Run and Tell That: November and December

Yikes. Two months and no posts. Here's what's been going on.

At the beginning of November my mom and I went on a mother-daughter cruise to the Bahamas. This was definitely the most fun I'd had in a long time. The cruise was the Carnival Fantasy out of Charleston and was five days long with two stops in port and three days at sea. Because the ship left out of Charleston, it was so easy. No long drive to Florida or over-night stays in hotels. Just a quick ten minute drive downtown and within half an hour, we were running around the ship, cocktails in hand. We laid out in the sun when we could, but the entire trip was a little overcast unfortunately. Weather was in the 80s though and no rain, so it wasn't bad. For dinner each night we sat at a table with six people we didn't know. One of the couples actually had a daughter that went to Wofford, just a year or two below me. Small world!

The cruise went to Freeport and Nassau. In Freeport we paid $15 to access a resort beach and several pools. The weather was pretty mediocre but we did our best and enjoyed the sandy beach. After a few hours, we walked around the straw market and then found a frozen yogurt place (obviously) for lunch. In Nassau we took a bus ride to a chocolate factory and got a tour. We even got to work in the kitchen and make our own chocolate bars and chocolates with fruit, nuts, and candy. Even though the tour itself was kind of pricey, it was something different and we had a blast. When we weren't in port, we played trivia, bingo, laid out, played some Casino games, and just relaxed. I managed to run every day but one on the cruise. There's a tiny outdoor track on the top deck and something crazy like 11 laps around equals a mile, so I was able to keep up with my training... just had to do 2371930483 boring and windy laps to do so. (I also met my soulmate, but he was married...so then I decided he probably was not my soulmate.) Here are some pics.

judy and i at the sail away party. cheers!

black on black. dress up night.

chocolate factory tour

we make these hair nets look GOOD

cool floor at the chocolate factory

the toppings/mix-ins for our candy

my masterpiece

show off

i'm basically a pro

Atlantis

cuties

The Kiawah Half Marathon was a couple weeks ago, three weeks after the cruise. And it was good. The weather was nice at the start but too hot by the finish. 55 degrees and then 70. I did much better than last year and didn't experience any back or foot pain. So I did better, but not my best. Finished around 2:08. My mom was out of town, so my dad came and watched me finish. He said he could tell I was tired near the end. Duh. I think 10 miles is really my threshold. I felt so strong those first 10 miles and maintained a solid pace that I was happy about. And then out of nowhere, with a 5k left, I just totally ran out of gas. Those last three miles were killer. In my training leading up to the race, I had run a little over 10 miles 2 or 3 times and was very happy with my pace. I've always read that if you can run 10 miles, the additional 3.1 is nothing. But this was not the case for me. When I do another half I know I'm going to have to train the full 13 miles, not just 10. I'm also looking into more 10 mile races too. I think there's a good chance I can crush those. Stay tuned.

Kiawah race day attire

This year I ran a total of 1317.1 miles. This included the Palmetto 200, Cooper River Bridge Run, i5k, Turkey Day Run (my fave!), and the Kiawah Half. I didn't reach my goal of a 24 minute 5k, but then again, I didn't train for it. I did do the Turkey Day Run in a 8:13 pace, which I'm happy with.

I can't believe Christmas came and went already. Say whaaat? It was hard to really get into the holiday spirit this year, because it was over 70 degrees, even 80 all month. #notChristmasweather #notcoolreally

Regardless, the fam did all of our typical Christmas traditions like the festival of lights and lots of movie nights throughout the month. We watched Home Alone which we hadn't seen in so long. I'd forgotten how funny it was. We also saw the play of A Christmas Story downtown at the Dockstreet, which was so so good. I love the movie, but the play was something new and I really enjoyed it. Christmas Eve and day was spent at my parents' house. The night before my dad read us The Night Before Christmas (like he has since we were born). He has the same book that his father read to him and his sister growing up. It's really worn and falling apart and has a 25cent price sticker on it. We all pile onto one bed, dogs included, and he reads us the book--always reminding us that it's the actual book his dad read to him. It's a special family tradition that never grows old. Here are some photos that help document some of the mentioned traditions and all the Christmas day happenings.

See ya, 2015!