Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

I used to do a rhyming Christmas card. I loved putting it together, and the recipients all claimed to enjoy receiving it, but it was SO MUCH WORK. I started feeling guilty about not writing the poem. Sometimes the cards were mailed closer to St. Patrick's Day than Christmas. This year, I decided to use handy dandy Shutterfly. This card took me about 5 minutes to put together, and I might even have time to write personal notes on each card as I address it.

Stationery Card

View the entire collection of cards.

What does this have to do with racing?? The bottom three pictures are from one of the best race experiences I ever had. I competed against my family in the Six Flags Great Adventure Triathlon. We did the Sprint distance. I did the whole thing, and they did the relay. My son and I did the swim together. My husband did the bike and gave my daughter a bit of a head start on the run. I caught up to her near the end, but she beat me into the chute. Their team beat my time by :04. Not bad...

Swim...Bike...Run

Christmas (or whatever holiday your family celebrates) can be STRESSFUL. Money troubles, family fights, not enough time in any day to get everything done. I know it's not supposed to be that way, but that's usually how it is. Just for a moment, think about the best day you recently spent with your family. Let the spirit of that day carry you through the rest of December. Merry Christmas!

Ugly Sweater Run (Englishtown, NJ)

A few friends wanted to do the Ugly Sweater Run in Philly on December 7, but I was busy in Cleveland! So we went to the run the following weekend in Englishtown.

This is the first time I participated in this event...it was so much fun!!! This is an untimed run (not a race), and the ground was ICY. My friends and I did not come close to having the ugliest sweaters, but this was definitely festive and fun. We will probably do it again next year.

We stopped in Barnes & Noble on the way home!!

A Christmas Story!

I am a huge fan of the movie, "A Christmas Story." When a friend forwarded me a link to the first annual Christmas Story run in Cleveland, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I don't usually travel out of my tri-state area for races, but I needed to make an exception for this one.

I asked my husband if he would like to go away with me for the weekend. After he said, "Yes!" I told him we were going to Cleveland in December and that I would be running on Saturday morning. He is a good sport, and even used his frequent flyer miles to buy our tickets.

5K/10K starting corral...almost 5,000 runners!

Despite the 27°F temperature (possibly colder), there was a festive feeling in the air as the race kicked off. There were many, many costumes...lots relating to the movie and many just Christmas-themed. I ran the 10K as the beleaguered mom, in an apron and cardigan. I only saw two others wearing this costume, one of whom ran the 5K holding a giant inflatable turkey. She was committed!

5K runners finished by Ralphie's house (10K turnaround)

The ground was pretty icy, and we ran across a bridge, which was windy, but this was a thrilling run and there were lots of spectators to keep us going.

Happy to be out of the cold!

I race mostly for the bling, and this particular race medal was a must-have for me. It says "It's a Major Award!" Indeed it is.

Who Am I?

I made this Glogster before I started working as a school librarian, but it's still pretty accurate...

Athlinks

Athlinks might be the best invention ever for runners. You can keep track of all of your race results AND see how you measure up against your (real or imagined) rivals. Here is what my Athlinks results look like...
http://athlinks.com/athletes/gabberooni/Profile

As I tell my students, I am proud to be a solid middle-of-the-pack finisher.