Merry Christmas. Please allow me to take this opportunity to wish each of my running friends a very Merry Christmas. While this is a running forum and not a place for religious discussion necessarily, I do want to go on record to say that Christmas does have special meaning for me as I celebrate the birth of the Child who came those many years ago, to give His life and bring the gift of life to all who believe. Simply said, He is my Saviour. For those with children and grandchildren, enjoy this special day with them. Use this time to tell them of the greatest love story ever told. There is no better gift to give to each of those in your family than your love and the time you invest in their lives. I trust that you will have the chance today to get in a nice run. Holidays are often difficult for getting in the miles, but these can be some of the best runs of the year for a variety of reasons. I have a Santa hat on top of my tree and may wear that for my run this afternoon. Thank YOU for the part you play in my life through the wisdom and encouragement that are shared daily on these threads now here at Running AHEAD. Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone! I had planned to run 8 miles this morning before starting family activities. So I got up at 5, put my running clothes on, went downstairs and discovered that Santa had left me a wonderful gift......30 extra minutes of sleep. So I crawled under the afghan on the couch and drifted off for another half hour. And that's the story of how my planned 8 miles turned into only 5. Blame it on the fat guy in the red suit. In a little bit, we're going to connect up the webcam and open gifts "with" the newlyweds in Boston. This will be our first Christmas without dawndaughter1. I know it's the natural order of things for children to grow up, move away, and start their own family traditions, but it still tugs at my heart just a bit. Then we'll spend the morning cooking Christmas dinner which will be packed up and transported to the nursing home where we'll celebrate with dear-old-dad. It's just gotten too hard to bring him home. I bought National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and we'll watch that with him after dinner. He still has a wonderful sense of humor and we can all use a few good laughs. Best wishes to all my old and new running friends. May you have a peaceful holiday in the company of your family and friends.

Merry Christmas! After an hour of watching the kids unwrap presents, helping them with instructions, eating cinnamon rolls and drinking coffee, I had an EXTREMELY hard time dragging myself out for a run. But I eventually did, and I feel so much better for having done so, considering that there will be some overeating possibilities later when we go to my dad’s for the Christmas meal. 7 recovery-paced miles for me (ave pace 10:18) in a clear and crisp 26 degrees. Last night I put 725 songs from my music files onto DS’s new ipod. He seemed doubtful that I would have any music he might like. “Hey,” I said, “I’m cool, I’m hip, I’m rock-and-roll. Out of 725 songs, there’s bound to be SOMETHING you like.” Last year, when he was 9, he still thought his mom was cool. At 10, he’s beginning to have doubts. Off to make some sweet potato souffle and scalloped potatoes to take to my dad's. Best wishes to everyone!

Blame it on the fat guy in the red suit.

Predawnrunner, I really don't think it's appropriate for you to talk about my good friend Lou that way. He may have added a little around the waist but I know he works hard trying to stay in shape. Dark Horse

Merry Christmas. Thank YOU for the part you play in my life through the wisdom and encouragement that are shared daily on these threads now here at Running AHEAD. Merry Christmas

Thank you vista for the Christmas wish. And to all...I share in vista's gratitude for the wisdom on these threads...and for the light hearted humor that's supplied on a daily basis. "Have yourself a merry little Christmas. May your hearts be light. From now on our troubles will be out of sight!"

5 mile progression run with an average pace of 7:48...I can hear the kidlets starting to stir in their beds... Merry Christmas!!!

Easy 5.2 miles, keeping my HR low (135) for 8:46 pace. Beautiful sunny day. Seemomgo—sorry to hear about your Mom; hope she’s better soon. Oldguy—welcome. (How ‘bout “YoungAsUFeelGuy”?) PapaBanucci—welcome. All the folks I’ve missed…welcome. Evanflein—sorry about using your Discover Card; finances are a bit tight here but I wanted to get something nice for my DW from Bloomie’s. Hope you don’t mind too much. Vista—thanks for the greeting and getting us going PDR—a web-cam christmas; good idea. Teresa—you’ll love the Garmin! You must have been good this year. Following advice from some here I asked for, and got, Lore of Running for Christmas. Having never seen the book I had no idea it was the size of the NYC phone directory! Plenty of reading for 2008. I’m agnostic so for me this holiday doesn’t relate to personal faith but I do find it interesting that pagan winter festivals cut across so many cultures, long pre-dating Christianity. It’s gotta be all that darkness and cold. Brrrr. I don’t know if this is a regional thing or what but I’ve also noticed a couple of articles in our local newspaper about Christians who don’t celebrate Christmas—in part because of its pagan origins and lack of Biblical basis (most scholars believe the historical Jesus was born around September and early Church leaders tried to piggy-back onto existing pagan holidays in late December) and in part because of the commercialization. I knew about the pagan origins of the holiday season, but didn’t realize there were Christians who felt that way. Whatever your beliefs or non-beliefs, have a great day!

This will be my first post on RunningAhead. I want to wish a Merry Christmas to all my "imaginary" friends. I hope everyone has a great Christmas with family and/or friends. We celebrated yesterday with our daughter, son, son's fiance, my mother, and my wife's father. Today, we will take it easy while our son visits his fiance's family and my father in law visits with one of my wife's brother. We have a lot to be thankful for. TomS