Bright and early yesterday morning, we opened Christmas gifts. The kids were happy with everything they got, and it was fun to watch them open their gifts. Jerry gave me a nice suitcase (a couple of days early, actually), which I was thrilled with! I have been traveling quite a bit the past couple of years, so I'm sure I will get a lot of use out of it.
It's super light weight, so I can pack more stuff in there without exceeding the airline's weight limit ;)
I gave Jerry a Keurig coffee maker. We used to have one, but it broke and we never replaced it. Jerry loves his coffee, and lately he's been saying that seeing the Keurig at the store makes him feel nostalgic for it. So, it was either going to be a ladder (something he really needs) or the Keurig for Christmas--I figured he'd enjoy the Keurig more than a ladder!
After we opened gifts, I made what is quite possibly the most indulgent breakfast EVER. I found the recipe on Pinterest, and it's called Apple Streusel French Toast Bake. It was AMAZING. It wasn't healthy in the slightest, but it was perfect for an indulgent Christmas breakfast. It basically tastes like a Cinnabon with warm apples and pecans.
It was 549 calories for 1/12th of the 13x9 pan! Totally worth it, though. I had Jerry take the leftovers to work with him today, so that I wouldn't be tempted to plow through it.
After breakfast, I went out for a run. On the schedule:
-1 mile warm-up
-6 x 2:00 fast with recovery walk to heart rate <136 bpm="" p="">-4 x 1:00 fast with recovery walk to heart rate <136 bpm="" p="">-Cool down
I've been trying some workouts from a sub-50 10K training program I found online, and the workouts go by time rather than distance. It seems like a nice, solid plan, so I may end up using it exclusively for my PR training. I still have about four weeks before I have to make a decision on a training plan, so I'll try it for a couple of weeks and see what I think.
I ran the one mile warm up, and then went right into the 2:00-fast intervals. It was tough! Last week, I'd done 45-second intervals, so 2 minutes felt like forever. I walked very slowly in between the intervals, so that my heart rate would get down to 136 as quickly as possible. As soon as it hit 136, I started the next interval. It was tough!
After the two-minute intervals, I had to switch to one-minute intervals. Those went by really quickly, because I'd gotten used to doing the two-minute ones. I was tired, though, and by the time I finished the last interval (at mile four), I was ready to be done. My splits were good! I've improved since the last quarter-mile intervals I did outside:
These are the splits from two weeks ago:
The average of the 2:00 minute intervals was a 7:30/mile pace yesterday; two weeks ago, it was a 7:40/mile pace for roughly the same amount of time. Not a super drastic improvement, but definitely noticeable.
After my run, I took a quick shower and then we went to Jerry's parents' house to exchange gifts with them. The rest of the day, we just took it easy. We watched movies in our pajamas and the kids played with their new toys.
Today feels nothing like Christmas, as I said--not just because we did "Christmas" yesterday, but because it's so warm outside. This morning, Eli and I went for a run. The kids had asked for hydration backpacks for Christmas, and he wanted to take his on a run. I was planning to do a 30-minute easy run anyway, but I took Eli along for the first mile (we stopped at my parents' house, and he stayed there). He looked so cute with his new storm trooper running shirt and hydration backpack!
After I dropped Eli off at my parents' house, I continued on. Running past the lake, I simply couldn't believe that it is actually December 25th. Look at the lake!
It was 43 degrees, but felt much warmer outside because it was so calm. My parents' next door neighbor was actually on a stand-up paddle board on the lake this morning... wearing shorts. Crazy!
Anyway, today is another relaxing day. I started working on a new puzzle--it's been a while since I've done a puzzle, and I kind of miss it. I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!
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