a brief pause

Hey guys! Things have been a little quiet around here, but rest assured that I'm still around and cooking. The cooking is actually taking me in a different direction at the moment and once I'm finished I'll be able to get back to a normal blogging routine. Also, I haven't been commenting on your blogs much; just know I am still reading and enjoying what's going on in your kitchens!

As for running, I'm also talking a little break, not so much because of the cold as it is the snow. I've found that running in white fluffy matter affects my stride for the worse. Lately, my goal in running is to bring a realistic approach in how I view it; things ebb and flow, and I don't want to be a stickler for "getting my runs it". Granted, I don't have to stop all activity, it's just the way things are going at the moment. My advice to everyone is to step back and take a look at your training plans and running goals. Having goals is great, but we need to realize, especially if we tend to expect immediate results, that things take a while to come about and it's about consistency. I like to break things up into macro-goals that are attainable during the course of said long-term goal as it doesn't make the road ahead seem quite so long.

This was on my New Year's Day run a bit after midnight. I set out for 10 and only made it 6 because I underdressed my hands. The first three miles were great! My brothers were going to join me when I looped back for the remaining 4 miles. Unfortunately, I called it quits and was not going back out; they went out for 1 mile and almost broke into the high 6-minute range! For my little bro, who just started running at the beginning of 2009 year, that's incredible!

I'll sign off with the words of Conan: Keep cool, my babies!