Weeks in Review (November 17 - November 30)

I need to never ever try to do two weeks at a time again. This was really hard to remember and reconstruct.

Tuesday (23,101 steps) - Upper body video. This one is ok, but the overhand reps are super awkward and I'm not sure they do me much good. And in preparation for a huge blizzard, my work instituted a late start. The storm ended up being minimal up north where I live, so A still had school on time. I dropped her off, went straight to work (in practically zero traffic) and ran 6 miles in my new INKnBURN holiday skirt! What a great way to start the day.

Wednesday (16,418 steps) - Cardio video. Not super crazy about these "cardio" videos - but it's part of the #FB30, so I did it anyway. We skipped run club because A had a "nature night" at her school. There were tables set up in the hallways for the state parks, the bird sanctuary, Butterfly Pavilion and more. There were tons of activities to interact with different aspects of nature, including bird watching:

and archery(?):

There was also free pizza and giveaways (A did not win anything). It was a pretty cool event.
Thursday (18,721 steps) - Yoga/Pilates video. Blah. I don't know, I find these videos kinda boring. But stretching always feels good. The weather was pretty nice so I decided to do my run outside. Ran all the way to the pavilion in City Park and got in 4 pretty good miles.

Friday (17,267 steps) - Today was technically a day for an "assessment" of my progress over the last 8 weeks from my last #F30 program. I didn't do the first day, or this one either. I did, however, do another set of super awesome pictures.

The best part about the day was it being the start of THE WEEK OF NOTHING. I took off the entire week of Thanksgiving, and we planned on doing (basically) nothing all week. When we got home we made another new dessert - Thin Mint cheesecake cupcakes! (And before you ask, YES, I still have some in the freezer from February).

Saturday (18,156 steps) - Up early for the Pumpkin Pie 5k.

Immediately after leaving we stopped at Sbux (and changed clothes in the bathroom) on our way to Children's Hospital. We met up with A's Girl Scout troop to prepare "Kits for Kids" - bags of medical supplies that get sent all over the world for children/families that don't have the money or resources for items as simple as combs or toothpaste.

After finishing up with the Scouts we drove to our friend Heather's house in the mountains for our Gingerbread house party. Have you ever made a gingerbread house? I hadn't, and I found it infuriating. The frosting was not holding the house together and every time I took my hands of the walls it fell apart. After a lot of cursing and anger, we finally got our house and train (yes, they are Halloween themed) built. Great evening with great friends.

Sunday (18,341 steps) - Up early AGAIN. This time for the "Donut 5k" in Fort Collins. A had her heart set on running this, even though it wasn't a "real" race. I can't blame her, donuts are pretty great. Although it was sunny, it was pretty chilly. Our Roost teammate and fellow INB ambassador, Lisa, also drove up from the metro area.

Me, A, and a random INB fan

The trick to this race was that it was a prediction race, so we weren't allowed to wear a watch or carry anything to time ourselves. The prizes were turkeys, so I'm kinda glad we didn't win, because then I would have felt obligated to cook it.

I struggled through this one (and my skirt kept riding up), but A had a great kick at the end. (I'm not sharing my pic, I look sad and pathetic).

Stuck around waiting for awards. Turns out I ran a 33:17 (which was a minute slower than I predicted). The winner was DEAD ON. How does that even happen? We went grocery shopping on the way home so I could make "pepper jack" meatloaf. Which is exactly what it sounds like. Meatloaf stuffed with pepper jack cheese. It was delicious - A loved it too. 

We played some Mario Kart on the Wii U and started a game of Monopoly. I hate Monopoly.
Monday (18,908 steps) - I decided to take the week off from doing cross training. I tried to sleep in, but failed. Apparently 8:00 is an unreachable goal. I went for a quick run over to the lake - it was GORGEOUS outside.

A wanted to use her birthday money to get another controller and some games for her Wii U. Thankfully, Target was running a 10% off sale on electronics, so we didn't have to risk waiting until Black Friday to pick up some bargains. After lunch we met up with Rose, Madi and Chloe at the skating rink. Free skating during the week of Thanksgiving!

AND THEN MORE MONOPOLY.
Tuesday (21,634 steps) - Still unable to sleep in. I knew a cold front was coming in so I wanted to get in another run outside. I went on the trail behind my house to see where it went, and to the east, it basically ends. (Not really, but I don't want to run on (or have to cross) any major intersections. Heading east, I ended up in the middle of the lake, so I just finished out my run there. WINDY WINDY WINDY, but tee shirt and skirt weather!

