Well, I suppose I should take a couple minutes to update everyone on what's going on out here in cheap, cheap bastard land.

On Thanksgiving I ran my first ever five mile race. I actually walked a little toward the end and that was probably because 1) all of the 5K people turned off and finished (BOO!) and the last 3/4ths of a mile I was surrounded by other people who were clearly struggling. I watched one woman's YouTube video once and her third or fourth piece of race-day advice was to power past people who have slowed down to walk or struggling - she likened them to energy suckers.

I hate to say that I now know I agree.

Mostly it's because seeing other people walk makes me feel like it's not so bad if I walk too. It makes it easier to bargain with myself. It makes it so, so simple to just say "I'll walk to that cone and then run again."

Disappointing.

I finished in 1 hour flat - which equates to 12 minute miles. Much slower than I usually go. The trot was busy with lots of other runners and people with strollers and people with dogs. It was congested and at several points it simply bottlenecked. The worst part was that when I finished the recovery bits (i.e. water station, bagels, bananas etc) were all gone! Well, not gone, but put away! WTF. I know that people wanted to be able to get home to their own Thanksgiving, but I wound up with a serious case of sand-brain (or that dry feeling like all of your brain juice has dried up and the prelude to something very much what I imagine a migrane feels like) because I couldn't get anything to drink after the race. I don't think disappointing was the word. So, I'm planning on writing a note to the race organizers, suggesting they plan to have people there until the clocks are actually taken down from the race. If the clock's still running there should be someone there to support the finishing runners, just my opinion.

In other news I met the people from my new running club! I also bought some inspirational gear from them! Runner of steel arm warmers! Going to come in handy during these winter month runs, that's for sure! They're very friendly, in my age group, and EXTREMELY welcoming.

So glad to have found them.

Speaking of the running group they've managed to get Jeff Galloway (You know, that guy who's a famous running coach and founder of the Galloway Method of training.) Lots of people use his stuff for their first 5K and his run-walk method is very well regarded. So, I'm excited to go and see him speak and get to do a training run with him! Unfortunately, it's the same day as the Jingle Bell run, which I had hoped to do. However, the Jingle Bell run was a 5K and I think I'll gain more by doing the 5 miler with Galloway.

Let's see... Calorie watch has been going well. Down to 193 this morning and rapidly closing in on my 180's goal for the end of the year. Very, VERY, excited to see that event. I can't wait to see the number 189 on my scale.

So, I haven't been around much because I feel like a lot of my blogs are repeatitive. "Oh, I'm plateauing!" "Oh, the plateau is over!" "Oh, wait, nevermind!" Lather. Rinse. Repeat. So, I'm struggling to find new and interesting things to write about.

Today's new and interesting thing is that I'm really glad a few of you have learned to love Mod Cloth as much as I do! Just pay attention to the reviews! Seriously, they're usually pretty good.

(Also glad that you guys love the Coach Tour dress as much as I do (Especially you, PomatoJuice.)

So, at 295 minutes this week I'm really proud of myself. I'm going to get a walk in this afternoon just so I can push that number over the edge :)

Alright, time to work! Welcome back from holiday, everyone! Here's the countdown starting until christmas!