When I ran this morning it was 62 degrees and humid. It’s no wonder that my body tells me it doesn’t feel like Christmas Eve. I’m really glad that I didn’t have to run in snow or ice, not that Michigan has any of that either…YET!

Since I finished Ironman Wisconsin, I have scaled back my swimming (non-existent), biking (20 miles three times a week) and running (three or four times a week for a total of about 14 miles) and my weight shows it. Now that Christmas is almost here I feel like I’m in my 9th month of pregnancy and I appear to be eating for two.

Anyway, I’m not going to worry about it until after New Years Eve and then I’ll get back into a training mode. That includes eating the way I’m supposed to and stepping up the training. Oh, I don’t mean that I’ll automatically switch into running five miles on short days and ten or more miles on Sunday or biking thirty miles hard on short days and sixty or more miles on Saturday. I plan to gradually increase the mileage and wait for a while to increase the intensity. I’ll have to wait until the dome is taken off the pool at the YMCA before I can even think about swimming.

I’ve finally finished my Christmas shopping and I’m glad I don’t have to go out today and fight the long lines and desperate people at the mall. It’s easy to second guess your choices on presents or to think you didn’t get someone enough and one more present would be just right. I’ll fight those thoughts and stick with the plan.

Jean and I decided that, with closing on the condo in January which will give us four homes and all the attendant expenses, we wouldn’t get each other anything. I translate that into not getting each other very much, so that’s what I did.

I got her a couple of things over the internet that I probably would have paid for anyway later on. Along with that order I got myself a Triathlon calendar. A day later I got an e-mail that said the order would be held up for a while because the calendar was on back order. I sent an e-mail back saying that I didn’t need the calendar in March so cancel that part of the order and send the rest.

I didn’t hear anything for a few days and then I got an e-mail saying that the back order had been filled and the entire order was sent out. I checked the tracking number through UPS and it is scheduled for an on-time delivery December 26th. On the bright side, at least I won’t be wasting a bunch of wrapping paper. Also on the bright side, I think I’m way out of the running for “Husband of the Year 2006” anyway, and this won’t count against me in the competition for 2007.

Merry Christmas to All—

Just (Looking Forward To Fresh Shrimp Tonight) Jack