HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL MY READERS. I hope you’re enjoying them as much as I am. Just one sad part – I had to say goodbye to my oldest daughter this morning, who headed back to her home in Virginia. But the week she spent with us, and that we spent with our combined families, was wonderful.

Last week was memorable for a couple of events, and I’m overdue in posting an update, so here they are.

I received my Aikido 1st Kyu test results, and unfortunately I did not pass. I’m disappointed, naturally, but I enjoyed the experience, and I received a list of specific form and technique points to work on. My club instructor, who has failed three tests in his years of Aikido, once said he hoped we might all experience the ‘blessing’ of failing a test because we’d learn so much from it. Well, based on the list I received, I am very blessed. But as he also said, pass or fail, you just keep training, and in January I’ll be back on the mat. More thoughts on this in future posts.

On a happier note, my seven-mile run on Dec. 19 put me over 2,500 combined running and cycling miles for the year – my final goal! I joined the PR Fitness Wednesday night regulars for an easy cruise through downtown Ann Arbor and some residential neighborhoods with particularly spectacular holiday light displays. The run felt smooth and effortless, one of those times a runner lives for, where you feel like you’re just gliding along and there’s nothing else you’d rather be doing. It doesn’t happen every time, but it’s magic when it does.

With all my goals for the year behind me, it’s now time for some R&R. Over the holidays I am running regularly, but that’s about it. No Aikido classes or Body Specs workouts until after the New Year. I feel positively decadent.