A Bloggy Secret Santa and Some Q & A

So I officially feel like a loser because I’m just mailing my bloggy secret santa out on Tuesday.  Even though I made mine and feel superior because of it 😉 I’ve been told that it’ll get to my buddy by Friday. So fingers crossed! I did bust my butt last night to finish it because, when I got home from work on Monday I found this waiting for me:

I also had a package from my mother. Not quite as cool but I had TWO packages waiting for me. Awesomeness

And an adorable card inside as well

Awwww 🙂

Now the fun part. The part that everyone waits for:

THE GIFTS

I LOVE IT! I don’t actually know who had me because he/she was all mysterious and didn’t sign it.  I’ll have to do some blog stalk reading 🙂  I love Clif products and the crunchy pb might be my favorite bar.  And the shot blocks got me through the tough last part of White Rock.  And I love the book Once A Runner and it’s awesome to have a real copy. I may or may not have downloaded and printed one off a few years ago.  And the “Virginia is for Lovers” shotglass? How did my secret santa know? Hint Hint hahah!

Thanks Bloggy Buddy! [Edit: After some sleuthing I’ve discovered that it was Heather from The Crazy World of a Running Mom!]

Before I get into the Q & A maybe I should mention a little bit of running stuff? After the dud run Monday I knew that I needed to foam roll and PT exercise and all that jazz regularly and did so after work. Because that’s what good runners do 😉

And it payed off.  After a fitful night of sleep where I just couldn’t STAY asleep, I got up on Tuesday to do my run.  In the snow.  It was really pretty but the roads were “ehhhh” (and I don’t really trust drivers in the snow) so I stuck to my pathway and got a really good 8.8 – 9 miles! It was (and you’re probably sick of my saying this) the fastest run post-marathon that I’ve done.  For real.  By quite a bit and was very close to being within the range I was in pre-marathon for *easy* runs.  Not recovery but easy!  A most excellent feeling and the truly great thing is that the run just felt like I was gliding.  I didn’t feel dreadfully slow and yet I didn’t feel like I was really pushing myself.  Dare I say that I’m getting my legs back under me?! I might have just jinxed myself though! I finished off the workout with my pushups ( 36, 40, 30, 24, 42 ) and situps ( 54, 60, 45, 36, 75 ) as well as the PT exercises.

Today was an elliptical day. Blah.  Not directly related to the hip stuff (because I’ve found that keeping up with the PT stuff is working wonders) but, after chatting with one of my favorite docs at the clinic Tuesday night, I decided not to push it.  His exact words when I asked him what to do today were “nothing that you enjoy doing“ hahah!  Hence the elliptical.  But the workout was pain free and I continue to be pain free so I’m leery that I needed the non-running day but whatever.  In the long run it’s bound to be good. I am a little annoyed that I couldn’t take advantage of the earlier sunrise  (holler winter solstice yesterday! meaning LONGER DAYS AHEAD. hizzah. It also means that we’re entering true winter here but hizzah just the same.)

Enough running business for now.  I was tagged by Shelby (eat drink run) to do these questions.  And I decided to play because, while I’m very happy with how my pace is improving and my body is responding to recovery, it’s not the greatest blogging material. I didn’t pay attention to the rules of the game but I do know that I’m not answering the same questions she did.  So I think I make some up afterward and then tag people.  Whatever. The truth is that I read all the blogs that comment here so I do want all of you to do it.  Seriously.  If you really want me to link to you then well your S.O.L.  😛

1. Vacation: beach or mountains?

• Beach. Hands down. Mostly because the mountains can be chilly at times and I hate any chance of being cold.  Granted hiking would be cool but you really can’t beat your toes in the water and @ss in the sand.

 

Clearly these feet are A) not mine and B) do not belong to a runner

2. Luggage: check it or carry it on?

• Carry it on.  I was SO PISSED when I had to check my luggage on my trip for WR. My sister swore up and down it would fit as a carry on.  She lied. And I was out the fee to check the bag.  Both ways.

3. Bed: make it or leave it a rumpled comfy mess?

• When I was younger I always left it a rumpled mess. Mostly because my mom made it for me.  When in college, and I realized that the dorm room was a LIFE and LIVING space I changed my tune.  Plus it’s so awesome to get into a made bed at night. And no I’m not going to share a picture of my bed. I thought about it but then thought about the creeper search terms that people use to find my blog and decided against it. Sorry.

4. Races: smaller or bigger?

• Toughie.  I’m going to say bigger.  Because bigger = better? Mostly because bigger races = faster people entering = me being pushed.  That means I’ll likely never out and out win, which would be cool, but I’ll typically run my best.

5. Toilet paper roll: over or under?

• However it happens to be when I put it on.  I might be the only person who doesn’t care.  I just place it on the roll.

6. Pancakes: thick and fluffy or thin and crepe-like?

• Thick and fluffy.  Because that’s the way Americans eat ’em 😉

 

Good Morning Sunshine

7. Alarm: get up or hit snooze?

• Get the ‘eff up.  Lately on the weekends I’ve been hitting snooze but that’s rare.  Once my alarm goes off I get up. I am going to amend this and say that, save for my post-marathon slumbers, I rarely wake up with the alarm and get up 10-15 minutes earlier than it.   I do wait until the alarm goes off to get out of bed though

Thanks google

And now my questions. I think I’m supposed to do 7 so I’ll try and come up with that many but we’ll see if I can… YAY I did it. Enjoy 🙂 (and seriously. I read y’alls blogs.  DO IT!)

1. Dishes: clean them up right away or leave them for later and do lots at once?
2. What is your favorite US president and why?
3. Favorite song of 2010 and why?
4. Seasons: Fall or Spring?
5. Are you a brand loyalist all the time? Some of the time? None of the time? If so to what brand?
6. Sweets: Pastries or Ice Cream?
7. What would you say to a guy who said “So leave your keys on the kitchen counter / And gimme back that ruby ring with the big diamond”? [Edit: I don’t think some of you guys listen to that quote in context to the song. Hence why I provided the video 😉 ]

And before I forget: there were lots of questions on what “bleeding the line” means in terms of my oil burner.  It’s just a way of saying that I had to let all the air go out of the tubes “the line” because if there’s too much air in the line then the burner won’t suck up the oil.  All it involved was me loosening a valve to do so but I felt really BAMF doing it!