After lunch we went for a walk around the lake (we had been hoping to go the the wildlife refuge, but it was closed) and nearly got killed by swarms of geese. (Not really, but there were TONS OF THEM).

We stopped at the library on the way home (it had been so long since I went last that my card expired??) And then? The next baking project. A way more in depth cheesecake for Thanksgiving! It made a TON, so we ended up making little cupcakes too!

We drove up north to pick up our packets for our turkey trot - stopping at Old Navy afterwards. I manged to pick up some super cute running gear for A for incredibly low prices. The running vest she got is super cute.
Wednesday (14,490 steps) - With the cold front definitely headed in, we went on a very short run to the lake. Already hat and glove weather...

Another trip to the skating rink (free, remember?)

We ran home to grab some cheesecake cupcakes and then drove down to Denver for run club. It was cold and windy and we just socialized. No running. Stopped at Heather's house for some pizza and then went home.
Thursday (15,562 steps) - For the first time ever, I think, the weather was awful for the turkey trot. For at least the last 4-5 years I've worn a tank top and skirt. This time I was wearing tights, 2 shirts and a jacket. And I was still cold. We met up with Heather and Dan around 8:00. Sat in the car until about 2 minutes until the start. I ran with Heather and A ran with Dan. My legs sucked, I had calf cramping that I haven't had in a while and had to walk a lot. At least we looked adorable. (Full recap to come - I'm incredibly behind).

Headed home to shower and get pretty for all the Thanksgiving festivities! First we took our cheesecake over to Jessa's where we sat around and chatted for a few hours - then we drove down to Denver (in awful weather) to The Oxford Hotel. Heather had been kind enough to get us reservations at McCormick's for Thanksgiving lunch (which was soooo good) AND a night's stay at the hotel!

A had a fun time coloring everyone's hair, we played many games of Apples to Apples and in general had a fantastic time. Probably the best Thanksgiving we have ever had!

Friday (13,422 steps) - We awoke to MORE snow...

We walked to Union Station and hit up Snooze for breakfast. Which, by the way, was the most delicious EVER. A tried to eat a burrito the size of her head (and failed), and I had an incredible pumpkin pancake with bourbon syrup.

A few more games (including Jenga, which of course, A won) before we had to check out.

We went home to shower and feed the cats, and then we made a run to Target. Not my best idea ever, Black Friday is the worst. Only thing we bought was a copy of Jurassic World. Not many deals out there unless you are shopping for a giant TV?
Saturday (21,595 steps) - I wanted to get a longer run in, so we went to the gym. I hadn't been there in almost three weeks! We were on a bit of a time crunch, so I only got about 7.5 miles in. A had gotten a gift card to the movie theater for her birthday, so we went to see the Peanuts movie. She thought it was ok, I thought it was boring... I honestly cannot remember what we did the rest of the day, other than finally finishing that terrible game of Monopoly, which A won.

Sunday (17,681 steps) - Hemmed and hawed forever about going out to run. It was hovering around 20 degrees and it was overcast. As the temperature continued to drop I decided I better go out. Since it was still pretty icy out, I ran on the road on the south side of the lake. Pleasantly surprised with my pace, considering I took numerous walk breaks.

After I got home I showered, we had a quick lunch, and then we went skating. Yes, again. Then we met up at Hu Hot with my friend from high school. Two hours just FLEW by. And just like that, I'm sitting there watching the Walking Dead and wondering how on earth the Week of Nothing was over.
Monday (16,554 steps) - It had snowed a bit Sunday night. Not that much. It was a light fluffy snow. AND YET, it was the worst commute I can remember in ages. It took me an hour and a half to get to work - which is less than 10 miles away. And about twice as long as a normal drive. After I picked up A at Scouts we went to the gym, but I was tired and not in the mood for running so we left. Stopped at Tokyo Joe's on the way home and watched "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." I love that movie.

Stats

• 130,912 steps (week one) and 120,938 steps (week two)
• 21.9 miles run (week one) and 24.1 miles run (week two)
• 24 minutes of cross training (week one) and nada week two
• 63 minutes of strength/stretching (week one) and nada week two

Everything Else

• Not sure that I have ever taken a "staycation" - but I think I'll do it again. For planning NOTHING, we were incredibly busy all week long.
• As I write this, it is December 1. Where did this year go? The year seriously has flown by.