Happy New Year*

Some girlfriends celebrate birthdays with mani-pedis at the local “nature spa.” Joanna and I celebrated hers by comparing black and blue toe-nails and bunion scars after two days of running the local single-track trails in the nature of NC.

Of the few, (but fabulous) girlfriends that I have, most are all miles away from me, but I have a tie with each that distance can not separate; because each friendship was forged over running some distance of miles together. Joanna is the friend that helped me realize that I physically could run a marathon. (She and I met at a James Bond party when we were introduced to each other as “the other runner girl”) JoJo turned, a smoking-hott, 28 years on Thursday.

With two whole actual vacation days to my name I could think of no better way to spend them than heading to Winston-Salem, NC, to help her bring in her new year.

For the first time since moving back to Syracuse, I had four days with no email to check, no stress to be had and absolutely no agenda, except for the following:

1) Trail Running
2) Watching the Tour de France (to feed our other sick passion of biking)
3) Eating my favorite southern delicacies (anything that comes out of Martha’s kitchen and / or off of John’s grill; hummus from Mellow Mushroom; and breakfast at Mary’s of Course)
4) Substituting our 8 daily glasses of water with coffee, wine, beer and margaritas.
5) Napping

(Hey, listen, while it might look suspiciously like a “task-list”; for a current work-a-holic, I promise you “naps” hasn’t been on any list of mine since Kindergarten…this is progress)

But let the record stand - I am out of shape. Bla Bla Bla I run all the time, and who cares that I have done two marathons this year…it mattered not to my stomach as Joanna and her friend Cullen gazelled through the trails of Greensboro while I gasped for air and everything holy.

As Joanna and I pounded out the miles and then recovered by laying around her house we also took chatty attempts to solve the questions of our current lives (I say attempt because it important to note that during this run I was so delusional I barley remember peeing on the side of the road) So, maybe no questions were answered except, “nothing” is great motivation. Having “nothing” to worry about, “nothing” to do and “nothing” but the company of great friends motivated both of us to start the New Year off right – with a smile -- (and sunglasses that were only fashionable during the years we were born)

*Birthday’s are the start of actual New Years, I was a mere zygote January 1st 24 years ago therefore I introduce “Pantless Rule #1 and #2
1. Birthday Month = The start of an actual new year
2. Birthday = independent national holiday, find your self a great sale, take the day off and probably drink or eat something you wouldn’t normally ever consume