Week 3 Recap, Christmas in VA, and New Shoes

At the Smithsonian

Christmas was so much fun this year!  We went to Virginia, where my parents live.  My grandmother and my uncle came as well.  We went to museums, we ate a lot, and James is finally old enough to understand unwrapping presents and pulling stuff out of stockings.  He even had a walk-on role in the Christmas Pageant at church.  He was a cat.  It was adorable.

James getting things out of his stocking.

Note the goldfish and yogurt bits- my mom

is a very smart lady and knew he would

love whatever kind of food he found.

We complimented these tongs the day before.

Good thing, since my parents had already gotten

us a pair!  (My shirt says RMAO)

I was without my trusty laptop while we were in Alexandria, so I didn't remember what my goals were for the week.  This means that I thought I did a lot worse than I actually did.  Yes, I missed two runs, but it was a big week and family is more important than a run.  Upon our return I discovered that I'd done a pretty good job.  My parents have a treadmill, so Sunday I ran on theirs rather than brave the blustery wind.  I've read about them but never tried one, but I knew it had to do with increasingly long intervals with rest.  Here is what my ladder looked like:

5 min @ 7.0
5 min @ 7.5
1 min @ 8.0
1 min @ 7.5
2 min @ 8.0
1 min @ 7.5
3 min @ 8.0
1 min @ 7.5
4 min @ 8.0
1 min @ 7.5
5 min @ 8.0
5 min @ 7.0

So, I don't know if that's what you call a ladder, but it was fun.  Next time I will go up and down.  I will also take the speed up a lot because it was pretty easy.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Totals
What I planned…	4	3-5 with intervals	rest	4	4	rest	4	19-21
What happened…	nada	3.5 with 4 x 800 intervals @ 7:00		zilch	4.5 miles		4.5 (treadmill workout with ladders)	12.5

So that's what happened.  Considering the holidays, it was okay.  I also got a pair of Vibram Five Fingers and they are stupendous!  I don't plan to run in them (much) before the marathon, but after that I will incorporate more barefoot running into my routine.  I wanted them because I have pretty bad feet and I know they'll help with my issues.

The Resolution Run is Saturday and I am so unprepared.  I'm pretty good at running long, but it takes some work for me to run fast.  I hope I can get under 22:00, but I won't be surprised if I fall a little short.