Yesterday, I went for several different runs.

First, I went to the gym to get in as much cardio as possible before the gym closed.

Stairclimber (never-ending escalator): 20 minutes, and I’ll round down to 2.50 miles. 

Treadmill: 26 minutes, 2.25 miles. 

Then when the gym closed, I whipped out my Garmin and ran around Joe’s neighborhood. I tried to do a progression run, and it sorta kinda worked:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	42:38.1	5.25	8:07
1	8:22.7	1.00	8:23
2	8:04.3	1.00	8:04
3	8:16.7	1.00	8:17
4	8:03.6	1.00	8:04
5	7:45.2	1.00	7:45
6	2:05.6	0.25	8:23

I made the last 0.25 mile into a cooldown.

But then I got warmed up again about an hour after. It was time for me to take Esther on another long run!

We went to the Los Gatos Creek Trail and took off in one direction (with that trail, it’s always an out-and-back). This run was the most that she has everrr run at once: 7.5 miles!!!

We felt so great after.

I felt AWESOME and loved having the “empty tank” feeling after that run. It had been so long since I went for a run outside, so that’s why I got so many miles in.

Anyways, the total for yesterday was 18.5 miles. Not bad, yeah?

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I don’t know if you know this… but when human babies are born, they are pretty much defenseless.

^(Baby Eliyah and Baby Urijah)

They can’t walk, find food for themselves, or do anything to survive on their own. They NEED someone to take care of them.

Did you know that a baby horse (a foal) can pretty much walk around when born?

(source)

They can trot within hours and usually gallop the next day.

And a newborn whale? Well obviously they can swim around right when they are born… they just need milk from mama.

So animal babies can at least walk around and human babies can only poop and cry (and do cute things, too). Interesting.

Why this randomness?

Because the Creator of the Earth, the One who put the stars in their places, and made everything from the mighty mountains to the delicate flowers, He sent His Only Son to earth in the form of a (defenseless) human  baby. 

The Almighty, Majestic, and Glorious Father sent His very Son to be a small, cute little baby. 

IS YOUR MIND BLOWN?

Mine is. My mind is always blown when I think of about the King of Kings, who holds the world in His hands…

… to have made His entrance into the world as a BABY

^(Me and baby Eliyah)

That’s humility, yeah?

And, of course, we know that He wasn’t born into some extravagant palace with the softest linens and gold-laden cribs, right?

(source)

OHHHH, the humble heart of the Savior of the world!

And that’s the meaning of Christmas.

Sure, presents are nice, but the gift of Jesus from Our Father is pretty hard to overlook and kind of impossible to one-up.

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I DID TWO CONSECUTIVE PULL-UPS YESTERDAY.

Yes. I’m totally bragging.

And I met my goal from the beginning of the year!

I’ll definitely be continuing to use chin-ups and pull-ups to have a strong back (and core).

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I hope you have a wonderful day with your loved ones

MERRY CHRISTMAS!