This past week was week number 6 of base training. It also happened to be my final week of base training before I officially start training for 2016 races. I’m linking up with the Weekly Wrap linkup today, which is hosted by HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin’.

Monday – 4.5 mile easy run on the treadmill in the morning.

Tuesday – Strength training. Ten minutes of abs and my usual squat and lunge circuit. I also spent several hours getting my final batches of Christmas cookies done. That counts, too, because I was worn out by the end and my arms and upper back were sore. It’s hard work icing those cookies!

Wednesday – 14 mile long run. I switched my long run to Wednesday to make sure I was able to get it in before traveling to my dad’s house for Christmas. I decided to do this one on the treadmill. In addition to not being crazy about doing long solo trail runs right now, I had another reason for hitting up ‘Sven’. I don’t like going out on long trail runs on my own at unusual times – like a random Wednesday morning. When it comes to long solo runs, I just feel better on days when more people are out and about (i.e. weekends). So I did this run on the treadmill while watching Christmas movies 🙂

Thursday – Rest day. We had a big family gathering for Christmas Eve.

Friday – Another rest day, unless folding napkins for Christmas dinner counts!

Saturday – 5 mile trail run at Burke Lake with Barry. It was rainy, foggy, and very humid!

A little after the first mile, Barry and I got passed by this guy that proceeded to run a bit in front of us but seemed to be running the same pace. I joked to Barry that maybe we were in a race that we didn’t know about.

Around mile 3 Barry branched off to use the restroom and I didn’t see him again until the end of my run. I continued to gain on that guy that had passed us earlier, until finally catching up with him. But when I went to pass him, he blocked me and sped up. Okay, I guess we are racing. Bring it on 😉

I knew I had a little less than two miles to go, so I just kind of settled into a pace behind the guy again. I started to reel him in, but not enough for him to notice. After hitting mile 4 I noticed we were running at a faster pace. The guy kept looking at his feet, shaking his head a bit, and then picking it up a bit more. I normally run between 11 and 13 minutes per mile on trails, depending on the trail. Up to this point I was averaging right around 10:30 to 10:40 as an easy run (it’s a flat trail). But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a race!

My final mile was a 9:40, and I edged the guy out right before I hit 5 miles. I win 🙂 The best way to win a race is when the other person doesn’t know you’re racing. But the second best way is when your competitor doesn’t know where the finish line is!

Sunday – Rest. I had planned to do an easy run in the morning but ended up skipping it. I was worn out from three full days of family time and festivities and my right calf was sore from Saturday’s impromptu trail race. Oops! It feels better this morning, though.

Total Miles: 23.5 miles

I feel like I dropped the ball a bit on my final base training week, but it was the week of Christmas after all. I missed one easy run and one cross training session. This coming week will kick off week 1 of training. What for? You’ll have to come back on Friday for that! I’ve got some exciting news 🙂

Have you ever been involved in an impromptu race? Do you ever “race” others without them knowing it’s a race?
Who else had hot and humid weather this past week?

I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas! Barry and I traveled to my dad’s house on the 23rd and are enjoying the day here with family. I hope that everyone has a great day today and a great weekend.

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors”

Luke 2:10-14

What are your weekend plans? Lots of family time!

I hope that everyone is having a great week and those that celebrate Christmas are just about ready for the holiday. I have been feeling a bit stressed and bogged down. But it’s just from the final push as we head in to the eve of Christmas Eve. I’m taking a quick break from doing all the things to link up with Debbie for her Wednesday Word link up.

Each week Debbie provides us with a word prompt to write out. Today’s word, fittingly, is joy. I started this post talking about feeling stressed with all of the things that suddenly need to be complete. The final few days before Christmas really crept up on me this year! But I’m glad we are talking about joy today, because I definitely needed the reminder to slow down, remember the reason for the season, and not get caught up in the crazy.

Joy is all around us this time of year…..

Joy as we celebrate the birth of Christ the Lord.

Joy that is felt while singing Christmas carols and enjoying family traditions.

Joy as we brighten others days through donations, volunteering our time, and giving gifts.

Joy in a child’s eyes as they run towards the tree on Christmas morning.

