Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Week in Review (December 20 - December 26)

Tuesday (12,502 steps) - Took A to student council before school, which meant I was at work early. Went to Laura's barre class during lunch. Usual sneak out a few minutes early to get A to gymnastics on time. Once we got home we had to make frosting for her graham cracker house project at school. Dinner, bed.
Wednesday (14,762 steps) - Run club after work/school.
A decided she would rather walk with Norah and Maureen than run with Heather and me. We did a few icy miles with Colfax. Didn't spend too much time at the store after as we had to get in bed early for A's crazy flight to Texas in the morning.
Thursday (18,400 steps) - Up at 3:03 am. Yes, 3:03 AM, for A's flight to Texas that was scheduled to leave Denver at 5:45 am. We headed out the door around 3:25. Car was parked by 4, and we were at the gate by 5. Her flight was on time, and they even pushed back a few minutes early. I got ready in the gym locker room and was at my desk by like 7:15 am. That meant that I could go to Laura's barre class again at lunch. After work I headed over to the Lakewood store. Heather had bailed, so it was just Colfax and me again.

Went to Rocko's and ended up staying until 10:45. Party animal.
Friday (28,768 steps) - As a result of being a party animal I was exhausted. I took a quick shower so I didn't look like a homeless person and got to work at 9 (yay for no traffic). I had a very busy morning and even left late because I couldn't get everything done. I barely made it to a noon barre class - last one before the holiday. Since I was off work in the daylight, I opted to drive down to Waterton Canyon for a longish run. I got a few miles in before I realized that I couldn't go too far because it would be getting dark earlier in the canyon. Did 8 miles, that were actually pretty chilly. It was really pretty, but I was bummed to not see any sheep!

Had to stop at the grocery store on the way home (ack, why would I do that???). I spent the evening making pumpkin cheesecake.
Saturday (20,255 steps) - Yay for an unofficial Runners Edge run!! I was hoping to do the full distance, but the people in my pace group weren't going quite that long. The run was at South Table in Golden, and I was really excited for it because I had not run out there before. Immediately I was the very last person, I have been having the angry calves again. The first 2/3 of a mile were on the road, and then a gradual incline up to the mesa. That section wasn't too bad, and I did see some deer off on the other side mesa, but too far away for a picture. Once were about a mile and half up, the rutted sections with ice started. Gotta say this was not my favorite part of the run. By the time we were heading back down it was SUPER muddy (since it was so sunny). Managed to get 7 miles in.


Hard to tell, but that's mud on the back of my legs
Took a shower, had lunch, watched TV, then went over to Jessa's for Christmas Eve dinner around 3. We actually ate on time, and then we watched Clue (isn't that what normal people watch on Christmas?) I was home by about 7, hoping to get a nap in before the Sufferfest. Alarm went off at 10:55, although I was already up. Drove down to Wash Park, and was parked by about 11:45. Happy to see Stacy, and asked if she minded if we ran together.
Sunday (32,238 steps) - Midnight on the dot, and we were off. Thankfully, we didn't actually do much running. Stacy was more hoping for time on her feet and that was fine by me. We started on the outer loop, but it was icier than we expected so the two of us moved to the road and never saw anyone else as a result. The temps were actually pretty mild, and we got 7 miles in before calling it quits.
I was home by about 2:30, but couldn't sleep. I ended up staying up and having a beer and it was probably 3:45 before I was able to fall asleep. Up at 9:30 or so. A facetimed me while I was having breakfast. Maureen texted me around 10:45 and asked if I was up for more miles at Sufferfest/Wash Park. The wind had really picked up, but I was getting antsy so I met her down there. We headed out around 11:45.  I ran about 4.5 with Colfax before we met up with Mo and walked another 1.3 or so.
Mandatory selfie with Colfax
Matchy matchy jacket twins!
It was so windy that they ended up calling the whole event. Bah. We went to IHOP and had a late lunch, which was fun. Did most of my packing for Across the Years and watched "Finding Traction" on Netflix.

