matter how you look at it, there was definitely a good time had by all!

As you can see my little Witch/Vampire and Skeleton had quite the haul....And somehow I am going to eat none of it.  While this way-to-much-candy-in-the-house season continues, I will keep you updated on how much of their candy I have (or have not) eaten!

Halloween and the Curse of the Candy Calories

So its Halloween..   That means two things - Trick or Treaters and CANDY!!!!!

[caption id="attachment_1667" align="aligncenter" width="485"] Halloween 2010[/caption]

I don't think we runners (or want-to-be runners as I consider myself at the moment) are any different from any other person.  We will escort our little ghouls and goblins around the neighborhood so that they can beg for a sweet confectionary delight at each house.  After an eternity of watching them mooch, and yelling "Did you say thank you?" and "Get off the grass!" - we will return home tired and worn out.  Then my wife and I will begin the annual "Candy Inspection."   The ever important part of the evening where we make sure no one has tampered with any of the loot before handing it out.  (One amazing thing, is every year it seems that most of the Peanut Butter Cups have been tampered with.  Then, we have to set those aside in a bowl that the kids aren't allowed to touch as my wife and I test each one individually making sure they are "Safe.")

Day of Rest

So yesterday was a rest day.  Seems odd to say that as I have just started regularly running again.  How can I need to rest, I've been resting for MONTHS!   But my legs have been letting me know that a rest-day was needed, especially in my calves!  I have to dress like a grown-up in my new job, so no VFFs at work.  Needless to say, having been wearing normal shoes made my calves REALLY surprised when I went for a run!

The other part that surprised me is I missed my run.  I'm still at the stage that running hurts, perhaps because I am running at a fairly decent pace for being out-of-shape.  I WANTED to run yesterday, but stuck with the planned rest.  I may not have liked it, but I'm sure my calves and other muscles did!

Tonight? I dodge trick-or-treaters!

My Heroes.

August 22nd.  Since that date, there has been nothing but silence here on my WordPress Blog.  If you follow along on my Facebook page, you got to hear from me as recently as August 24th.  Granted, if you follow Storme, the Curvy Road Runner on Facebook, then you have seen me post a few times since then to her wall.  (As a quick side note, if you don't either follow her on Facebook, or her blog - you should she is someone who has really shown the life-changing potential of running, and how to reach for your goals. SHE

[caption id="attachment_1642" align="alignleft" width="300"] Hero #1 - Storme, rocking her medal.[/caption]

was at the starting line for the Marine Corps Marathon this year, unlike yours truly!)  Storme is an awesome person, and is truly an inspiration!