Running/Let’s Hear it for PRs!
I had two goals for this year’s Florida Holiday Halfathon:  1) to finish and 2) to finish in less than 3 hours.  I’m happy to report that I accomplished both of these goals!  Not only did I get it done in less than 3 hours, but I shaved 12 minutes off my previous PR while I was at it!  Woo HOO!  I even had enough juice left that I was able to really kick it up & fly through the finish line, passing 2 people in those last 50 yards.

I was about 3 miles from the finish when I finally spotted Larry, heading back home.  He’d joined in on the race unofficially, like usual – and got it done in 01:47 and change (for those of you who don’t know Larry, that’s 1 hour, 47 minutes to run 13.1 miles in flip flops – a light day of running for Larry!).  I was so happy to see him as I’ve been worrying about him – I haven’t seen him in months!  It’s the longest I’ve gone without running at least part of my run with him.

Which reminds me…  when running a one way half marathon, it’s not polite to run back to your car wearing your finisher’s medal, waving at those of us still heading towards the finish line.

Just kidding, I actually kind of chuckled about it!  ;)

I had a couple moments of memories, which were sad & nice.  As I came around the corner heading into Taylor Park, I couldn’t help but remember last year when I had done so only to see Dad & Rocky waiting for me right there, cheering me on.  I cried, but kept going.  Going around the lake was tough, the wind was brutal – and I’d forgotten about the back trail there.  It’s a shell/dirt trail – between the shells & the cypress knots growing up into the trail, my feet were hurting a bit in my Vibrams!  I hit the spot where Joe joined me last year & it put a smile on my face for the rest of the way.

I grabbed a bottle of water, a banana & headed for the shuttle bus right away, rather than hanging about to listen to the awards.  Thank heavens I did, as the cold front hit before the bus made it back to Madeira Beach & the sky opened up.  My heart went out to anyone still struggling to get across the finish line at that point, it must have been really hard then.

Reading
I’ve been a bit busy to do much reading, but I did manage to read one book, anyway!

• Me & Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter
  A lighthearted retelling of a modern day Pride & Prejudice under the guise of a Jane Austin tour. The best part of the story was the inclusion of our heroine meeting the “actual” Mr. Darcy – and coming to realization that if Mr. Darcy was actually a real man, he would not quite be the fantasy man one might imagine from reading P&P.  Not a deep read by any means, but fun!

Knitting
I’m still working on Smitten for the manlets – I’m over halfway done.  I’m keeping up to the current day, at any rate!  LOL  I also cast on a Harry Potter Scarf for the manlet’s girlfriend.  She’s totally knitworthy and is a huge HP fan (a definite plus in my book!  LOL).  I went with slightly more subtle colors for Gryffindor, so it won’t be quite as obvious that she’s wearing an HP scarf.  The gold I found is a pretty shade of gold, not the bright goldenrod most of the Gryffindor scarves are.  :)

One important note on this pattern:  it’s double knit, rather than in the round – which is fun for a change!  But the pattern states to slip every other stitch purlwise with the yarn in back – doing so nets a garter stitch tube, not a stockinette tube!  So if you want a stockinette scarf, be sure to slip the stitch purlwise with the yarn in front instead.  ;)

Today’s Ravelry Search
The patterns today won’t be of much interest to the crocheters out there, as they are all knit projects.  I usually try to include both, but today is an exception.  ;)  Remember, these aren’t mine – just click the picture to go to the Ravelry page.

My niece would probably love this one, she loves giraffes, I hear. :)

* Special Olympics logo scarf - awesome!!

SO freaking adorable!!

Gorgeous scarf!

I totally love this bag! Must knit one.

* Entirely appropriate pattern name! ;)

I've featured this pattern before, but I love it too much not to include it again!

* Super cute hat - would be a good gift for a math teacher. ;)

* ZOMG... SHEEPS! And adorable ones at that! LOVE!

* This one is for you, Anett! I know you'll love it. ;)

* Stunning! The first project I saw where I wanted to rush out & get the yarn to start knitting RIGHT NOW. Fortunately, my logical mind stopped me from it, as I've got too many gift projects to tackle right now. LOL

* Free pattern

Happy Tuesday, everyone!