And so this is (almost) Christmas

I can't believe that this is the beginning of Christmas week. I have been a slacker Christmas elf (per usual, who am I kidding?) but lucky for me, several of my gift obligations are joint gifts with Rod, which were obtained by him ordering and me writing a check. I also have a number of other gifts which I have purchased spontaneously...my usual way of Christmas shopping. Usually done in the last days before Christmas, at rather excessive expense. Oh, let's face it, that will probably happen again this year. Even with the gifts being "done" already.

Shopping update: I just ordered my parents' gift while sitting here at the computer. I'll say what it is since they don't read the blog (as far as I know)... It is a gift card to the McMenamin's group of hotels and restaurants...specifically intended so that they can go spend a couple of nights at the Olympic Club Hotel in Centralia (the only McMenamin's hotel in Washington). Of course they can go to any of the hotels that they want, but the gift card will go further at the Olympic Club as it is less expensive than some of the others. Plus it is more conveniently located, just a two hour drive or so, or you can get there by train as well! (My dad is a train travel buff.) I've had this in mind for months, but have hesitated because McMenamin's are a bit pub/brewery-centric, which is not my parents' taste, but I like the way they convert old buildings into quirky hotels, and I think my parents will enjoy that. (They can always bring me along if they want! :)

We had the most beautiful weather today. And Friday as well (yesterday, however, was dark, rainy, and stormy). I continued my running recovery on Friday morning, not as early as I should have been, thus my early idea of ten miles went to eight miles, then 6.5, and finished with seven and very little time to get ready for work. And it was a hectic day! With two Christmas parties, one in the afternoon and my office party at night.

Yesterday I got my hair cut (fascinating, yes?) and afterwards I had a massage! She spent extra time on my feet and legs and it was wonderful. Just what I needed.

Today I ran my longest (first double-digit) run since the Seattle Marathon. I planned on ten miles, but ended up with eleven when I miscalculated how far I needed to go to ensure the ten (I didn't want to have to tack on at the end). I ran in Marysville, around a loop that had some extended longer hills (up and down). I pushed myself just a bit, and ended up with almost a 10-minute-mile average pace (10:04). Enough faster than my recent paces to make me happy.

I just updated my HBBC totals for the rest of last week, plus this weekend. I can just kick myself, I always seem to trail off on entering sometime during the week, so then I have to go back and add everything up again to see what I forgot. Pain in the neck. I am current through today.

In other totals...as of today, I am at 1992.31 miles for the year (may be off by a hundredth or so, but I'm not going back to recalculate!). That means less than 18 miles to go to reach 2010 miles for the year. I did not set a mileage goal for this year (didn't want the pressure), but earlier in the fall I noticed that I was on track for 2000+ miles. I probably will hit 2010 on Christmas Eve, if I run three times during the week, at least six miles each (which is typical for weekdays currently).

So then the question will be, do I just stop running for the rest of the year, to keep it at 2010? Hahaha.... (Of course, I won't be laughing if it snows and I can't run...on the other hand, I probably will be!) (Not that there's any forecase of snow for Christmas. But we can always hope....) (A lot of ellipses in this paragraph....)