All it takes is all you've got

My leg was feeling pretty good but I decided to give it a day on the elliptical just to be safe.  Did 65 minutes on the elliptical, some weights, and an easy half mile of running outside.

Yay! Back to running.  That leg soreness last week must have been purely muscular because it healed up quickly.  I'm SO relieved.

I wussed out of the negative temps and did the elliptical at the rec. center.  Left leg still sore, but feeling a little better every day.

An hour on the eliptical and weights

50 minutes Eliptical

We are in the middle of a frigid cold snap.  I opted for the elliptical at the rec center today.  Did an hour and some weights afterwards

Aaron had a meeting in Denver all morning so I set up the bike trainer and knocked out 75 minutes of spinning.

Cold, gorgeous run around devil's thumb.

Feeling motivated! 

Took the kids skiing 

Just felt like going longer today. It was so gorgeous and 40 degrees felt like summertime.  In a few days I'll be running on the beach in 70 degree temps.  We are going to Costa Rica for Christmas break.  We'll be staying in a house right on the beach for two solid weeks. Swimming, surfing, hiking in the rainforest to see waterfalls, snapping pics of howler monkeys, zip-lining through the forest, just a few of the things we have in store. Our first international trip as a family and I am SO excited!

Saw 27 geese standing around on frozen Veile Lake.  With this gorgeous 60 degree weather it wont be frozen for long though!

I am so excited for Costa Rica I can't sit still.  Finishing up last minute things before our redeye tonight.  And of course updating the music on our iPad is a must.  Music makes the memory.

No run today.  Red eye flight and long day in the car traveling from San Jose to Montezuma by way of bumpy roads and a ferry boat.  Took a few stops for food, groceries, and to swim in the ocean.  Our car was loaded with beach sand by the end of the day.  Finally crashed down at the first available hotel in Montezuma at 8 p.m. and not even the ants and lizards on the wall distracted me from sleep (well the kids crying about the ants did, but not for long).

Easy early morning jog around Montezuma.  Legs pretty trashed from the travel day yesterday.  At breakfast a family of bluejays kept stealing food from our plates.  One stole a bite of food right out Kelsie's hand and she didn't even seem to notice.   We shooed them away for the first 20 minutes but finally gave in and started feeding them our leftovers.

After playing at the park and checking out of our hotel, we grabbed more food and drove up the hill to a jungle zip line canopy tour.  Aaron hiked in with Kelsie on his back to snap pictures while I went on the tour with the three older kids.  It was EPIC!!  I think we passed over 8 lines.  There was a break after the 5th one to hike down to a waterfall and jump off it into a pool below.  Also a rope swing on the side of the pool.  SO FUN.

Arrived at Casa Don Tomas yesterday at 4 p.m. Greeted by happy, friendly Chepita, our housekeeper.  Enjoyed a nice 5 miler this morning along the beach to the south across Playa Santa Teresa, Playa Carmen, and Playa Mal Pais.  Over one section of beach there were hundreds of little fishies that were laying there, washed up from high tide.  Fisherman were putting them on hooks and tossing them back in to catch bigger fish.  No poles, just a line, a hook, and a little fish washed up on shore.  They made it look easy, but surely there's a technique to it.  One Costa Rican man with a big smile on his face was carrying six big fish back home and as I passed him, one jumped in reflex and fell to the ground.  He turned and smiled as he picked it back up and headed home to filet his catch.

Opted for body boarding instead of running today.  My calves were quite sore from a long walk up and down the beach yesterday.  Not used to all this sand, its a workout!

Started out running north on the beach, but at high tide the only sand to run is dry and soft.  So after a mile I headed up to the dirt road and continued throug Hermosa on what turned out to be more like a trail than a road.  Beautiful.  After Aaron's run he went into town to get a few gifts for Christmas and came back with a 4-wheeler.  We piled all six of us on that one ATV and went exploring to Playa Hermosa and back to Playa Carmen for some souvenier shopping and dinner.  My legs were quite muddy after hanging them off the back of the ATV and shoulders were quite tired from hanging on over the bumps.  Definitely an adventure to remember.  Ali sitting in front of Aaron, Abe behind him, Bre and I on the back with Kelsie in my backpack.  We got some strange looks luckily there aren't many policemen in this sleepy little surf town.

Merry Christmas!  This is definitely the most unique Christmas of my life.  It seems strange without snow and home.  We weren't sure if he'd make it this far South, but Santa did bring the kids one local gift and a treat.  Then we made pancakes and eggs for breakfast, played games in the pool, went body boarding and surfing, built a nativity scene on the beach and sang Christmas songs.  Later in the day we had some friends over whom Aaron had met at a networking event a couple of months ago in the Dominican Republic.  Nice company, good food, and beautiful sunset on the beach.

Feeling pretty tired.  The ants are starting to get to me and kept me up itching my feet and legs a lot last night.  We had an adventurous day again though.  Rented a car and went to a butterfly farm and back to Montezuma for some more swimming in the waterfall pool.

Woke up to swollen feet, especially my left.  I must have scratched my itchy ant bites way too much last night because now they're super inflamed. Today we're taking it easy and I'm going to TRY. NOT. TO. SCRATCH.

Barefoot run on the beach.  Found a sand dollar.

Barefoot run.  Still struggling with itchy feet, but they're getting better.  Had to scratch my feet together in the sand for a few minutes.  It was overcoming.