Catching Up

On Christmas Eve, I am taking the opportunity to catch up a bit with how things have been going since the marathon. Last week, I got out on Tuesday and Thursday for nice little 40-45 minute runs, without real regard for distance. On Saturday, we were in Lufkin visiting family, and I managed to get out on Saturday morning in the drizzle and rain for a little over 8 miles. That was yet another Tour d'Lufkin, visiting several sites from my youth. I went through downtown, past the old Junior High and High School complexes, by the great donut shop and the barbecue places, the churches where I performed in various groups, and of course by many friends' houses. It was a nice tour, even when the rain came down hard at the end of the run. My legs felt great all week, and I feel like I can pick up my running a bit more this week.

This morning, I met up with a few folks (Alicia, Larry, Marcy, Frank, and one other guy who I haven't yet met) for the scheduled "pace run." The AT&T people were supposed to do an easy 2 miles and then 8 miles at MGP. Frank and I ended up trailing those other people, as we enjoyed our 10 mile loop, chatting away on topics here and there. The running was pretty snappy, for me. For Frank, it was loafing, but we ended up with 10.2 miles at 9:12/mile overall pace. That includes two stops for water. Our actual running pace was under 9:00/mile. My HR was in a good range, so it turned out to be just what I needed at this point. I still feel great, and I guess I'll visit the Gazelles on Wednesday to return to light speedwork. The AT&T peeps are doing a stepdown ladder workout, so I'll do maybe fewer repeats or a slightly slower pace or both in order to keep up my "recovery" status.

After the 10 miler, Ava, Carmen, Larry, Frank and I met up at Maudie's for a big breakfast. We sat around, eating and talking, for quite a while. It was a great time, and once again I was reminded just how fine the people are that stay with Gazelles. Sure, we have members from time to time that aren't the most sociable, but by and large, they don't stick around long. We all work very hard at all the workouts, but once the work is over, we really enjoy each other's company. It's just the finest experience I've had as a runner, even 3 years (or is it 4 now?) into my Gazelles membership. Lucky, lucky, lucky...

Now, my Christmas preparations are done, the presents are wrapped, and I'm down to item 14 on my List, which is "Change strings on classical guitar."

Merry Christmas to all out there!