Monday (17,242 steps) - Tried to sleep in. Couldn't. Cleaned the house a bit and then went to a 10:15 barre class. It was so nice and sunny that Mo and I went to Denver Beer and even sat on the patio. We got some grilled cheese and tomato soup from the food truck, and it was delicious.
Quick stop at home before taking my car back to Just Brakes for them to put in  my sensor and look at my tire (which they apparently never did fix the first time around). The work took an hour. Went to Target and picked up some groceries, stopped at Kneaders for a German chocolate brownie, then more TV time. Walked a few miles on the treadmill before picking up a pizza at Pizza Hut (and getting more beer).
Pigged out all night, watched more TV and in bed, feeling fat, gross and sad. Womp.

Stats:
  • 144,167 steps
  • 33.5 miles run
  • 4 barre classes, some treadmill walking
  • Weight - it's a mystery!
Everything Else:
  • Nothing much else is going on. Managed to make it through Christmas without being quite as depressed as I have been in the past.
  • Work still kinda sucks, coming up on my two year anniversary and I guess I hope the perfect career just falls magically into my lap? I can dream, I guess?

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Week in Review (December 13 through December 19)

Tuesday (19,062 steps) - Totally motivated to get out of this "lazy" slump. Up a few minutes before my alarm, put on ALL the warm weather clothes and went for a 4ish mile run by the lake. It was damn cold, that's for sure. The fleece tights definitely seemed warmer, although my legs still felt cold and were red when I got home.
Went to Laura's barre class during lunch. Gymnastics after school/work. Watched The Talking Dead and part of an episode of Friends before bed.
Wednesday (19,084 steps) - Picked A up at school and then she came back to my office while I finished up the day. We went to the Runners Edge holiday lights run for the second year. Thankfully, it was a lot warmer than the forecast said, although it did get really windy on the way back.




We went to Amato's for a while, I only had a beer. We had dinner at home (really trying to save money).
Thursday (14,109 steps) - Went to Meredith's barre class before work. Picked A up at school again, this time taking her home because I had my ERS ambassador dinner after work and she wasn't going. I stayed at work until about 5:40 and then sat in wretched traffic. The dinner was at Kachina, and it was delicious. Happily, ERS picked up the tab, so I had beer, shared some appetizers, and had some tasty enchiladas. It was nice chatting with everyone, especially Stacy.
I had told A we would eat at home (when I was expecting to have to pay for myself), so I stopped and picked her up some Torchy's Tacos on the way home.
Friday (26,814 steps) - DRAGGING this morning. Runners Edge emailed to cancel our Saturday long run because of the predicted polar vortex temperatures (that are suggesting wind chills of -20). Since finding out that the office would be closed for everyone, not just those attending the party, I packed my running gear with hopes of getting in a good trail run before the cold weather comes. Got off work just before 2:00 and drove out to North Table. It was overcast, but had warmed up to about 30 degrees. I headed out for a the big loop, just under 9 miles. As usual, I struggled with the climbs, and I bit it pretty good about 3 miles in. Around the halfway point, on the west side, the wind picked up quite a bit and it got pretty chilly. There was also some snain, so that was fun. A called me, forgetting that I was running before picking her up.



