Training the week of Christmas

I hope you all had a great holiday week and got everything you wanted. I know I did. With the year coming to a close and holiday's kind of getting in the way of training, I will be the first to admit that I am in relax mode. I am still going to get in some runs and do some training, but I know once the new year starts I will be going into hard core training.  I have came up with a nice training routine that I will share with you later this week when I post my 2015 goals.  This week was definitely an off week for me.

MONDAY and TUESDAY: I used these 2 days to finish up Christmas shopping. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Remind me next year to never do this again. It was a jungle out there. I felt like I went 12 rounds with Mike Tyson when I was finished.

WEDNESDAY: CHRISTMAS EVE: Since I was off work I decided to run 5 miles in the morning. I ran 2.5 miles to a nearby track then back. When I got to the track I sat down for a bit and had a moment to myself. I thought back on the year 2014, and started to look toward 2015.  2014 wasn't my best year, but wasn't my worst. I made huge strides on improving my technique and form. I am really looking forward to 2015.

THURSDAY: CHRISTMAS: I knew I wouldn't be running or doing anything this day except probably putting on a few pounds from how much I ate. You can read my last post to see all the running related items I got for Christmas. My favorite was my Brooks PureFlow 3 shoes.

FRIDAY: I think I was one of the only people in America that had to work this day. The day was so long and so boring, by the time I got home I was beat and didn't feel like doing anything. 

SATURDAY: When I woke up and checked the weather, I thought there is no way I am passing up a nice day like this. I laced up my new Brooks and took them for a nice very slow 6 mile run. I didn't want to go fast and get blisters since they weren't broken in yet. After a mile of running I couldn't believe how great the shoes felt. I always loved my Pure Flow 2's and I can see these are just as good.  When I finished running I felt great and my shoes gave me zero problems. This week I will actually use them on my normal runs at normal pace.

     Saturday night I went to the Improv to see Bill Crawford. Every year he does a few shows around this time. My friends and I try to go every year, and every year Crawford puts on a great show. This year was no different.

SUNDAY: Today I am just using my new roller and massaging my legs. Like I said one more week of taking it easy then full steam ahead. 

Until next time stay safe runners.

My Christmas Gifts

     Instead of doing my normal Freak Out Friday Rant, today I have decided to do a special post on what I got for Christmas. I figure since we are in the holiday spirit, why ruin it with a rant.

     So normally every Christmas Amanda and I will set a limit that we will spend on each other. Usually it is a low number since we both just buy something whenever we want it, so there isn't much we want that we don't have.  This year though we decided to set the limit a little higher. We made a wish list for each other in order to help out.  Try and guess what was mostly on my list? That's right running apparel and gadgets.  So the first gift I open was a massage roller. This was not on my list, but I did post about some gift idea's and had one on the list. I was pretty pumped to get it. I have a foam roller but I wanted something to get into the deep tissue. Good to see Amanda actually reads my blog.

      The second gift I opened was a box filled with 2 pairs of running shorts and a tech shirt. I am not a fan of the low cut shorts with built in underwear, so I wear tech shorts and buy compression underwear to wear under. So the shorts she bought me this year were perfect for me. She even went as far to buy me 2 packs of compression underwear. SCORE!!!!!!
      I was on my last gift and at this point I had already had it in my mind that the shoes I wanted were a no go, so maybe a gift card would of been thrown in the box with whatever it was. Little behold Amanda took the shoes out of the box and placed them in another box to throw me off. My Brooks PureFlow 3's.  I have wanted these shoes for a while now. I have had 3 pairs of shoes since my PureFlow 2's and I have not been able to find a shoe that matches them.  I can't wait to get out and start the marathon training in them. Good things are going to happen in those shoes, I can tell.

     I was happy with all my gifts I got. Not all were running related, but they were all still things I wanted.  After unwrapping the big gifts I grabbed my stocking and found a few more small things that I had no clue I was getting.  We usually just throw basic stuff like shaving cream and razors in the stocking.  I don't even wrap what I throw in them. Amanda on the other hand likes to make me work for the gift.  First thing I grab out and unwrap was a tree ornament. I am not a big fan of ornaments, but I have one ornament that is a shoe and says my New York Marathon time. Well now I have 2 that I can say I am happy to own. This one just says marathon and is a pair of shoes, but it doesn't need to say anything else it is awesome and will look great on the tree.
    The last few things in the stocking were packs of GU. I am a huge fan of these and use them every Saturday on my long runs. She wasn't sure what flavor I liked so she got me a few. Little does she know I like them all. Notice the 6 pack of beer in the background of the picture. That was a gift too. I wouldn't call that running related, but hey who doesn't love a beer after a nice long run.
      All in all this Christmas was probably the best. I got everything I wanted and I even was told I did good shopping too. That is huge for me because normally I make someone come with me and help. I however know these are all materialistic things and do not tell what the true meaning of Christmas is. Family and friends is what it is all about. Spending Christmas Eve and Christmas with the people who are closest to you.  I hope you all had a great holiday season and got everything you got.

Tell us what cool running things you got this season?

Running Superstitions

"SUPERSTITIONS"

Superstition is the belief in supernatural causality—that one event leads to the cause of another without any natural process linking the two events—such as astrology, religion, omens, witchcraft prophecies, etc., that contradicts natural science.

 

    Many runners have it, some runners even fear it. I am talking about superstitions. I have talked to runners about theirs and I have even read on their blogs about little superstitions. It may be having to do a certain routine, or even something you wear. 

    I have not really been into the whole superstition thing until today.  Sit back and let me tell you my story......  On Sunday I was getting ready to do some running around. I throw on a pair of fleece pants and open the closet door to grab some shoes.  I reach down to the shoe rack and grab my Brooks Pure Flows. They were a little dirty so me being the OCD shoe addict I had to clean them off before I could wear them. Man did they look nice again all clean. I throw them on and headed out the door.  The whole time I was out I kept thinking to myself how comfortable it was to be wearing my Brooks again.   

    I like to think of my Brooks as my go to shoes. They are like that old friend that you can always count on to be there for you.  I mean we have been through the shit together.(No literally I stepped in dog shit once with them on) From the New York Marathon to training for part of the Pittsburgh Marathon, these shoes treated me good.  

   So today at work I was thinking about my run and for some reason my Brooks popped in my head.  As soon as I got home I grabbed them out of the closet again and laced them up.  Once again they felt great.  I started my run and decided I am going to put the Brooks to the test. I was wearing my Garmin and had my headphones in.  I made it a point to not look at the Garmin until my run was done.  Sometimes I felt like I was moving slow and sometimes I felt like I was just chugging along.  There was a strong wing so it made half of the run more difficult.  When I finally finished I looked down at my Garmin and noticed I had ran one of my fastest 5K times during training in a while and also ran father than I anticipated.  

 

Here is the really weird thing, I noticed the tread on my shoes is still in great shape.  Could be because I run on my toes and I seem to take soft steps.( I really have not clue, but did that sound good?)  So now I have a question.  The power of the Pure Flows seems to really help me, so I am thinking I am going to train in my Saucony's and then use my Pure Flows on long runs and short races coming up.  Then I think it will be time to switch back to Brooks.  I tried the other brands but you don't mess with superstitions and all signs point to Brooks for my best runs.

 

Do you have any running superstitions?  If so what are they?