But First, Coffee

If we were having coffee, I would first tell you how much I love coffee. Decaf vanilla latte, to be exact. With extra whipped cream, hold the calories, thank you. This is my winter-weather treat after a long run. Unfortunately, it seems like it may be a while before I earn one of these hot, sweet things.

My hip is not getting better. In fact, it is getting worse. Sitting for any length of time is excruciating. I have not been running for a week, doing the exercises recommended by my physical therapist twice a day, and it still hurts. I think it is time to pay my doctor another visit.

On to happier matters.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I absolutely cannot wait for this guy to retire. By the time you read this, the number of days he has to work before he joins me in retirement will be in the single digits. We have all kinds of plans!

I usually go to the rec center in the mornings to run and/or work out and I’m hoping Bill will join me beginning in January. He has already sampled a Body Pump class. We had a trailer hitch installed on our car and hope to purchase a bike rack so we can visit the local rail trails with our hybrid bikes once warmer weather arrives in the spring.

I am also hoping me he will join me in volunteering for Meals on Wheels. He was my driver last week during his time off for Thanksgiving and I finished my route in record time. Now, if I could just get him to come into the houses with me and charm some of the older women on my route…

We are going to Florida to visit my sister and brother-in-law in January, and hoping to stop at Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia in our travels to and from the Sunshine State. It will be so nice to travel with a relaxed itinerary.

I have been learning Spanish with an app on my phone in anticipation of our journey to Costa Rica in March. We plan to see wildlife, visit the country’s natural wonders such as rainforests and volcanoes, and relax on the beach.

In April, we will travel to Richmond, Virginia to do one of our favorite races (Ukrop’s10k) in one of our favorite cities and then to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to see our grandson for a whole week while his school is on Spring Break. Oh, yes, our son and daughter-in-law will be there too.

If we were having coffee, I would ask you “Is it crazy to sign up for the 2020 version of a race when I haven’t even run the 2019 race yet? Is it crazy to sign up for a race that is more than a year away, when I am not running right now due to a very painful hip injury? Is it crazy to register for a trail race in the Mid-Atlantic in the middle of January, when chances of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and a mixture of all three forms of precipitation is very good?”

You know I signed up for the race, right?

Phunt 25k is my favorite trail race. Hands down. If I wait until my hip is better, or until I have run the 2019 race, or until conditions are perfect, I will miss out! Registration fills up fast. I had to sign up. I really didn’t have a choice.

Finally, if we were having coffee, I would wish you the blessings of this holiday season. Whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope it is happy, filled with friends, family and love, so Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Joyful Winter Solstice, Exultant Kwanzaa, and if I missed your holiday, please have a Blissful December!

Thank you for the coffee talk.

I am linking up with Coco from Running With Perseverance and Deborah from Confessions of a Mother Runner for their Ultimate Coffee Date, Clean Eats Fast Feets for her Week in Review, Shank You Very Much for Global Blogging, Mary-andering Creatively for LMM, Random-osity for The Good, The Random, The Fun, Patty, Erika and Marcia for Tuesdays on the Run, Nanahood, and blovedboston for Weekending.