Miles 579-583: My Beating Heart

Merry Christmas Eve! Yesterday morning, after three chocolate chip cookies and three cups of coffee, I put on my new watch, my new running shirt, and my now familiar Spectrum of the Sky Album and went for a cruise. It was 63°F!

I'm wondering if the caffeine and the sugar had anything to do with my performance - it was a good run, I felt good on my feet, my lungs are almost completely cleared, but my HR averaged at 174. Maybe I just don't quite understand heart rates yet but according to my age and resting heart rate, 174 bpm is supposed to be me running all out, balls-to-the-wall. I certainly didn't feel that way. And 224 bpm? Shouldn't that be a heart attack?

Maybe I didn't seat the monitor properly. All in all, pretty cool.

Last night a group of us attended a Carolina Hurricanes game (in which they pulled out a win - good times!) and while on our way to Raleigh, we talked about what our goals for 2012 may be. At this point, I'm not really sure what I want to plan for myself, as The Plan was a bit of a flop.

But if I look at it as a roadmap for accomplishing some goals - and let's face it, all roads wander - I'm pretty happy with where it took me. 

I'm ending 2011 with a strong heart, strong legs, and some pretty awesome memories.

It has been a road worth traveling.