Welcome December!

December is here, finally! I know I will enjoy this month more than any other month all year.

We had fun with the girls over a long, relaxing holiday weekend. I cooked a small turkey, along with mashed potatoes and gravy, a spinach casserole that turned out sooooo good, and apple tarts.

The apple tart is my signature dish, it's the one that everyone always asks for if I'm coming over for Thanksgiving dinner.

With the leftovers, I made turkey green chile. So simple and delicious. I'll put the recipe up at Bitchen Swill when I get around to it.

I got quite a few miles in this week again, ended up with 50 running miles for the week, which was a bit of a stretch because I ran 16 miles on Friday and then I was tired.

Saturday I only ran 6 miles but it felt like the last 6 miles of a 24 hour run. My legs were fried. The weather was amazing this weekend though. Temperatures in the 50s and sunshine with no wind. I ran in shorts on Saturday.

It's too nice NOT to go outside.

But Sunday I wanted to get up to Horsetooth Reservoir and do my 10 mile out & back that I've been missing so much but was afraid to do until my hamstring got better. The sunrise in the morning was outrageous.

I drove toward Dixon Dam and the light kept getting more intense on Horsetooth Rock, it was glowing bright red.

It was a lot warmer than I thought it might be, so I ended up not having to bundle up quite as much as I usually do. I left a pile of clothes in the car and hoped the wind wouldn't pick up. It never did.

I stopped a bunch of times to take pictures, I couldn't help it, I felt like a tourist in my own backyard, it's been so long since I ran up there! Probably only 6 months but it feels like forever!

The ten miles felt okay despite how tired my legs were on Saturday. I went super slow but had no problem climbing the hills. I feel strong, just slow. I'm looking forward to putting a few weeks of these runs behind me and then I will start hitting the Rock Repeats to build more strength climbing hills. Maybe I'll be able to do a few more trails this year if I can get my ankles to cooperate.

December has never been so welcome. I usually view December as a month I just have to get through, because once winter solstice arrives, I'm gearing up for spring, because as far as I'm concerned, January 1 is the first day of spring. So I guess this month will just be a warmup for spring, right?

This was a long, difficult, stressful year, and I am glad to be on the other side of the stress.

I found out about a few other nurses who are just going into a stressful period which I know will resolve once they make their decisions to leave, but until they take that step it will be painful, and I feel for them. It's not healthy to be bullied by people who have power over you. Better to leave the toxicity behind, because once you leave, they will have to find someone else to pick on.

Every once in a while I still get hit with a wave of hurtful memories or anger that resurfaces, usually when someone else comes to me and tells me their story. My own wounds are still fresh, but healing. It leaves me with a reminder of how bad I feel, physically, when I get back into that vortex. But now I can smooth it out for myself and go back to my own peaceful existence that I am enjoying so much.

Going up to Horsetooth today brought me a sense of calm and being on the right path.

I heard from a magazine editor across the pond yesterday, she was interested in publishing my review of The Summit Seeker, so it should be appearing in Barefoot Running, a UK-based online running magazine. It's always nice to hear from someone who likes your writing, or artwork, or creative works.

The weather is supposed to hold for a couple more days and then we're supposed to get a COLD front next week that will drop the temperatures into the below zero Fahrenheit range. Time to get tough again. No excuses. Next time I go up to the reservoir, there could be a sheet of ice over the water. Fortunately, our winters here are short.

One month until spring!