Cerebrate Good Times

I've been meaning to post this since the year ended. But it was the best running year I've ever had, at least in some ways. 1,183 miles—a new personal record, or an average of 3.2 miles per day 23 runs of a half marathon or longer 1 marathon 3 pairs of shoes 126,665 calories burned I also walked a little under 400 miles (as exercise, not just daily steps). I think that means the knee surgery was a huge success. Now I just hope it holds up; I know some people have had improvements only for the scar cartilage to wear out after a year or two. But even if this was my last chance to run as much as I want to, it was really nice.

On New Year's Day as it got near bedtime, I noticed something. Or, rather, a lack of something. Cinder had been in the house most of the day, as had the other cats, since it was cold and snowy. But whereas Dortmunder and Vin tend to spend a lot of time napping in closets or under furniture, Cinder always lets us know where he is. He flops down on the floor where we are constantly walking from kitchen to living room, or is curled up on the couch for hours at a time where the kids like to sit. The point is, it's never a mystery where he has gotten himself off to. So we looked around and concluded that he was not in the house after all. I went outside with a flashlight and found kitty prints going toward the neighbors' yard, but they had shoveled a little later than I had, and I couldn't find any more tracks. The next day there were cat prints on our back porch, so during the night he had probably come to the door there wanting to be let in. I went out and followed the