Nothing else better to do than run.

Made it to December. I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by. It is staggering to think of all the changes and happenings of this year. One thing is constant and that is running helps to get me through all of it. 

I met my friend Rob for a 5:00am run around our neighborhood. It was nice to get caught up ad talk about races coming up. The mileage and speed was easy because of the marathon coming up. It is great to have good friends to run with. I feel like one of the luckiest runners in the whole world. 

I feel like such a slacker. I opted for more sleep than getting up earlier and going to running group. I always feel guilty when I miss because not everyone has the opportunity to run with a group. After the guilt wore off about noon time I went for a short run. It was very windy and it seems like a storm might be coming after all.

The weather was perfect for the marathon. Low 50's with almost no breeze which is perfect for any marathon in my book. I could not believe how many people were participating in the event this year. The organizers listed the count above 20,000 runners which is pretty unbelievable. It took me over 10 minutes to cross the starting line and I was still crawling for several miles after that trying to get into the flow. I believe the Race is similar to New York that it is more for the enjoyment than trying to get a good time.

 It was my second slowest marathon of the year. I can think of a bunch of excuses but I think it comes down to carrying too much weight and not getting enough sleep. Those are some things that I have control over so I am starting my New Year's resolution several weeks early. Next year, I want to have a good year.

 But even with the disappointment of not finishing with a great time it was nice to be with my family and to be able to participate in a marathon. I love the feeling of accomplishment at the end of the race. Along with my great friends, running marathons keeps me getting up in the morning and lacing up the ole' shoes. 

Man was it cold this morning, it was almost painful! Had a really nice run with the group which was nice because it has been a long time. Visited Kelli, Scott, Peggy and others. It is so nice to have a group to run with. Also went for a run at lunch which was surreal because of all the snow covered roads and branches. It was really quite a nice afternoon.

Nice and slow afternoon run. Most of the snow and ice has melted off of the sidewalks and roads so I just relaxed and ran. This evening I need to do some serious stretching because my legs are a bit tight. Need to loosen them up so I can run with the group tomorrow.

Met up with the running group at 5:15 this morning to run the Parkway Palasades. It was pretty cold starting out but once we started moving things improved. Several miles on the parkway trail and then we hit the hills. I really enjoyed the hills but man are my legs tired and after about 6 and a half and called it a day.

Got up early this morning and met some friends this morning for a run. It was a great but tough workout. 5 miles uphill into the wind and then coming back was great because it was downhill with the wind pushing. We finished just as the wind really picked up and the snow starting falling sideways. Very invigorating to say the least. This afternoon I went out and shoveled the snow and then put in 2.5 miles by running around the neighborhood on the newly fresh fallen snow. I thought I better enjoy it before the novelty of snow wears off because that happens all to quickly.

Busy, busy, busy day with almost sleep and running on fumes! Oh well… next week will be a great short week. An afternoon run with plenty of snow and ice on the ground. Very invigorating running through the canyon on a pillow of white.

Great morning run! It was dark with snow falling; running through neighborhoods. This close to Christmas I felt like caroling. There were a few brave friends who joined in. I love this time of the year! My legs are still fairly tired from the marathon, and putting in some miles last week. Hopefully the effort will pay off somehow. 

I am almost done with Christmas cards, the shopping is completed. I still need to bake neighborhood treats and wrap the kids and wife's presents. Still a lot to do before the big day. I am looking forward to taking some time off and being with my family. They are great and it is hard not to spend as much time as I would like with them. I think most of all I am looking forward to playing Rockband 2 with my boys and my wife rocks with the vocals. Hopefully the kids will want to share the Xbox with their old dad.

 Looking forward to a week of running with friends and plodding along in the snow. 

Quick afternoon run, very cold but great to be running none the less.

Caught up on some sleep and was able to make it to the 5:15am run which was awesome as usual. It was dry the first half with light falling snow the second half. Turned out to be perfect and was not too cold. Great to visit with everyone. I ran mostly with Peggy and Alan, great to get caught up.

Incredible day for running inside. Outside was so cold and windy this morning that it almost seemed unbearable. Peggy planned a run at the Olympic Oval and several of us from the running group tagged along. It was simply incredible. There was two hockey games going on, the olympic team was doing 500m time trials and plenty of runners going around the track. I feel so spoiled having such a great facility in my own backyard. Most of the laps I ran were with Alan, Michelle and Kelli. Scott, Peggy and Mike were doing their own thing but it was nice to visit once in a while. I finished a total of 11 at the track. I ran another five this afternoon.

