Pre-Christmas Update

This week has been a little hectic - so I figured I should post before the holidays and then do a post holiday recap.

I would say the post exciting thing that happened all week was that Santa came!

I get pretty excited - I would say it is the highlight of the year for living here.

We also had a little visitor ...

and when we came home last weekend our own little monster did this with our entry way tree ...

Onto the running part of the last week.

Here was last weekends run .... I was totally not feeling it but we did it anyways.

This week we went to the gym twice - I did cross training for 40 minutes one day and the second day I attempted the treadmill again.

I ran 1 measly mile and it was the hardest and sweatiest mile I have ran. But it is better than 4 minutes the last time. I swear - I am not cut out for the treadmill, but I was hoping maybe if I keep trying it will get easier. I ran my mile in 11:09 and my shins and ankles were hurting. I will stick to outside running as much as possible!!! I ended up doing the elliptical after that mile for the rest of my workout. 

Jingle Bell 5K Anyone?

As I mentioned on Friday, we kicked off the holiday filled weekend with Christmas Vacation.

On Saturday we got up and went and cut down our tree at Pine Valley Farms in Sykesville, MD.

Then we did some decorating over the weekend ....

The most fun part of the weekend was the Jingle Bell for Arthritis 5k in Baltimore.  I did it with the two most spirited ladies - Lisa & Tiffany, who which I may say have been fun racing buddies. I finished my 5k with a PR of 28:09 and ran the first mile in under 8 minutes - a new record for me. Here are a few pics, and more race details are under the race tab.

I hadn't done a 5K since I have started to run more frequently, nor have a dressed up in fun attire. I really enjoyed the race.  It was fun & festive and it was nice to have it be low key and be able to be home by 11am. 

Did someone say Christmas Vacation?

Quick update since this weekend will have a lot, I figured I needed to break it up into a couple.

So after I left work - I decided no gym and that we were getting pizza. Not just any pizza - my favorite pizza.

This is a Caprese pizza from Pizza Town in Owings Mills. So amazing... fresh minced garlic, basil, oregano, tomatoes .... along with cheese of course.

Now we are watching a movie that I think will really kick off the Christmas tree getting weekend....

Okay - that is it for now - but don't worry we are cutting down our tree tomorrow and decorating more, so there will be lots more pics and not so much running!

Almost through the week and no workout?

Last week I was so good and I went three days in a row and then ran 5.5 on the NCR and lots of other running around and cleaning. This week? I have been horrible and haven't gone.  My legs still feel tired from last week. I think too much cardio. 5k on Sunday so I probably won't do anything else til Sunday, maybe elliptical tomorrow.

I did find this picture and think it is great!

Oh - I did also find the rest of my outfit for the Jingle Bell 5k. My knee highs have fur on them! So excited.

And.... Target has these for $12.

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Thats right - $12 and for 34 pieces of the good stuff. Not the stuff that stains or gets all weird looking after using for a while. I bought two boxes and now we can retire some other pieces and have more for using in the freezer.

Oh! And one last thing - Registration for the Baltimore Running Festival starts on Tuesday and for their 12 days of Christmas there is a $12 discount. Who is in???

Jingle Bell 5k .. getting excited

Okay so I am getting excited for this 5k this weekend. I don't think I have ever been so excited for a 5k.

We decided we are going to go for a festive look.

I will be wearing my running tights with the following accessories.

I still need to find festive socks and a festive shirt. 

Real question ... how am I doing to do my hair???

What a Weekend!

Since Friday a lot has been accomplished!

First and foremost - I am so honored that Christie has asked me to be a part of her special day. I am so excited and we will have an awesome group of bridesmaids. There are two other girls, but this photo encompasses the SC&H girls (I think this picture was from Vegas in 2010). 

We also decorated our tree for the contest at work, so that made the day a little more fun.

After work Dan & I went on and went to the gym Friday evening for the third day in a row!

Saturday was a very packed day that started of with a 5.5 mile run on the NCR trail. Even though it was below 40, it felt really nice. It went well, but after working out 3 days in a row on the Arc Trainer, my legs were feeling it. 

After running some errands, we decorated the outside of the house. 

Then we went to the SC&H Holiday Party at M&T Bank Stadium. It was a blast!

Sunday was more low key. I started working on the indoor decorations but there is a lot more to get done and I will post pics once we get our tree next weekend! 

I made one of my favorite soups ever! 

Rachael Ray's double dumpling soup. The only thing I add is some corn. Recipe Here. 

PS - I love the bowls, they are from Crate & Barrel.  You don't lose your spoon and the curves of the bowl makes it feel really nice in your hands on the couch! 

I think that is about it for this weekend!

The Gym & Treadmills

Why can't I run on the treadmill? It makes no sense. Every time I try and run on one, I feel like I am going to die. I lasted about 4 minutes and ran 3 minutes per mile slower. I think I will just stick to my outdoor running, even in the cold!

Speaking of the gym - this video is funny.

She has lots of videos. They are pretty funny. The best one is how to make people stop talking to you.

Cute Video

I thought this video from America's Funniest Videos was too cute not to share.

Welcome!

One would think that after all the running this year, that the blog was named after that.  But of course it isn't!  I would say at least 5 years ago while watching football with Dan, I said a player "shoulda ran faster".  This then transformed into my Fantasy Sports team name for one of my leagues. These words can really apply to many aspects of life, but what a better time to name the blog "Shoulda Ran Faster" then after all the running in 2011. This blog will probably be boring to most but it will follow my life, my running, and my favorite thing I like to do - EATING!