Thanks for the Miles

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on all that is good. At our family gathering, we each take a turn to express our gratitude for the blessings in our lives. I'm a big believer in silver linings. In spite of some tough breaks this year, there was just so much good that came out of every bad situation and I'm so grateful for that.

I'm also grateful to be ending this year on a high note, with regards to running and fitness. Instead of recovering from a fall marathon and dialing down my mileage, I'm gearing up for my final race of the year. Next weekend, I'm traveling to Florida to run the Panama City Beach half marathon with a few of my fellow bloggers. Without all the miles I've normally run by this time of year, my legs feel fresh and young. This week was the best running week I've had all this year. I'm hoping to ride that wave (pun intended!) all the way to the finish line of this waterfront race!

After crushing my 10 miler last weekend, I promised myself I'd take it easy. But riding that post-long run high, my legs just wanted to go. Looking down at my Garmin during my runs has made me smile. With the lightness I've been feeling in my stride, my PF continues to be a whisper and that Baker's cyst is behaving. Right now, the only unknown is the weather. If it's warm on race day, I'll have to adjust my goals. As of today, all my weather apps are in agreement that the conditions look to be ideal for the race. Stay tuned.

Stopping to see my 2 favorite friends on Thanksgiving.

Today's 8 miler was a little bit more of a challenge than I expected. I blame my large dinner last night. We went to the BBQ restaurant where my oldest son works and gorged ourselves on the amazing pulled pork and sides. There was also some beer consumed. This morning's weather was cool and blustery, not sunny as predicted. But I got it done, and happy with my pace, I wrapped up my final "long run" for my half marathon training.

King Dancer at the pond

Wednesday's yoga class was excellent as always but ended on a sad note. My long-time teacher, Kathy, is no longer going to be leading our class. There will be a new teacher, and I'm not exactly thrilled about who it is. I've taken a few of her classes and they aren't nearly as fun as what I'm used to. I'm willing to give her a chance with the hope that she'll be a little less intense than what I've experienced from her in the past.

Twisted Bound Chair aka "bird prep"

I had another week without Becky, but opportunity knocked in the form of rugby conditioning. Yes, you read that right. My son is back to work with the team and they've been training with their strength coach. Matthew asked if I wanted to go with him on Thursday for conditioning. Never one to shy away from a challenge or a yummy coach, I went. We all did sumo deadlifts. Coach Nick had the boys max out but I didn't want to do that since I'm not currently in a strength cycle. I finished with 115# for my last set, feeling great with my effort. Then he divided us into 2 groups and we competed against each other, rowing 2000m and completing 150 burpees as a group. My endurance paid off handsomely. While my 17 year old teammate killed his turns on the rower, I was not the dead weight I'm sure he thought I'd be. In fact, the other boy on our team got nauseous and had to sit out, so it was just Joe and me to the finish. We beat the other team, which included my son Matthew, by about 10 burpees. Full disclosure: I realized about halfway into the match that I wasn't dropping to the floor with my burpees. Coach Nick said that was ok, calling them "girl burpees". I guarantee you that Becky would not have felt the same way. I just hope she doesn't make me re-do them next week when I see her. Anyways, I left with a huge smile on my face and felt completely badass for the rest of the week. I was so excited about this workout that I completely forgot to get a picture.

What a fantastic way to be heading into a race and a girls' weekend! For my race, I do have goals...always #1 is to have fun. I'd love a sub-2 finish--that Florida heat and humidity always have kicked my ass and I've never finished a half there under 2 hours. If nothing else, our hostess promises me there will be beer at the finish!

How was your week? Any end of the year races for you? Do the heat and humidity mess with you?

I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap as well as Angela and Ilka for the Sunday Fitness and Food Linkup!