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| View from my living room looking down the driveway. |
Here on the Ridge, the leaves have changed, peaked and fallen practically overnight. It's times like these that I really wish I had a nice camera, because the one on my phone just doesn't do it justice...not at all. The colors were amazing...layer on layer of every fall color imaginable. And when the late afternoon sun slanted through the trees...wow.
Wednesday after work, Sheila and I met to run, but it was so nasty out, we decided to hit the gym and try treadmill running. It went fairly well, I guess...I managed to hit and sustain several long bursts at a 10:00/mm pace, which made me happy. Actually, it surprised me to find that my stride felt somewhat easier at that pace than it did at a slower pace...which gave me pause, and made me consider that I'm possibly working much harder than I should be, trying to sustain a slower speed. Food for thought...
Anyway, we wound up doing about 4 1/2 miles, and considering the crappy month I've had, I was over the moon with that. Thursday, we managed another 5K walk around the campus to round out my mileage for the month.
My totals for the month of October:
Goal: 105 miles in 31 days, with no more than 4 rest days.
Actual: 62.90 miles in 31 days, of which as whopping 13 days were rest days.
Average: 3.49 miles per day (on the days I had mileage)
Actual: 62.90 miles in 31 days, of which as whopping 13 days were rest days.
Average: 3.49 miles per day (on the days I had mileage)
Well...that month just blew, just like all the goals I had set for myself.
My October goals:
- 105 miles logged. Nope. Only got a little more than half.
- No activity-less days. Hahaha!!! I wish.
- 4 days or less of mileage-less 'rest' days. Not even close.
April: 32.23 miles logged
May: 54.49 miles logged
June: 28.55 miles logged
July: 85.19 miles logged
August: 91.23 miles logged
September: 112.71 miles loggedOctober: 62.90 miles logged
Total: 477.85 miles for 2015 to date!
So....in light of the less-than-stellar accomplishments of October, I've decided to revamp my expectations of myself for the month of November. This takes into account my wicked frame of mind (I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, which really screws with my head when the seasons change...most notably in the fall), the shorter days, and my extra-heavy overtime-rich work schedule. Going into the winter, I'm really trying to make an effort to be kind to myself...driving myself too hard is a trademark I'd kinda like to shake, considering it inevitably leads to burn-out in my case.
Goals for November:
- 75 miles logged. If I can do more, yay for me! But I think this is as realistic as I can make it and still be challenged.
- No more than 4 activity-less days and 6 mileage-less 'rest' days. (I'm factoring in bad weather, here.)
- Add in strength training.
I'm not going to set a goal as to how much strength training I will do. The main thing is just to get started with it, as that seems to be the hardest part for me for some reason. Not sure why...I actually enjoy it.
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| Good job, honey! |
Friday morning, Keith and I had friends come in from out of town to spend the weekend with us. (He managed to get our wood stove installed last week, just in time!) Although we had an awesome time, the weather pretty much sucked and we hibernated all weekend, so no activity for three days.
Monday, though, I decided enough was enough. I got up, packed my food for the day, and headed to work with new resolve. As a result, I finished the day with another strong run on the treadmill (4.27 miles), and even got in a nice walk yesterday with Sheila at lunch (3.11 miles).
So...a good start for the month. On the books for today: another 3 mile walk, and a nice run tonight on station with Sheila...hopefully outside, if the weather stays nice.
What about you? What goals have you set for November? Are they different this time of year? Do you have more or less trouble running and/or being active in the fall/winter?
Great and do-able goals!
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