All I want, but don't really need, for Christmas ...

Please forgive me for what's about to be a very selfish post. With Christmas technically next week, I wanted to put a wish list out there. Some of these things are just big wishes; others are things I could actually use; and a few items are things I already have but could always use ... I must stress, though, that for the first time since I started running a few years ago that I feel fairly complete with what I already own. But ...

* First on my list is the new Garmin. The Garmin Forerunner 405 is probably on every runners list. It would be awesome to have that sleek watch on my wrist. It's not that my 205 isn't working perfectly fine ... but damn that thing is big. I did notice this week that my 205 stopped beeping, so I hope it's not dying. I highly doubt anyone would actually buy me the almost $300 405. One day it will be mine ... through a deal on eBay.

* Shoes. Yes, I just bought myself some, but who wouldn't love an extra pair of shoes? Then I wouldn't have to worry about buying any until my birthday gets here ... and then of course I need a nice birthday gift. After finding Holabird Sports recently, you can save about $30 getting me a new pair. My preference is the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8, size 11. Any color is fine.

* Running shirts (and shorts to match). Short-sleeve. With the discovery of how great being a member of a gym is, my winter gear is fine for another year. Despite having enough, my running shirts are a few years old. So one or two would get me through 2009. Target's Champion line is just fine. Size large. None of those tight ones ... just the cheapest of the cheap.

* Socks. Anything non-cotton is fine. Actually, I probably won't be able to get through next year without having to buy new socks. I can wear socks out pretty quickly, especially since I always having them on. You won't catch me walking around barefoot ... ever. (Just ask my wife.)

* Underwear. Same non-cotton rule applies. And before you ask boxer or briefs, I like the combo boxer-briefs.

But be careful buying me clothes -- my mom and my wife will quickly tell you that I prefer to get clothes myself, although I've been on a quest for two years to find a red turtle neck sweater to wear during Christmas. So if you find one, send me a link to it. Even when it comes to running, I think that I dress myself best. And I've been doing that since I can remember. So, onto some more realistic things (although that Garmin would be lovely) that would be nice, but don't really need.

* Clif bars. I'll need 'em for the long runs later in the year.

* Gatorade Rain. A simple six pack actually lasts me a while since I still mix Rain with water (doesn't that sound weird?).

* Sneaker balls. In all seriousness, my wife has bought me these before and it's quite possibly the best gift ever from a running perspective. They work great.

* A new iPod, headphones that last longer than a year and gel insoles.

* I'd also like a cure for my over pronation, my lack of speed and some help breaking my PR in a half marathon.

A personal 7-mile turkey trot

Some people run turkey trots to make themselves feel better by stuffing themselves at Thanksgiving. This year I was going to run a 5k, but after talking with a friend of mine the other day I decided to just run with a few other people, and log more than 3.1 miles. I was a bit hesitant at first to do what they were planning to do, but I stuck with it this morning and in the end had no guilty feelings about stuffing myself this afternoon. And I saved $20 in the process.

We ended up running 7 miles ... yes, SEVEN miles on big hills in Bedford that I'm not used to anymore. This coming from me who has cut way back on running since August. My longest run since the Rock 'n' Roll Half has just been 5 miles, I think, while I've mostly stuck to runs between 3 and 4 miles with a lot of cross training. Today was the answer I was looking for -- cross training does go a long way. At the same time, though, it doesn't fully replace running.

Don't look for me to change my plans for this winter -- I still plan to keep doing what I'm doing with less running. I am happy though to know that I can still push out a distance like I did today with no problems. Overall it was a great run. Of course with a group we started off faster than I would have liked -- the first mile was just a tad over 8 minutes -- but overall we kept a good pace. Two of the guys pushed it at the end while me and another guy hung back, finishing in just about a 9-minute mile pace. It made me feel good about what I might be able to do next time I run a 5k.

Lastly, I'd just like to say HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone out there. I hope you had a great day, and if you happened to run a turkey trot or something even longer, I hope you had a great run.

A look back at '07

While December has been frustrating with being sick and then an injury, I'm not about to let that take away from an awesome 2007. The obvious accomplishment comes from finishing my first marathon in November, which is the whole reason for actually having a blog.

Before my blogging days began in April, I set a PR in a half marathon at the Shamrock Half Marathon in March. My chip time was 1:44:23, just under my goal of 1:45. That race made me really like half marathons a lot. With my foot issues now, it's tough to set a goal for the 2008 race, but I'd really like to beat that time. I set the bar high for myself with that race last year, but I know I can be faster.

This year has also been a great year with my 5ks. Coming into the year, my fastest 5k was 23:49, which was also my only time under 24 minutes. I broke that time twice -- in June I did a 5k in 23:03 and in July I broke the 23-minute barrier with a 5k in 22:42, "winning" my age group. (I was the only one in my age group that race.)

I saw set a PR in the mile (6:26) and 5 miler (36:59), although those two distances are very hard to find in races. I struggled though the extremely cross-country style James River Xterra 10k in May, and then had serious doubts about long distances by running a 30k in October.

I finished the year with 960 miles, well short of 1,000 miles, but much farther than I've ever gone before. I didn't start logging miles until the end of last year -- it was always time ran before that, but I know I haven't ran this much in a year. Despite a bad December, I'll take an average of 80 miles a month.

I've accomplished more this year in running since I started running again in 2004. It'll be a year I'll never forget, mostly thanks to the marathon.

As for 2008, I'm starting the year by giving my heel some rest. After I de-Christmas my house and get the boxes out of my way, I'll be doing some weight-training beginning this week. I'll probably hold off on running for just a few more days so I can heal my heel. The end of this year has become a lot like last year -- I think I want to get through the winter/early spring before making decisions on another "big" race. I definitely have the urge to do another marathon, but I don't want to stay hurt either.

