Lazy days in Taos

Hello winter break, Christmas break, holiday season, whatever-you-want-to-call-it!

Taos, NM

I survived the final week before break which is always packed with preparations as we try to leave town as soon as possible. In this case, our departure was Saturday morning, bright but not terribly early (7:30 am rather than 6:00 am or something horrible like that).  We arrived in Flagstaff, AZ Saturday afternoon and enjoyed an early dinner at the Beaver Street Brewery - it came as a recommendation, and I'd definitely pass the recommendation on!  Pretty good food and great beer!

We pushed on to Taos, NM on Sunday, arriving mid-afternoon.  The drive through New Mexico always blows my mind - I definitely feel that we are somewhere in the wild, untamed, still uncivilized West, to a certain degree.  The colors and views are amazing.  Neither of us had been to Taos, and the drive from Santa Fe north treated us to more views and oohs and aahs.  We were happy to arrive Sunday afternoon, not just because we were tired of the car but also because a huge storm was supposed to hit the region.  We planned on a relaxing Monday - take a snow day and be lazy.  We we woke up on Monday, Michael commented "This is the thinnest 12 inches of snow I've ever seen!".  I think the snow may have dusted Taos, but that was it!  So, we spent two relaxing days here, sort of waiting around in anticipation of snow and then we just embraced total laziness, drinking margaritas and beers at noon, taking naps, strolling around town, reading for pleasure, drinking plenty of wine at night and enjoying the company of family (we are here with siblings)!  Poor Michael has listened to me bitch for the past six, nine, twelve months about how I want a REAL vacation.  Well, this definitely meets the definition of a vacation.  We didn't even get on the slopes because we didn't want to wake up early, gear up, deal with traffic, get fitted for skis...  Talk about lazy!
To add to the sense of total relaxation, my sister-and-law and I went for a massage yesterday at some spa here in town.  I signed up for a "Muscle and joint massage" out of curiosity - I know the full-body and deep-tissue experience and thought that this would be something quite different.  It was, and it was AWESOME!  I would rank this as one of the best massage experiences ever, and I'm not being hyperbolic.  It was not full-body - the therapist focused on specific parts of my body that I talked to her about before she started - my left knee, of course, being a problem area, and then my shoulder area which seems to carry all of my stress!  While not all of the massage was 'relaxing' because she stretched me out and put me in uncomfortable positions, my body has rarely felt so stretched out, relaxed and completely functional, without any ache, pain, or tightness.  I'm now wishing that I could get one of these a month just to keep my body feeling great!
In addition to the massage and to being lazy around the house we rented, we've also spent a few hours at the Taos Inn which boasts a great bartender who whips up strong margaritas and bloody marys and excellent food.  Also, I'm back on the read-for-pleasure-bandwagon and have plunged into Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, which, while I don't know if I *LOVE* it, I am enjoying it as a good vacation read.  It hasn't all been over-indulgence as I did get out for a very cold run when we arrived and this morning.  Shew, that's a way to wake up!
Despite the lack of skiing, I would still call this a very good start to Christmas break 2011!  We head on to Boulder, CO, so more fun and relaxation will follow - and maybe even a few runs on a local slope?!

December and running ruts

I'd like to shirk my sense of responsibility and blame how I feel right now about running and other aspects of my life (work burn out?) on: the fact that it's December, we had weird weather a week ago, and I simply feel crazy busy and just want to get the hell out of dodge.  Nice, right?!  This is not an ideal mindset going into a, gulp, half-marathon tomorrow which will be the longest distance I've run in recent years.  In fact, my last half was about 7 years ago.  I would like to say that I took the opportunity to focus and train well, but that would be a blatant lie.  So, yeah, we'll see how the run goes.  I would like to aim for a sub-something-minute mile pace, but I would also like to actually enjoy the experience and be happy with my performance, either sub-whatever or sub-par.

The "enjoy the experience and be happy with my performance" is good advice for me to take, especially considering a serious lack of focus on my part.  Still, it amazes me that even when I don't really put the time/effort in, I find it frustrating when/if I don't feel that I've run my "best".
The 5K I ran last week represents this perfectly! Initially, I signed up for the race hoping to run a fast 5K, a distance that I don't particularly like too much. As race day approached, we experienced bad weather and much uncertainty, and I should have changed how I was framing this run mentally (should have, should have, should have...), especially when we woke up on the later side with fairly foggy heads from a wee bit too much vino and we crossed the starting line about a minute after the gun went off.  This was Michael's first 5K, but I wanted to run fast, so I ditched him and ended up having a so-so experience, running somewhat slower than I hoped/expected.  Hindsight is 50-50, and looking back, I see that running with Michael and just viewing the race as an opportunity to have fun would have been advisable.  I'm going to try to take that advice tomorrow as I slog my way through 13.1 miles.
I will say that it's not just my racing mojo that seems to have hit a hard spell. Thursday's run marked one final sign that my running game is in sore need of rejuvenation.  While I pounded out 6.5 or so miles without a huge issue physically, I found the mental release to be zero, zip, nil, and THAT was what I needed most.  My seventh period class put me in bit of a foul mood (not because of the students but another reason played a role) and then I got home and discovered that one of our dogs had decided to help himself to part of an expensive chocolate bar (he is fine, by the way).  So, I hoped and expected the run to be a zen moment for me, after which I would feel trouble-free and enjoy a clear mind.  THAT did not happen - instead, I was still fuming about my end of day encounter.  So much for the healing powers of running.

Looking at all of this, it signals to the obvious:  I need to take a break from running.  Gasp!  So, from December 12-December 30, I plan on skiing (downhill and Nordic, if possible), walking, hiking, maybe some indoor rock-climbing, snowshoeing and ice-skating, and more walking and hiking and lots of hanging out with friends and family and dogs.

Now, I just need to get through 13.1 miles tomorrow and 5 more days of work, and then life will be grand!
Then, come January 2012: Swim, bike, run!