We spent this morning hanging in Winona at Kevin’s parents while the moving company packed up our house!

Can I just say how thankful I am that it wasn’t me packing those boxes? They better not break any Fiestaware!

Kevin couldn’t resist a donut (or 2!) from one of his old haunts – Bloedow’s Bakery! I stuck with a sugar-free vanilla latte from a local coffee spot, Mugby Junction.

I just wasn’t in the mood to run in the Minnesota cold today so I opted to squander 11 hard-earned dollars at the local Y. I haven’t missed a single day of running on our little vacation! It hasn’t been easy, but I’m so happy because we’ve been eating like crazy!

I had no clue how to use this treadmill. I THOUGHT it was touch-screen, but I felt so stupid trying to figure it out with two people running on either side of me. I did love the side hand-clickers to change the speed and elevation more quickly! Once I figured it out, I was in love. I wanted to try watching the little tv on my screen, but I was totally in the mood to listen to Pandora beats!

Somewhere along the line, I decided to get my money’s worth and pound out a half-marathon! I haven’t gone farther than 7-8 miles in a super long time so it was tough! But I just kept my pace under 8 minute miles at all times. I ended up finishing in 1 hr 42 min & 19 seconds, a 7:48 pace (incline always at 1.0-1.5). I was really happy with that time. Of course, I will admit to stopping the treadmill after 1 hour to restart it, and drinking water about 3 times from the water fountains directly behind me. And would you check out those white legs! Minnesota white plastered over with Colorado dry skin. Yuck! The sweat pouring through my jacket is also a nice touch.

Pumpkin tower @ Hy-Vee! I just had to show you this after all my issues finding pumpkin in Denver! They are STOCKED UP!!

This evening was spent with our bffs Deidre & Randy. We sooo miss living by them so it was so good to hang out. I was racking my brain for a dinner idea when Kelly offered to help out with this Stir-Fried Orange Chicken recipe from Men’s Health. It was amazing, and totally hit the spot after that long run! We also got a jump start on Cookie Friday, but I’ll save that for tomorrow.

What’s the farthest you’ve run on a treadmill? Today. The time actually flew. There were a lot of extra distractions with a new treadmill and a new gym environment.

When you’re on vacation do you like to take a break from working out or still squeeze it in daily? I’ve run outside. In parks. At my parents’ gym. At Kevin’s parents’ gym. But I’m doing my time!

Favorite Chinese food? Orange chicken and sesame chicken. With brown rice.

P.S. A huge happy hug for Sean, Kristy, & James who have finally been reunited after Sean’s deployment!!! Yayyy!!!!