Charlie Brown Christmas Virtual 5k

Mom signed us up for this one. It needed to be done by December 31st. I knew running it a week after taking a week off with the flu wasn't probably going to go well, but I decided to go for it with low expectations. I did a short speedwork out less than a week before and it was a struggle so I didn't expect this to be fun. I ran a virtual race around Thanksgiving right after having a sinus infection that went way better than I expected. I was prepared for this to be considerably slower and didn't think it was likely I'd be under 22 minutes, although I always love sneaking under. I ran a 2 mile warm up and did 3 strides at the end to get my legs ready. The first 2 were at 7:20 pace which I figured was probably what I'd do the 5k in. Then my last stride was 6:50 pace and felt the same as the first couple.

Everyone wearing their race shirts on New Year's Eve.

I went through the first mile in 6:54 which was a lot faster than I was expecting. My Garmin was really struggling with my current pace. I'd look down and it would say 6:20 pace. Then I'd look down a bit later and it would say 7:20 so I quickly realized I wasn't going to be able to count on it to help me know how I was doing. I didn't feel like I slowed down that much in the 2nd mile but went through it in 7:07. I was bummed I was so much over 7 for that mile but I also had a small hill and lots of small turns plus a turn around in that mile, so that slowed me down a bit. My goal for the last mile was to get back under 7:00 and I did it with a 6:56 last mile! I had to run uphill for my last 0.1 so I was pleased to run it in 6:54 pace. My finishing time was 21:44. I was shocked it went as well as it did and I felt really good during it. I felt like I could have run faster, but I just couldn't push down anymore. I was wheezing a bit as I ran which showed I wasn't quite fully recovered. When I looked at my stats later, I saw my heart rate was lower than that last virtual 5k I did which I figured showed I wasn't quite able to push as much as I did last time. Either way, I was pleased I was able to run a sub-22 so soon after having the flu. That gave me hope that my recovery from the flu this time won't be the prolonged nearly 2 year ordeal it was after having it in 2020!

Wordless Wednesday

Elise making her Oreo house.

Carter putting together his Oreo house.

Ty scraping the Oreo to get a straight line.

Hiking with Uncie Taco.

With the Grinch at Keystone Ancient Forest.

Opa laughing while we made Christmas cookies.

Elise trying out her new fan.

Ty's set up to eat his popcorn while we played a game.

Using the new pogo stick while wearing gloves on her hands and her feet.

I was foam rolling and noticed Ken was creeping on me.

Ty decided he would follow suit!

We finally got around to smashing our pumpkins by the side of the house to see if we can grow any pumpkins this year.

Carter is so sweet and plays with Elise's Barbie Dreamhouse with her.

Making her first batch of food with her new Easy Bake Oven, pretzels.

Finished my run at Turkey just in time for the sunset.

Got lazy after running the non-technical new trail and tripped on Snake.

I love matching my new running socks to my outfit for runs!

Turkey Mountain is my favorite!

Ready for a movie night complete with popcorn and treats.

Elise's new Moana nightgown.

Zoo Fun!

Trying out the hurricane simulator.

Carter was so sweet to lift Elise so she could see better.

He found a cozy spot for his snack.

Flamingoes for Opa!

Standing under a tiger!

We had so much fun watching the baby tiger at the zoo.

Carter asked me to take this picture of him in the gift shop.

Carter was thrilled with his snake he bought in the gift shop with Christmas money.

Elise was buying herself a necklace and Carter didn't have enough money but wanted one so Elise bought him one too.

