Good morning Monday!

Here we go! It's Monday, and we're closing in on Christmas, less than 2 weeks away. We're also closing in on a New Year, and I am really looking forward to a new year. This year has not been the best - something that I will explain in a future post. That's not a complaint but more of a set-up for an epic 2012. I've got some major plans for 2012.

The Boston Marathon is 18 weeks from today, so today I officially begin training. Of course, not much will change, because I've been focused for the last 3-4 weeks. The only change is the official introduction of hill repeats, and then at the first of the year I will add tempo and steady state runs. It feels exciting to be within the 18 week timeframe. A lot of marathon training programs are 18 weeks long.

The weekend was good and basically uneventful. We had a nice party Friday night with our ReGeneration Store board and employees. I dearly love this ministry and the people involved. Things just keep going better and better. Our sales are increasing, and so are donations. We are trying to figure out that last part. It's becoming more difficult to process all of them. We are trying to figure out what to do about space and employees. It's a good problem to have.

Saturday started out cold and with a good run! We had a nice group that did 10+ miles. I wanted 11, so I started a little early. We started out slowly but kept picking up the pace. I was very pleased with the overall time and with the data that showed that we ran the last 3 miles down in the 7:50s per mile, which is my intended pace for the Boston Marathon.

After the run, several of us went to breakfast, where the talk turned to bikes. I visited a nice bike store on Friday, down in Clarksville. The "very motivated seller," as he called himself, said that we "could make something happen," if I was a "motivated buyer." (ha ha) Wow, I'm not an impulse buyer, but he had my attention with all the deal$ he was offering! It's a good time of the year to buy bikes. I walked away but enjoyed seeing all the tri bikes he showed me.

This should be a great week! The weather is looking mild, and we're heading toward Christmas! Two of my beloved children will be home Thursday. I can hardly wait!