Happy New Year everybody!!

A Merry Christmas to all

Merry Christmas to everybody out there celebrating Christmas ... and to those not, just enjoy the day off!

My running has been a bit off this past week with my heel issue (now on both feet), plus a trip to Ohio, where I did get a 3.1 mile run in. My feet are feeling better, but I'm going to wait a day to run again and hopefully get some new shoes. I bought some heel supports that help tremendously. My marathon pair of shoes seem to be losing their support despite still having good tread left on them. They'll be a good pair of everyday shoes, while an even older pair will get some good use this spring in the yard.

As for 2008 ... as promised, I'll get to it soon, as in before Jan. 1. If things go well these next couple of days, I'll be kicking off the year with a 10k. Nothing like a race that I'll probably be slow in to get me motivated for the half marathon in March!

Normal running coupled with wacky weather

A sense of normalcy has returned this week, at least in my running world. Following a short 1-mile run on Monday with my dog, I put in 3 miles yesterday and 4 today. Everything is feeling OK, although my legs are a bit sluggish. It's just nice not to be sick. Everything will eventually come around to feeling completely right again. I'm just being very patient right now.

Today's weather was very surreal. At 7 a.m. on Dec. 12 it shouldn't be in the upper 50s and low 60s. All the leaves should be off the trees by now. The only things that made it even seem two weeks shy of Christmas were the decorations and the fact that I mistakenly wore a long-sleeve shirt. Sandwiched in between a very little bit of ice last week and temperatures in the 40s this coming weekend, it's early summer here in Virginia. It's not completely bad, but when the temperatures fall again, it's going to feel drastic. I'm sure those iced over right now would love to trade weather patterns. Sorry. I'll hang on to Florida for at least another day.

A month later

After two useless weeks, I finally feel normal this weekend. It's tough to say I'm at 100 percent (I'll say 91 percent today), but I didn't lay around and do nothing. I got in 3 miles yesterday -- the longest since 4 miles two Saturdays ago. I had hoped to do a 5k today, but picking up pesky leaves called my name today. Doesn't a couple of hours or so of picking up leaves count as a mile? I won't add it, but it was definitely a good workout.

So now that I've had two poor running weeks, I'm setting my sights on returning to normal this week. The extremely cold weather seems to be staying away this week from this part of the country, so it'll be a good transition to get back out there and then have a solid long run next week. I'm avoiding any week goals just yet since I've had so much downtime in the past month. Hitting 1,000 miles is still within reach, but I'm not going to focus on it too much until the end of the week. I know what I have to do to get there and if I stay healthy, don't get hurt and don't run into an Ohio blizzard near Christmas, I should hit it.

Once Christmas gets here I'll get focused on more specific mileage as I begin training for the Shamrock Half Marathon in March. I'm in much better shape now than I was a year ago when I started getting ready for this race, so I'm going to be very focused on beating this year's 1:44:23.

So a month after the marathon, I feel that my body has hit the Reset button. Getting sick has made me realize how important my health is. Staying healthy is much more crucial than any goal I have right now. Unlike previous down times, I don't feel like I've gotten out of shape. I have marathon training to thank for that. Now I'm just ready to move on and let this sickness be a story I tell years down the road.

If you ran on Thanksgiving, then ate twice as much as usual, this blog's for you.

Am I the only one who is tired of hearing/saying/reading about running so you can eat whatever you want during the holidays? With yesterday being Thanksgiving, and the Festival of All-You-Can-Eat Turkey continuing through the weekend, all I can think about is getting up tomorrow morning and going for my longest run since the marathon. While it'll probably only be four miles or so, it'll help my mind, and it'll help my body get into calorie-burning mode. But I'm getting tired of eating whatever I want to during the holidays and then thinking running makes it OK. I feel fat and bloated and sick just thinking about it.

For those who ran a turkey trot yesterday, that 5k or 10k or whatever distance doesn't give you free reign on a 500-plus calorie piece of pecan pie (please, click on the link) or six slices of ham. But we do it anyway, don't we? Sure, running helps and we're certainly entitled to dive in a little more than some people should, but why do we go so crazy? (If anyone can figure out how to make pecan pie still taste the same at half the calories, please post a link to the recipe.)

I've heard that a local YMCA is doing a campaign of "Maintain, Don't Gain" this holiday season. What a great idea -- instead of packing on a few winter pounds, maybe we should focus on being happy with what we have and focus on not over-indulging. A few extra cookies along the way won't hurt, but an extra piece of pie probably will. Make tomorrow your weigh-in day and challenge yourself to not gain weight between now and Jan. 2. It's likely from all this eating since yesterday that you'll have a few pounds that haven't worked their way out of your body, so that'll make the challenge even easier.

I feel like maybe I should apologize for this mini-rant, but after losing 40 pounds a few years ago, I am tired of gaining a few pounds during the holiday season. Each year it gets harder and harder to shed it off. It's time for me to stop it, and it's time for many others out there to stop it too.

Thankful I can run

Fellow blogger, Jason, posted a list today of running-related things he's thankful for. I'd suggest checking it out. I pretty much agree with everything on there, as most runners probably do. (Only difference is I'm thankful for Advil.)

Each Thanksgiving seems more and more like an early Christmas. The decorations are out, people are already checking their lists twice ... and we still have more than a month to go. But before I get to Christmas, I wanted to express how thankful I am that I can run. While every runner talks about getting faster, losing weight, setting PRs or discussing gear, we need to set a day aside - like Thanksgiving - where we give thanks for being able to have those discussions in the first place.

So Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Don't eat too much turkey.