Times they are a-changing

Ya know, if you'd have told me a year ago that I would actually wake up at 4:30 in the morning on CHRISTMAS EVE to go to the park & run, I would've thought you were a total nut-job! But here we are, Christmas Eve & sure enough, I woke up at 4:30, took the dog out, ate a power bar with some Gatorade, got my running gear on & was out the door by about 5:30 am driving to Memorial Park. Not only was I doing this on Christmas Eve, but I did it even though I went to bed late, woke up at 2:50 am w/ a headache, didn't get back to sleep around 3:30-3:45, & woke up to a muggy, wet morning. Yet there I was, off & running at 6:00.

The routes today were either 8 or 14 miles. Since I was on very little sleep, I decided to do just 8.

"JUST" 8.

(LOL! I'm sorry, but this is SO funny to me. I can't believe I've become "that" person... an actual runner! I still can't believe that's me. CRA-ZY!)

It was a great run. I was a little worried since I hadn't done anything since my trip that I would get tired out, but I didn't. I felt great the whole time. The run was through River Oaks, & it was really nice to see all the Christmas lights (although not all of them were still on). It got me into the Christmas spirit a bit (something I've been lacking these days) & gave me a smile. I ran the whole time with one of the new TNT-ers who's normally a walker, so I didn't go as fast as I could, but she still kept up with me as I did my 4:1's. It was nice to just talk with her (something I usually don't really like to do when I run) & get to know her a bit more. When we finished (in about 2 hours, 10 minutes) she told me she'd never gone that fast before & felt great that she was able to keep up with me. I was very proud of her.

When we were done, it was just a matter of waiting for the rest of the gang to finish (which took about 2 more hours) & then the coaches & mentors & I all went out for our usual post-practice breakfast at Biba's.

I know I've said it before, but I really love this group of people. I've really come a long way since last year. I'm SO glad I joined TNT. :)

*Side Note*

During the run today, even though there weren't nearly as many people out there running like most weekends, some of the folks that were out there decided to "jazz" things up a bit. I saw lots of Santa hats & jingle bells on people's running shoes. I must admit that I was thanking my lucky stars that I wasn't running with the jingle bell-ers because that would've driven. me. NUTS!!

I'm the kind of person who prefers quiet as I run. I don't even use my iPod any more because it's too distracting to me. If I'd been running next to someone with jingle bells on the whole time, I'm certain I would've killed that person before the 2nd mile. Either that or I would've ripped his/her shoes off & thrown them into the bayou. LOL!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!