JANUARY - I extend my New Year's morning 5 mile orbit so I could snap a panorama...from Via Panorama

I really fell out of my running routine last year, totalling roughly half of the mileage I ran in previous years (and with no race results)...and with no real reason for it

When I return from my second run of the year, Mochi is waiting at the bedroom door...

...and Moka waits at the living room door

Yes, I'm home, but now I have to go back to work. It's so hard to leave this cute face! :(

Now that the rain has cleared, it's time to get back at it. When I am training for a race, I don't have the luxury of letting weather be an excuse to not run...but I have not registered for any event in nearly a year. That said, California has been in a drought since I started running marathons...so it has been fairly easy to train around precipitation. This week was unusual in that we received fairly heavy and cold rain nearly every day from Monday to Thursday! I didn't run yesterday because it was my first chance to wash my car since our year end road trip.

What's wrong with the dolphin at Miramar Park?

Too nice a day to not run longer than usual. It's been awhile since I've run to the beach...

...mainly because it's all uphill going back

Did I mention I have to go up? This fence went in last year, but I ran so infrequently by it that this may be the first time I snapped a pic of it

Moka KNOWS that I am heading out on a run...otherwise she would not dare go on the dining room table

This is what I think of as a typical winter day in L.A.

Green has returned to these cliffs and there is snow on the horizon

Need to run 10+ miles to work off my ramen roll (see what I did there, Andy?)

From sea to snow, it is easy to forget about the range of activities SoCal's weather provides during the winter months

Right now I am running along the cliff of Palos Verdes wearing a t-shirt and shorts, but I could be snowboarding in a couple of hours

Or surfing (if I had ever learned to surf)

Downtown Los Angeles to the left and a snowcapped Mount Baldy between palm trees

One can still see Mount Baldy from the Palos Verdes Golf Club

One can still see Mount Baldy from the Palos Verdes Golf Club

FEBRUARY - Back to the beach...there's a storm on the horizon