Laziest Blog Post Ever!

Connie is in town!

Connie, aka Dora the Explorer

We ran into Erik and Laurie in Darby Canyon. I love this pic of Erik making snow angels!

Erik, Laurie - and MAX!!!

And for anyone who thinks there is no technique to snowshoeing,
check out these jazz hands!

How About This Sunshine?

Loving it! I had some nice backpack training today

with the Batchen girls!

Training Streak Has Come to an End...I'm Down, Not Out!

Today, I failed to get a mile in. I wish I could tell you that my failure was for some incredibly noble reason, but it was actually motivated by more vanity than I'd care to admit.

My sister-in-law has beautiful blonde hair. And she brought me to her salon on Long Island yesterday. I think I was her little make-over project! So I had my hair cut, colored, conditioned with two special treatments, and blown out. I am so grateful for this day of beauty!

I can NEVER get my hair to look the way a stylist does with a salon blow out. And tonight we had a surprise party for Donna and I was just too excited to attend the party with my new hair than to mess it up with sweat and all the glamorous side effects of running. So I said I would run after the party. And I am just getting home from the party now (2:20am).

But count me down, not out. I have really LOVED doing the streak. And I will start over tomorrow, a little wiser from my first try. Here are just a few of the reasons that I am ready to get right back on the horse:

• I love routine. Many people who know me well would balk at this assertion and I'll admit it is not universally true about my life choices, but I am finding out that I like routine a lot.
• I like the feeling of braving rough conditions to get in my run. Like the time I ran around downtown Driggs as the snow fell at 10:30pm. I imagined I was in a sandstorm...great MDS training.
• I like knowing that I have done even just a little bit each day to get ready for MDS.
• I am fundraising for children and women in need. Click here to learn more: http://www.active.com/donate/colleenwoods_RTF
  

I have to re-start the count on my streak. Any new takers? I hope so!

Me, my brothers, my Mom and my baby niece at her baptism. This was before my day of beauty...see how frizzy my hair is! :-)

Suggest a Song for my MDS Playlist

Thanks to Jay Batchen for my new tunes!

And I am hoping to collect more. Could you leave a song suggestion for me by posting a comment to this entry? A song you think I might like to hear while moving along in the blisteirng heat of the Sahara.

It will be great to think of you when I hear "our song'!

Thanks so much!

28 Days Into the Streak...

Happy to report that my streak of running at least one mile a day is going strong. There have been spectacular days of training and some that are much less notable (yikes, like the 15 minute run in place I did one night at 11:20pm when I was so tired and just couldn't bear the cold...lame I know!).

I'd write more but I am so sleepy...

Word is that Mike Evan is going 28 days strong, too.

Anyone else streaking?

Happpy 2009!

Fundraising in Conjunction with Marathon des Sables

Over the years, I have had the loving support of friends and family as I have done marathons, triathlons, endurance swim races, and even a synchronized swimming class (well, to be fair, I didn't really have any support on that one...I crashed the class as I avoided my Ironman swim work-out and was subsequently asked to leave half-way through when they got to the more advanced moves and it was discovered that I didn't have nose plugs or the talent to go on...but that's another story!). I am so grateful for that support...it has opened up a world to me that I love so much.

In April 2008, I will run the Marathon des Sables (MDS). It's a race in Africa - in the Sahara Desert. The race lasts a week, and each day you cover a different distance...for a total of about 150 miles. The heat will be scorching, the terrain will be challenging, and the backpack I carry with my supplies will weigh me down. But I am super amped for this challenge. I have saved up for a long time to do this and I am trying to put my head down and do the training that it requires.

So, doing MDS is a luxury for sure. I am so grateful for this chance and there's a part of me that considered leaving it at that. But I have had second thoughts and I realize I am ready to commit to this effort alongside a committment to fundraise. To fundraise for a charity that means a lot to me - the Religious Teachers Filippini.

Over the next few months, I want to tell you more and more about this organization. They do AMAZING things for women and children and 100% of the money you donate goes to women and children. By donating, you are supporting a group that selflessly toils each and every day to help women and children in need. And their help often comes in the form of education, something I am very passionate about supporting.

I will have a webpage to accept donations soon, and I hope you might visit the page and make a donation if you can.

Happy Holidays, everyone!!!

ps - Many of you supported me when I trained with the Leukemia & Lymphoma's Team in Training. I VERY much continue to believe in this organization and I pray for the day when a cure for cancer is found. In the meanwhile, keep on supporting the Society...they help support research, AND they help patients cope with the realities of cancer and the bold fight it takes to survive and thrive. TNT - thank you for everything you do!!!

Lovin' the Outdoors in December!

Hello!

I am craving a nap right now but just wanted to send out a quick note of thanks to my friends who I got out with this weekend.

FRIDAY

Lisa - thanks for getting out on the bike path with me on Friday. And helping me recover...lesson learned, I can't cheat hydration. Water - and Nuun - will be with me on all my runs this winter.












SATURDAY

Dusty- thanks for leading the way through the southern exposure and timing us for a mile, too. Hope the rest of your work-out went well on Saturday. You are going to do amazingly well at Rocky!

SUNDAY

Laurie - Once again, you have shown me something new in Jackson. I love Game Creek and can't believe it is your backyard. So gorgeous! Can't wait to hear more about your prep for February. And how about this picture from Desert RATS...I like the way you are laughing as I look like I might cry! :-)