I’m So Not Ready For Christmas…..To Be Over

Christmas for me is all about sipping peppermint mocha creamer with coffee in it, hanging out with my family, sleeping in, eating fudge for breakfast, and watching all the Christmas movies, even the dumb ones that I can’t stop watching and commentating on (Hallmark). I’m ready for Christmas, but I guess I’m just not ready for it to be over. I’m only going to get to watch George Baily’s struggle with life only once this year. What happened? Why am I so behind?  I just don’t know.

I love Christmas and all it stands for. No matter what your beliefs are, it’s a time of giving, a time of being a little kinder to those around you, and it’s a time to be around those you love, hopefully being kinder to them too. With the passing of the year, it’s also a time to think about renewal, a time to start over, a time to stop doing things you shouldn’t do and a time to start doing things you should do. It’s a time of forgiveness, of happiness, of possibilities.

And considering we have a HUGE trampoline to put together for the kids, it’s going to be a time of testing patience. And reading instructions. It’ll be a time of trying new things, taking chances. That’s the way I view this time of year, anyway!

Little training blurb, because this IS a running blog 🙂 As many of you know, I’ve been dealing with a pretty pesky case of shin splints. The symptoms are very inconsistent and I really never know from one day to the next what pain, if any, I will have. My goal race is the Wrightsville Beach marathon on March 22, so I knew I needed to get to training, or just let that particular goal go. Because speed work is the trigger, I decided to go with the Hal Higdon training plan, one that isn’t as intense as the plan I used for Boston. Last weekend, I had a 7 mile Saturday and 14 mile Sunday scheduled. I was nervous, because I didn’t have a clue how it would go. I’m happy to report that I feel like my leg is on the mend. My leg was pretty crampy after the 7, but I worked on it all day, and by Sunday morning, I was ready to tackle 14. I honestly didn’t know if I was going to do 11, 14, or even make it to 10 miles, but I ended up with the full 14, and it was pretty awesome. I picked up the last mile or two, and I felt good and I felt strong. I ran a very slow 3 mile recovery on Monday, per the plan but 99% because I was too lazy to go to the pool or set up my bike for a ride as I was planning, and unfortunately, the leg was sore. I’m taking the next few days off running, but am cross-training to simulate speed work, but I’m very hopeful. Very, very hopeful! I think patience is key right now, and my goal is to get my long runs in on the weekend, skip the speed workouts until after the new year, and start back VERY slowly. I hate being patient, and I hate the feeling of not knowing, but it’s the best course of action for this strange set of circumstances.

Anyway, that being said, I want to wish you the best best this holiday. No matter what you are personally celebrating, I wish you a very Merry Christmas! May you see your possibilities come true, may you feel true love, may you be happy.

My favorite boys.