I went for a run this afternoon up City Creek. It was a beautiful run! There was some lightly falling snow which made the scenery like from a postcard. A few die-hard runners were passing up and down the canyon. I am get Christmas fever in the worst way. It is hard to sit still during the day and work when I want to visit with my family and friends. Only a few more days to go.

Met the group for a run this morning. I was a bit late so I ran about 1.5 on the trail before heading back to meet everyone. It was very cold by the river, but once getting into some neighborhoods things warmed up a bit. I stayed with Alan and Kelli. They are nice enough to go slow enough for me. I feel like a penguin waddling up and down the streets. Kelli showed us a technique for climbing hills and it works incredibly well, especially when going up snow covered hills. 

 I had so much fun going up hills that when I came home from work I went back out to run some more hills. The stride is more side to side than straight ahead. It puts a lot more emphasis into the hip and thigh muscles which help to bound up inclines better than focusing on the calf muscles. Really fun stuff! Can't wait for Christmas and taking some time to relax with the family!

Christmas Day is finally here. The kids were very excited and up early to open presents. We had a great time and the time passed very quickly. The house is full of toys and wrapping paper with christmas music playing on the stereo. Kind of like the Christmas's I remember as a child.

 To busy to get a run in but it is nice to report on Christmas day none-the-less. As far as running gear goes I received: a pair of Nike Volmero 3's, new socks to replace my hole ridden ones, long sleeved shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, and a running jacket with all the zippers working properly. 

Perhaps tomorrow I will be able to fit a run in. 

It must have snowed all night long because I have about 15" outside on my drive way. It is absolutely incredible. I fired up the snow blower and made a pass to clear most of the heavy snow. Then proceeded with the snow shovel to clear the left overs. It took a little over an hour, but it is great to see some snow finally.

 After the snow removal was completed I went for a run around my neighborhood. Nothing had been plowed so I was running mid-calf in fresh fallen snow. It was very exhilarating and quite a work-out. I used the "Kelli" method while climbing the hills and it worked very well, even in snow! Afterwards I was trashed and hung out with the family for the rest of the day. 

Woke up at 6:00 to run at the Olympic Oval. We received some more snow over the evening and none of it had been plowed, with the temperature to boot I opted for something different. Peggy and Mike arrived about the same time I did and we visited about Christmas and proceeded to run our guts out on the track. The traffic was very light but did seem to pick-up in the second hour. I felt like I was really moving but my nike+ had me running at a snails pace which was very frustrating. I like running track when there are plenty of people to talk to.

It seemed that every 3 miles I needed to switch directions on the track which was very strange because the Oval is as flat as a pancake and you wouldn't think that you would need to switch directions. It is a fairly hard track probably because it is laid on top of concrete. It is a wonderful option for days when the weather will not cooperate.

 Looking forward to next week when the running group gets back together. It has been quite a while since we have met. It is amazing how attached you get to running with people, you miss them when they are not around. 

Went to the gym to swim. Put in a mile which felt really great. Also, I have been fighting sinus pressure lately so I spent some time in the steam sauna. Man, I felt brand new after spending 15 minutes in there.

Not much sleep last night. Spent most of the night finishing up a client project that I have been working on the past month. It did feel great to finish it up and send off the project with an invoice. 

I met my friend Rob for an early morning run. It was very windy starting out but it seemed to settle down eventually. We stayed close to my neighborhood because the running path had been plowed. We marveled at how much snow had fallen and how much was still on the ground. It looks like the city and county have really cut back on snow removal this year.

It was great to see Rob and visit for a while. Eight more miles in the books. 

Finally, I was able to get caught up on some sleep. I woke up feeling tired and week and decided to opt out this mornings running group. Felt bad because we did not meet last week with all the snow. I took some medication hoping that my sinus would clear. This afternoon I had a bit of cabin fever and went out for a run. My head feels much better, hopefully this will not last long.

This year has just flown by. So much has happened with many trials and blessing but I do feel confident that the best is yet to come. I enjoy my work, my wife and family and feel grateful to have good friends to run with. This coming year I would like to obtain a marathon PR. It will mean some hard training but it will be worth it.

This afternoon I headed out for a run. It was in the upper 20's but still a bit cold. I wore a light jacket and tights and it was a good thing I did. The further I went up the canyon the colder it was. Much of the snow and ice was melted off the road so the run was uneventful in the area of slipping and falling.

I found an old Def Leppard album and transfered it to my ipod. It was a blast to run along with those old songs that I loved in high school. The music seemed to recharge my batteries that have been running a bit low lately.