Happy December!

This little guy is so excited it's Christmastime. He's been asking about the snow constantly ("Looks like snow out there, Mom?"). I think his wish of snow is (finally) going to come true in the morning!

Cowtown Countdown - 13 Weeks to Go + Turkey Trot 5k

For my tempo run this week, I did a Turkey Trot 5k here in Ann Arbor on Thanksgiving morning. My parents stayed home with the kids so Brian could come support and take pictures.

Here I am coming into the finish line! I love being new to running, because every time I run, I get faster and stronger and I feel like I'm accomplishing something amazing. It's a great feeling.

Crossing the finish line with a new personal record of 21:46! My pace was 7:01.

Division Place: 5 out of 103

Sex Place: 13 out of 534

Overall Place: 78 out of 969

I was really excited because based on my 5k time, I'll qualify for Boston! There's a cool online calculator that takes your best race time and projects it out to a variety of distances. So, for example, given my 5k time (and all things being equal) I'd run a marathon in 3:32:12 (a pace of 8:06 / mi). That's qualifying time, baby! I'm on my way!

The rest of the week went well, too. I ran my Saturday 14-miler by myself since Jonelle was out of town for the holiday. It went really well though! I never thought I would ever be motivated enough - or have the capability - to just go out and run 14 miles by myself, but I did! And - most shocking thing of all - I kind of enjoyed it! It's very cool.

Weekly Goals

Monday: 5 miles at 8:53 / mi

Tuesday: 5 miles at 8:53 / mi

Thursday: 3 miles at 7:37 / mi

Saturday: 14 miles at 8:53 / mi

Outcome

Monday: 5 miles at 8:22 / mi

Tuesday: 5 miles at 8:06 / mi

Thursday: 3 miles at 7:01 / mi

Saturday: 14 miles at 8:27 / mi

tHANKSgiving 2009 and Ford Rouge Factory

This year we kept with our tradition from last year and had the Hoopers over for Thanksgiving dinner. However, this year my parents took the place of the German couple who were with us last year.

Andrea, Tyler, me, Mom, and Dad. The Hoopers and us split up the work on the food. Normally I make Brian do the turkey, but my mom volunteered to do the turkey and dressing so Brian got a break this year!

Hayden, Sydney, and Wes. It was so fun to have a kids' table this year! It's a lot more relaxing for Moms and Dads that way!

Grandpa Swensen helping Sydney try pumpkin pie for the first time!

Wes enjoying his ice cream for dessert.

On Friday morning, we went up to the Ford Rouge Factory Tour in Dearborn. Sydney, Mom, and I are on the bus from the Henry Ford Museum to the factory.

The tour was actually really cool and there weren't very many people there which was nice for us. Pictures aren't allowed on most of the tour though, so I took this one of Brian by the twenty millionth Ford. Pretty exciting!

My mom and dad flew home Saturday morning, but we had to get a cute picture with the kids before they left. Mission accomplished!




Here we are together: Brian, Dad (Grandpa), Wes, Mom (Grandma), Sydney, and me. The kids had a blast with their Grandpa and Grandma Swensen.

We love spending time with family!