Three Things Thursday on Friday

1.  Up until about two days ago I had totally forgotten that I agreed to participate in the blogger gift exchange. Oops. I'm a terrible person.  Generally I'm pretty good about things like this and I love giving gifts. My mistake was using this blog's email address to set up the exchange. Since I don't get a lot of traffic on that address I don't remember to check it too often. Yikes. Now Christmas is a week away and I have no clue what to buy this person.  I took a quick peek at her blog but no ideas jumped out at me.  With that in mind, I turn to you, dear followers.  As runners and bloggers, what is something you'd be happy to receive as a gift? Bear in mind that I do not know clothing sizes or fuel flavor preferences. All suggestions are absolutely welcome, as I'd like to get this squared away by the end of the weekend. I don't want my poor secret santa friend to be without a present on Christmas.

2. I made it to the gym twice this week. And I'm going again tonight after work.  This isn't exactly a huge feat, especially since I'm only logging three miles at a time. But this is the most often I've run since MCM on October 30th, so I'm pleased.  I signed up for one more race on December 31st because I refused to end my racing year on such a sour note. If anyone else is running the Fairfax Four Miler, please let me know! I'm also officially registered to participate in the newly announced Sun Trust DC Rock and Roll yada yada yada Half Marathon Relay on behalf of a fantastic charity called Back On My Feet.  The fundraising goal is a completely manageable $350 and the best part is that my teammate is my sister! I have a secret dream of our combined time breaking 2 hours but we'll have to see how training goes. If you're interested in supporting us I plan on getting the fundraising page set up soon.  It won't be in full swing until after the holidays though, I want to give people a chance to recover before I hit them up for money. :)

3. My 2012 racing schedule is starting to come together. With the exception of July and August, I think I've got a race for every month. Some I'm already registered for, others I'm still waiting for registration to open. It is a fairly ambitious year, with one full marathon and three half marathons, in addition to a ten miler and other assorted distances.  I haven't set my race goals for 2012 just yet but I've decided that regardless of what I want to achieve I will not be able to do it without officially committing to CAR and their training regimen. Come January 1st (and a new paycheck) I'll be paying my dues and showing up to work. 2011 was about seeing if I could run certain distances at all. 2012 is going to be about seeing what I'm really capable of at those distances. I'm not saying I plan to make it the year of the PR, but if I can stay healthy I am going to be fairly aggressive.  I'm actually excited at the thought of all these races, and I'm taking that as a sign that I'm on the right track.

Are you all done with your holiday shopping?  Have you set up a plan for 2012 yet? Am I'm being too ambitious? Happy Friday!