Running Gifts and Running...

I have always been pretty lucky when it come to gifts at Christmas, but now that I am on this crazy running adventure it seems like I get some pretty awesome stuff (this includes other holidays and other gifts - my Garmin 405, camel pack, water bottles, etc...)!

Socks - never liked getting them as a kid, but now they rock!  Who would have thought that getting two pieces of cloth would bring so much joy?

Glide - you can never have too much Glide!  Not sure if anyone ever gave me Glide or any other type of non chafing stick in the past (ok, maybe Vaseline)... 

Energy Bars, Jelly Beans, Vitamins - very cool and a great way to try stuff you may not normally buy.

Running Books - the best!  

My mother in law and my wife gave me the book Once a Runner.  My wife also gave me: Born to Run, The Runner's Rule Book and Pain (the book).  And my sister gave me a subscription to Marathon & Beyond.  How cool is that?

I recently read the book My Life on the Run (Bart Yasso).  It was amazing.  I even read a section to my son and he loved it.  I am now reading Meditations from the Breakdown Lane: Running Across America (the verdict is still out on that one).  Now I am trying to finish it as fast as possible so I can read Once a Runner.  When I was reading Bart Yasso's book I would force myself to put it down for a while just so I wouldn't finish it too fast...

Anyway, I was going to rest over the Christmas weekend but it was too nice out.  I ended up running eight miles on Christmas afternoon.  We were staying with my in-laws who live a few miles away.  I found this great new road to run on.  The developers are making an area called Carolina Park (tons of houses and businesses), but for now there is nothing there except roads and trees.  The temperature was around seventy degrees and even with the clouds it was a beautiful day.  I ran and ran.  I didn't want to stop.  

I did take a day off on Saturday, but I was back out on Sunday.  I ran a ten mile run from my house over the Cooper River Bridge and back.  There were a lot of runners out, but I noticed something odd.  When it's cold out, people are not as polite.  Everyone loves to talk about how nice people are in the south, but that's only when it's warm.  I said good morning to at least twelve people and only one person even acknowledged me!

Today was another cool morning, but it was sunny and there was a light breeze.  I ran six miles in the Old Village to the old Pitt Street pier and back home.  It must not have been too cold because people actually said good morning to me...