Merry Christmas '09

Merry Christmas, everybody! Also, for those not into Jesus, happy holidays.

Some people can't understand me, or worse, dislike me because I never celebrate any holiday in the traditional sense, especially obvious because all begin with either training or racing, but I do honor and enjoy the special day in some fashion.

Including noche buena, I got to see all my family that's still in town. My dad was afraid that this year I would not be available for our traditional Christmas training run. As fate had it, I called him because I knew he couldn't drive down as usual. By the grace of God, we met up and put in a good hour or so together and were thankful of the greatest gift we could have- our ability to exercise, especially the run. Correction, second greatest because Jesus Christ is THE BEST! I did a skate warm up prior to the training, as well. It brought back memories because it trained where we originally did, way back 18 years ago, on our rise from the unknown. The Bell name is now well known and respected in the athletic community, & to some, feared (in a race); ha ha. I don't worry about receiving gifts but am always concerned about my health & ability to compete.