It's a cutback week for me, and I'm breaking in new shoes.  Very fun, but I can't seem to slow down right now...lol  4.72 miles @ 9:40 pace

Mitch - So, I ran in the new Saucony's today.  The first half mile felt a bit strange with the smaller heal drop.  My achilles had to warm up to it.  Once I adjusted to that, it was like running on a cloud.  I have a feeling that these will most definitely be long run shoe.  Plenty of support, but with a very cushioned feel.  The Brooks are very supportive, and just feel fast and responsive with a stiffer sole.

I think both are great shoes so far.  The Saucony's are noticeably lighter when they are in your hands, but you can't tell when they're on your feet.  Between the rest day I took, the new shoes, and my knee feeling better, my paces have been about minute faster on my easy runs.  I tried to slow it down a bit today, but I was still a lot faster.  I'm not going to freak out over it.  It still feels like an easy pace.

I think the Saucony Omni 11 will be my shoes for long runs, and for my HM.  The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 13 will probably be for faster and shorter runs, and for 5K races.

Kristin--Thanks for the encouragement! I was actually settling down into the couch, thinking about how every time I post about a run before it happens I seem to jinx myself and never get out the door, when I read your post and decided to shut up and go run. I wore my old Saucony Hurricane 13s (as a sort of tribute to Awood and his new kicks, heh) and did a nice slow 2 in the drizzle. Then I came home, stretched and showered, and the sun is starting to come out. It's going to be a good day

Back on the trail today, 4.9 at 9:40.  Kind of cold, but felt good except for the speedy wife dragging me behind her.

I never did get my run in yesterday, due to a little dizziness.  Okay now.

Nice going on the 5 Kristin. I see a HM in your future.

Thanks for starting us off, Gustav.  Sounds like a chilly bike ride!  Congrats on getting your shopping all done!

Enjoy the dinner with friends, Bin.

Happy Christmas Eve to you, Jerry!  You know what came before Christmas Eve?  Christmas Adam!

Well, Liz, I'm King of the Low Mileage Week...nice to have a Queen with me.   "Stayed in bed until 5:30 a.m."  You are a riot!  I got up at 7 a.m., lol.   I have a weird work schedule for the holidays. Off Mon-Tues-Wed, work Thursday, half-day Friday, then off the weekend, Half-Day Monday, then off Tuesday and Wednesday (Jan 1 and 2), then back to work, 'regular time' Thursday and Friday.

Wow, Tomas, 17.4 miles, you are really getting up there for distance running, congrats!

No rain for us, Jack, until Christmas, thunderstorms are predicted. I guess that is our "snow" for us down here, lol.  Right now in San Antonio it is sunny and 71 degrees.  Ugg, house cleaning, good luck with that!  Gail won't let me help clean the house, I tend to make "mistakes" when doing it.    So she kicks me out of the house when she cleans.  I get the pleasure of doing the outside jobs of taking care of the yard, cleaning the gutters, etc, so I guess it all evens out.

Happy Xmas Party, Awood!  And enjoy those new Saucony shoes.  Used to run in the Trigon all the time.  Then Saucony discontinued them (darn shoe company!) and the one they replaced the Trigon with sucked, IMHO.  At least for me the replacement sucked.  so I returned to the ASICS Nimbus.   Glad both the Brooks and the Saucony are working for you.

20 miles on that knee, dang, Damaris! Wonder Woman is alive and well!

Congrats on your running progress, Kristin.  Five miles is now easy, that must be great for you!  As for the Egg Nog, well, everyone is entitled to indulge every once in a while. Mmmmm, Christmas cookies...

Congrats on your miles, SheCan!  Your weather sounds like what we are having, 50s in the morning, 71 right now at 3:40 PM Texas time. Enjoy the baking!  Umm, yeah, oatmeal raisin IS my favorite cookie, by the way.   That is all Gail ever makes me for dessert, lol - that and brownies, which I also love - cuz she knows I don't like pie at all, ANY kind (she was appalled when she found that out, after she first met me, lol), don't like cupcakes (they annoy me, too much "work" eating them, lol), and only like a very few types of cake and ice cream.  Yeah, I am SO easy when it comes to desserts, lol.