Joy seen on parents’ faces while they are surrounded by their children and family, as everyone comes home for the holidays.

Joy in my heart, during my favorite time of year.

With so much bad in the world it’s important to look inward, count your blessings, and focus on that which brings peace and happiness to your life. Joy to you during this holiday season!

What brings you joy this time of year?

This past week sure was a busy one, as the last full week before Christmas! I was still able to get in my workouts, as part of week 5 of base training, for the most part. Here’s a recap of last week’s workouts, as part of the Weekly Wrap linkup hosted by MissSippiPiddlin’ and HoHo Runs.

Monday – 3 mile easy run with ‘Sven’ the treadmill in the morning.

Tuesday – Strength training in the morning: 10 minute abs and a lunge/squat circuit.

Wednesday – 5 mile hill run in the evening after work on the treadmill. I included 6 quarter mile hill repeats and one final half mile hill repeat. I had to do this workout in the evening because I would not get my butt out of bed in the morning, even though I was awake. For whatever reason I just laid there. I was not happy with myself in the evening for doing that, but it is what it is and the run got done. 🙂

Thursday – Rest. Normally Fridays are my rest days, but I moved it to Thursday to adjust my schedule for our weekend travel plans.

Friday – 12 mile long trail run at our nearby state park. It was in the upper 30’s and pretty windy, but overall a really great day for a long trail run.

This run was a bit of a victory for me. After what happened last week, with my encounter with that dog during my long run, I had some anxiety about getting back out there by myself. But the only way to overcome that fear is to face it head on. The sooner, the better, too. So I did.

Although I did feel a bit fearsome at times during my run, especially towards the end of it for some reason, it went well. The only bad thing that happened was that two of the trails I wanted to run on were closed. This park is a smaller one, so that meant I had to run a loop trail a little over three times, and another point to point trail six times. But that’s alright. They do such a great job keeping the trails nice, so I don’t mind when they close them for maintenance!

Saturday – Mostly a rest day. Barry and I traveled down to his parents house on Friday evening to visit for Christmas.

I didn’t run or technically do a workout, but I did walk the dogs up and down their very steep driveway numerous times throughout the day. It’s a good leg workout!

Sunday – Cross training: I did a 30 Day Shred Level 2 workout in the evening after we got home. I followed the workout on my computer while watching Christmas Vacation on TV and with the living room only lit with Christmas lights.

Total Miles: 20 miles (about 4 shy of what I planned, but such is life!)

How was your week last week?
Do you travel for the holidays?

This past Sunday I began my Christmas cookie baking. I’m a much better cook than I am a baker, and mostly only bake this time of year. But I do alright – it helps that I only make two types of cookies!

 

For the past several years I have made gingerbread men. Last year I also started making white chocolate chip pumpkin snicker doodles, after seeing the recipe on HRG. They were a hit, so I brought them back again this year!

One of my favorite things about the gingerbread cookies is decorating them. About halfway through, it also becomes my least favorite thing. It’s a lot of work! They’re fun, though, and people always tell me they look cute. I secretly think they look cute because try as I might, they always look like a first grader decorated them. 🙂

 

Much to Barry’s dismay, almost all of the first batch of cookies got mailed or given to other people. Lucky for him, I made round two of cookies on Wednesday evening after work to take with us when we visit his parents. I even gave a Hokie bird cookie a try!

 

I’ll be making two final batches early next week to take with us when we go to visit my family. One of those batches will include several ginger “dead” men!

Since we’re talking Christmas things, I have two other non cookie-related things to share. First, our neighbors had an extra string of lights and they asked if we wanted to use them. I ended up deciding to decorate the chicken coop with them, and Barry helped me do so last weekend!

I think the chickens like their decorations!

Second, we took Hank and Scout to see Santa the weekend before last. I picked up their photos on Monday morning. This was the best one from the 15 or so the photographer took. I think it turned out pretty good.

The folks at the humane society still talk about the time three years ago when Scout was a puppy (back when we also had Toby). That was the time when this….

…..became this.

Do you have a signature ‘treat’ you make during the holidays?
Do you ever take your pets to see Santa?