After skipping town for a few days to spend Christmas with the fam, I’m back in NYC feeling fairly recharged and refreshed. For the first time in a while, I slept 9+ hours each night (and even “slept in” until 7:00 a.m. – huge accomplishment), my computer went untouched and I did a whole lot of nothing.
snow! from the mall parking lot. we got about a foot over night, NBD
It’s fairly easy to relax as the place I grew up does not have much to do, is cold and snowy and I have no mode of transportation unless someone drives me places (haven’t driven a car in 6+ years and my license is expired. Oops, better get on that…). So in the past couple days I’ve watched a lot of TV (cable! it was nice), some movies, visited with friends and family and ate a lot of Christmas cookies. It felt good to chill out, and I think I probably needed it in every way possible.
I also took a few days off running earlier in the week to get over whatever gnarly virus I had picked up, but on Christmas Day we got a fresh dusting of snow and I was itching for a few miles before the day’s festivities. It barely snowed in NYC last year, so it felt weird/cool to pound through snow-covered roads and hear that familiar crunching underfoot.
I didn’t really have a plan for running all week, and per Coach John there were no workouts, I was just supposed to “run.”
- Tuesday: 7 miles (slightly snowy)
- Wednesday: 7.5 miles (15 degree wind chill)
- Thursday: 6.5 miles (very snowy)
- Friday: 5.25 miles (before heading to the airport)
Done. All of these runs were at a super easy pace down by the Niagara River, which has a decent little bike path and is near my Dad’s house. I’m finally feeling like I have some energy after being sick, which is a relief because whenever I get sick I become convinced I will never, ever get better and eventually develop something like the Plague or tuberculosis. Totally normal.
Christmas brunch at my aunt & uncle’s house – pancakes, bread pudding, scrambled eggs, bacon… having multiple chefs in the family is fun
I got back yesterday afternoon following a pretty quick and painless flight back to JFK. Fun fact: I was sitting next to a priest. I’m not too religious, but this both terrified me and gave a sense of comfort. Poor guy was not a frequent flyer though, and I had to tell him to shut his cell phone off during takeoff and show him how to do it. Maybe I will get some heaven points for that?
Anyways, I woke up this morning feeling good and ready to get in some miles before NYC gets a little snowstorm of our own.
12 easy miles with strides at the end, super happy to be back in Central Park and feeling good.
The holidays always go by so fast, it’s hard to believe it’s almost the New Year. Even more than usual, I’m feeling very reflective about 2012 and what’s going to happen in 2013 – mainly because this past year has been the strangest I’ve had in a while. I’ll probably delve into this a little deeper at some point, but I’ve done a bunch of things I’m really proud of this year, and at the same time, haven’t done a lot of things I swore I would. I guess that’s how it usually goes though, eh?
There are only a few days left of 2012 – anything left you swear you’d do but haven’t done yet? I failed to date more. And to go legit trail running. And to try Red Rooster. And to take a vacation. And I still have yet to bake my own carrot cake… Shit, I have a lot to get done next year.
