A Merry Christmas Giveaway!

Wow, I can't believe that Christmas is on Friday!  The past couple of weeks flew by hindsight, but in reality, last week was a drag!  That always happens when you have a vacation to look forward to, right?

Before we get to the giveaway, I'm gonna make you sit through my weekend recap 'cuz it's my blog and I can do what I like.  Okay, I won't be hurt if you scroll to the bottom :)

I had a busy weekend of baking, running, hair cutting and the dreaded laundry.  I always hate that when you get ready to go away on vacation every piece of clothing is clean before you leave, then when you get home you have piles of laundry to do yet again.  I.Hate.Laundry.  I will scrub a toilet any day, but washing and folding a load of whites is just plain torture!  Oh well, the price we pay for getting away. 

I decided to stay home this weekend and get things done instead of hitting the slopes.  I had a huge list of things to still buy, pack and arrange for our week long trip to Tahoe.  We are staying in a fully furnished house, but we are making dinner items that I am unsure a cabin kitchen will have for us to use.  Christmas Eve at our house always is fondue.  And Christmas dinner is always Prime Rib.  So I have been attempting to make sure I have everything I will need for the kitchen to cook.   Ari did decide to go snowboarding on Saturday.  He went along with my sister and her boyfriend.  The resort was dead he said and my poor sister's BF ended up braeking his wrist on the last run of the day!  Poor guy!

Over the weekend I managed to get in over 17miles - something I haven't done in a while!  I did 5 miles on Saturday at the gym and 12 on the Los Gatos Creek Trail on Sunday.  Sunday's run was difficult though.  My legs just felt like lead.  It was warm out, too!  I didn't get to start my run until after 1 pm, as I had a ton to do in the morning.  By the time I started running I was HOT!  It was December 20th and I was running in shorts and my sports bra!  The trail was busy and people were looking at me funny.  I also noticed that I was well undernourished for the run.  I had eaten a bagel that morning around 8 am but hadn't had anything after that.  My legs felt like led and by mile 8 I was dying.  I popped some shot blocks and finished up the last four very, very tired.  I felt like a rookie.  I don't know what I was thinking other than I was super busy before I headed out.  Oh well, I still managed a 7:51 pace and finished up the 12 miles in 1:34:11.  Not too bad.

Now, what you're all waiting for!  My giveaway!  I have procured a 2010 Runners World Calendar and I want to share it with one of my lucky readers.  This has been a calendar that I have used in my office for the last couple of years.  It is really motivating to see all the races each weekend and to see a picture of a runner in a beautiful scene when I am pulling 12 hour days during tax time.  I also really love writing all my races down for everyone to see!  I get lots of clients asking about it, a real ice breaker.

There are three ways to enter and get a chance to win.  First, leave a comment on this post telling me which race you will immediately be marking on the calendar.  Second, become a follower of my blog.  And third, post the giveaway on your next post.  You can do all three entries just remember to leave me a comment here when you do so!  The contest closes December 27th at 11:59 PM PST.  The winner will be picked at random and will be announced on Monday, December 28. 

I don't think I will have time between now and next Sunday to post again as we are leaving for the mountains early tomorrow morning.  I will have my laptop with me and will be checking in on all of your blogs but don't think I will have much time to post myself.  So, if we don't get to "chat" again until Christmas, have a wonderful Holiday and I hope that it is filled with lots of love, family and running!
And when you get a chance, go on over to Tall Mom's blog and check out her GU giveaway!  Just don't enter, I want to win!!
Merry Christmas!  And Happy Running! :)