Back from vacation - and warm weather

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

It has been quite some time since I have posted. I could go thru the play by play of each of the past 15 days, but that would be an even longer, tedious post than what is to come... :)

The last time I posted was after my run with Betsy in the treacherous conditions during the December 20 snowstorm. The next day I came down with laryngitis and my developing cold turned more severe and kept me off of my feet for a few days. My next run was in Savannah, Georgia, where I spent Christmas with my family and my sister's husband's family. The weather was in the mid-sixties and my sister's mother-in law's house is right on a golf course on an island right next to Savannah. It was a nice break from the snow to be down in some warmer weather. As I was recovering from my cold (and still literally had no voice), I decided I could handle getting back to running. I was able to get two runs in while I was down there. The island they lived is a gated community with many winding roads that cross each other and look exactly the same. I was able to navigate the area easily on my first run because I had company and was just following my sister's brother-in-law as he paved the way. The day after Christmas, when we were headed to drop off my grandmother at the airport on our way to Florida, I decided I could easily fit in a run on my own. No one else was willing to wake up at 7:15... so I figured I would take a map and navigate around the island, sticking to one road that circles the place. I had to be back by 8:45AM so that we could leave by 9:10 to drop my grandmother at the airport. As I am cruising along towards the last mile of my run, I started to feel as if I may have overshot the road where I was supposed to turn right. I stopped to check my map, and sure enough I had overshot the road by a good 3/4 of a mile and it was already 8:40... I had to literally sprint back in the direction I came in order to make it home in time for a five minute shower and then to jump into the car for our drive to the airport... followed by the seven hour drive down to our next destination - my aunt and uncle's house in Stuart, Florida. Miles logged in Savannah - 13.

My next run was in Stuart, Florida. It is amazing what the heat can do to you when running. Here in New England, I can run 8 miles without water easily at a good pace. At 9AM in Florida, that is not quite as easy. I ran my first six feeling pretty good. As soon as my dehydration kicked in, I dragged my feet back to my aunt and uncle's. Miles logged in Stuart, Florida - 8.5.

The following day we headed down to Hollywood Beach, Florida for the week of New Years (Dec 27-Jan 3). The weather was gorgeous everyday. And, I was sure to take advantage of this weather by logging a run every morning, either on my own or with my sister. My Dad even has taken up running as part of his training to climb Mt. Rainer in Washington this July. He has not run in over 26 years and started going on run/walks, using his heart rate as an indicator of when to start running and when to walk. He alternates in order to keep his heart rate in a specific zone. He managed to make it out on to the Hollywood Beach boardwalk every morning by 8AM... I wasn't quite as successfully at beating the heat. I made it out each morning between 9-10AM and my pace and distance was dictated by how much the heat beat me down. Miles logged in Hollywood Beach - 40.

Now, I'm back in Boston, and promise not to have any more posts this long... I did my first cold-weather Boston run of 2009 yesterday. 12 miles on the river. I definitely did not miss running on ice and snow when I was down in Florida. However, it is amazing how much farther my body can go in the cold compared to the heat. Running 12 miles without any water was not very difficult at all up here in the cold. Running 4 down in Florida without any water was painful for me.

Anyhow, that is a long synopsis of my last two weeks. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!