Giving Thanks

Hope everyone had a nice holiday and was able to give thanks for all the blessings we have in our lives. I spent a few days with my mom and sister, who flew in from Pittsburgh, and it was so refreshing to spend time with them and my wife. Erica cooked a beautiful, scrumptious meal for thanksgiving day and we played our traditional board game afterwards. We definitely enjoyed plenty of laughs with the game Cranium! I was also so grateful for the weather we had for their visit...it hardly rained at all! :0)

Sunday I was able to get in a solid 15-mile run in Forest Park. I ran the first six miles with Dale, Chyle, and Matt, and then went out on my own for an additional nine miles. Just after I took off solo I ended up bumping (almost literally) into my trail running buddy Jim B. We ended up running the next few miles together before I turned back for my car. He was on a 30-mile run from the other end of Forest Park and this wasn't the first time we ran into each other out of sheer luck (and I don't think it will be the last ;0). I must say that it feels so good to be running long again.

This coming weekend is big in a few different areas. 1) Good luck to all the runners heading down to San Francisco for The North Face Endurance Challenge. A couple of my training buddies Nick T. and Joe G. are heading down and they both have some good mileage and training under their belts and are rarin' to go! Tear it up guys! I'll be thinkin' of ya! :0)

The second and most exciting thing going on this weekend (in my opinion) is the Western States 100 lottery drawing. This takes place at 9:00 am pacific standard

time down in Placer, California and you can bet your booty that I'll be in front of my laptop awaiting my name being electronically pulled. As of right now I have like a 1 in 5 chance of being picked. These odds may go more in my favor as the next couple of weeks unravel. To find out more about this you can click HERE. Best wishes to everyone hoping for a spot in this epic race!

And the third most exciting thing this weekend is cramming for finals ;0) I can't believe it's December already!!! Let's make this last month of 2009 a good one!

Quote of the week: "Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." ~W.T. Purkiser