Christmas 2021

Monday, December 13th, Elise woke up with a throat so sore she said she could barely swallow. I took the day off to stay home with her and took her to the doctor. She tested negative for strep throat but they went ahead and treated her with antibiotics just in case since her throat looked so sore. I also had a sore throat and have a tendency to get strep and figured it was best to get checked since I was already home rather than wait and get sick a few days later, so I went to Urgent Care when Ty came home for lunch. I also tested negative for strep but the doctor decided to prescribe me antibiotics because my throat also looked bad. Since we were on antibiotics we were cleared to go back to work/school on Tuesday. Then Wednesday I was feeling really achy through the hips and it got worse throughout the day. By the end of the school day I couldn't sit down. The drive to pick the kids up and then get home was miserable. I was supposed to meet up with running friends for a Christmas lights run, but cancelled and stayed home in bed. By the next morning I was running a temperature and put in for a sub. I went to Urgent Care where they tested me for Covid and the flu. I was negative for Covid, but positive for the flu. The doctor said to stop taking the antibiotics because it would make it harder for my body to fight off the virus. I ended up missing the Thursday and Friday before Christmas break with the flu which was a huge bummer. Carter started complaining of body aches so Ty took him to Urgent Care that Sunday and he tested negative for Covid and strep and positive for the flu. 

We all got our flu shots this year and really I was the only one who was super sick. Ty thinks he had it but only had body aches. Elise likely had it, not strep, and really only had a sore throat. Carter had body aches and a cough. I was in bed from Wednesday evening until Monday the 20th. Monday I was able to do stuff but had to take multiple naps. I didn't feel mostly back to normal until Tuesday. I was so thankful because I was starting to worry that I would still be sick on Christmas, especially considering the last time I had the flu in 2020, I was in bed for 10 days and sick for 2 weeks. We were supposed to go to Topeka that weekend before Christmas but I was still contagious and miserable. I suggested Ty and the kids go without me but he didn't want to and I'm glad they didn't since Carter ended up having the flu as well and would have exposed everyone there. So by Christmas we were all feeling a lot better but I don't think any of us were quite 100%. 

On Christmas Eve we had some friends drop by gifts for us and hang out for a bit. Then I ran when they left and mom and dad arrived right after I got out of the shower. We finished making sugar cookies for our neighbor and Santa and played around. Jeremy and Thomas came over for dinner and it was delicious. Elise sang us the song she learned at school that she got to sing while caroling to different classes. She was very proud and it was so cute to hear her sing the parts she really knew and to listen to her read the parts she didn't remember. She wanted to call Gma and sing to her. We caught Gma just as she was going into church so Elise just sang part of it for her. That evening the kids picked out a couple cookies for Santa and set out milk. We had fun using the Google Santa Tracker throughout the night to see where Santa was. We didn't stay up too late and then it was to bed for us. 

I forgot to tell the kids to come get me when they woke up before they headed in to check out what Santa brought. Between worrying I'd miss them and my excitement over the day to come, I had a hard time falling asleep and woke up quite a few times throughout the night. I woke up at 5am so excited I thought about getting up, but was able to fall back to sleep. I heard little feet running down the hall at 6:30 am and jumped up to see them find their presents. Elise was super excited about her Barbie Dreamhouse and Carter was quite excited about his big Lego set. The kids opened all their presents from Santa and emptied their stockings. They helped sort the presents under the tree and I organized them in piles by where people would sit. We called Gma and Gpa to wish them a Merry Christmas. Thomas came over at 9:45 and we went outside to play on the trampoline and had some fights with our foam swords. When the kids tired out, we came back in and played Barbies and with some of their toys. They did a great job waiting for Jeremy to come over. When he still hadn't arrived by 11:00, I told them they could play on their tablets while they waited. Opa drove over to check on him and ended up waking him up. He'd had a hard time sleeping and didn't set an alarm. He showered and made it over maybe around noon.

Elise with her Barbie Dreamhouse.

Elise sorting presents.

Elise hugging Carter after opening the present he got her.

Once Jeremy arrived the kids opened the rest of their presents and then while they played with them, we opened our presents playing the guessing game. Thanks to Thomas buying me 3 boxes of Cherry Cordials and wrapping them as is, I won by a pretty decent margin. Jeremy and I went for a run that afternoon. Thomas had been sick and still wasn't feeling up to running yet, otherwise he would have gone with us. We played with toys and new games and then that evening ate leftovers and watched Encanto which had released on Disney+ the day before. We had a fire in the fire pit that evening and sat around chatting and listening to music. Once the kids were in bed we played a game of Cards Against Humanity. It was a fun and love filled day!  

With Jeremy and Moneypenny after our run.