Merry Christmas to Me!

My treadmill arrived last week!  It is not new; the wood-paneling, carpeted belt, and strange holes where the now missing weights used to go give it away.  It is, however, new to me, and I love it!  I went to Play it Again Sports and found a model with at least 2.0 Continuous Horse Power (CHP for short), good incline possibilities, and a max speed of 12 MPH.  12?  I think that I have never run faster than 6-minute pace ever, and I do not see that changing until next fall at the earliest, but I like having my options open.

So the delivery guys carted off our elliptical and put my new treadmill in the garage, near our little television.  I ran 2.5 miles the day it arrived while the bambino was napping, and I can tell already that this treadmill is going to be fine.  It speeds up quickly and doesn't make any weird noises, and those are really my only criteria.  I can't tell if it's loud or if any treadmill in a garage would be loud, but that's not an issue.

Last post, I said that I wanted to practice yoga 4-5 times per week and run or walk 3-4 times per week.  I've been doing very well on both fronts.  I do yoga nearly every day, usually in the evenings.  I'll start prenatal yoga classes in January, and I don't want to look like I don't know what I'm doing!  Seriously, the yoga has really helped me these last few weeks; my back doesn't hurt, I sleep better (which is impressive), and I have more energy.  And fewer headaches.    I've been running at least three times per week as well.  Last week, I ran in my neighborhood as well as on trails nearby.  For one of the runs, I took one of my dogs on a 2.5-mile trail run. The poor thing was out of shape, apparently; he used to run far ahead of non-pregnant, 9-minute mile me, but this time he stayed just behind me as we jogged leisurely 11-minute miles.

This past week, we've been visiting my parents for Christmas.  It was a lot of fun, with a lot of very good food and several games of Mexican Train and Dominoes.  The bambino was, of course, spoiled rotten by his grandparents, great-grandmother, and uncle.  He loved every minute of it, too!  Between all of the eating and playing, my dad and I went on two runs around the neighborhood.  The second run was on Christmas day, so he got to try out his new Garmin 110.  It found the satellites quite a bit faster than mine, and it seems really easy to use.  I think this will help him run outside a bit easier; it's nice to know where you've been and how fast you're going.

With less than a week left in 2011, I can truly say that this has been an amazing year.  I have...

• set a PR in both the 5k and marathon, two big goals for me.
• won a race!  I was first female overall in the Resolution Run January 1.  I can assure you that this will NOT happen this year, although I will run it.
• started to grow the family.  Baby girl (named Alfie by my son, after his favorite Thomas character) will arrive on or around May 1.  This is the most important and exciting event of the year!
• moved into town.  This is such a big change, and we're still adjusting, but it's been a gift to have time, neighbors, extra money from not commuting so far, and a place to run.

Next year will be a bit different for me, goal-wise.  I'll think about that this week and let you know what I've decided!