Today I did my Home for the Holidays 10K, even though I am not exactly home for the holidays. I am in Lake Tahoe, CA at Squaw Valley on a ski trip with the family I travel nanny for. Right after graduating from college I worked as a nanny in Washington, DC while I had my first teaching job. Many years later, I no longer live in DC, or nanny on a regular basis, but I do still travel with this family.
We have been coming to ski in Tahoe for 6 years! It is so fun to see the kids every year, and really awesome to see how much they have progressed in their skiing! Mornings start early as I rush around to get the kids dressed, fed and ready for ski school, so to work out, I wake up extra early and hit up the gym at the resort. It is way to cold and dark to run outside, so the treadmill becomes my friend during this week every year.
I took this picture before I got on the treadmill. I don’t run a lot on the treadmill, and actually I haven’t run this much since my half marathon on December 11, so this was a big deal. I look a little cold in the pictures because to get to the gym you have to walk outside, down two flights of stairs and across the ice skating area! Brrr!
I jumped on the treadmill and started the speed at 5.0 mph to warm up. I gradually sped up, and then through a series of sprints as fast as 7.2 mph, but mostly hovering around 6.2 mph. Two episodes of “A Baby Story” on TLC later and I was a sweaty but happy mess.
I am glad that I participated in the Home for the Holidays 10K. I definitely would not have run 6.1 miles otherwise, and it was a nice kick in the butt to really work myself. I am pretty committed to working about, and would have worked out anyway, but on ski trips I tend to really take it easy when I am not skiing, so it was good to throw a harder day in the mix. I’m also glad I did it this morning (Friday) and got it out of the way…now it is time to ski, sip hot cocoa by the fire, and relax!
Enjoy the holidays!