Bill and I got up and went to brunch this morning, so we decided to go to the gym this afternoon. Didn't have a whole lot of time as we were going to dinner with my mom.

Ran a mile on the treadmill and did about 15 minutes on the bike.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! So, today is my 34th birthday and I'm actually in the best shape of my life. I still have a ways to go to get healthier and thinner, but still working on it.

Like many of my previous birthdays, it's either snowy or frigidly cold. This year, it's the cold. At 6am it was -4 degrees, with a windchill of -15. That's way too cold for me to run, especially on my birthday.

Went back to sleep for a bit then got up and met the group for coffee. Went to the YMCA after coffee to do my exercise. Did a mile on the treadmill, plus 20 minutes of hill workout on the bike.

OK, this was a bad day! For the first time since June 29, 2007, I did not officially do any type of exercise today.

Was at work before 8am, then had a hair appt at 4pm, got out of the appt and spent the next 45 minutes on my cell phone with a candidate, then quickly changed clothes and met the work group for Jackie's goodbye party after work. I thought I may get a quick run in after the hair appt and before the party, but that phone call prevented that. Then I thought I may not be out too late, but the party went into the weee hours of the night/morning.

Nearly everyone from the HR department went out and we went dancing and drinking at the new Den Again. Therefore I did do some exercise, sort of, with all the dancing I did. After 11pm, I realized (while out on the dance floor) that there was no way I was going to get in formal exercise. I was a little sad and disappointed, but I was having alot of fun---a good type of social fun I don't get very often, so that was more worth it to me. Life is short and this was a choice I made. Didn't get home until 1:35am--technically Saturday (and my birthday), so no exercise on Friday, January 18th. :(

Back to work after vacation and know it will be a long day. Went to work early and stayed till just after 7pm. Still wanted to get a little exercising in, so I did my mile (about 9 minute mile) on the treadmill plus a few minutes of walking. Then I did two different ab exercises and that was good for the night.

Flew back home from Florida today and back to the reality of very, very cold Wisconsin temperatures. Since we have the whole day to be lazy, I figured I'd go to the Core on the Floor class tonight at Synchronicity.

Did that 1 hour class of core, stretching, and stengthening exercises.

Last day in Florida and had to get out for another mile. It's still quite chilly....not the weather I would have liked for a vacation in Florida.

Ran 1.0 in 9:08.

Day after the marathon and Bill's pretty sore. He did great in both his races and I'm so proud of him. He still wants to do his mile, but wants to take it easy.

As we get outside the hotel, we notice it's gotten quite chilly since it rained yesterday. Bill was pretty stiff, so we started out very slow. Sped up a bit, but still took it nice and easy.

Ran 1.01 in 10:14 (10:08/mile pace)

Today's the Marathon Day. Tim and I had made plans to meet up and go to mile 19ish which was just down the road. Figuring they'd get there around 9am or so, and not knowing what the rest of the day would entail, I figured I'd better get the mile in early.

Went out about 7:15am in the nice warm Orlando weather. Did 1.05 in 9:34 (9:06/mile pace)

Today’s the ½ marathon so I was awakened at 3am when Bill got up to go. I never really fell sound asleep so I struggled to get up. Then from 7am on, I was getting text messages with all their progress. I got ready to go running around 8:30am, but Kristin called and Bill finished (got the text). Chatted with Kristin a bit (all three girls—Jodie, Kristen, and Melissa had finished), then Bill walked up to them and I chatted with him a minute. This delayed the run a bit.

Got out there and couldn’t decide if I wanted to do just one mile or two. Ended up settling on somewhere in the middle. Ran 1.75 in 15:26 (8:49/mile pace). Had my music on this morning and I guess that kept me going at a pretty good pace.

Bill ran the ½ marathon and did great—about 2:17! As he puts it, 1/3 done. He’s got the full marathon tomorrow.

Just three of us—Bill, Melissa, and I – met up for the early run. Since tomorrow is the ½ marathon, Bill just wanted to do one mile. When Melissa agreed, we set off.

Ran 1.06 miles in 9:37 (9:07/mile pace). A little better than yesterday, but boy is it humid down here.