A Holly, Jolly Holiday

Disclaimer: This post contains some affiliate links.

This was such a nice week! Christmas fell on Wednesday this year and with Thursday being my usual day off, I also took PTO on Friday, and voila! I had a whole week off work. I needed that time to prepare for hosting my family for Christmas. But I made sure to get all my workouts in. A day without movement is like a day without sunshine, am I right? And we've had plenty of those this week. The gray skies didn't dampen my holiday spirit though! 

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: trail run 9 miles

Monday: CrossFit

Tuesday: Yoga

Wednesday: trail run 5 miles

Thursday: Strength Training

Friday: run 6 mile

Saturday: rest, drive up to the lake

It was cold when I woke up on Sunday, but there was a beautiful sunrise. I didn't expect any of my Trail Sisters to meet me for our early morning run, but there were 6 of us! We ran the main trail, filling the time with conversation which warmed my heart. Some deer were on the trail, but none wanted to pose for a photo. After we finished, I planned to duck into the woods for some single track and one of them wanted to join me! It was fun to share my love for the woods with her. What a fun morning in the woods! 

On Monday, it was a back to basics workout at CrossFit. The strength portion was a 10 minute on the clock of 4 rounds 1 length banded monster walks alternating with 20 plank step-ups. I love when these seemingly simple movements make me feel the burn! The MetCon was a 5 round 2:30m/:30 second rest of 6 cal on the bike, 8 dumbbell cleans (15# in each hand), 8 dumbbell shoulder to overhead. I completed 8 full rounds of this and 1final round on the bike before time was called. By the last 2 rounds, my arms were protesting! 

Since I had to work on Christmas Eve, I was up at 4:30 to get ready for my Fluid Running session. It's a good thing I remembered to check the pool schedule and as I feared, it was closed. As if I wasn't already feeling extra Grinchy about having to work! After a cup of coffee, I rolled out my yoga mat for an extra-long Yoga with Adriene class. 

I have a personal tradition of always running on Christmas morning, and this year, I had company! When I ran with the Trail Sisters on Sunday, I mentioned my plans, and on Wednesday I was joined by 2 of my running friends. We went to a local preserve with a limestone path only to discover it was covered with patchy icy footprints. That didn't stop us and we had a nicely paced run with lots of good conversation. What a great start to the holiday!

One of my goals for 2025 is to incorporate more strength training into my regimen. Since I no longer work with SJ, I miss that weekly focus on strength. We do strength as part of our CrossFit WODs, but it doesn't feel the same. There are dedicated classes for strength training at the gym and on Thursday, I kicked off my goal one week early and signed up. We're starting an Olympic strength cycle, which includes more complex movements and focuses on explosive power as opposed to powerlifting, which incorporates controlled heavy lifts. 

The gym is also starting a different strength program which I will also be participating in and I'll share more when that starts. 

On the whiteboard: 4 rounds of 4 reps: muscle cleans, front squats, and strict presses. I haven't done any of these lifts for a long time and since you can't use any body momentum to get the bar up, they all were humbling and hard! I'm so glad I went. It felt good to have the barbell back in my hands. I just love challenging my body like this.

I slept almost 10! hours Thursday night. My Oura ring was thrilled, giving me a 97 on my sleep. I too was thrilled! I felt so good. I must have needed it. Maybe that's why Friday's run was so good? Or maybe it was the weather--45F, cloudy, and no wind? The shoes--Brooks Hyperion Max 2? Whatever it was, my legs felt like they had jet fuel for breakfast because I was flying! The first 3 miles were fast, but the last three miles? Negative splits and the final mile was my fastest, 8:53. Seeing an 8 on the Garmin is rare indeed, and I finished this run with a huge smile on my face. I never take a run like this for granted!

I will no longer be using screenshots from my videos! So blurry!

Off the Road

This year's Christmas celebration was one of our best in a very long time. Nothing stands out--it was just a warm, happy family gathering with lots of laughter. My hubs did most of the cooking, as usual, but took my sister up on her offer to provide a side dish and make my family's favorite rolls. I had baked 5 batches of cookies the previous week and made Creme de Menthe cheesecake- a retro, delish dessert. After dinner, we all exchanged our Secret Santa gifts. The gifts were all very thoughtful, some were humorous, and when it was all done I didn't want anyone to leave. Of course, my dad couldn't wait to go home--he's always like that--but everyone else stuck around for a while. Best. Day. Ever.

My sister Lisa was my Secret Santa and she gave me an Ice Age Trail ornament (yay!) and a stuffed Monty Mammoth, the trail mascot. My youngest son's GF also gave me Monty, lol, so now I have 2! One for home and one for the lake.  

My boys and their GFs stuck around after everyone else left, which I really enjoyed. My future daughter-in-law helped me with the dishes, talking as we cleaned up. My heart was full. I didn't get a lot of photos simply because I was caught up in everything going on around me. For me, this is what Christmas is all about. 

I gave these 3 hats!

Finally, as we say goodbye to the Brooks Running Collective, I received this handmade ornament from one of my teammates. I will always be grateful for my time on the team and for the friendships I made! 

How were your holidays? Were you able to sneak in some running and/or activity? Do you have any plans for NYE? Are you starting to think about goals for 2025?

I'll be sharing my December reads on Tuesday. I'll also have a few year-end favorites listed. Don't miss it!

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown.