SnowFall

Snow started falling unexpectedly today. They were big, fat flakes and they suddenly filled the sky; it was poetic, on the last day of Winter Break. We decided to embrace the moment and play in the snow while it fell since it seemed to melt as soon as it hit the ground. A hike at St. Edward Park seemed in order, so we got dressed in running gear for a cold, cold day. As soon as we stepped outside, Gigi and I took off down the trail in an attempt to keep warm. The boys huffed behind us, and we joined up again once we got to the lake. The snow fell the entire time we hiked and it was just gorgeous. Magical. Going out into the cold today was not my number one plan, compared to sipping tea, fireside, with a book, why would you pick the frigid, wet cold? But it was totally worth it, if only for that satisfying sizzle on my cold skin as I got into the hot tub! That hike through the cold and snow was freezing-cold-fingertips-red-nose-snow-in-the-eye living, today. Without it I wouldn’t have learned how very excited Gigi is about all the official races we have planned. I wouldn’t have realized how dedicated she is to being a runner and marathoner in the near future. Thank you to the fat, magical snowflakes, thank you to green, muddy St. Ed’s for a fantastic trail, and thank you hot tub for warming my icy buns after!

 

The Run the Year things has been mind blowing so far. I know I’m only three days into it, so motivation is high, but I am super dedicated so far. Like, in an unexpected way. The last three nights I’ve gotten a little obsessed with seeing how fast I can run certain distances around my kitchen island. Last night I managed to run a 5k, in my house, in my kitchen starting at 8:40 and finishing up 40 minutes later. It reminded me a lot of how I run the pool laps in the summer to catch some cooler cardio during the hot days. Except this I can do in my house, while my family is reading, playing games or watching tv. I’m in the thick of their activity and conversation.  

 Truthfully though, I have to be honest and admit that I have a really hard time sitting still for long. Especially for kid movies or other television content that I’m not into. Anyone who spends time at staff meetings with me knows that I’m rarely sitting down, anyhow. I stand, march in place, wobble and pace. If I don’t keep my body busy I start getting really goofy and shouting out jokes, interrupting and it just lengthens any meeting. But at home I get fidgety and then I start riling everyone up by tickling, zerberting and otherwise distracting and antagonizing the children in that rough housing kind of way that one parent in the pair is usually especially good at. I still do the wrestling thing, but I’ve also added night-kitchen running to my mix and I love it. There’s a kind of meditative trance that sort of happens. I can almost close my eyes as I circle around and around with every 15 step circle, and since I don’t have to pay attention to traffic or anything I just meditate, drift and daydream by the light of the Christmas tree (that I just negotiated an extra week in the house for this exact purpose). It’s the most relaxing way to get my steps and bonus cardio. The result is that I’ve been hitting around 14,000 steps per day! I’m so proud! I hope I can sustain my drive and interest in doing this. Just belonging to the Facebook community for Run the Year has been influential. There is a constant stream of people posting a selfie and description of the run or walk they just completed to the public page. Talk about motivating! The constant positivity just drives the enthusiasm! I’m so glad I joined this challenge and community! If you’re interested, it’s not too late to start (you can find the link in the next post). You can sign up all the way into 2016’s fall. 🙂

 

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