Christmas in Ohio

We've had a very busy and fun week. We went to Ohio for Christmas. A few highlights from the trip include...

1. Running every day on really muddy trails with Dave, Janis, Will, and former high school xc teammates.

2. Having a playgroup with Keller (one of those former xc teammates) and her two adorable blond-haired kids. Kathy and Shanna came too, and we had a pancake breakfast.

3. Sleeping in a bed every night! This may sound trivial, but when there are about 45 people sleeping in one house, this is a big deal. We were lucky.

4. Grandma and Grandpa having a "Pump-it-Up Party." They rented out some party center full of inflatables and let the many cousins run wild (and there are 20+ of Bruce's cousins). Bruce had a blast.

5. Grilling Chris about his ex-girlfriend, questioning Marissa on her current boyfriend, and lecturing Ben about the many reasons young men should avoid facial hair and the military.

6. Baking zillions of batches of Russian tea cakes and caramel corn with Great Grandma - in her two kitchens.

7. Bruce loved feeding the ducks in the front yard every day. He would beg at 5:30 in the morning and several times during the day. Grandpa took him out at least once a day, and Scott took him out a couple times too.

Since we've been home, I've been working like crazy! Some of the content from my work web site is being syndicated, so I've been posting more and more. Also, the enormous Consumer Electronics Show is coming up; that's where all the new digital cameras are released. That equates to sheer madness and no sleep for me and my coworkers. Hooray.

Besides work, I've been doing some running. I ran in a small and very low-key BU indoor track meet yesterday. I ran a 3k in 10:04, which is better than what I thought I'd do. That's always a nice surprise. My next race will probably be the BU Terrier Classic or Valentine Invite. I really want to break 17 in the 5k - on my way to an awesome marathon of course.

With the new year comes a tougher training regime. Back to marathon training for me: 90-mile weeks, constant hunger even after three bowls of granola, several-hours-long runs on Saturdays, and a delicate balance of parenting/working/running/eating/sleeping/etc. I'll be racing the Boston Marathon in April. I'm stoked. But it's a lot of hard work too, so I'm taking the last deep breath before all the training really starts - tomorrow.

Scott and Bruce have had a nasty cold. Bruce's nose is constantly occupied by a slug of snot and sometimes a really gooey booger. Today Scott noticed a booger caked on Bruce's sock. "How'd that get there?" he asked. I laughed. I had wiped it there after excavating it from his nostril and not finding any tissues within arm's reach. I'll wash his socks anyways. Might as well get some mileage out of them.