20 mile run and gingerbread cookies

So after a week of being sick with bronchitis and a sinus infection, while not sleeping well and eating more than my fair share of Christmas cookies-- Tonio and I ran our longest run we would do before the marathon- the 20 miler. Just to make it more difficult, it was *freezing* cold. The kind that rips through your clothes and literally chills your bones.

When we signed up for the marathon in January, we were thinking "ooh, a winter marathon- sounds like easy training since we'll have a mild Texas winter." We were NOT thinking our longest runs would be in Chicago. This is precisely why people in Chicago run their marathons in the fall, after 5 months of perfect training weather. Whatever, we survived with our breath freezing our masks, the heat escaping our bodies condensing and freezing on our hair and eyelashes. While we were navigating the icy, unshoveled streets, the kids stayed home with Grandma, Grandpa and Tia Susie to do an art project and make gingerbread cookies.

It's funny how our holidays encompass or are symbolized by certain foods. It definitely isn't Christmas without cookies and potica.