I got done in about 2 hours, and picked up A right around 5. We made a quick stop at the grocery store on the way home.
Saturday (17,960 steps) - Runners Edge canceled due to the snow and cold. Threw some chili in the crock pot. We had gotten a lot more snow than was predicted, but since I was up I decided to go to a barre sculpt class. Traffic was light, but the road conditions were terrible. I couldn't park where I usually do because nothing had been plowed. I squeezed into a metered spot right before class starts. Of course, about 5 minutes into class I realized I had not fed the meter, so I waited until we were done with the set and threw on my boots and ran out to put money in. So embarrassing. The class was really good, unlike any other barre class I have taken.  A made breakfast and we vegged until it was time to take her to her birthday party. I decided to go for a run (in 0 degree weather) at Lake Arbor, because they always plow there. ONLY THEY DID NOT PLOW THERE. I had the right gear, but I don't love running in deep snow.
Did three miles and then went home for shower and lunch. Picked up A from her party and stopped at Sprouts and Yogurtland. Stayed up ridiculously late putting together the puzzle A had gotten for her birthday from GrandMo.
Sunday (12,110 steps) - TV. Decided to get Torchy's Tacos and then more TV.
Went to Jump City and A finally braved doing a back handspring.


More TV And then barre. Quick change of clothes and then to the bowling alley for Jake's birthday. Took two hours to bowl one game.
Monday (16,563 steps) - Picked up A from Scouts, where she had painted a really cool picture.
Then we headed down to Coohill's for Runners Roost holiday run. We of course got there late because traffic was horrendous. I ran a few miles with Colfax and then we socialized for a bit. As usual, the food was delicious, and the beer was great.

I was told my ugly sweater was too "pretty"
Stayed up too late watching the finale of Gilmore Girls.

Stats:
  • 125,702 steps
  • 23.2 miles run (including a before work run, a trail run, and a 0 degree snow run!)
  • 4 barre classes
  • Current weight - ??? - still not weighing in
Everything Else
  • Works sucks and I'm never going to survive working another 30 years.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Week in Review (December 6 - December 12)

Tuesday (11,479 steps) - Up early to get A to student council. Barre class at lunch with Laura.
A had gymnastics after school and I got her a new leotard. It was a deal at only $25! We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and then wanted to get dinner at Torchy's Tacos, but they were "unexpectedly" closed. Womp. Very late dinner.
Wednesday (15,549 steps) - First real snow of the year. A got up before me and shoveled the walk and lot and scraped off the car. THEN, she made eggs for breakfast (and did dishes). Seriously, how did I get so lucky with this one? The commute was wretched, I was 15 minutes late into the office. Deep freeze all day, with temperatures hovering around 10 degrees, so I didn't even get outside for a walk break. We still went to run club after work. Mo came a bit late with Colfax, we did a small loop just to get him out. It was slick (A fell twice) and COLD.
I immediately went in and asked Amy what the warmest tights were - the ones I have just won't cut it in single digits. Brrr. Once at home we set up my new Elevated Legs that (finally) came. Man, these things are so great.
Thursday (9,663 steps) - Finally, finally, FINALLY, the Runners Roost team was announced! Happy to say that even A made the team (as an honorary member).

After work we went to a Trail Sisters event - it was a lot of fun to see everyone.


Roost team attendees
Then we stopped by Rocko's on the way home for nachos and a beer.
Friday (12,807 steps) - Took Bee Rad in for an oil change and walked into work. Annoyed that I got a parking ticket because their lot was full - at least they cut me a deal on the oil change. I did, however, also find out that I needed new brakes. OF COURSE I DO. After work A and I went to her Girl Scout mystery dinner. A has gone every year, but this was the first time I joined her. It was fun to see the weird combination of foods. Kids were pretty goofy.
Saturday (21,929 steps) - Got to Runners Roost in Lakewood just before 8 for the Runners Edge Toys for Tots run. I had not really run since the marathon and I was hoping to run about 10 miles. It was a lot colder than the forecast had said, so I only did the big 7 mile loop (and I was FINE with that).
Don't be fooled by the blue skies. Super chilly and the sunshine didn't last.
Did more shopping (ugh, 40% off if I bought 2 or more apparel items?) and then went to the Egg & I with Mo for breakfast. A decided that we needed to rearrange the living room so that we could both sit in the recliners. This took most of the afternoon. At 6 we went to Jessa's house for pizza and cake before going bowling for Jackson's birthday. A LONG NIGHT, I was up until almost 1 am!
Sunday (13,799 steps) - Somehow I was actually able to stay in bed until about 8:45. We went to Torchy's Tacos for breakfast and then went to Just Brakes to get my car done. Long story short, it took 3 times as long as I was quoted and cost $100 more. I hate everyone. Squeezed in a short, chilly loop around the neighborhood - don't I look festive?
Went to barre and then Denver Beer for a drink. Lisa met Heather and Mo and I there, so that was fun. Picked up Tokyo Joe's on the way home and then watched the fall finale of Walking Dead.
Monday (13,101 steps) - Ate a million cookies at work. One of the attorneys hosted a cookie exchange and brought in dozens of various holiday cookies. Being the only person without any self-control meant I ate them ALL.DAY.LONG. And then got a cookie hangover. After school/work we went grocery shopping at Target. I randomly decided to make chimichangas, and thankfully, A liked them.

