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<\/p>\nOh man, October was crazy!\u00a0 Let’s get on with it…<\/p>\n
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1. Train smart.\u00a0 Do your 5-6 runs per week and check the boxes.\u00a0 Easy on the easy days.\u00a0 Speedwork on the speedwork days.\u00a0 Go into tempo days and focused long run days with a plan in mind and communicate that to Zliten ahead of time to not disrupt marital bliss.\u00a0 If things start to fall apart, first drop back to easy, then drop mileage, then miss runs.\u00a0 Missing runs = more bike, not buttsitting, unless the only option is buttsitting.<\/p>\n
October was a great training month.\u00a0 It was LOVELY not to race and know I don’t race for a month.\u00a0 I missed a few miles either due to time constraints or body starting to show wear, but maintaining almost 40 miles two weeks in a row + a 32 and a 28… very happy.\u00a0 October was my highest mileage month EVER at 123, and November isn’t going to be too shabby either.<\/em><\/p>\n 2. No getting sucked into racing anything this month. Use the money and the time to plan for next year\u2019s race schedule.\u00a0 Keep adding to the list of ALL THE RACES and try to consider what my goals are before signing up for a bunch of races that I have to try and train around.<\/p>\n Check on the no racing, but I haven’t really had much time to work on next year’s race plan, except that I am really considering chasing some scary running goals early in the year, depending on how I feel about a month from now.<\/em><\/p>\n 3. Eat what fitbit tells me to.\u00a0 It\u2019s actually pretty magical, fitbit tracks my steps\/activity, and translates that into calories.\u00a0 I set my weight loss goals to the \u201cpretty hard\u201d setting (-750 calories per day, losing 1.5 lbs per week), and it changes my food goals throughout the day depending on my activity.\u00a0 It has more than once made me get off my ass so I can eat more.\u00a0\u00a0 So, that being said\u2026 the goal would be at this point to get back into the low 170s by the end of the month.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be more specific next month.<\/p>\n Check on generally eating what fitbit says to, but my weight doesn’t seem to be going down.\u00a0 Low of 174.8 this month.<\/em><\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 Also track food quality as a secondary measurement.\u00a0 While keeping calories in check is what makes me lose weight (and I will overeat whether you give me carrots or chocolate after running, I have talent), keeping that DQ score up will make me feel better.<\/p>\n I have not done well at this.\u00a0 I have been skipping the apple for the fun size candy bar of the same calories.\u00a0 I need to get back to this next month.<\/em><\/p>\n 5.\u00a0 Get the Halloween costume settled (almost there).\u00a0 Sew the patch on the shirt.\u00a0 Since you have to sew the patch on the shirt, also mend the items piling up on that table.<\/p>\n Halloween costume rocked, but I didn’t sew anything.\u00a0 Hoping to fix that soon.<\/em><\/p>\n 6. Probiotics and digestive enzymes for the rest of the month starting today.<\/p>\n Meh, about half the time.\u00a0 I need to get back on at least the digestive enzymes (not sure that the probiotics are doing all that much for me).<\/em><\/p>\n 7. Finish this book, start the next.<\/p>\n I suck at reading lately.\u00a0 Next.<\/em><\/p>\n 8. Stressing recovery.\u00a0 Ice baths every week after 15+ miles.\u00a0 Compression sox\/sleeves the day before and after long runs if not during.\u00a0 Stretching after weights sessions and after long run.\u00a0 Shockies and foam rolling as necessary.<\/p>\n I have been rocking this.\u00a0 If I can keep this up next month, I may get out of marathon training uninjured…<\/em><\/p>\n 9.\u00a0 Make progress on the story I\u2019m supposed to be writing for our gaming session next month.