1 Week Til' Christmas

Wow how time flies when you are having fun...or just working your @$$ off. Yes, it has been the latter for me which explains the lack of posts in the last month. YAY...we launched...CRAP...we've had a ton of procedure issues with this flight. By ton, I really mean four. But four REALLY BIG, high profile issues.

It's unfortunate and yes I always strive for a perfect flight but wow...this one really took a lot out of me. There isn't one person or event to blame it was a series of events. But I have to believe we were teetering on this impending doom and it was inevitable. So...we'll fix the issues, review the root cause and add a few more layers of review that will make the already cumbersome process more convoluted. 'sigh'

With undock on Tuesday I am officially on vacation! 'snoopy dance' I will be working on my "to do" list over the next two days and tie up any loose ends so I can start the new year fresh. 'Relief'

Running update: more like the lack there of...Unfortunately work and prepping for Christmas has taken precedent over my training since Thanksgiving but I am NOT giving up. Last week I did something to try and shake things up...I ran 3 miles NAKED!

Now that you've reread that sentence 5 times and have a visual...not that kind of naked. I ran without music and a watch and I literally felt naked. I just ran to run, to decompress, to listen to my inner self that I hadn't had a talk with in quite some time.

Let's just say running "naked" put a lot of things in perspective, regarding running. I'm really shocked at how much music plays a roll in the success of my running and how I get lost in the music and the miles just fly by. This three miles seemed like 13. I was constantly fighting with my mind that was telling me to stop, no one is out here, no one is on the trail...walk just a bit...you will feel better. Man...something that was supposed to calm me down was pissing me off.

I run on a trail that had leaves on it from the rain storms and of course I usually never hear anyone running behind me until they are close enough to pass, prolly not a good thing. Anyway, I kept hearing things behind me and I thought a deer may be walking or fixing to ram me but I would turn around and there would be nothing. I do run in the middle of a nature preserve so I thought squirrels maybe scurrying about and I was sensitive to the noises due to the lack of the music blaring but it was odd it was so close to me...scary.

I turn around at 1.5 miles and around the 1.75 I am back on the asphalt trail and the sun is to my back and I start hearing the noise again. Well...this time I can see my shadow and the shadow of what is behind me making all that noise! Grasshoppers! LOL. Too freaking funny...Since I focused on that the first half of the run I seem to settle in and listen to my surrounding. Man...the frogs are loud.

I'm not sure of my time, I know it wasn't horrible but I felt I struggled the entire time with the fact that I was running and I neever fully relaxed. Next time...music!

Less than a month till the Houston Half with the flight almost over I will commence with my 3 mile run today, 5 tomorrow, 3 on Wednesday and I'm going to go for 10 on Friday. I'll prolly reevaluate every day between now and then, I'm just concerned that I don't have more than 9 miles under my LDRs and less than a month to go. We'll see how the beginning of the week goes.

Have a great day!!! Here comes Santa Claus...Here comes Santa Claus...right down Santa Clause lane.