I Hate Monkey Balls!

They say that there is a first time for everything and Christmas Eve was my first time falling flat on my face during my long run!! I tripped on a monkey ball and down I went!! It was bound to happen because I had almost fallen on one of those darn things twice!! I have seen these things before but I never knew what they were actually called. I guess a monkey ball is a seed pod from a sweet gum tree. Man I hate those darn things now!!



I ended up scraping my chin and my knee, cut my finger, another finger is swollen, and my other knee is bruised! I felt like such an idiot but I think Maura is the only one who saw!! Maura has been taking me around her neighborhood for some long runs so I've now learned to watch out for monkey balls!!

On another note, a much more positive one, I finally saw Caroline from Canadian runner in exile while we were on our run. Caroline and I always register for the same races but have never met. She recognized me and said "Sandy is that you? It's me Caroline. Merry Christmas!" I was so surprised to see her that I probably didn't greet her properly. It was great to see you Caroline!! Please stop by Caroline's blog and check it out. She is a great runner and her little boys are so cute and like to run just like their mom!

In spite of the fall, we had a great 17 mile run and I'm not sure how she does it but Maura doesn't run with her Garmin on her long distance runs but she can gauge the pace and the distance right on the money. She scolds me if I keep looking at my Garmin so I have to sneak and peak at it! She doesn't wear her Garmin when she runs marathons either but somehow meets her goal time! Me on the other hand, babysits the Garmin and would never leave home without it on race day!

I have gone on several runs with Maura since I have been on vacation and I don't think I have ever ran so many quality miles in a single week. The routes that she takes me on are pretty hilly and challenging for me a well. I took advantage of the time I had off and really enjoyed getting a few long runs in that I normally would not able to do since I work and get home too late.

I hope everyone had a great holiday.  I have been busy spending time with my family so I am way behind on reading all of your blogs and hope to catch up once my household is back to normal again. Have a happy and safe New Year!