January! The first month of the new year! New beginnings, fresh possibilities and the prospect of spring! I have always liked this month even if it means we are still in the middle of winter. And we definitely had to deal with some weather conditions that reminded us that even here in Southern California we get to enjoy our version of winter.

David and I had a busy one. We went back to the Bay Area for a few days (THANK YOU, Chris and Greta for making us feel welcome again!) and a couple of weeks ago spent a long weekend in Santa Barbara. A few of my former students whom I stayed in contact with over the past two years (Facebook ROCKS!) graduated and I did not want to miss the ceremony and party.

We stayed with my dear friend Dilys, someone I also met at work when she was hired as the Director of Alumni Relations, a job she had previously held at Claremont McKenna where Adrienne went to school. While David met up with his best friend and business buddy Nelson and I had a great time hanging out at Winter Session. It was really like old times and I almost felt as if I had never left my job. A job I loved every day!

Before we left to go back home we met up with some of our best friends for breakfast:

I spent some of the best years of my running life with these people and love them beyond measure. The Mullens, who are a gazillion shades of awesome, live in New York City now so it was extra special to have them present for our little reunion. And I had not seen Becca, who has the biggest heart of anyone I know, in four years! Four years!!! She is a nurse (I am so jealous!) and two days after this photo was taken she traveled to Haiti with Project Hope to volunteer her time and services on this ravaged island. And then there is Analise whom I had last seen at Adrienne’s funeral. We all met through Ana, someone who has an almost uncanny ability to connect people, not to mention that her fashion sense puts us all to shame and that she kicks my butt on the track. That girl is one awesome runner and definitely helped me step it up to the next level. We trained and ran San Diego in 2005 when we both qualified for Boston and then trained and ran Boston together as well. I could not have wished for a better partner in running. And boy did we run! Hard! And solved many a problem on those long, endless routes. Problems that shall remain unwritten!

Some of my best memories include the people in this photograph and I am positive we will remain friends forever no matter where life will take us (although Nick and I have been dreaming of becoming neighbors for years!).

A few years have gone by since we all first met and we have definitely been through changes, some minor, others major, in our respective lives but in the end we have remained the same. Good people, who can just pick up where they last left off!

Through it all I ran of course. I do like to get out of town for a lot of reasons but one of them is definitely the chance of running different routes and exploring new trails. In Santa Barbara I took the opportunity and ran hills for all three mornings I was there. One of them in an hour long torrential down pour. If nothing it made me feel alive.

Shortest run: 4 miles

Longest run: 6.1 miles

Average speed: 7:28 min/miles

Strength & Endurance: 3 hours

Weight Training: 2 hours

Yoga: 3 hours

Today’s Running Tip: Mix it up!

Once you’ve made running a routine it is easy to get into a rut and run the same route every day. To keep challenging yourself and improving your endurance it is important to mix things up by running different distances and terrain at different speeds. That way your body can never get used to your workout.