Fashion. Nailing it.

Today was another special day in my life. It was pajama day, which is normally my favorite day ever. Due to the snow closings earlier this week, it wasn't as publicized as it normally is. I became concerned that I'd be the one loser in pjs.

I got to work and discovered that not only was everyone else wearing pjs, but I once again didn't have heat in my classroom at it was 16 degrees outside. So now I was freezing, without feeling in my fingers, and uncomfortable.

Then, it turned out that my friend down the hall had brought an extra pair of pajama pants, and they were fleece and cozy and glorious. I put them on right away and spent the day as a gloriously comfortable professional, in someone else's red polka dot fleece pants, a giant men's fleece that I once won for free at the gym and keep in my classroom to wear during lunch because I'm a freak and can't eat without shivering uncontrollably, and my normal dress shoes. Fashion. I'm good at it.

When I got home I took a poorly lit picture to share this super cool outfit with the world. Instead of a fitted shirt imagine a giant baggy blue fleece down to my knees that says "Merritt Athletic Club".

Thanks Rachael! #ootd

My day was saved, and got even better when I finally started using my little baby mini work crock pot. You plug it in when you arrive, and then at lunch time you dig into some nice warm tangy black bean soup. This works out great because I have about 25 minutes to eat and my microwave is from about 1972, so just heating my food generally consumes the majority of that time. No longer, though.

Laptop in the background for size reference

Since I'll be spending the weekend volunteering at a race I was originally scheduled to run (the Lower Potomac River Marathon), I guess it's time for full disclosure on the running front. I have, sadly, officially requested to defer my entry for the C&O 100 mile race to 2015. I definitely still plan to complete a 100 mile race, but it doesn't look like 2014 is the year.

The good news is that I'm running pain free. Obviously, this is a bit too little/too late for training, but it's still a positive. I learned something about myself since I stopped training - I like exercising a normal amount. By normal, I mean an hour or so a day, not 50+ miles per week. Spending only 6 hours a week exercising aligns quite nicely with the 8-10 hours a week I'm supposed to be working on my grad project, learning the common core, and my favorite, SLEEP.

Long story short: high volume training isn't appealing to me right now. Therefore, instead of running 52 miles this Sunday (starting at 1am and running the race course twice), I'll be sleeping till the much less unacceptable time of 5am and handing out shirts and bibs. I'll probably be a bit jealous of the runners in the moment, but I can't say I'm too broken up about it right now.

And that's the story of the running. It's a good one, I know.

Ever just taken a break from a hobby for awhile? What made you go back to it?