Westward Ho

We recently traveled west for some relaxation time in one of our favorite cities--Santa Fe. We had a great time and enjoyed time on the couch, time on the slopes, good food, fresh air, and a side trip to Vegas! I managed to fit knitting and running both into our trip, but was quickly humbled running at altitude. Thank goodness knitting didn't require my lungs. My runs included speedwork and a long run of 14 miles that both left me breathless and slower than usual. I am always reminded of the joy I get from running when I am listening to only the sound of my feel on the trails and see such beautiful surroundings as the Santa Fe mountains. I only saw a few cars and the scenery was so beautiful and well quite literally breathtaking. (Yes, I really took that photo!)


My knitting included the completion of two cabled baby hats complete with ear flaps. They were quick, plane friendly, and turned out just adorable and soft.

Skiing was a blast and I think the running helped me quickly pick up where I left off two years ago--blasting down the blue hills and enjoying an easy black or two. I even heard myself yip outloud after getting airborne over a snowmound.











On the other hand, I am reminded of what a pain people can be while on a run down the strip in Vegas! We drove from Santa Fe to Vegas, with my mother-in-law and her boyfriend. It took about 10 hours and took me through uncharted territory in Arizona and a trek across the Hoover Dam (view the Dam photo).

In Vegas, we saw the Cirque du Soliel Love show (Beatles), played a little tennis in the warmer weather, and attended a friend's, yup his name is Ron and we know him, 70th birthday party at the Palms. Enjoy the photos!

16 Mile Race in NH

A friend and I recently challenged ourself to what we have seen advertised as New England's most challenging road race. "Many say this race is among the toughest anywhere, with hills. The largest hill, Warner Hill (also known as Antennae Hill), is a long climb, but it too is ideal. It is at the same point in the race (70 to 75% complete) as the famous heartbreak hills in Boston—ideal training."

My friend and I trained for weeks, each Thursday running the steep hills in the famous Beacon Hill neighborhood in Boston. Up one hill, jog down, and up the next. . .repeat until we were grabbing our butts and quads.

We were told part of the charm of this race is often the weather. We got lucky--it was 8 degrees but not snowing or icing, as has been the case in previous years. Instead the sun helped keep us warm and toasty. (Notice that you can see my breath in the photo of me finishing.) Actually, our husbands probably beared the brunt of the coldness as they stood at the top of the last hill waiting for us to pass and cheering us on. We think they were just as much troupers as we were:)






Our goals continuously changed prior to the race. We'd go from hoping to run it as a solid training run in our marathon training schedule to my God just let me finish. Yet, we started out together running strong and kept it up, even climbing the hills with smiles and friendly chatter. At mile 13 my friend had an extra burst and we seperated, but she made the first 13 really enjoyable and I was able to power through those last 3 with independent determination took some time to reflect on how far I had come from a year ago. Luckily we both finished well under the 3 hour "strict" time limit where we would have been escorted off the course. I managed to cross in 2:35 feeling really good (a 9:47 pace for the 16 miles)--it was my longest run ever.