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m going to run a game for the first time for people sometime soon and it\u2019s scary!\u00a0 I love telling stories for people in text, but I\u2019m terrified (in a good way) of doing one interactively.<\/p>\n Nope.\u00a0 Crazy life has been crazy.\u00a0 Next.<\/em><\/p>\n 10.\u00a0 Write stuff on the blog that\u2019s not a status report.\u00a0 I\u2019ve found lately that I\u2019ve thought of nifty things to write about and by the time I get to do them, I squeeze them into these long posts and don\u2019t give the thoughts the time the deserve.\u00a0 I still feel like it\u2019s important for me to catalogue my weeks of training and eating for posterity, but I also feel like maybe I should spend some more time refinding my writing voice.\u00a0 I used to be a decent writer!<\/p>\n I did some of this, and I want to do more.\u00a0 I’m liking doing the “status report” type posts two weeks at a time so I can write other stuff more often.\u00a0 I hope to keep not sucking at this!<\/em><\/p>\n 11.\u00a0 Quarterly maintenance \u2013 nails, toes, and brows.\u00a0 I\u2019m getting scruffy and since I live in Texas, sandal season doesn\u2019t end for another month or two.\u00a0 On the upside, my nails are in lovely shape since I cut them all down to nubs for wetsuit ease a few weeks ago, so they\u2019re mostly all the same size (minus the index\u2026 always the index).<\/p>\n Done!\u00a0 My nails are already getting a little raggedy again, but that’s easy to fix.<\/em><\/p>\n 12.\u00a0 While I\u2019m not confident I\u2019ll actually settle on a theme for my blog this month (and who knows, maybe I\u2019ll keep switching it around!), I want to update my pages, especially my RACE RESULTS page, I haven\u2019t done that since tri season.<\/p>\n Total oops.<\/em><\/p>\n 13. Make some sort of healthy pumpkin spice desert thing.\u00a0 Tis the season.\u00a0 If I make it at home I\u2019ll be less tempted to eat the pumpkin everything out there in the world.<\/p>\n I made some pumpkin spice protein cookies and they were delicious!<\/em><\/p>\n Well, I didn’t do so great in October, but let’s see what I can do with November’s 30 days…<\/p>\n 1. Keep up the awesome training momentum.\u00a0 Hit the last high mileage week.\u00a0 Taper well.\u00a0 Recovery is key.<\/p>\n 2. Eat the number of calories fitbit says to eat, and track diet quality.\u00a0 Try to lay off the sweets and eat lots of nutritious foods.\u00a0 If I can lose 1 lb per week, I can run this marathon close to 170, that would be nice.\u00a0 Take my digestive enzymes.<\/p>\n 3. Sew something.\u00a0 Anything.<\/p>\n 4. Finish the current book, start another.\u00a0 This should be a done deal since I’m traveling.<\/p>\n 5. Frame some of the art that’s sitting in the tube in the closet.<\/p>\n 6. Go through my cold weather clothes and put away\/give away the stuff I don’t like.\u00a0 Hit up the thrift store and get some stuff I like better.<\/p>\n 7. Writing: work on my savage worlds story, and write non-status report blog posts.<\/p>\n 8. Get my hair trimmed\/layers redid.\u00a0 Cut Zliten’s hair, it’s a mess!<\/p>\n 9. Swim at least once, I shouldn’t go two months without hitting the pool.<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0 Try to use up the food that’s already here instead of buying stuff.\u00a0 My fridge and freezer are bursting with stuff and I keep going out and buying new stuff to cook.<\/p>\n 11.\u00a0 It’s almost vacation time!\u00a0 Get together a list of stuff for Florida (restaurants, things to do, packing list, etc).<\/p>\n 12.\u00a0 Drink more water.\u00a0 I’m not as good about this in the colder months, and if I forget about it too much, I get chapped lips.<\/p>\n 13.\u00a0 Between more work deadlines and family obligations, make sure to take enough time to relax and destress.\u00a0 Don’t let shit get to ya, woman.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.folkingmetal.com\/pickors\/argument-invalid.jpg\")
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