Thanksgiving Day Trail Run

I needed to work up an appetite for the turkey, dressing, and pumpkin pie today. So, I took advantage of a day off of work and a flexible schedule to drive over to Monte Sano and get in a 10 mile trail run.

Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday! I get to spend time with family, count my blessings (which are really innumerable!), relax with time off from work, eat good food, watch football, and nap. It's a time to contemplate, visit, remember, and be thankful (though being thankful should be a daily habit).

With Christmas, there is just so much stress that I don't enjoy it. There's the stress of shopping and awkward gift giving. There's the stress of not observing Christmas as a religious holiday like most people do. I would honestly rather skip Christmas altogether. I'd almost rather work that day. Work is less stressful!

Before getting angry with me and questioning my reverence for God and his Son, here is my explanation about Christmas. I don't know of any evidence that Jesus was born around December 25. I don't find any evidence of Christians in the New Testament observing an annual celebration of the birth of the Messiah. I am aware of no commandment in the New Testament for an annual ritual honoring the birth of Christ. I don't believe God forgot to tell us to do that. I believe He has given us all the instruction we need in His word, and He left that out. Therefore, I'm bound by my conscience to attach no religious significance to that day. And if I did, I believe I would have a very difficult time truly separating that from our culture's materialistic commercialism (something else that I'm not fond of) that centers around the same day.

If you attach religious significance to December 25, I'm not condemning that based on Romans 14:5-6. (The covetousness and graven images that often accompany it are another story.) I'm giving my explanation to hopefully spare myself of some of the righteous indignation that I often receive when I mention that I don't like Christmas.

Oh, back to the unimportant topic of running... I need to get some trail runs in before Mountain Mist. However, I'm trying to adhere to the specificity principle and remain focused on road miles for Rocket City Marathon. So, I'll probably do a couple more easy trail runs before the marathon, but stay on the roads for the most part. Today definitely qualifies as an easy trail run.

After the marathon, I'll really need to hit the rocky, hilly trails. Mountain Mist would destroy me if it were next weekend.