Merry Christmas to All

AM: 68 mins.
8 miles
PM: 3 miles

I woke up bright and early on Christmas morning to go running with my dad and some of his friends. We kept a pace that was considerably slower than I'm used to--probably between 8:30 and 8:45--and it took my body a while to relax and feel comfortable instead of trying to fight it. Once I did, I actually kind of enjoyed the leisurely tempo. I'm probably guilty of running a bit too fast on many of my "easy" days, and this morning's run was really more about the company than anything else. Plus, I've got ten days of hammering with Jordan coming up, so I need all the easy days I can get.

At one point I was chatting with my dad's friend Tom (whose wife, incidentally, was my ninth grade biology teacher) and he mentioned a story I found later in today's Dallas Morning News about a local charity that helped brighten the Christmas of many of the city's homeless. Soup Mobile, a nonprofit that operates similar to a "Meals on Wheels" program, partnered with the Hyatt Regency in Dallas to put up over 400 homeless people for the night. In addition to providing each person with their own room, they were treated to gifts, clothing and a banquet and were even greeted by volunteers while walking down a red carpet. On a day that so many of us spend opening gifts at home with our families, stories like this serve as a reminder of how important it is to help those less fortunate. Feel free to visit the Soup Mobile web site if you're interested in donating to their cause.

Anyhow, I was fortunate to get in another run this afternoon after a day relaxing and eating some good food with my parents. Mom wanted us to go pick up a movie and Dad wanted to try out his sweet new Garmin 405 (shout out to Jordan and OK Runner for helping play Santa), so Dad and I volunteered to run to Blockbuster and back. I feel pretty confident that we're the only two people who have ever done so in Mt. Pleasant. This was another easy run and another chance to spend some time with my dad, which is always fun. All in all this was a wonderful Christmas and the perfect end to a relaxing visit in Mt. Pleasant.