Week in Review: Dec 4, 2017

This week's stats:

  • 45 miles
  • 10M with 2 x (3min-2min-1min) with 90s rest b/w reps, 2min between sets, 3 x 60s strides
  • 4 days in CLT
  • 3 days in Kentucky / Ohio
  • 6K XC race in 20:54

Nothing like hitting up five states in one week! I kicked off Monday with a run and then a flight to Charlotte for a work trip.  Two states? Check!  Then Thursday, I flew to Kentucky for the Club XC Champs in Lexington.  Three states? Check!  Then Saturday, I drove to Cincinnati to see my nephew Eli.  Four states?  Check!  And finally on Sunday, I drove back to Illinois with my parents so that I could have some time with them before the holidays. Phew.  Five states! Check!  

Writing it all out makes it seem more exhausting than it really was.  Fortunately, I stayed in each place for 2 nights or more, which made it seem less chaotic.  It was so interesting heading back to Charlotte, because no one runs in uptown anymore!  Back when I used to live the queen city, it was an absolute guarantee there would be a group running from the YMCA every day.  Now, more and more folks moved out to the burbs, so it kind of felt like a ghost town.  Yet, I still was able to get some people out to run with me and was grateful for their company!

Then I headed to Kentucky, which is outlined in more detail here, and prepared for the USATF Club Cross Country Championships with the Strava Track Club.  The race went great and I had an absolute blast. I miss cross country a lot and have now vowed to do a cross country season in the bay area so I can experience the awesome ruggedness of cross country again!  

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The highlight of this week was seeing my nephew for the first time in over a year!  He's grown so much, loves getting raspberries on his belly and playing with dad (my brother!).  Eli brings so much joy to our lives and I do need to see him more often than every year.  We went to a fancy outdoor mall on Saturday night and they had all sorts of fun Christmas decorations, like a giant tree with a nativity in the middle of it and an outdoor train set that Eli circled about 27 times to watch it go "choo-choo".  

After our sleepover with Eli, my family packed up and headed home, where I was spoiled with organic veggies, homemade lip balm and snuggles from my cat, Cicero. Life is good!!