Happy New Year

I have a lot to catch up on from my last post. Heather and I travelled out to her parents, west of Seattle, for the New Years, for two rainy, and two beautifully sunny days. No matter how much the sun shines there in the winter it always seems damp. Although her parents are only about 25 miles from Seattle, they average nearly 20 more inches a year of rain and this December had been especially wet. I was told we were very lucky to catch a full day of sun.

Heather and I took advantage by getting in a longish run. She planned a scenic route for me which included a good dose of hills. It was sunny, but humid, and in the upper 30's. I started off on a mile long hill and I was soon blowing plumes of smoke as I pushed towards the top. The first half of the run was not too exciting and I was mostly surrounded by large pine trees, small farms and homes.

After cresting an especially steep hill I was treated to the scenery which Heather had promised. It was one of those times when the run, view, music, and your feeling come perfectly together and give you a moment that you'll remember for a long while. God it felt good to be out there. The second half of the run was generally downhill and I floated the rest of the way back to town. 11.5 miles in 1hr 28min

There were a couple shorter runs out there that were just as beautiful. I also hit the gym and went for a family trip to go rock climbing. Heather's family is very competitive and it was fun to smack talk about our climbing ability, knowing that none of us really had any.

For the year, 2162 miles. 62 more than 2006. The beginning of 2007 started off with a ton of miles compared to the previous year and then things leveled off and I finished off with just a few more.

For 2008 I am again making an attempt to put in more morning runs. My first chance was Wednesday morning and it didn't happen. Winter 1, Wesner 0.

I garnered a little more resolve after reading Seebo's post about the realities of morning runs in the winter and was able to get my ass out of bed at 5:45 this morning despite the 17 degree temperature and the freezing wind. I think the cold motivated me, if I can run when it is like this I should be able to run on those calm 25 degree mornings. An easy 6.5 miles in 48 minutes.