My husband and I are both from New York, with most of our family still living in our home towns. But New York is a very large state. My parents’ Long Island town is about 400 miles from my in-laws’ homes in Western NY!

So, like many couples, we have to alternate who we visit for the holidays. This year we headed to what is normally snowy Rochester.

I was happy that there was no snow, and the forecast was looking pretty clear. I’d be able to go running!

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and spent the night at my father-in-law’s house.  He and his wife live quite close to the Irondequoit Zoo, where I’d run on some pathways during a previous visit. But I don’t know how I missed the pedestrian bridge across the river that led to miles of trails!

It seemed a bit rainy in the morning, but it was nothing more than a misty drizzle when I headed out that quickly turned to light flurries. Beautiful! And it wasn’t even that cold out — a balmy 35F.

I wasn’t running fast, but I was having a great time. When I hit the base of a loop, it was right around the halfway point for my 8-mile goal, so I headed back.

I saw another runner along this boardwalk path and wanted to see where it went, but knew I should head back. Even though I told them I’d be gone awhile and they should eat breakfast, I knew they were waiting for me!

That afternoon we headed over to my mother-in-law’s house to spend Friday and Christmas Eve (we’d be back to FIL’s on Christmas day. Our schedule was a little weird to make sure we split time evenly!).  We had breakfast plans our first morning there, but I still had time to run! My mother-in-law’s neighborhood isn’t nearly as scenic  — just houses!  At least they had flat, wide sidewalks.

It was colder (23F!), and a dusting of snow had fallen the night before. Just enough to hide any icy spots on the sidewalk. Well, that was a REALLY slow run as I took care to keep my balance. I skidded a few times but managed to stay upright. I was glad I got some distance the day before, and just wanted a few miles.

I figured with our last day Christmas, and a long drive home the day after, that would be it for running, so that’s all I packed for. I relaxed and enjoyed time with family for the rest of our visit.

Hope you all had a great holiday! Did you keep active?