A Test Run

With full intentions to enjoy my family during the holiday week, I wrote out my blog posts last Monday and Tuesday morning, scheduled them to post on Wednesday and Friday, and then set my laptop aside for much of the week. I sneaked in some comment replies, and popped over to a few other blogs to see what else was going on in the running world, but other than that I stayed pretty focused on my family and friends – and cooking…

I fit in Monday and Wednesday’s strength training sessions with no problem, working out between clients; however, I skipped my Tuesday run with the girls since I was still experiencing some sciatic nerve pain in my calf. 

Wednesday was filled with social activities… and lots of food. The Cruisers and I met for lunch at a favorite local fish shack, and were even seated on the patio (with the plastic walls rolled most of the way down. I had shrimp tacos and Bill had a lobstah salad, and I might have had a margarita with lunch, too. And yes, I survived the stress of lunch out with friends just two days before Christmas despite my earlier concerns!

Wednesday evening found us heading out for our first ever book night before Christmas. We usually go between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but with Joseph heading back to Chicago yesterday, we squeezed it in early this year. Contrary to our concerns that traffic around the mall would be horrendous just two evening before Christmas, we managed to get in and out of Barnes and Noble without a hitch. After shopping for books we headed back to Reston Town Center and had a delicious dinner at Il Fornaio. The rain held out and we were able to walk to Fountain Square for pictures in front of both the Christmas tree and the fountain.

I spent most of the day on Thursday cooking and baking, and wrapped up just in time to help Daniel make a new pasta dish he’s been wanting to try. Even though Daniel lives only about twenty miles away, he packed his bags and spent Wednesday through Saturday with us. This momma was happy! With Joseph and Julie home from Chicago for the week, they split their time between our house and Julie’s parents’ house; so I should say that this momma was triply happy.

After Christmas Eve mass, we enjoyed our usual family time complete with our traditional Christmas drink, toasted almonds; and this year, Bill added Mexican margaritas. Daniel’s college roommate joined us, and then another college friend stopped by, and then a high school friend, and before we knew it we had a party going on! Our last guest left at 1:30 AM, and on their way out, they bumped into Santa Claus coming in.

Christmas day was wonderful with family time with both our own little family, and Julie’s family. Before I knew it, a month of planning and preparation was behind me, the day had come and gone, and I had failed to take a single picture… 

Saturday morning six Cruisers met at 8 AM for an easy run (after the first mile, Alan took off and missed the picture). I’m loving the later start time during the winter, but come summer I’ll probably meet my MRTT friends for their earlier start time, or convince the Cruisers to get up earlier. 

This was my first run in eight days, and I was thrilled to run pretty much pain free. We set out for six miles, but listening to my body, I stopped after five miles. Later Saturday morning, I lifted weights, fitting in my final session of the week. 

Saturday afternoon we headed out to the grocery store for snacks and drinks for our football double-header evening, but first we hit up a new-to-me restaurant that Bill recently discovered. Not a fan of sushi, I’ve skipped his recent trips, but decided to tag along this time. Low and behold, they serve hibachi grilled dishes, so I got shrimp and scallops. Oh my goodness were they delicious and light! 

My hibachi dish was nowhere as artsy and photogenic as the sushi dishes, though. Here are pictures of Julie’s and Bill’s. Joseph’s was pretty cool as well, but I didn’t get a picture.

Saturday evening we enjoyed watching our Hokies win one last final game for our beloved coach, Frank Beamer, before he retires. The Hokies made it to Beamer’s 23rd straight bowl game, the Independence Bowl; and after an incredibly high scoring game, and stressful final three minutes, I snapped a picture of our TV when Frank got ice dumped on him after his final win as the Hokies head coach. 

We have high hopes for our new Virginia Tech football coach, but for now, I’m happy to not look ahead, and honor Coach Beamer.

While the Hokie were still playing, the Redskins kicked off for a game that could cinch the NFC East for them if they won. Being a Redskins fan can be quite stressful, but this year it’s been fun watching them pull things together. Saturday was actually a great day to be a DC sports fan with the Redskins, Caps, and Wizards all three winning!

Bill and I spent Sunday afternoon hanging our basement TV and switching out all of our media components from our old TV stand to the new one. Last week I found a TV console for a steal on a local Facebook group version of Craig’s List. It’s pretty much exactly what I had in my head that I wanted, so I was thrilled to find it used, and in excellent condition. I may not have gone for a run, but I worked up a sweat helping Bill get everything in order!

A Sunday afternoon and evening spent working on a big house project resulted in not getting this weekly recap finished until late on Monday, but it is what it is… Happy Monday evening, ya’ll! 

Weekly Recap: 

• Weights: Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday
• Runs: Saturday – 5 miles (Total: 5 miles)
• Stretching: Sporadically
• Average Steps Per Day: 12,929
• Average Hours Sleep Per Night: 6:05

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I’m linking up with Holly at HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.  Be sure to check out not only the hosts, but the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!

Have a great week!

• Questions:
• What are your New Year’s Eve plans?
• How difficult is it for you to listen to your body?
  
• Did you race this weekend? Were there even any races?