Yuletide Cheer

Haha...right.

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like it's not really Christmas? It just feels different for some reason this year.

This past week I have been so busy with working, baking, shopping, wrapping, stressing and getting sick that I have only had a chance to run once, on Thursday morning. It was a nice 3.2 mile loop (30:40) that came just in time when I felt I was about to crack under the holiday stress.

My long run Saturday actually went great. A nice 10 mile run. Ran it slow again but I felt so strong at the end I didn't even care. Tomorrow morning we have another 10 miler with the option of making it a 13 at the end. I am really hoping to feel good enough to make it a 13 and get that barrier out of the way. But since I am getting a nasty cold, I don't know how great I will feel after a 10 mile run. Stupid germs.

The Nike Run Hit Remix was a lot of fun last Thursday.



Jer, Kevin, Marrissa and I all went to South Beach together and ran the 5 mile run which featured entertainment every mile from 90's phenoms, Young MC, Vanilla Ice, Digital Underground, Coolio, and De La Soul. The run was great, a little dark at first, but overall put together well. We ran it strictly for fun, so we weren't overly concerned with our time and started at the back of the pack with the 11-12 minute groups (even though the guys run a 8-9 minute mile pace).

At about mile 2 there was a 40 second Florida DOWNPOUR that soaked everyone for a minute. It ended quickly enough so no one thought much about it. We wound around and ran down Ocean Drive then ran the last mile and a half on the hard sand of Miami Beach. It was sprinkling a little and of course we thought it would end soon enough. We finished the race slow (54 minutes) but felt great. We somehow lost Kevin and Marissa and while we were waiting at the end, a hurricane of biblical proportions decided to come through and soak everything in it's sight. I hadn't seen rain like that in months. It was a complete downpour with 25-30mph winds, out of nowhere. It must have lasted 30 minutes (unusual for a Florida December rain). There was no place to go for cover and everyone was exposed on the beach, so needless to say everyone was drenched. I was standing in water up to my ankles as we waited at the bag check to get our stuff (nightmare). They had to shut off power to the main stage and cancel De La Soul because the wind and rain where tearing the stage apart. I would have been more dry if I had jumped in the ocean and swam for an hour. Of course by the time we made it back to the car, the wind and rain had stopped and it was a lovely evening. How I love Miami.

At least I got a medal :)

Tomorrow after our run, I'm off the Sarasota for Christmas with the family. Maybe then the Christmas spirit will finally creep in.

Happy holidays!