No delusions. I am running faster than any December in the last three years.

I looked back over the previous two years of running (in November and December) to see if I was doing sub-9:15 mile long runs when I was “younger.” Uh, no. Maybe once or twice but not anything like the way I am moving this winter. That was a great Christmas surprise.

So yesterday I went out for the sixth consecutive day of running without a break – in my attempt to achieve my annual mileage goal (1250) – and also ramped up to a 14 miler so to begin the important weeks of marathon training before the Feb. 28 race. It was a chilly 51 degrees because of the humidity but tolerable once warmed up. I threw an extra half mile of distance in and managed an overall 9:27 mile pace.

The company was challenging in the persons of Dave and Chad who kept us moving. Chad the Quiet One answered questions and revealed he’s a Purdue grad from Peru, IN. Dave went to Indiana State. They got along well in reflecting on past days and the current state of housing and finance.

Earlier, a guest runner – Jay – came along at my invitation. He knows Cheryl and was up for eight miles although our pace was not quite what he wanted, I suspect. Jay is a hard-body triathlete who eats legal cases for mental nutrition. Cheryl was testing her shin splint legs for the first time all week. She has two weeks until the Disney Marathon. Crossing fingers.

In other news, Jeanne is five weeks away from invading Texas and conspiring with Runner Susan to defame my name. I knew I should have sent them both bottles of wine for Christmas. [I expect both will comment that it's not too late to do that too.]