Weekly Round Up: All the Christmas Cookies and the Return of the Five Mile Race

A weekly round up: eats, workouts, watches, and reads.  In this week's edition, I got an amazing Christmas present (I picked it out myself!) and many Christmas cookies were eaten.

My Amazing Christmas Present

I asked my family for the week off from cooking dinner AND I enjoyed it very much.  The highlight of their cooking was this spaghetti dinner.

Cookie Reviews

Last week I shared the recipes that I was planning on making, and this week I'm back with the reviews 

Oreo balls are always a sure fire hit.  I made a double batch right out of the gate.

 

Fully Loaded M&M Oreo Holiday Bars were a surprise hit.  I was expecting something like an ordinary chocolate chip cookie and I could not have been more wrong.  The texture is very much like a brownie and they are very "melt in your mouth".  Most of these were eaten at our family Christmas dinner so I will need to make another (double) batch to see us through New Year's.

Christmas Tree Shortbread Cookies were...just OK.  I can't find any fault with the taste, but I'm not obsessed with them.  On the decorating front, I incorrectly assumed that we had a tree cookie cutter, so I made the last minute switch to the closest shape we had.  I read the instructions wrong so I failed on the green swirl of the original.

Workouts

'Tis the season for the 5 mile race!  I previously ran this race in 2019, and will always affectionately think of it the way I overheard another runner describe it in 2019 as the Uphill in All Directions Race.   This race is held in my town a mile away from my house, and loops the town.  Miles 1, 3, and 4 are very distinctly uphill, though nothing as bad as some of the other races that I've run recently.

I didn't beat my 2019 time, but I held my own on the hills and raced a dog for the finish line and won, so I will take it.

Run Streak Thoughts

By the time we next talk, I will have completed the Winter Runner's World Run Streak.  Here's how I'm feeling/what I'm thinking.

The three objections that I've always heard against running streaks is that (1) it could increase the risk of injury, (2) too much laundry, and (3) the time commitment.  Here's what I've found:

(1) I don't have a history of running injuries, but I do value my rest days.  I've found that running one mile on what would normally be a rest day has been very refreshing.  On days when I've felt a little tired or a little achy, the mile run seems to clear everything out.

(2) Running every day does not make LESS laundry, but the difference between running 5 days a week and 7 days a week is negligible.

(3) Likewise, running 7 days a week instead of 5 days does not take LESS time, but it doesn't take much more time.  When I'm planning to run 4-6 miles, I take a fair amount of time to get ready and to make sure that I have everything that I need for the run.  When I'm just going for a mile I literally just throw on running clothes and head out the door.  

TMI for (2) and (3) is that running one mile in the cold does not make me break a sweat so that's cutting down on the laundry/shower situation.

My final thoughts are:

• Doing a end-of-year running streak is a lovely tribute to this time of year, and I think I would like to repeat it next year.  I think that doing a streak even once is a nice one for the running bucket list.
• It's just plain fun to call yourself a streaker.
• Running just one mile feels really good.  I can see adding in the occasional mile to my lunch breaks or in place of my normal rest days after the streak.  Or ooh...I might even just run a mile instead of a normal running workout sometime.
  
• BUT over time I've gotten less excited about my normal running workouts and less motivated to strength train.  Lately I've had several days where I've felt like I "have to" run instead of I "get to" run and for that reason I think the streak will be going bye-bye. I may stop on Jan 2nd, or I may continue on for a bit.  I just don't know right now. 
  

For more streak wisdom, I recommend:

• To Streak or Not to Streak.  Kim is my O.G. streak inspiration. 
  
• Why I Never Do a Run Streak and Six Things to Consider Before Starting One. Item #1 on the list "will a daily run help or hurt your performance and future goals?"
• 2020 Hindsight.  Elizabeth wrote the Law of the Streak.  I'm paraphrasing, but "You control the streak.  The streak does not control you".