A Very Merry 16 Miler

Merry Christmas, everyone! We've had a good one. Chasen got to leave work early on the 23rd, so we decided to venture into Memphis and track down some of the supposed well lit, well decorated homes. As it turned out, we were thoroughly disappointed. The most exciting thing we found was a decorated port-o-potty:

This was found in front of a large, undecorated home that was being renovated. Ha!

On Christmas Eve we went to a candlelight service at our church. When we got home and got Isaac to bed we finally got down to business! We opted to not put up a tree - at all - until then because we just knew that Mr. Inquisitive would not be able to stay away from it.

We also wisely kept our cherished Christmas cards up out of his reach.

Here is the finished product: undecorated pre-lit tree. Not too shabby!

On Christmas morning I just couldn't wait for Isaac to wake up! He is likely going through a growth spurt now because he sleeps A LOT. So some waiting was required. But he finally got with the program and woke up for our first Christmas in our new house. Here is Chasen (who says he sounds like a drunk) bringing him downstairs on Christmas morning:

Oh I really, really hope this is "The Cat In The Hat" movie!

YAY! My buddy The Cat! Thank you, Santa!

The "architectural block set" was also a big hit. This architect mommy thanks Santa!

It couldn't have been much better. We are so fortunate to have each other!

I was supposed to do a 16 mile run on Christmas Day, but obviously that wasn't happening. Better fish to fry! So I got to bed early that night to make it happen on Sunday the 26th.

I woke up at 3:30 AM. I needed to be back home by 8 AM to make it to Sunday School on time. I headed out the door just past 4 AM. I walked down my road and hit 'start' at the main drag. I originally wanted to do an out-and-back, but I felt I would not be able to carry enough Perpetuem sports drink with me to make that happen. So I opted for two shorter out-and-backs so I could refuel.

It was 31 degrees out and - get this! - snowing! Yes, in Mississippi. Just flurries, mind you, but enough for me to finally be able to say that I ran in the snow. My goal was to run 13:30 miles. I think I was dressed perfectly, except my legs could have been a tad bit warmer (I should have worn my tights instead of loose pants).

I am extremely happy and proud to report that this was my best longrun of 2010. Seriously. I felt strong and fast. Seriously. I made it to the first 4 mile spot (my old neighborhood) in the blink of an eye. Next thing I knew I was at the intersection of my road and the main drag switching sports bottles. As it turns out, I probably could have done one out-and-back since I forgot how much less I drink when it is super cold. Oh well!

I made it back to the old neighborhood for 12 miles and then started the "final descent" towards home. The first 14 miles were practically effortless. Seriously. Mile 15 required a bit of walking here and there and mile 16 required a lot of walking. Oh well! Check out my splits:

12:38, 13:12, 12:58, 13:20, 13:19, 12:44, 13:15, 12:37, 12:24, 12:43, 12:34, 12:21, 13:01, 12:48, 13:50, 14:36

Total - 3:28:29

Average - 13:02 per mile

That is seriously speedy for me, and it includes walking the first 0.05 of each mile. Whoo hoo! I attribute these results to both cooler weather and my mid-week speed sessions (I guess). The Cowtown Marathon is 9 weeks away and I just can't wait!