Between being a weenie and enjoying time with family and friends this holiday season, it hasn’t been a banner month for my running.  Looking at my training log…ouch – I only ran twice last week, and over the past 4 weeks my mileage has dipped by a third to a half.  Add to that the extra calories consumed over the past week, and I am starting off from “sluggish.”

I know what that means.  This training plan I have sitting here, which was designed based on my mileage up to 5 weeks ago, is going to start off feeling really hard.  And it starts today.

Despite starting into it with a bit of trepidation, deep down I know it’ll be okay.  I know I can do “hard.”  I still believe that the hardest part of running is getting started.  Getting started, for me, meant overcoming the physical toll of years of being sedentary.  It also meant overcoming the self-doubt that went with that lifestyle.  Never have I doubted myself more than I did in that first 10, 5 or two weeks.  And I have never thought I would die during a workout the way I did then.  So really, jumping back into training after goofing off for 4 weeks is at the easy-end of feeling hard.

I am also looking forward to the structure of training.  It’s funny, after a season of racing, I really enjoy non-structured running.  Then after I do that for a while, I like to get back to a plan.

So here I am on day one: my base isn’t where I’d planned, but I am eager and optimistic.  All I can do is lace up my runners and enjoy the ride!

Christmas Eve is one of my favourite days of the year.  Maybe even more than Christmas (but only a little).  I’m not completely sure why that is.  While I am excited for Santa, it doesn’t keep me up at night anymore, and the whole holiday season can sometimes be stressful.  But for whatever reason, I find myself feeling sentimental on Christmas Eve.

Today I am excited to get to go for a run with my brother who is in town for the holidays.  Even though his legs are about twice as long as mine and his steady-pace is nearly twice as fast (okay so I am exaggerating…a little) I love to run with him and am always grateful when we have the chance.

Looking back at my training log, I see that I have never actually run on Christmas Eve.  Apparently I ran on Christmas day in 2007 – it was only once around the block and my notes say “my dinner was not interested in running.”  I don’t particularly remember that, so it must have been a pretty good turkey coma.  Anyway, this will be a first for me.  We decided to just run while it feels good and stop when we’re finished, no particular distance in mind.

Since I am feeling sentimental, I would like to take a moment to say Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy Running to you all.  Thank you for reading and sharing!

Do you have a holiday tradition that involves running?  If I am going to make a tradition out of this, I will need some ideas!  Please leave me a comment, I would love to hear yours!

My posting has been a little less-than-consistent lately, I must confess.  In addition to the hectic schedule of the silly-season, I have finally found myself sick.  Up until now, I have managed to valiantly fight off virus after virus while family, friends and coworkers dropped like flies around me.

While I am in confession-mode, I will also tell you that this is my fourth consecutive day of not running (unless you count my nose).  I could be running – I’ve done the neck-check, and since all of my symptoms are above the neck, I’m sure that it would be okay.

Above-the-neck symptoms include things like sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion and headaches.  On the other hand, it is important to remember that if you have symptoms below the neck, like body aches, a chest cough, gastrointestinal symptoms or fever, you should really rest.

So what’s my excuse, then?  Well quite frankly, I am just being a weenie.  I feel lousy, I am tired, I can’t breathe properly, and I just don’t feel like it.  I am not in the middle of training at the moment, so I decided to listen to my body and take a bit of time off.  While some research supports that moderate exercise can boost your immune system, there isn’t much to support that exercise will help you recover more quickly.

I look at it this way:  by the time I am over this, I should be pretty anxious to get back at it!

When it comes to energy conservation, my dad was way ahead of his time.  He was one of those dads who emphasized the importance of turning down the heat, and turning off the lights when you leave the room.  We didn’t have outdoor Christmas lights until we were at least into double digit ages, and they were on a timer so as not to be too wasteful.

I’m sure that’s part of why I was of two minds to see Christmas lights on during my morning run.  My first thought, “did they stay on all night?” was quickly overridden by a nearly simultaneous “oooh, preeeetty!”  I guess it isn’t such a big deal now that there are LED Christmas lights, so maybe I shouldn’t secretly feel guilty for enjoying them!

