Post-Christmas Post

Yet another Christmas gone by and another year is about to end. 2007 is just around the corner. It's around this time that I--like most folks--look back at the year that was and determine whether it was indeed a good year worth fondly remembering or one that is best left behind. I think it's a mix of both for me. We'll do more analyzing later in the week and I will post my picks for the best albums and movies of the year, too. I know that's something to get excited about.

The Christmas haul this year was quite good and useful. Not a clothes-dominated year this year. The one piece of clothing I got so far was a nifty Puma jacket I got from Marisela for our TNT Secret Santa gift exchange. I also got basketball shorts from my aunt, but as basketball shorts go, they're a bit too long. And I don't play basketball.

My parents gave me a comforter and a towel. I didn't really need a towel (I air dry), but the comforter will be useful. My brother and sister-in-law bought me running shoes. They're not the type I typically wear and they're a little tight on me, so I will exchange them for the Saucony I usually wear. My sister gave me a gift card to Barnes and Noble, a U.S. road trip guide book, and a magazine subscription. I also got a quesadilla maker and an iPod sport carrying case from friends. Not too shabby! What is shabby is my belly. I ate so much the last few days.

Since this is a running blog I ought to talk about my training for the LA Marathon. It was going well up until I suffered an illness a week and a half ago that has slowed me down. I didn't run for over a week. I'm still getting over the chest congestion, but I'm able to run again. I ran six miles with FJ on Friday and I wheezed and coughed my way through that, but two days later I fared better running 12 miles with FJ and Coach Katie. I still had coughing fits, but I felt better and managed to finish comfortably. Tonight I ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill easily. It was tougher trying to peel my ass off the sofa than it was to run it.

The next major landmark on the road to the marathon is the Pacific Shoreline Half Marathon in six weeks. I'm hoping I can PR again. It's a good course, but this year I'm hoping I won't have parking problems like I did the last time I ran it. That was such a big headache.

If I can lose 10 pounds before the marathon, that ought to help with my time. All that jiggling has got to be slowing me down.