Frost on My Running Shoes

 It's been a cold one here at the old TTLWH headquarters. Every morning, I vowed to run on my old ancient treadmill, but once I saw the sun starting to rise, I bundled up and headed outside into the polar vortex for my runs. 

Every damn time this week. Because the sun makes me feel warm, even on the coldest mornings.

It's been a good week of running!

Coffee Talk

I'm starting off the new year with a new coffee cup, thanks to Shutterfly and my #holottafun memories. This mug puts a smile on my face with every sip of coffee. Do you have a favorite mug? What kind of coffee do you like? Cream and sugar? Or straight up black?

Mine has chocolate soy milk. The mug is warm in my hand.

Let's talk. Pour yourself a cup, get comfy. It's time for the Ultimate Coffee Date with our hosts Coco and Deborah! I'm shifting gears for this post--no running talk and no arthritis talk! Because...coffee talk! What would you tell me? What's new in your world?

New Year, New Dilemma: Why I'm Not Setting Running Goals This Year

One month ago, if you had asked me what I had planned for 2017, I would have told you that I had a marathon and a half marathon already on the calendar. That I had already talked to Becky about my marathon training plan. I wanted a similar plan to my 2014 Chicago plan, with twice weekly sessions including CrossFit intervals and strength training. Before we embarked on my marathon training plan, Becky had a strength cycle planned for me for January and February. Everything was going to fall into place.

I even confided in Marcia my super secret goal. I swore her to secrecy. I'm going to share it here because it's unlikely to happen: I had hoped to BQ at this year's marathon. I turn 55 this year, and my BQ time is now 4:10. My marathon PR from 2014 was 4:17. A 4:10 was totally within reach for me, if all the stars aligned and everything fell into place. As Marcia told me, I could do it if I learned to "find my gears" and hold back on my pace at the start of the race.

In the blink of an eye, all that has changed. I've done a lot of soul-searching over the past 3 weeks. I'm still planning on running those races, but no longer am I reaching for the stars.

2016: The Year in Numbers

Happy New Year!

Wow. Can you believe it's the start of the new year? 2016 was a tumultuous year for many of us. You probably know how my year ended. I'm looking forward to the fresh start that the new year promises.

But it wouldn't be the new year without the yearly rewind! Because this is a running blog, I'm going to rewind my year in running! I've already recapped my year in bling. Today's post is all about the numbers. I'm also going to review the goals I set a year ago at this time. On Wednesday, I'll share my goals for 2017.

I was fairly surprised when I added up my miles for the year! So close to my yearly goal of hitting 1000 miles! That made me super happy. How did I do with the rest of my goals?

Runfessions: December Edition

It's the end of December, heck, it's the end of 2016 which can only mean one thing: it's time for Runfessions! I'm just going to put it out there, even though I've had a lot of fun and good times this year, I runfess that I am so glad to see 2016 come to an end. Seriously. My roller coaster ride just won't stop.

Stop the ride! I want to get off. Bring on 2017!

Finding Stillness in Motion

"True power is finding stillness within motion. " ~Lao Tzu

The concept of finding stillness within motion is central to yoga. Holding poses can be so meditative. But have you ever thought of running as meditative? I have and I do. After training for many long distance races, I find that I enjoy the training as much as I do crossing the finish line. What is it about running those long solo runs that help me to reconnect with myself, to find my inner peace?

Isn't that why most of us run?

Finding Joy in the Journey

Ho ho ho! The holidays are upon us but at Taking the Long Way Home, the workouts don't stop! In fact, no matter how crazy things get, I make sure to set aside time to get it done. I don't know about you, but I feel so much more calm and focused after a workout. With all the time spent planning and preparing for the holidays, it feels good to make a little time for myself. I know that I'm a better person if I get my "me" time. Besides, what better way to feel a little less guilty about overindulging in holiday treats than by burning those calories on the road or in the gym?

5 Things You Might Not Know About Winter Running

When you live in a place that gets colder than Mars, like it was in Chicago last week, you learn a thing or 2 about running in the cold. Oh sure, I could run inside, on my treadmill, but what fun is that? I did one treadmill run last week and it was like a torture treatment. It was dark and icy and I did have to go to work, so sometimes a runner's gotta do...but there is a reason I have a 20 year old treadmill. It barely gets used.

I look at winter running as just one more item on my list of running challenges. But instead of complaining about running in the cold or making excuses for not heading outside, I embrace it. Most of the time, running in the winter isn't horrible. Most of the time, running in the winter is pretty nice.

A lot of folks have been sharing their tips about running outside. Along those lines, I wanted to share a few things about winter running that just maybe you've never even thought about.

The Gift I'm Giving Myself

'Tis the season for giving! I don't know if you shop like I do, but most of the time I end up buying as much for myself as I do for everyone else. Tell me you don't do this. I don't intentionally set out to splurge. It just happens. I guess I just lack restraint.

Today's Wednesday Word is giving. While I've been giving myself lots of gifts lately, the gift I most want to give myself is going to require a lot of self-control. But that's exactly what I need.

I'm giving myself a break.

But Can I Still Run?

This week I attempted to find my footing, literally and figuratively, as I worked on getting my head around my new diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. While I don't want to be known as the "arthritis runner", I wanted to share what is ahead for me--both in the doctor's office and on the road.

I'm still feeling overwhelmed and reeling with the shock of this diagnosis. I was also surprised that in spite of completing a 5 day course of high dose steroids (prednisone), I continued to have significant pain and stiffness in my hands and feet. It's like aliens have taken over my body. That is exactly how I described it to my new BFF, my rheumatologist, and she agreed. "It's a shitty diagnosis," she said.

I couldn't have said it any better.

Book Review: Nowhere Near First by Cory Reese

Cory Reese never met a doughnut he didn't like. He likes Hostess Products too. Cory especially likes Hostess raspberry-filled donuts, which he says are "delivered straight from heaven on the wings of angels."

Of course, since he runs 100 mile races on a whim, he can do that, right? If you haven't heard of him, Cory Reese is an ultramarathoner. You know, one of those runners who doesn't think running a marathon is nearly far enough. "Shorter" distances, like the marathon, were just the gateway drugs to ultrarunning. In his book, Nowhere Near First: Ultramarathon Adventures From The Back Of The Pack, Cory Reese shares his journey from mere mortal to a runner of distances that most of us can't or don't want to fathom.

Even if you are not an ultrarunner or even a distance runner, Cory's book is full of humor and inspiration. He's one of us, a regular runner. Sort of...

The Decorated Runner: 2016 The Year in Bling

Most of us are recapping our year of running in a variety of posts, and for today's Wednesday Word prompt, decorate, I decided that I'd recap my year in bling! We as runners are a very decorated group when it comes to bling. Some of us run for the bling and some don't. I'd say I'm in the latter group, but I won't deny that I like getting a medal after a hard run race! Lucky for you, I didn't race a whole lot this year so there won't be a ton of medals in this post. But what I can say is that the races I ran were all special and meaningful for one reason or another. This was a tough year for me, both on and off the road, but I'm proud of what I brought to each and every starting line.

You know the saying: Earned, never given.