I see the lights when I am driving home in the evening and everything, but in the car, they go by too quickly.  Walking is great, but I find I get cold.

When I am running, however, it is a whole different story.  I am on that plane of existence where each breath freezes in the air and the crispness paints my cheeks pink, but can’t chill me.  I can bask in the cheer of lights, the glow bouncing off the snow, a series of peaceful footsteps strung together into a slightly surreal and wholly beautiful infinity.  A perfect break amidst the frantic scramble of this time of year.

So to the people who leave their lights on, or turn them back on in the morning – thanks!  I am really enjoying them!  In fact, it’s inspired me to consider an evening run in the next little while!

Okay, so I am as bad as the next person, every year thinking this year winter won’t come.  But these guys are making the best of it…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enrU6WZdVjk&feature=related

P.S. I know that in some places in Canada, winter is already firmly here.

P.P.S. Please don’t try this at home; we know that snow plows also back up.

P.P.P.S. We in Canada know this is not the type of weather in which snow plows get stuck.  But it still made me smile, so I thought I would share it anyway.

Why is it that I can stand in a starting corral with 9,999 other people and remain focussed on the task at hand, yet the very idea of going to a mall in December makes me want to hide under the bed until April?  I’m not entirely sure, but here are a few reasons…

In a race when there is limited parking there are usually shuttle buses. At the mall, you wait patiently for a space, only to lose it to someone coming from the other direction.

In a race, the runners are all going in the same direction. At the mall, you risk being stepped on, cut off, darted in front of, or squeezed out, all between the two sets of front doors.

In a race, there is etiquette around passing, and even if people don’t follow it, at least you’re all going in the same direction. At the mall, see above.

At a race, there are huge restroom line ups, but they move pretty quickly. At the mall, there are huge restroom line ups and they barely move at all.

In a race, when you need refreshment, there are volunteers happily holding out cups for you. At the mall, you have to stand in line, pay far too much for something that isn’t good for you, and try not to spill it.

In a race, people cheer for you and point you in the right direction. At the mall, people swear at you and tell you where to go.

At a race, when you get to the finish line, there are usually enough medals for everyone; when there aren’t, you get a sincere apology and information on how the situation will be rectified. At the mall, you are told gruffly that they are all out of iPods, but that you are welcome to buy a lavender sachet and a sweatshirt with kittens instead.

In a race, when you cross the finish line, you’re finished.  At the mall, you will invariably forget something or someone, and will have to go back.

Got more for me?  Feel free to add them below!

I finally finished Again to Carthage by John L. Parker, Jr.  As promised when I reviewed Once a Runner,  I will share my thoughts on its sequel.

Again to Carthage is a good book, if you’re just looking for a novel. At first it seems like a book about fishing.  Then it becomes apparent that it is actually a book about midlife, about mortality and regret.  It’s a story about lost youth, and a lot of it is really sad.

Sadly, however, it isn’t really a book about running.  In fact, you don’t even learn what our beloved Cassidy’s hope for catharsis is until almost 200 pages are behind you.  And the really serious running doesn’t really show up until near the end.  There are lots of little side stories, anecdotes shared between characters that visit running, but for the most part, it didn’t engross me in the life of a runner.

In the final few chapters, Parker recaptures a glimmer of his excellent narrative on running, however.  When Cassidy runs in the Olympic Trials for the marathon, I found myself swept up in it.  And at the end it kind of struck me that if you just change a few details about the goal, the pace, and an unfortunate fall under sinister circumstances, the description is remarkably similar to my own experiences, and a lot of race reports that I’ve read.  It reinforced for me that most, if not all marathoners do go through a lot of the same things.

If you are looking for a really great book that is all about running, read Once a Runner.  But if you’re looking for a novel that is a good read and includes a running theme, then you might like Again to Carthage.

Okay, so it doesn’t take much.

This was taken back in the summer, but I ran by there this morning, which reminded me of this picture.  It was pure luck that we discovered we could trigger it on foot because it doesn’t always work – but once we did…