When I left work around 1:00PM on Christmas Eve, I figured I would go pick up a couple last minute presents then head home to begin the festivities. Little did I know the madness that would ensue over the next 36 hours. First of all, let's just say there's no such thing as a "quick stop" on Christmas Eve. The stores were just insane, and the parking lots worse. What a mess! That put me later than I wanted to be getting home, which meant I had to rush to help Leslie get a few things together to take to her parents' house while still finding time to get in my run for the day. That was pretty much the theme for the rest of the time. It was a rush, in all senses of the term. I stayed up later Christmas Eve than I have in as long as I can remember (including some time spent playing Santa), then nearly matched the feat on Christmas night. I'm dragging a little today as a result, which I guess means I'm getting too old for this stuff - ha, ha.
That said, what an awesome Christmas! It was a little overwhelming at times, but it was a blast. Present wise, I think everyone in the family did really, really well and got most everything they wanted. I know I did, and I think poor Kaitlyn got almost too much stuff. Towards the end she basically quit paying attention to the new stuff we were trying to get her to open and picked a couple things (including some socks - ha, ha) and just played with those. I think she was most impressed with her new lawnmower, which makes a very realistic sound and scares the daylights out of the dog (the most "useful" feature in her eyes).
My big gift was a Garmin Forerunner 405. I haven't even had time to take it out of the box yet, but I can't wait to use it. I have an old Timex GPS system, but after I measured a lot of my standard courses, I basically quit using it due to the size and trouble. The Garmin is basically the same size as a regular watch and has many, many more features. Plus it picks up the satellites much quicker (the Timex could take several minutes to lock on, which was a pain standing around waiting before you could start running). Leslie also got me the model that comes with the heart rate monitor, something else I haven't used in a long time. I think it will be both fun/amusing and a good tool to aid me in my training. I'll have tons of information about distance, pace, heart rate, etc., which will be good feedback to help me gauge my fitness level and tell how I'm progressing over time. I'm not generally one to get too wrapped up in all the numbers when it comes to training (I'm more of a run by feel guy), but it certainly can't hurt to have the data at my disposal. Should be interesting. Oh, and I'll be able to measure all those uncertified race courses now too!
Anyway, as far as running goes, everything is continuing to hold up well so far. I'm extremely out of shape, but that aside, I'm pleased. Over the past few days I've actually felt good in my runs, something I haven't been able to say in quite a while sadly, and that's meant that I've been able to enjoy running rather than focusing on what hurts and how much longer I have to go. I know it might sound stupid to a lot of people, but I actually feel like I have some power in my legs now whereas I was feeling like I was just dragging my legs along for the ride and struggling to get any lift out of them whatsoever. I feel more balanced and stable now too. I hope all of that is due to the core work, including the added strength in my glutes, kicking in. If so, maybe I'll be able to keep everything straight and make some real progress as I head into 2009. I hope so, because after all the eating of the past few days, my weight this morning was as high as it's been this year. It's definitely time to go to work!
That's all for me. Hope everyone had a VERY Merry Christmas!
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