We're here...and COLD!

(Please be patient with my awful spelling! Using a computer where I can't quite figure out how to "edit" my work without erasing it. Spelling is overrated anyway... right? Thanks for your patience!)

Nathaniel and I arrived safe and sound into Minneapolis/St. Paul in the wee hours of the morning - 1:32 am to be exact. Let's just say it was a late nigt... Got home by 3:30 (after the rental car, baggage claim, and drive - happy to say that my bike and trainer arrived safe and sound...)

The flight itself wasn't that bad. I took the advice of my massage therapist - she's been right on most things thus far, and made a HUGE Apple Martini just before we drove to the airport.

Boy - people were sure nice at Pensacola Regional!

By the time we arrived in Atlanta, I was just getting warmed up. This flying thing really isn't all that bad, after a drink, or four.
With dinner I ordered not one, but TWO Long Island Ice Teas. They were delicious, and I've got to say - I was really getting the hang of this flying thing. Now I'll know what to do on the return trip.

On the flight from Atlanta to the Twin Cities, I figured that I should be a little "healthier", as I had a 75 minute run today. So I ordered spicy tomato juice... with a splash of vodka. Delicious!

Nathaniel said that I was the MOST pleasant person to fly with.

And that's all I remember, because next thing I knew, we were bumping along the runway in Minneapolis. At least it looked like it, due to the drifts of snow out the window.

Today I had a 75 minute run (as mentioned before). Surprisingly, I'm not feeling any of the affects of my previous night's alcohol indulgence. Sweet! (Not that I advise liquor all the time, but it certainly does the trick for "medicinal purposes")

Ah - the run.

It was cold.

Very cold.

Cold as in 12 derees, snowing, windy (with big drifts) and a windchill of negative 6. My Nordic ancestors beckoned, and I felt impelled to respond.

Bundled up agains the cold and wind, I faithfully completed my 75 minute run (infact, turned it into an 80 minute one - just because I could!).

However - I refused to look at my watch for the first 5 laps around the 1.6 mile lake that my parents live on. I knew that if I saw the numbers "28" or "45" or even "56", I would become disheartened and start counting down the minutes. I didn't want to do that! I refused to fall into that trap! So inspite of the wind and cold, I pressed on. My eyelids were crystalized with ice, the snot rockets I shot out were frozen well before they hit the ground, and the 4 inches of my face that were exposed were as cold as ice.

It was heavenly.

And Crazy.

To keep my mind occupied on things other than the cold, or the time, I tried to think of funny things. I thought - with great fondness - about all my new blogger friends who live up North and brave the cold, long, dreary winter (You Guys ROCK!), and I thought about Mary's HTFU and Bree's comment, "the training is harder than the race..." and tried my hardest to keep my mind busy on things other than the freezing wind chill, drifting snow, and pellet like snow that was blowing sideways.

Here's what I came up with:

C, as in Crazy
R, as in Really Crazy
A, as in Ass Cold OR Assicle (which is what I had)
Z, as in Zero degrees (If I'm lucky!)
Y - good question.

C, as in COLD
O, as in Obviously Nuts for being outside
L, as in Loco - I've got a screw loose
D, as in Dumb. No one else was out there

But I feel better for it. I've embraced my Noridc heritage. And believe it or not, I can't wait until my next run.

Now... about all the Christmas shopping that I've put off...