Patience; the new endurance sport.

I'm wearing my Garmin again today.  I gave myself more than a month off from thinking about pace -- I really shouldn't put it on at all until next January and just try to run how I feel, but I'm afraid that could be 14 m/m's as I dredge my way through winter. The first time I turned my Garmin back on (last Saturday while I was in Austin), it showed my SGM readings.  I am in such a different place with the running only a month and a half later, that seeing my time and the miles was a shocker.  How did I do that?  Anyway, I still am taking it easy, but want to know how easy-- apparently 9:30's.  I never stop though, it's too cold to stop -- so at least it's continued mileage.  This morning I almost stepped on a dead skunk in the middle of the road.  It was all guts and fur. I can't see anything until it is right in the light of the headlamp I had to leap over the top of it because I wasn't paying any attention until it was almost under my feet.  We had been talking about cupcakes and I guess I was a little too engrossed in the idea of a tall mountain of frosting to watch where I was going.  It is strange about the cupcake revolution and all the specialtiy shops nowdays.  In Austin there was a cupcake shop that sold them through the window of an air-stream trailer.  The line was about 50 people long. They're pretty, but  I have to admit it's only the frosting that tempts me (because who can resist eating pure butter?).  See? I almost stepped on a dead skunk and I'm still not paying attention.

I had the best treadmill run today.  I should count 3.5 of these as fast miles since they were under 9's.  I just felt great on the treadmill and I sheepishly admit to watching the rest of The Proposal.  I felt really bad about saying how much I thought it sucked last week, and after asking a few others who said they liked it, decided to finish it. The second half was better than the first (once I got past all the cheesy character development).  In the end, it was a little better than I originally opined.  Also, with all this frenzy recently about New Moon (sorry girls, I wish I could get into it, but just can't--I read the book and hated it) it made me feel a little guilty I was having trouble finishing a regular romantic comedy. I need to work a little on my sustained disbelief-which could actually make me a nicer person to be around.

I never drink diet soda and I have had 2 in the past week.    When I feel like being evil, I turn to soda--don't ask me why. I don't know if I tried to run extra hard, or if I was just oxygen depleted from all the CO2 ingestion. But even though I got to run in the daylight, it was hard work.  There is no way I can run 10-13 tommorrow.  I can barely hold myself together at 5. 

I did the Turkey Trot a few years ago, and aside from the prizes, I hated it.  I'd run it again only if they improved the course.  I did'nt like running on city streets around the Orem Rec Center.  I was gong to run this morning with Marion, Michelle, MacKenzie & Co, but they were running 10, I only wanted to do 8, and planned on running it significantly slower--which meant that I would have been running alone, in the dark, in Payson (without really knowing the area).  Sad to have missed the pie fest--should I have ever found my way back to where we started..... What I did do, was get up, and run 8 miles in the beautiful Utah Valley blue skied daylight.  Me and the dogs ran down the trail and had a joyous, wonderful, gratitude filled moment watching the fog lift from the surface of the lake and taking in the view of Mt. Timpanogos during a silent and pristine sunrise. I am grateful for my trail, my trees, my river, my lake, my dogs, my running friends, my strong legs, and the secret strength that comes from enjoying simple things. I'm grateful for health, family, children, my Aunt. I'm grateful for yams,cranberries, and gravy.  I am thankful to be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!

5 lbs of butter and a turkey later......I got up to run with Marsha.  She had to get out early so she could get to the sales. We diverge in many opinions, but none so vehemently as this morning.  I never understood shopping stampede style the day after thanksgiving (or waiting 2 days in line for anything).  I hate shopping as it is, much less surrounded by germ ridden mouth breathers who come out of the woodwork for a sale.  Sorry,  I will go without having more crap, before being touched, much less trampled, in a Walmart. I realize this is unpatriotic. Anyway, I came home from the run chilled to the bone and so without showering threw off my sweaty clothes and got back into bed.  I drifted to sleep and woke up at 4:00 in the afternoon.  Yes, that was an 8 hour nap in case you are counting. How on earth did I get tired enough to take an 8 hour without noticing?  I blame the DTE (delayed tryptofan effect).

I ran with Cath this morning. You'll all be relieved to know that we reformed healthcare. Also, we wrote lymircs and haikus about our recently fallen toenails. In my estimation, a very productive run.