No Blog November

Somehow, this entire month passed by me and I only posted three times.  I have absolutely no idea how this happened, but apparently this has been No Blog November for me.  I actually do know how this happened.  My muse left.  I have been incredibly busy with working, running, hanging out with friends, and just living life.  This makes just THINKING about blogging exhausting.  Then, when I realize how much I have missed out on telling you about, I get even more tired and then I just go to bed.  So, I will give you the highlights of November.

The 8-Mile Race

This race is put on by the fantastic running club that I belong to.  I had this race on my calendar since I joined the club and had planned on running the 8-miler (there's also a 3-miler).  Well, the night before turned out to be a bit of a wild experience.  I went out to the local bars with a friend and ended up dancing until 1am.  Then, I was about to get home and another friend texted me asking if we could chat.  We really needed to have this conversation, so I ended up going over to that person's house and talking.  Until 4:30am.  I woke up at 8:00 and quickly tried to convince myself that racing would be worth it.  I got to the start of the race AT 9, when the race was about to start.  I'm a terrible member of the running community.  Luckily for me, the race started late and I was able to start with everyone.

Despite running (literally) on 3.5 hours of sleep, I actually felt okay.  This race is practically pancake flat (except for mile 6 that was on a slight incline, completely straight, and felt like it lasted FOREVER) and my legs felt pretty good.  I looked down at my first mile and it clocked in at sub-7 minutes.  I knew I had to slow down or else I would never make it to the finish line alive.  My next few miles were in the low 7's.  

I cross the finish line in 57:54.  I was really happy to come in under an hour.  I've decided that the best way to prepare for a race is to just not sleep, get there late, and do no warm up.  Everyone should really take my advice.

Girl's Trip To Ashland

The week before Thanksgiving Break seemed to DRAG on.  My dad's birthday was Tuesday the 18th, so we went out to celebrate.  Then, I ended up hanging out with a friend until 1 in the morning.  This threw my week off.  It felt like a Thursday, so the rest of the week I had three Fridays.  It didn't help that my lady friends and I had planned a quick getaway to Ashland, Oregon.  Ashland is about a 4 hour drive and is super cute.  We had a spa day on the schedule and we were ready to just relax and be in a place where we knew no one.  

Sunday finally rolled around and we took off.  I had looked at the weather and it was supposed to be in the upper-50s to low-60s, exactly the kind of weather I am used to at home.  Well, the moment we stepped out of the car in the little mountain town, I realized I was an idiot and packed entirely incorrectly.  I overreacted to the 34-degree weather and bought myself a down jacket, a hat, a hot coffee, and sought out the nearest heater.

The ladies gave me a hard time because I didn't take that jacket off the entire three days we were visiting.  Except when I got my massage and got all dolled up in this little number.

My friends and I are perfect travel companions.  We are all so laid back, we just go with the flow.  On Monday, after our spa appointment, we decided we were too tired to do anything and brought dinner to our hotel.  We apparently have never stayed in a hotel before and we are also apparently 12-year-olds.  

Yes, we spent a lot of time screwing around in the hotel room.  I haven't laughed that hard in many, many months.  It was such a soul-cleansing experience.  We are already planning our next trip together.  To Thailand.

The Turkey Trot

I am usually out of town for Thanksgiving, so I have never been able to participate in our local Turkey Trot.  I am usually out on the road for my own.  This year, however, I was staying in town and my brother was returning home.  So, I forced him to come run the 5k with me (although he had to ask me how far a 5k is...).

Once again, I was out too late the night before.  A friend and I were hanging out watching Parks and Rec.  I didn't get home until 2am and the Trot started at 9am.  When 7:30 rolled around, I seriously debated running.  I don't like the 5k distance.  It's hard.  It hurts.  And I was SO tired.  But, I wanted to kick my brother's ass.  That is honestly what got me out of bed and into my running attire.

I didn't have a goal for this race except to beat my little brother who doesn't run ever.  A friend was trying to PR, so I told her that I'd pace with her and see how I felt.  I arrived at the start well before and was able to warm up for a mile (sans brother), before lining up in front to avoid running over small children.

I stayed with my friend for the first quarter mile and then realized my legs actually felt great.  So, I sped up.  Eventually, I caught up to my other friend who is normally really fast, but he obviously wasn't racing this race.  So, I told him I was going to stay with him.  And I did.

My splits were 6:36, 6:37, and 6:47 (I don't know the .1 simply because I cooled down afterward).  Yes, the last mile was brutal.  My friend looked at me at one point and said, "Are you falling apart?" I said, "YES!  Absolutely!"  The course was long by a tenth of a mile according to everyone's watches, so my official time is 21:13, but my watch said 20:41, so I technically broke 21 minutes!  And I was able to create the world's best finish line photo.  I cried I was laughing so hard when I saw this.  I always take gems of a finish photo.

Then, I wandered back to find my brother.  He was also falling apart, so I jumped back in to run him to the finish.  He came in at 24:54!  Under 25 minutes, which is amazing for a kid who doesn't run.

I cooled down for two more miles, and hung around and chatted with friends.  It was such a nice way to spend Thanksgiving morning.  Over 1,000 people ran this race, which I find totally amazing!

The rest of my Thanksgiving was spent like this.

And like this.

So there you have it.  Some highlights from November.  Hopefully, I will post more than 4 times in December.

What was a highlight of your November?