Have you braved the madness in retail today? Not me. I got up early, ate some apple pie for breakfast, did a lot of laundry and then worked on the computer with some of my photography and created some holiday gifts and my holiday card and uploaded to the printer.
In the afternoon I took the doodle for an invigorating walk in one of our favorite spots. It was super cold and windy but the sun kept appearing in between cloud cover. We were literally all by ourselves so I let him off the leash and we ran around and acted silly. =) We’ve been spending lots of time with other people and other dogs and I have to say it was fun to frolic around just the 2 of us. We also worked on his recall and I’m trying to teach him “heel”. I know he’s going to be 6 next month but he’s a smart cookie.
brisk walk with my doodle including a HUGE hill!
We came home, I changed into my running gear and set out for a run. I figured I should probably run more than 3 today. I’ve got that 15K in 2 weeks. So I doubled it and ran my own personal Black Friday 10K. Oh and look at my new gadget….
Black Friday 10K
It’s the Garmin Vivofit. It’s sort of an early holiday gift from my sis-in-law. By the end of the day I know I’ll reach 20,000 steps. Hello! That’s awesome!
Yesterday morning I took my boyfriend and some of his family to my office to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We were 8 stories up and had such an amazing view.
Superman
Hello Kitty
Pillsbury Dough Boy was new this year
After the parade the boyfriend and his family went to their Thanksgiving dinner and I went to my brother’s house for my family’s festivities.
Since I’m sure you’ve seen enough, I’ll spare you the pictures of my plate filled with turkey and stuffing. Your welcome.
Now that Thanksgiving is over I finally allowed myself to listen to some Christmas music today. I’ve been avoiding it on the radio the last two weeks. I just don’t believe in rushing the holidays.
I just read on Facebook that there’s an organized 4 mile trail run here on Staten Island tomorrow morning. I’m thinking of going. Sounds like a nice change of pace from my usual blacktop routes. I haven’t joined this group since last summer! Let’s see how I feel in the morning.
Well I’m off to tackle some more stuff on my ever-growing To-Do list.
I had a nice change of scenery, AND routine today. The weather forecast called for our first snow of the season so I decided to work from home to avoid dealing with the bus later in the day. Our office was only open until 1pm anyway. But instead of working from MY home I drove to my brother’s house early this morning and spent the day here. It just made sense since they are hosting Thanksgiving tomorrow so I’ll just sleep here.
My view from the “office” today
It was Forest’s first snow!
Since it was our first snow of the season I could focus on how beautiful everything looked in a blanket of white. Ask me how I feel about snow at the end of February and I’ll probably tell you I’m sick of it!
The dogs (Duncan and his cousin) loved it too!
doodle butts!
#twinners
I spent a few hours working. And then I took advantage of my brother’s lovely finished basement with an elliptical just waiting for me to hop on!
#crosstraining
cat dog nap
I busted out a solid 30 minutes and my trusty sidekick sat on the beanbag chair to my right. Such a loyal doodle.
Tomorrow I’ll be heading out bright and early to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from my office. I have never taken advantage of this perk before but our office is moving in March so this was the last year I’d have the opportunity and I figured I should check it out.
Well Happy Thanksgiving to all you wonderful readers. Have a great day with family, friends and loved ones.
And don’t forget, take the meal like a marathon. Don’t start out too fast! You’ve got to get to dessert before you hit the “wall”! =)
Who’s hosting? Who’s just going to be a guest? Are you cooking at all?
I just got back from a short run. I went out SLOW and my knee seemed to hold up. YAY! At least I know I’m making progress. Crazy weather here. 62 degrees today and we’re expecting snowfall of 3-6 inches tomorrow!
So I made it through working 2 days straight at the Philadelphia Marathon Expo representing the New Jersey Marathon. Day 1 was AMAZING and EXHILARATING. But Day 2 was even better!
First and foremost, we gave out about a gazillion pounds of Jersey-shore-made salt water taffy. It’s nice to know the Expo patrons were able to get their fix. And we had so many people register for our races and enter our raffle. We gave out a bunch of magnets and shirts too.
It was so great to have so many runners stop by our booth just to say thank you. Many had qualified for Boston on our course this past year and will be running the Boston Marathon in 2015. Of course this means they probably won’t be registering for the New Jersey Marathon again for 2015 since it’s the week after. Some just told us that they love everything about the race. One man happened to mention to Joe (the race director) that his dad had run the race over 10 times at least.
Joe answering questions about the race. Otto (with the bright green cap), the pace team leader was answering questions about his pace groups.
Joe then pulled up his data conveniently on his laptop to confirm and then let him know that his dad was eligible for complimentary (FREE!) entry because of his consecutive completion status. YEAH! I’m already signed up for year 3. 7 more and I’ll get complimentary entry too. Joe really is such a wealth of knowledge not just about organizing a marathon but about the sport of running too. We discussed different training plans and always having a purpose for your runs. No junk miles! He took me to lunch at the Reading Market across from the convention center. Woah! Total food mecca! We went to Hershel’s Deli where I scarfed down the best turkey sandwich I’ve ever had (and didn’t even have time to take a picture of it before inhaling it!). We then split their famous apple cake.
