mkayc:  hope you feel better soon.  Be patient, the mileage will come back in time for Spring races.  good luck with daughter and mom and hope you all have a Merry Christmas.  How about our Bengals in the playoffs now for the 3rd time in last 4 years?  If only they could win in the first round, that would be a great Christmas present!

coyote:  glad to hear that mrs coyote doing better.  must be tough not knowing how it all started and why it is seemingly better now.  Hope the two of you can figure out what the right thing is for both of you moving forward.  The pic was from Broomfield on a trail near the water tower overlooking Stearns Lake and the Boulder Valley.  I haven't run Mesa Trail but plan to do that in coming year.  Have run Dowdy Draw and there are some unbelievable views!  Still planning the Quicker Quaker next month?  Won't be able to keep up with you but would be good to finally meet.

debm:  way to keep pounding out the runs.

melody:  very nice 10 miles!  Remember when 10 miles seemed like forever and now it's just a regular weekend run!  Way to go.

White Christmas here in CO.  Hope to get out for a run in the snow later today.

Merry Christmas to all!

Be fearless...

Merry Christmas! Took the dogs for a Christmas run – 3.3 miles in 31 minutes.  Apparently they slow me down.  We actually had some snow last evening that covered the grass and looked beautiful for a few hours.  Today it is sunny and in 40's.  Santa brought me a pasta attachment for my KitchenAid and some semolina flour – fresh pasta and shrimp for dinner!  Today I am counting all my blessings – health, comforts, family, and friends, including all of you .  Peace and health to all!

16 degrees, bright sunshine, no wind, snow covered streets, 4.85 miles.

coyote:  gorgeous photos, thanks for sharing.  And good luck with the job search.

nhla:  hope you enjoyed the eats...

francessmom:  just realized you are from my old stomping grounds.  Been thinking about the RNR HM in Philly next year.  How was the course?  I did the Runner's World HM in Bethlehem in Oct and it was very hilly so looking for something flatter and friendlier.

I'm enjoying the nice temps in AZ finally.  So nice to be able to run outside any time of the day.  My senior dog has also been enjoying the weather and has been holding 8 minute miles with me!  She can't really see too much anymore but she's just happy to be out and running.

Haven't had time to log on lately, but I did read all the posts today. Wow. There are some "Weather-be-damned" people in here. I got some cold-weather clothing for my Christmas gifts, but with the "Exchange Day" shopping today and clearing out the house, no run outside to test any of it. We did have a very nice Christmas, with the highlights being my grandson and granddaughter, of course, but all the family being healthy and together made it a beautiful day. I hope you all had some special thing that made your Christmas a very nice one.

Got in a 5-mile progressive run on the TM Sunday night after work (37:28), and a 4-mile tempo run yesterday before guests arrived (28:45). Felt OK on both runs. Speed work tonight.

Linus.... It was great to hear from you. I instantly added Avery's mother's quote to my motivational quotes list. And I'm glad to see you made it back from Afghanistan safely. And thanks to both you and Coyote for the pics.

Coyote..... What do you wear on your feet for running in the snow? (I guess I'm always looking for an excuse not to run in the cold/snow.)

Mkay... Best wishes for the entire family's recovery.

Melody and DebM..... Be safe in the storm. We're supposed to get a foot, maybe a little more.

Francessmom.... Plenty of pasta to carbo-load with for your runs!!!

NHLA.... Your year-to-date total is amazing. Great going!!!

Everyone have nice days.

Hi everyone!  Been a few days since last post. 

We are still waiting for 2nd grandbaby to make HER entrance into the world ........ a couple of false alarms. 

Since my 10 mile trail race on the 16th, I went home to northern AZ. 

I had to travel (driving) to NM for a couple of days for work and spent a day at home before heading back down to Phoenix.

Saturday, 22nd:  Had time to only run 5.5 miles on trail in PHX before it got dark, 59 minutes!!

23rd, Sunday: 10.1 miles on trail with pretty good inclines and rocky, 2:02.

24th, Monday: rested.

Christmas day, Tuesday: 10.2 miles on different trail with at least 5% degree incline for almost a mile, ran three of them without stopping, YAY!!  2:11.

Today, have baby watching duty ........... need to rest anyway. 

Daughter finally decided today is her LAST DAY of work ........ can you believe that?!?

Due date is SUNDAY!!!  She is SOOOO READY, LOL!!  Mommy and baby doing well.

Hi Julie:  I am in Phoenix due to reason above.  Where are you? And where do you run?

JulieAnn - nice to have a running partner

MelodyLea - Glad you could get out for a white Christmas

justrundan - Way to embrace the winter!

az2mn - Some nice runs in the desert.

jmsab - Yesterday I wore my new North Face shoes with calf-length wool socks and thin summer wicking socks over those, mostly to protect the wool socks from mud. The shoes aren't waterproof but I find I generate heat in my feet if I keep moving, and they were toasty, although damp. I've heard of people lining their shoes with bread bags for waterproofing , and I do own gaiters, but honestly the snow doesn't get that deep around here that often.

No run today, just didn't want to get behind in my reading

Did a speed workout tonight, following one set of core exercises. Did the crunches, but not the new lunge stretches. Ran a 2 -mile warmup, and then did a small ladder -- 3 x 200, 2 x 400, 800, 2 x 400, 4 x 200.

6.34 miles total, 53:53.   1,000 calories even.

Checked the YTD total -- 1,147 miles, and ballpark estimate for total calories -- 178,000.

Snow predictions on tonight's weather report -- 12-16" tonight/tomorrow before wind works its way in. They're predicting power outages. May get a chance to use my new PTEC headlamp I got for Christmas, which, by the way, explains how you guys can run at night. Man, oh man, is that thing bright. I tried it in back of the house the Christmas night and it lights up the whole back yard and into the woods!!

JustrunDan.... It must have taken you three times as long to get ready before/undressed after your run as it did for your run!! We want pictures!!!

Az2MN.... The grandkids were a treat. My 1-yr. old granddaughter was extremely cute in her dress/outfit, and 2 or 3 times when she heard some of the Christmas music started dancing, or swaying, or bobbing, to the music. Just standing in place grooving to the music.      Take your daughter out to eat for garlic-spicy Italian food. It worked for our first one who was two weeks late at the time.

Coyote.... Thanks. I remember when I was a kid we used to put our feet in bread bags before putting our old pea-green boots on to go out in the snow. I was wondering if you just didn't care about getting wet feet, or if you wore some extra protection.

Run happy, people.