Running in a Winter Wonderland

It certainly does look and feel like winter out there today! My day started by not being able to get out of the neighborhood while trying to go to the Y. Got stuck on the first corner as the plow hadn't been by yet and we had about 6" of new snow. So I decided to break out the Icebugs for the first time this season and head out for a run. It was still precipitating when I left about 5:30. I headed out on my 7 1/4 mile route. Going north was painful ... literally. My eyes were hurting. These little pellets of snow were being blown directly into my face by the strong north winds. Ouch. It was great having traction and not having to worry about ice as it was still dark. Down by TJ Maxx I actually saw another runner coming toward me! As I got closer, I recognized the stride. It was ... Deb Dilling! We greeted each other but didn't stop to talk. (BTW: The bike path was already plowed between 2nd St SW and Fox Valley Drive for those who run far SW). When I got back to Fox Valley Drive on the west side I decided to keep going around the hill and back around to Folwell Drive. Talked with Mike Holmes for a couple minutes (he was snowblowing the driveway). Got home and had 10.02 miles on the GPS. Enjoyable run (other than the snow pellets in my eyes!). Lionel Cheng is missing out on all the fun ... he's temporarily running his miles back home in Singapore while there for a visit.

I attended the Mayor's Medal of Honor lunch today. My husband got the Mayor's Medal for Service in Education for his volunteer work in the public schools. RTC's K.C. Reed got the Mayor's Medal for City Service for his contributions to the RTC, Polar Plunge, Scouts and Law Enforcement Torch Run. Congratulations!

After shoveling out the driveway, I decided to hit the cookie baking in a BIG way.

Two different cut-out cookie recipes--one has a little sour cream, the other, a little cream cheese. I believe there are roughly 140 or so snowflakes in that photo. And I piped designs on every last one of them. I do believe I'll be decorating snowflakes in my sleep tonight. This is a good start on all of the cookies that I owe people. I have the rest of the week off work so it's going to be a cookie baking extravaganza in my kitchen for the next few days. :-)

Last night was our Cooking Light get together at Barb Braun's (appetizers and desserts).

My friends Jay and Joan have a wood-fired bread oven in their backyard, and our cooking group has been fortunate enough to be able to enjoy bread or pizza at their house once a year for the last few years. As a small token of our appreciation, we invite them to our December meal. Well, Jay brought his fabulous sourdough baguettes, still warm from the outdoor oven with a crackly crust, over to Barb's last night. To DIE for.

Give me freshly baked bread and some (real) butter and I'm one happy camper. I decided to eat an extra piece of bread and forego dessert. I'm hungry ... can you tell??

OK. Let's move off the foodie stuff and on to some running stuff before I find myself in the kitchen ...

Off-Season Striders will be doing a test run of the Lace-Up Against Breast Cancer Half Marathon course on Saturday morning. Meet at Running Room at 7:30. There are lots of ways to shorten the route. Afterwards, we'll go over to Brother's for coffee and whatever. Here's the route:

News on the WinterFest Trifecta (Stair Climb, Polar Plunge, and Lace-Up): You can now participate in either the 5K or the Half Marathon to be eligible for special recognition and/or prizes.

SkirtSports has 12 items on sale for $12 each. I have one of their running skirts and really like it. Doesn't ride up ...

Guess that's it.

Quote for the day: "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." --Helen Keller

Talk at you later!