Hershel’s East Side Apple Cake
By the end of the night my feet were killing me. So I used my co-worker’s bottle of aerosol deoderant as a foot massage. Weird? Yes. Efficient? Totally! I really needed to massage those arches.
A new way to massage your feet!
I keep thinking of all the folks that said Philly was going to be their first race! For some, their first 1/2 marathon. For others, their first full. I found myself excited for absolute strangers. That’s what I love about runners. We’re truly a community that feels more like a family. It just made me more energized for my next marathon training cycle beginning in January.
There were 2 specific negative response I received while working the New Jersey Marathon booth though. One man was disappointed in the finisher’s medal for this year. It wasn’t the size or quality but rather the message. He felt it was a bit juvenile.
Let Your Star Shine!
He suggested it be a more beachy theme since it is a race that is run at the Jersey shore and finishes on the boardwalk. We actually appreciated his feedback. And apparently I’m told the 2015 medal is already moving in that direction.
Another runner came to complain about the food at the end of the race. I must admit that while constructive criticism is always appreciated, she was a bit obnoxious. Luckily I didn’t take it personally. As a matter of fact I had just learned a few minutes earlier that the sponsor of the food actually dropped the ball. And this year that feedback has already been taken into consideration and a new plan is in the works. YAY!
After I wrapped up at the Expo on Saturday night I drove straight to my boyfriend’s house. He had been watching Duncan for me for the day.
Apparently duncan treats throw pillows like thrones. And Chester just needs lots of space =)
I walked into a house with the aroma of brownies in the oven. Oh yes, how lucky was I? The boyfriend had brownies in the oven and Ben and Jerry’s standing by. Perfect ending to a perfect night.
Sunday we went out for a bike ride through a state park nearby. We covered almost 10 miles. Very HILLY miles. It was a gorgeous day and we had the park practically to ourselves.
We both split up to take care of some stuff in the afternoon and then later in the eve he came to install my new storm door while the dogs supervised.
Hurry up so we can eat pork chops. Well you can eat pork chops and I can beg with my sad eyes
You almost done with the door install?
tah dah!
Welcome!
Can’t believe Thanksgiving is in a couple more days. They’ve already started setting up last night for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
This is 34th street! They’ll be doing audio rehearsal and sound check tomorrow probably
Are you a Thanksgiving person? I like it but it always stresses me out that Christmas is 4 weeks away. Sometimes I wish we could just hit the pause button for a bit.
First I need to give a shout out to my favorite bridge who just had a 50th birthday!!!!
Happy Birthday Verrazano Bridge
I drove down to Philly to work at the Philadelphia Marathon Expo. I was supposed to be there at noon but there was some traffic so I got there about 10 minutes late. The race director for the New Jersey Marathon, Joe, and a couple of other people were already at the exhibit booth and had set up so I just jumped right in and started working.
Representing the NJ Marathon at the Philadelphia Marathon Expo!!
So many people came to enter into our raffle. We’re giving away 3 free entries each day. We even had a few people register on the spot for the full and for the half! They got 15% off. We’ve also been giving away lots of salt water taffy and even last year’s shirt. People love free stuff (including me!).
I had such a great time yesterday spending so many hours shooting the breeze with Joe (the race director). He’s quite a guy. I always knew he was quite caring just from the few times I’ve met him at some of the training runs but he can tell you so many details about so many of the past participants. He keeps in contact with many of the top 3 winners too. He described all that goes in to putting on a race including how much it costs for the shirts and medals. Cha Ching! Police for the day of the event costs a pretty penny too. I could go on and on but I’ve got to get back on the road in a few minutes for my trip down for day 2! I’ll report back more tomorrow on that.
I also got to speak with so many amazing runners. One guy signed up for NJ Marathon as a training run for Lake Placid Ironman!!!!
After rushing out about 5pm I got home and changed and then it was off to my second event of the day. The Blue Gala.
is 41 too old to wear a skirt above the knee? I hope not because I love it!
Did I tell you about my ridiculous score on this outfit? I got the top for $18 and the skirt was $18 too. Considering it would have cost $140 full price I consider this a successful sale purchase =)
The Blue Gala was a fun filled event all in efforts to raise funds for a large animal rescue organization called Louie’s Legacy.
She’s wearing flats and I’m wearing heels which means i’m taller for the first time in my life!
Aside from getting dressed up and hanging with my dear friend Nicole, I was pretty stoked about the cheesecake and fruit tart that they served for dessert. #sugaraddict!
Well I’ve gotta run! I’ve got to be at the expo shortly. Have a great weekend.
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