Nothing else better to do than run.

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.