Way to get out there and run, Kitteh, congratulations!

Way to go on your run, Jerry!  Speedy wives are a good thing...if you get tired, throw a tow rope up to her so she can drag you along, help you keep going.

Mitch, hope your running workout went well!

AFM:  I got a little carried away on Sunday.  Went 3.5 miles at Fort Sam Houston, got back to the gym, and then did a full-body weight training circuit after my run.  Got home and fell asleep in my chair, lol, watching football, but woke up in time to see the Damn
Dallas Cowboys lose in overtime, yay, and see my Redskins win to take first place in the NFC East, yay!   This morning I got up at 7 a.m. and went to Lackland Air Force Base.  I believe I got a bit too ambitious.  First I ran all of the pedestrian ramp overpasses/bridges (there are 4 of them) that go over the highway and connect the training side of the base to the "regular duty" folks' side of the base.  Then I ran a couple of laps around one of the base tracks on the training side.  It was funny cuz right after I started, a couple of Training Instructors (T.I.) brought their Basic Trainees to the track to do a 3-mile run.  I asked them if they wanted me to vacate the track but they said "No, you're fine, if you don't mind being surrounded by trainees as you run.  Heck, you might even inspire a few of them."  ( I was wearing my usual for my running, one of my  "I BEAT CANCER" shirt, this one bright neon green).  So around the track I went with the trainees.  One of the  T.I.s  was funny, not kidding about me motivating, lol, cuz a couple of times he would signal out a trainee near me as we both went by where the T.I.s were standing and call out something like "Jones! (not actual name, of course, I've changed  the names to protect identities ),  why is that Senior Citizen still ahead of you? You can't keep up with an old man? GET MOVING!" and  "Smith!  That old guy is about to lap you!  Maybe I should get my grandmother out here to pace you!" And so forth, he cracked me up.  Then, as I exited the track to continue on my way back to the gym, I cracked him up by saying "Well, at least you didn't ask them all to get in step with me."    It was actually a pretty fun time, thoroughly enjoyed it.  Then I decided to go the long way back to the gym, since it was such a nice morning - sunshine, 58 degrees, light breeze - and I ended up with 4.5 miles done.   I felt good, but it is not so good to be too ambitious the next day after you do full-body weight training, cuz my legs were really complaining there for a while, lol, until BRAIN finally shouted at them, "SHUT UP!  So we did a few uphill ramps, and so we tried for a while to keep pace with some speedier trainees, big deal, you KNOW we all had fun with this run.  So get over it!"  So after BRAIN took control - that, and putting on some biofreeze after my shower - legs felt much better.

On a sadder note, I did lose a friend at the end of this run...

Farewell, old friend, you have served me well,

Ten years with you is quite a spell.

No matter what I put you through

You did everything I asked you to.

But your time is now done, we must part,

So I let you go with heavy heart.

I send you on now to your place of rest,

My faithful running shorts that were the best.

Yes, after 10 years of use, my favorite pair of running shorts died after this run, with the elasticity in the waistband finally collapsing, and most of the liner coming apart.  But what a faithful pair of shorts, at least it waited until after the run was done to collapse. 

Luckily, I have 3 more pairs of the same brand that are newer than that first pair I bought 10 years ago.

scotty your stories always make me laugh! except the part about the Redskins, that's just NOT funny! so sad to hear about your shorts. They gave you lots of good running memories.

Scott: Hope you get 30 years fom those 3 pairs of running pants.  Pictures at next race????

jerry

Pictures, you betcha.  That has kind of become my thing now, lol.  I once forgot my camera at a race and a spectator I know gave me hers, lol, to make sure I'd have photos in my race report.  I guess I'm getting a little bit of local notoriety.

6.64 miles done with 7 x 800's at 8:00. i was targeting 8 repeats but the poo monster interrupted me, luckily there was a porta pot near a new house being built in our neighborhood.