This has been a busy week!  My youngest son, Westin, will turn 11 on Christmas Day.  I guess I feel bad he has his birthday and Christmas on the same day so maybe I go over the top for his birthday.  This week he had his hockey team over for a party (picture above) and a family birthday another night.  For many of you that know me I love being in my kitchen...almost as much as I love being on my treadmill; so cooking for lots of people is a treat for me.
Christmas… I love everything about it from the cooking and baking to shopping – even the snow and Christmas music. 
During the holiday season I have a training plan, but most days I only end up getting in a portion of what I may have intended.  I know there will be months and months ahead of me where my training will take the front seat and many things in my life get moved to the back seat.  So, now over these few weeks I let my training ride along in the back seat.  The sessions I do get in become key hard sessions.  If I only have time for a 30 minute run, which was supposed to be a 10 mile tempo run, it becomes a high intense interval session instead.    I don't let it bother me or try adding more miles to my next session.  When the day is over..it is over..I move on to the next day and the next training sessions.  I make what I do and when I can count and then I concentrate on the next sessions.
As busy age group athletes we all need to keep our training in check over the holidays and spend a little more quality time with our families and friends.  As the season approaches and our training becomes more focused and more time consuming we need our family and friends to be there to support us.