And the rest of December

Surely after that long last post there couldn't be much of December left, right?  Since then ...

We decided to adopt another dog as a family holiday present.  The girls have been wanting another dog, and I admit I am jealous of all my friends who have dogs who can go out and run with them.  Our dog Sirius does love to run but a) he's terrible on a leash and b) he has a problem with one of his legs and if I take him longer than 5 miles he'll limp around for a day or two afterward.  I took a day off work the Monday before Christmas and we headed out.  First to Animal House, as Pete as done a good job advertising the dogs he runs with while volunteering for them.  Thanks to Pete's posts I fell in love with Zorro, and I never even met him.  As it turns out Animal House is closed on Mondays though.  After a brief stop at Larimer County Humane Society we ended up in Longmont where they had several dogs we liked.  We ultimately chose an almost 2 year old Doberman mix, then named Emma Louise, renamed Tonks to stick with the "wizards who died in the Harry Potter books" theme.  Tonks seemed pretty well behaved, knew basic commands and performed them even for Stella, and did well when jogging around with me, including having 100 times more of a clue than Sirius on what heel means.  Tonks has lived up to the name as she proved to be a bit clumsy, acquiring a spiral, or green tree, fracture in a bone in her front paw within 10 minutes of coming home.  Her running debut will be delayed 4 weeks (now only 2.5!) but the vet told us she should fully heal and still be able to run.  She and I both anxiously await.  

On the 29th the Fort Collins Trail Runners had the first annual Toast To Towers, or FCTR Winter Formal, or just another crazy running shenanigan with the best bunch of runners and friends you could ever hope to meet.  Call it what you want.  We were told to wear our formal wear out for the last trip of the year up our favorite hill.  I thought about it, thinking maybe I'd find a bow tie to wear with my tech shirt and tights, but didn't really think it would much beyond that (and never looked for that bow tie).  If I've learned something though, it's that I shouldn't underestimate the FCTR.  Runners showed up to run through soul-sucking deatheater mud and up icy hills dressed to go out on the town.  Dresses, coats, ties, buttom up shirts, tiaras, scarfs, even high heels made appearances.  I felt woefully underdressed, but was overwhelmed by the spread Ean and Alex whipped up for us.  A table with table cloth, cheese and crackers, fresh baked cookies, some bubbly, christmas lights, music, you name it, all hauled up the hill by Alex and Ean.  I don't think I'm going out on a limb in thinking a tradition has been born.  

Then came New Year's Eve.  68-ish days ago, when Ean decided to streak until the end of the year (and inspired several of us to follow suit) I suggested that the Resolution Run 5K would be a great way to celebrate our streaks.  And we did.  Many dressed in the formal wear they wore up Towers, and me in a shirt and tie and jacket too this time.  I won't underestimate this group twice!  All in all about 12 of us ran the 5K.  I ran a good race for where I'm at, 41 seconds off my 5K PB isn't bad wearing a jacket and tie.  My 5K time is closing in on what would predict that sub-4 marathon.  Now to stretch that out to longer distances.  Happy Streaking to Ean, Mindy, and all the established Streakers who were out there on NYE.

Celeste, Jennifer, Mindy, and Ean at the Resolution Run

And New Year's Day (not December, but pretty darn close).  The Runners Roost in Fort Collins hosts a 5K on New Year's Day every year.  I've never run the race, but have heard it's small, fun and there are great sales afterward.  Two 5Ks in 15 hours time?  All the cool kids are doing it, so why not?  9 or 10 of us who ran the night before showed up, leaving the formal wear and opting for the standard running garb this time.  After coming close to my PB the night before I was hoping to be even closer this time, but I instead came in about 15-20 seconds slower.  My legs, especially my hips and hamstrings, were a little tight and my 0.9 mile warm up was not enough.  Next year I'll either bike or do a longer warm up to get things loose before starting.  I also tired sooner in this race than the night before.  Shocking, I know.  It was yet another great day out with good running friends.

All in all December was a fun, friends, and shenanigan-filled month.  As I did in July, I still ♥ FCTR.