A Last Minute Christmas Wish List

Dear Santa, 

I don't know if I've been naughty or nice this year (who am I kidding? We all know I've been a little of both) but I found some last minute items I would really like you to bring me for Christmas. 

Spotted on Julie's site here, I'm hoping this shows up under my tree come Christmas morning. If not, I'll snag it for myself ASAP

La Sportiva Hobnail Grips - a must have for anyone who wants to brave the snowy streets

CW-X Insulator Stability Tights - Geared to keep your muscles aligned, these promise better runs - and who doesn't wish for that?

So there you have it, Santa. It would be super swell if a few (or all) of these items found their way under my tree. I promise if they are, I'll be even nicer next year. 

Best,
Michele

Breaking Plateaus

 

It's such a great feeling to overcome obstacles. Fears. Plateaus. It's been a long time coming. I've been working on this challenge for months now. I've thought about it a million times, thinking that this will be the time I do it. Today, I channeled my inner Nike and just did it.

I finally broke my 4-mile hurdle. I just went for it today. It didn't matter that I could have run behind getting ready for work (one of my favorite weekly excuses) or that my knees were a little achy (stupid cold weather) but I just got tired of making excuses and went for it. 

And holy wow, did it feel good. It was such an accomplishment and felt so wonderful to finally get past that plateau I've hit. The best part is? It didn't even phase me. I can easily run 5-miles, and I plan on doing it every time I hit the road. 

The Intersection of Beer and Running

Wish me luck - I have my first road race tomorrow. This is the first race I've run in about 8 or 9 years - crazy right?

And could I have started out with a minor race? a 5K maybe? No. That would make TOO much sense.

No. Instead, I decided to go with this 5-miler. Technically, it's 5.3 miles. What can I say, it's for charity. So what could make running a race for charity even better?
DRINKING BEER after the race. That's right. Beer. This is, after all, the Harpoon 5-miler. For those of you readers who aren't familiar, Harpoon is a local brewery. So here's how it works:

I'll wake up early tomorrow morning, run this course, which starts and ends at Harpoon (all 5.3miles of it - but at least I'll have the Garmin), then enjoy some Harpoon brew.

I mean really, what could be better?