Last Long Run of 2012

Week 10: Half Marathon Training

The fearless threesome at mile seven.

Goal Total Miles: 23 miles
Actual Total Miles: 24 miles

I'm slowly but surely making up those five miles I missed in Week 8. So far so good with my new Garmin 410. I had a little trouble getting it set up for my first run, but it was total user error and not a problem with the watch itself. While I have no idea what I'm supposed to be watching for when it comes to my heart rate, it is an interesting piece of data to have and a nice way to track how many of those Christmas calories I'm burning.

This week's long run was a threesome for the first seven miles. Faith, my 5k partner in crime, is training for the Princess Half and she is up to seven miles on her long run. It was awesome to have an extra on our route, despite the crazy cold wind that was blowing at 20 mph. Those last three miles with the wind in my face were not fun, but as Andrea often reminds me, "you can't control the weather on race day." Well, I've practiced in the wind now.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

I was one of those annoying kids who woke my parents up crazy early every Christmas. I'm sure they hated me.

As an adult without children, I enjoyed sleeping in on Christmas morning and then I treated myself to a quiet run throughout the neighborhood.

I loved seeing all the surprises Santa had delivered while I was catching some extra Zs. In my brief four mile loop I saw a trampoline, an awesome purple bike and a dad and daughter doing a little target practice with a new bow and arrow. I had a number of Christmas surprises in my lifetime. Probably one of the best was when I was four or five and I received my first puppy, in a basket, with a bow - a dachshund that I named Ginger.

This year, Santa brought me a Garmin Forerunner 410 with a heart rate monitor. I'm pretty psyched to upgrade from my MotoActv, which has decided to have an attitude lately and add a heart rate monitor into the mix of data. I think I read hundreds of reviews about the 410 before making a decision. You know, sometimes too much information is a bad thing. Some people love the touch bezel while others thought it was the dumbest thing ever created. I came to the conclusion that the touch bezel wasn't that big of a deal for me and if I hated it, I'd send it back. This review was a huge help for me in choosing the right watch for me.

And while I've not written a movie review recently, we've been seeing films like they are going out of style. I think for the first time we won't be scrambling to see a film when the Oscar nominations come out in January.

Happy Holidays!