Merry Christmas

Christmas is OVER! Seriously, we had a wonderful Christmas this year. We started the season with a surprise 30th birthday party for our friend Cyndi on the 23rd. I think she was really surprised when she walked in to find a house full of friends and food. We even made her a cake wreck.

Jarrett and I went to Lafayette on Christmas Day to celebrate with my family. All of the kids, grand kids, and great-grand kids had dinner at my Nana and PawPaw's house. It was great! It has been YEARS since we all were together to celebrate a holiday and I think everyone had a good time. Then, we went to my Grandpa Klontz's for a visit and back home to Indy. It made for a long, but fun day. The 26th brought another Christmas gathering with Jarrett's family. Lot's of little ones and tons of food. The kids seemed to like their presents and it is always fun to watch them open their loot. Jarrett and I deeply appreciate the gracious gifts from all of our families! We wrapped up the holiday season with the last party of the year yesterday with Jarrett's choir folks. Once again, lots of fun and food!

Jarrett and I both have time off until after the New Year. What are we doing?? Remodeling of course! We ordered our new floor yesterday at Lowe's. Unfortunately, it won't be in until after we go back to work, so it looks like this will be a multiple weekend project. We are completely tearing out the carpeting in the downstairs of our house and replacing it with laminate. It's about 1000 sq ft of flooring. Laminate is easy, but time consuming. The biggest pain is going to be moving the piano. We are going to have to find some strong helpers because I just don't think I'm going to be that much help. Our goals this year are to get all the floor finished in the house and start the master bath remodel in the spring. We also are hoping to get a new furnace and air conditioner this spring too.

New 5K PR!

At the last minute I decided to run the 5K's of Christmas. Cyndi and I got to the race super early because we hadn't pre-registered. After signing up, we headed to Le Peep for a light breakfast. I thought I may regret it, but it ended up being totally okay. I finished in 28:39 - 45 seconds faster then last weekend! Sweet!

We found a lovely home to rent in Augusta for the HIM. They are even going to allow us to bring our dogs! Staying in a hotel was not really appealing to me. I want to be able to cook my own food before the race and this was a great option. Jarrett's mom and step-dad will also be traveling with us so it works out great to have a 4 bedroom house to share. Having the dogs will make it much less stressful for me. I always worry about them when we are gone even though my parents are wonderful pet sitters. Plus, I will get to cross the finish line and see their fuzzy smiling faces waiting for me!

Augusta Bound!

I did it! I am officially signed-up for Augusta 70.3! 285 days until race day! I figure now is the time to start planning my 2010 race schedule.

January - Nothing looks very interesting, so I probably won't race in January.
February 7th - Groundhog 7 Miler - Umm...IT'S FREE! Awesome!
February 20th - Polar Bear 5 Miler
March 3rd - Spring Fling 15K - It's in Plainfield, literally miles from our house. There is no excuse not to run this one!
March 27th - Sam Costa Half Marathon - Maybe...
April 18th - Bricks to Bricks 10 Miler
May 8th - Mini Marathon

Triathlon season starts in June. No one seems to have their race calendars updated yet so as soon as I have a game plan, I'll post it. I know I will be doing at least 1 Olympic and 3 sprints. The last decision is whether I put a marathon in for October or November. I will be heading to Madison, WI in July for WIBA. It's a chance to train with other triathletes on the Ironman Wisconsin course. It will be a great chance to get in a long open water swim and some great biking. Plus, it's free. Seriously!

Jingle Bell Run 5K

It has been a long week! I was in Houston, TX for 6 days attending training for work. I made it home last night around 10:30 pm. I signed up weeks ago for the Jingle Bell Run 5K held in downtown Indianapolis. This is my first 5K this year, so I was interested in how it was going to turn out. Even with the 20 degree weather and week of sitting for 9 hours a day listening to lectures, I turned in a new PR! 29:24.4 which is 36 seconds faster then last years 5K. My goal for next year is to run it in 28:30 or better.

There is another 5K next weekend....hmmmm...I may be tempted to get another one in this year!