Stats:
  • 98,327 steps. This disgusting cold weather certainly ruins my motivation. Obviously.
  • 11 miles run
  • 3 barre classes
  • Current weight - ??? - Still not weighing in.
Everything Else:
  • Work is kinda awful right now. It's just so slow around the holidays and it's super slow.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Week in Review (November 29 - December 5)

Tuesday (14,555) - Laura's barre class during lunch. Traffic was outrageously horrible after work and I was late picking up A (for the first time ever, and only by a few minutes). She was about 20 minutes late to gymnastics. ALL SO ANNOYING. Chili for dinner and bed early.
Wednesday (14,989 steps) - Picked up A after school and after I was off work we headed down to the Denver store for run club. It was ridiculously cold, but it was a fun night. SPI belt was there and gave everyone a free belt (score!) and after our 2ish mile run with Colfax, we had pizza and beer.
So, greatest night ever. Once we got home A decided she wanted to put up the Christmas tree (which we haven't done in at least one year, maybe even two or three). I made the mini Oreo cheesecakes for the upcoming Roost team party (even though I can't go) while all that was happening.
Thursday (12,713 steps) - Barely slept. Barre class with Meredith at 6 am. Left work just a few minutes early to get A and head back down to the Denver store for a special training session with Junko. Traffic was a NIGHTMARE. We ended up being about 15 minutes late, but WOW, were we in for a treat. Junko is an amazing athlete and her training session was HARD. I was sweating buckets by the end.


A didn't want to go to Rocko's, so we headed home. Stopped along the way to pick up some hats and gloves from the dollar store for the Roost party for donations to the Denver Rescue Mission.
Friday (9,875 steps) - SO SORE. Long, horrible day at work. Picked up A and went to the Empty Bowls fundraiser at the high school. We got some pretty cool bowls this year!
We then went home so A could pack and I could take an epsom salt bath. I took A down to Heather's around 8:00 for her weekend sleepover. Finished packing, stayed up a bit too late.
Saturday (16,053 steps) - Traveling, etc. for California International Marathon.
Sunday (62,331 steps) - California International Marathon and travel home.
Monday (8,596 steps) - Not surprisingly, I was exhausted all day. Work lasted an absolute eternity. Picked up A at Scouts, then home. I watched Walking Dead (dang long episodes!) and worked with Lisa to get A plane tickets for Texas since apparently my ex lost his job. Le sigh. Up later than I wanted to be.

Stats:
  • 139,112 steps
  • 28.6 miles run (thank you, marathon)
  • Junko training session (which I was still feeling on Monday!) and 2 barre classes
  • Current weight ??? - I may stop weighing myself for a while, seems counterproductive. 
Everything Else:
  • Runners Roost was supposed to announce the 2017 team on Thursday... still waiting! So impatient! With the change of ownership and all new captains, I'm very nervous about my application!

Week in Review (November 26 - December 2)

Tuesday (11,120 steps) - I had messaged Amber to ask if it was ok if I came into the office a bit later so I didn't have to get up as ea...