Running Naked in Maine? .. (hah! .. that got your attention!)

Have you ever played strip poker? Being the good girl that I was raised to be, I have never had the opportunity to play strip poker (maybe I need to rethink that one .. there may have been an attempted adult beverage induced occasion ..).. I do however feel like when I run, I am running 'strip run' .. let me explain: I don't like anything tight on me ... jewellery, clothes .. anything binding ... ugh! So when I run, the less the better.. now add the whole hot body thing ... yup .. I think that idea of being 29 over and over again hits a point where the body decides to adjust the internal temperature, and therefore mine is always hot. It has nothing to do with getting old! (and I do mean the internal temperature.. the external still needs work!) So .. while in Texas I recognized that running became increasing difficult because I was getting so hot .. and therefore I started running before the sun came up and thoroughly enjoyed it for a number of reason:

1. The temps were low and the air was cool

2. I could dance and sing and nobody could see me because it was dark!

3. and because it was dark I could wear whatever I wanted to because no one was up and awake!

I became so used to that running pattern that when it was time for the NIKE 10k Human Race, I went into a panic ... first of all, the race was at 6 pm .. the temps were going to be in the 90's, and to add to it, the running number was the shirt that they had given us ... which meant I had to wear a shirt for the whole race ...ahhhhhhhhh! Well.. rules were meant to be broken ..

Skip and jump to Maine, where the temperatures are drastically cooler. It has been awesome!! The runs have felt so good, and strong. Thanks to NIKE and LL Bean, I have the perfect cold weather running gear .. so much so that even in 20+ degree weather, the contemplation of removing articles of clothing begin to form in my brain.

So this was the weather report this morning when I was getting ready to start the day! Another record low temperature day for running ..No fear .. I have my gear .. by my first half mile my lips were numb. So for the next quarter mile I tried to imagine what it would look like if my lips fell off... the picture wasn't really doing anything positive for me .. sooo I stopped thinking about that! As I approached the second mile I could feel the heat inside the clothes .. so I decided the first set of mittens needed to come off .. (I was wearing two sets .. my fingers loose circulation very quickly ..) ..by the end of mile 2 I gave up, and off came the jacket .. soon after the next set of mittens came off .. the panic was starting to set in, because living in a very conservative town, I don't think the townsmen would have appreciated what I really wanted to do next. Luckily my run was close to it's end, and the reality of running in below freezing weather reminded me that I needed the other body parts to stay in tact .. because a lip-less, and other body part-less woman would look really, really silly!



(Courtesy of the http://www.weather.com/)

Recap of last week ..

So last week was a crazy week in our household for a multitude of reasons ... I haven't felt much like blogging lately .. but then again, I haven't felt much of anything lately. Not only did my creative juices stop flowing, but so did my ambition to run (!!) ... it was a big bunch of things combined ...I'd like to think I had the "no name bug" .. it zapped my energy and just made me feel tired. Monday was our 19th anniversary ... we celebrated quietly going out for dinner to a new restaurant in Belton called Dead Fish Grill. It reminded us of being in Maine .. it was a wet rainy evening, the view looked out on the lake. They had to keep all windows closed because of the weather! (Go figure .. even in Texas!)

Then when we came home, I received notification that our previous home in Maine was for sale again ... I almost cried on the spot! Seeing the pictures ... some of the improvements they did .. the brand new kitchen my husband had built .. it made for a very tough evening!

On Tuesday I had to do a lot of running around between the kids needing pick ups and drop offs and appointments. Wednesday Demi was finally spayed ... we were hoping for a less energetic dog .. still waiting ..

Thursday was a mild day at work .. and Friday I got a call from my ever loving son ... letting me know he was ready to be picked up .. 20 minutes early .. "but not a big deal, I can wait .. and, oh by the way, I may need stitches in my arm." Please understand, this is my son who broke both his wrists (separately) .. but on a pain scale of 1 to 10, he thought he was a 6 .. had him in ICU for 2 days due to a severe asthma attack .. but when asked by the doctor 'how do you feel?' "i feel fine ..." .... so when I got off the phone with him, I looked at my manager and said "don't think I will be back after lunch today .." ... six hours and, 8 stitches later ...my son has another ER visit he can add to his repertoire!

So, I am hoping this coming week will bring better energy ... Saturday I managed to kick the "no name bug" to the curb, and ran 8 miles .. I plan to run this whole week .. because in less than one week I am running in the 10k Nike Human Race!! ... and don't forget .. SCHOOL STARTS ... heehaw!!