Why Did I Leave Arizona?

Back in the Great Plains where it's 9 freakin' degrees and forecasted to hit -6 tomorrow night. Good grief. How did my blood get so thin so fast? Looks like it's the treadmill and a strength workout for me today. No need to go outside and freeze anything important.

In the "thankful for small gifts" department, the Weather Chick screwed up last night and we only got 2" of the forecasted 4-6" of snow, an understandable mistake since women are notoriously bad judges of length and/or distances. (Why?  'Cuz they're always told that 3 inches is really a foot.)

I may venture out later to my favorite running store for some new Asics Gel-Kayanos, the best running shoe EVAH!!! My arches hurt after running the Arizona hills the other day; I'm hoping it's a symptom of impending shoe, not bodily, decrepitude.

Note: In the comments a few posts below, Awesome Training Partner Wil asks whether I've signed up for Steelhead 2008? YES I HAVE, BABY! WOOOHOOOO! Uh-oh.

Books I read in AZ: "The Terror" by Dan Simmons. An 1845 Arctic expedition goes terribly wrong. Endless nights, -100 degrees temperatures, monsters, cannibalism, scurvy...yet it's a love story. Go figure. And "Into The Wild" by Jon Krakauer. Young man goes on the road and dies in Alaska. Was he a narcissistic idiot or just unlucky? My vote: both. And "Morning Spy, Evening Spy" by Colin MacKinnon. The CIA hunts Islamo-terrorists in the days just before 9/11. Narcissistic idiots or just unlucky? Again, my vote: both.

Oh yeah, I jumped off the plane last night and, for the first time ever, made lasagna for dinner. Not too bad if I do say so myself, especially when paired with a 2005 Marquis Phillips

Australian red something-or-other wine (Shiraz, I think.) And I'm really bummed out that Southwest Airlines did absolutely NOTHING rantworthy. What the hell? I feel so deprived I think I'll dig into the lasagna leftovers.