I love holiday weeks. Doesn't everybody? I don't love them just for the obvious reasons of long weekends and short work weeks, but more for the opportunity to get my runs down during the week under daylight conditions. Also thanks to the holidays things at work are very laid back. Nearly half the office is on vacation as are many of our customers, so it is a great time to catch up on the things that I just never seem to have time for the rest of the year. I've been able to walk out the door at 5:00 sharp this week for the first time in months. I was very happy to see that at 5:00 it wasn't pitch black. Only a few days into the official season of winter and the days are starting to get longer. You have no idea the smile those last few rays of sunshine put on my face. It's the little things!
Planned runs with Tyler didn't happen. He is suffering from a pain on the upper part of his shin. It hurts to run and is tender to the touch. It has flared up since the half marathon. I fear a stress fracture. Getting him to ice it and take Ibuprofen is near impossible.
Christmas Eve and Christmas day I was able to put in 5 miles each day on the trails. Both runs were very peaceful. On each of my runs there lately I've scared up a hawk. I stop and watch him fly away to a perch that makes him more comfortable. He cuts through the air so gracefully.
Thursday and Friday evenings after work I headed off to the gym with the boys. A gym membership is something I've been toying with for a couple of years now. I wasn't sure when I'd find the time to go. I'm considering a training plan with three days of running. This plan worked well for Danny, David and Charlie (if my memory serves me right). Danny has rocked a PR in every distance in 2007. My hip continued to bother me throughout the year. A gym membership will force me to run less. Bryan, son #2, has been asking for a gym membership for some time now. So the time seemed right to sign up. My upper body is SORE right now. We'll see how it goes.
I enjoyed a 10 mile run this morning with the Cruisers. We met in Brea to run the "Two Loops-Two Parks" route. I ran most of the first loop with some of the mid pack runners. I let James, Jesse and Anet go on ahead. Julie caught up with me on the way back. She had been hanging back with the back of the pack, but picked up the pace. I took the challenge to finish up the first loop at at a faster pace. I made the second loop on my own as many others opted for the "One Loop - Two Parks" option. Mary and Cathe on the other hand took the "Three Loops" option as training for the Surf City Marathon. Coffee and conversation followed.
Three more days off work means three more opportunities for a run.
8 comments:
Good call on the gym membership! Now, don't get so sore you can't run. :)
Sounds like Tyler may need to go see the doc. Not good. :(
Glad you're enjoying the laid back holiday time. And the longer days - I can't wait. (I can't say I've noticed much of a difference yet.)
By the way - you are spoiled that you don't need a nice warm jacket for running. :)
Happy New Year!
I've enjoyed a few later-in-the-morning runs, but they were still in the dark. I'm waiting for the extra minutes to make a difference in the mornings - seems like that really happens about March.
Glad you had a peaceful holiday season. Hope Tyler is okay!
Fascinating assessment on use of the gym and 3 days of running, Darrell. I'd welcome your further observations as you go along. That hip thing remains a troubling point.
enjoy these last long weekend!
The cloudy days here make it difficult to tell if we are getting more light. I don't think so. ; ) : ) Enjoy that gym membership....sounds great!
"It's getting brighter all the time." A little more every day.
Tyler needs to believe Dad knows best on this one. Continual pain and swelling should convince him soon enough.
This is the best time of year for running and living if you can avoid snow and cold. We've got it made where we are.
Enjoy!
I am committed to starting my upper body training on MONDAY :-) I think a three day a week running plan may do you good for a while. Sometimes, less can be more. Happy Weekend and Holidays :-)
I'm with you on loving the holiday weeks. It's great to leave my headlamp at home for my 2-hr morning trail runs.
Going to a gym, huh? That I'm not so sure about. Does it have a pool? Swimming's about the best upper body workout you can ask for - and this way, you'll be ready for your inevitable conversion to triathlon ...
Happy new year!
I hope that you enjoy success with the FIRST program. I have used it for the last 2 years. The variety of speed work, tempo runs and long runs has been helpful. I have been largely injury free. Admittedly, I have been lax in the cross-training, which is a key element. I hope to do better this year with that.
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