My most recent Birthday gift, my last run before Disney and Update on my "Core" Challenge

Today I had a long day at work. After my alarm went off at 4 a.m., it was time to head to work. I will be taking off nearly every weekend for the next 6 weeks and on several (numerous?) occasions I will be taking an extra day, or two or three off. This means I need to get ahead on all my tasks. This is made even tougher by the fact I am an acting team leader (in which I supervise several colleagues), I have to get ready for an organizational meeting in late Jan for the conference I am a co-chair and of course I have my regular tasks. And of course since it is the beginning of the year, I have to write up a year end summary.

Well, I am feeling pretty good because I did finish my year end summary, I signed off on all the reviews I needed to do and I have completed about 85% of a pre-meeting packet for my January meeting. I left work about 4:30 and arrived home about 5 p.m. In our mailbox, I had a envelop addressed to me. I was excited because I had heard a rumor a gift was in the mail. I debated if I should open it and my curiousity got the best of me.

It was "Ultramarathon" by Shapiro! This book is out of print and is pretty expensive. But a few days ago when Tristan asked me what I wanted for my birthday I said I wanted that book. I am excited to get it, delighted that it is in good condition and look forward to reading it. When I finish it I will try to write a review.

Fitness-wise my year is going very well. I have done 10-15 sit-ups and 10-15 push-ups each day since I started my quest to strengthen my core this year. I am thinking of challenging some co-workers to workout 5 times a week so that I am motivated and held accountable.

This afternoon, I ran about 3 miles after I got home from work (at about 4:30 p.m.). The sun is starting to set a bit later, which is nice although I still needed my headlamp. And today the temperature was pretty decent (upper 40's or low 50's).