Happy Holidays!

Which to marathoners in Houston means, "Which awesome holiday party did you have to leave early so you could hobble thru your long run with some respectability?"

For Gaslight in 2008, thankfully, none! The hash Christmas Party? Way fun! Roadrunner party? Danced the night away! Christmas at my house? And my birthday? Totally fine! That has to be the best thing EVER about running a fall marathon-your long runs do NOT freak you out. Why? I've done my long run, so put that in your pipe and smoke it-I'm still recovering!

Let's just see how that translates into my performance on January 18, 2009, but I'm not sure how much a ballbusting December would have helped, really. But anyhoo, my point being, i was left in peace to enjoy my holiday season.

Prior to my departure to Charlotte, (miss me??)I did join my fellow roadrunners last Saturday for John's annual Loooong Run. Blasphemy, some may say, to put off hugging the uber-niecelettes until after one. Last.Twenty-one. Miler. But you gotta do what you gotta do, right? It's not going to run itself!

I do not have to remind my fellow Houstonians of the weather on said Saturday morning: 72 degrees. Yes, we swam our last long run. I spent some quality time with Simon as we plodded through the Tanglewood subdivision. (note: I LIKE Tanglewood! Nice place! So pretty! A little Stepfordish, perhaps, but golly a nice layout.)

Ahem. My last six at marathon pace was a little off, but hey, if it's 72 degrees on 1/18, we'll set off for a 3:30 and LIKE it, right? Maybe. I might still try for 3:20, but let's not be silly. What was my point? basically we made it 21 miles, I was able to speed up at the end, the biscuits were fluffy and the hot tub was bubbly. In an uncharacteristic brush with restraint, I declined adult beverages in favor of returning home to finish packing.

And you know what I forgot?? Guess.

No really, guess.


My damn driver's license. In case you ever place your state ID into a tiny, beaded bag for a party and neglect to have it at the airport, they WILL let you on the plane with 3 other "validish" IDs. I think the saving grace was my Debit card with a photo, my Costco card with photos (have I mentioned lately how much I love Costco? More love!) and my checkbook. Yes, I had a wallet full of cards and a checkbook, but no TDL. And they give you a minor bagcheck and bonus patdown for free!