Life Happens Over Coffee

I never laugh until I’ve had my coffee. – Clark Gable

I am not quite as dour before coffee as Rhett Butler. I usually run before my morning coffee and running makes me smile. Laughing can wait until after coffee, though.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about our family Christmas. Whew! It was fun but crazy. My middle son and his wife visited us from Oregon for 11 days. That was wonderful. When I look at those 11 days in the rearview mirror, they appear as a merry whirlwind of activities.

Included in the whirlwind were a happy hour hosted by my hubby’s office to celebrate his retirement, a family retirement celebration dinner, a pre-Christmas run and lunch with our running club, a Christmas party at a friend’s house, our annual Christmas Eve lunch with friends, hosting Christmas dinner, a retirement party at our house, and my son’s early birthday dinner.

So much good food and fun. Did we stop after our son and daughter-in-law went home? No, we hosted a New Year’s Eve party. Now we must definitely go back to eating a balanced diet, drinking less and exercising more.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about our recent trip to the movies with our grandsons and their visiting aunt and uncle. We went to see the animated Spiderman movie. The 7-year-old loved it, but some parts were a little bit intense for the 4-year-old. He and I went out to the arcade in the theater and played some games while the rest of the group finished watching the movie.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that hubby and I ran a 5-mile race last weekend. I checked my running log; it was the first time I tried to run fast since June. It went pretty well. Oh, I did not run fast. Not at all. But my hip felt relatively pain-free after the run. The faster pace did not aggravate the injury. We are laughing in the picture because we are so bad at taking selfies. Believe it or not, this picture was our seventh try at producing a respectable photo before the race and this was the best we could do!

The swag for this race includes a nice Santa-themed hoodie. We now each have four or five of them from previous years in our closets. I am going to have to find a new Christmas race next year. A girl can only use so many hoodies, am I right?

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I have two fairly intimidating races coming up. This weekend I am participating in CJ’s Resolution Challenge, a 3-hour timed trail run with Bill and another running friend. I have run this race several times before and it is one of my favorites. This is the less threatening race of the two. Even though three hours is a long time to run, the course is a loop, so you pass the aid station, where runners can get food, drinks, and sit in front of a roaring fire, every 1.6 miles.

The second race, and the one which produces more anxiety, is Phunt, a 25k trail race. Phunt is my absolute favorite race of the year. I love everything about it. I love the vibe, the course, the aid stations, and the after-party. The volunteers are the best, the signs along the trail are entertaining, and it’s the only game in town on Martin Luther King’s birthday weekend. In the unlikely event of good weather, the race organizers are disappointed. Freezing rain, sleet, and snow are the preferred conditions. They make for a better story afterward. I just hope my hip holds up for 16+ miles.

Finally, if we were having coffee I would tell you that after Phunt, hubby and I are looking forward to visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Florida. As a teacher, I never got to travel during the school year, so heading to warmer climes in winter was not on my radar. Now that we are both retired, I am looking forward to some excellent company and a little break from January in the Sunshine State.

I may even bring my running shoes to Florida. OK, let’s be real. I will definitely bring my running shoes to Florida. After all, I need a reason to smile before coffee.

I am linking up with Coco from Running With Perseverance and Deborah from Confessions of a Mother Runner for their Ultimate Coffee Date.