Happy Holidays

To all of you who have been joining me on this journey, I wanted to wish you a very happy holiday season. As you gather with all your friends and loved ones, give them all a big hug and be thankful for all the joy and love that they have given you. Never forget that you can live your whole life without a new car, big TV, or expensive vacation, but you could not live a single day without love in your life.

Happy Holidays!

Winter running

Winter has definitely arrived in Madison, and with it all the complications that come with running in less than ideal conditions. For those of you who may have been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, Madison got slammed with about 18 inches of snow in one night, making all the sidewalks and roads an icy, snow covered mess. My husband and I spent 2 and a half hours shoveling out the next morning (after he had done a round with the snowblower the night before while it was still snowing) and our yard has officially become a 'winter wonderland'. They actually closed the UW for the day to allow for unobstructed snow removal. All of this snow threw a wrench in my normal running routine that I'm starting to adjust to.

First off, I determined the first long weekend run after the big snow storm that even with my YakTraks on my shoes running in snow and slush is still many times harder than running on nice clean sidewalks. Have you ever gone for a fun on the beach? You know how for every step you take you slide back and/or sink into the sand? You know how tiring that gets on your legs? Imagine doing that for 6 miles. That's what I ended up doing the Sunday after the snowstorm, and I spent the next 2 days feeling muscles I didn't even know I had ache. I decided that I'd give the crews a couple more days to clear the streets and walks before I did that again... Consequently, I've been running a lot more on the treadmill. Not that I dislike the treadmill, but it is a bit of an adjustment compared to long runs in the sunshine and fresh air.

Luckily while school was in session it was easy for me to get to the Nat (one of the fitness centers on campus) and it's free for students. Although the treadmills there seem to be a bit hit or miss on their stability. I swear that the one in the back left corner runs faster than the speedometer says it's going, but since I'd like to increase my speed a bit anyway I figure it's just forced speed training. I was concerned about finding a way to continue my training when classes ended for the semester, but I've gotten some help with that. The Anytime Fitness gym down the street agreed to let me come in and use their treadmills for training without charging me a fee as long as I agreed to come in during their non-peak hours. They said they like to help people who are participating in charity events, and I really appreciate their help. I only needed to cover a couple of weeks, we leave for Florida in January for 10 days (where hopefully the weather will be less arctic) and then I'm back on campus for the semester.

As far as fundraising goes, slow and steady will hopefully win the race in the end. I'm working on trying to secure a florist to do a fundraiser floral arrangement for January, we're gift wrapping at Barnes and Nobel this coming Monday, and my husband has offered up his comic book collection for sale with half the proceeds going to me. Of course, that means that I have to organize them, figure out the worth, and determine the best way to sell them. I'm leaning toward the ever popular Ebay, but I've never sold anything on there before so I've gotta do a little research. I'll keep you posted, and if you know anyone who's interested in early 1990s comic books feel free to send them my way.

Well, on that note, back to evaluating over 1300 comic books. Does that count as a workout?