Sunday, November 6, 2016

October Review / November Goals

Let’s recap my October goals and see how I did with them…
 
run at least 140 miles (B goal of at least 125)…this is getting serious folks!!! –  SUCCESS!  I capped off the month with 144.66 miles.
achieve my weight loss goal of 145 and/or 23% body fat – FAIL.  But in my defense I had hormone issues that made everything ridiculously difficult for me and I just didn’t know how to cope with it as it’s never happened before so I was just out of control…and then I just had one heck of a time getting myself back on track.  But, I *AM* back on track now, so all is well.
get down to a 29 inch waist – FAIL (see previous for the why)
work toward getting in the habit of actually doing strength training 1-2 times per week…at the VERY LEAST do abs/core and hammy/glutes workouts (these will be at home or in the apt complex fitness room as I suspended my gym membership for now) – FAIL.  No strength training happened AT ALL this month.  Ugh.
continue with the paleo lifestyle – FAIL (again, see above for the why)
PR in the 5K (again!) – FAIL, but I did PR in the 10K…twice! 
do speed work once a week (tempo, progression, sprints, steady pace) – NAILED IT!!!
focus on building speed during my long runs with fast finishes – NAILED IT!!!
continue to track every single thing I eat/drink – 85% SUCCESS…I had some rough days this month where I either couldn’t figure out how to track what I had eaten or just didn’t want to face reality. 
do my best hit 12.5K+ steps a day (I changed my step goal because 15K was just too hard to even get close to on days I wasn’t able to do a structured workout, so I lowered it) – MOSTLY A SUCCESS.  I did my best but some days I just wasn’t able to or just didn’t feel like putting forth the effort because I was tired/exhausted. 
 
And now, moving on to what I want to do with the month of November!
 
• run at least 75 miles (taper pre-marathon and then recovery post-marathon, followed up with going straight into tapering for my next marathon!)
• run South Padre Island Marathon in 4:15:00 or faster, or at the very least just get a new PR in the marathon
• strength training 1-2 times per week…at the VERY LEAST do abs/core and hammy/glutes workouts (these will be at home or in the apt complex fitness room as I suspended my gym membership for now) once a week on Saturdays (I REALLY need to do this…like seriously)
• start doing daily push-ups
• do my best hit 12.5K+ steps a day (I changed my step goal because 15K was just too hard to even get close to on days I wasn’t able to do a structured workout, so I lowered it)
• get as close to 150 as I can by the 12th so I’m as close to an optimal body weight while running the marathon
• achieve my weight loss goal of 145 and/or 23% body fat
• get down to a 29 inch waist
• get back on track with the paleo lifestyle and stick with at least 85% paleo adherence
• get back on the wagon with tracking every single thing I eat/drink
 
*****************************************************************
 
Traveling: again, not much going on in this department.  I did a relay race (the Capital to Coast relay…recap coming soon, stay tuned!) that started in downtown Austin, TX and took our team of 12 all the way to Corpus Christi, TX.  My friend Amanda and I did drive to Plantersville outside of Houston for a day at the renaissance festival.  That’s always fun!  And I definitely always love getting to spend time with her!
Running: my very first run of the month was actually 3 separate runs done in one morning adding up to a total of 19 miles run at a combined average pace of 9:29!  These runs all put together made me more excited to run SPI next month than I’ve ever been.  After these runs, I have no doubts that I can hit my 9:43 pace goal for SPI!  Then, the very next day I nailed a completely steady paced 4 mile shakeout run, hitting 10:49 on 3 of the miles and 10:48.15 on the other mile.  And then there was my final long run before I started my taper, the 22 miler at a 9:45 average pace!  BOOM!  So I’m pretty happy with all that.  Looking back on October, it’s really hard for me to pick just a few runs that stand out for one reason or another because I rocked the majority of my runs in October.  Seriously rocked them.  October was just a month of epic runs.  But let me tell you, I was ready for the taper when it started.  So ready.   
 
Reading: still trying to work my way through the Paleo Manifesto, but I think I’m giving up on it…for now.  It’s not that it’s a difficult or horrible book, it’s all me.  The past year I’ve had a really hard time focusing on reading ANYTHING that’s not on a computer screen.  Ugh.  I need to change that and set aside at least an hour once a week, during the weekend would be the best I think, and dedicate it specifically to reading an actual book.
 
Watching: not much, really.  I mean, I DVR some shows and kinda half-ass watch them while I clean and do meal prep on Sundays, but nothing new.
 
Eating: trying to stick to paleo, but have been fairly unsuccessful due to hormone issues and a lack of knowledge on how to deal with how that affects me as a whole.  Thankfully, I got things straightened out, so it should all be back to normal now and I should be able to get back on track with the 85%-ish paleo way of eating.
 
Planning: to totally crush my goal finish time at SPI marathon!
 
Wearing: sports bras, shorty shorts and running skirts!!  And dresses…dresses, dresses, dresses...dresses all the time.  And if not a dress then my denim mini skirt and a fitted shirt.
 
Working on: being more diligent with eating paleo the majority of the time.  Also, working on eating less.  I understand that even though I’m eating way more calories with the paleo lifestyle that they are higher quality calories, but I do need to rein it in a little bit.  I think that I could stand to cut some calories here and there.  I mean, I did pretty okay at maintaining my weight this month, but I’d really like to get down to 145 sooner rather than later, so I think the only way to get there like I want to is to cut out some of the snacks.  I need to do volume foods like lettuce and celery and cucumber.  Things that fill me up without filling me out, you know?
 
Loving: my Altra Olympus 1.5 and the Altra One (I think mine are the 2.5 model) running shoes.  Holy cow the Olympus are like running on clouds!  I’m also completely digging the cooler, fall temps!  They make me feel invincible when I run…like I can run so fast forever!
 
Listening to: Jango internet radio!  I love it!  Onto my usual list of a few of my favorite songs from the past month: “Pity Party” by Melanie Martinez (and just about any of her other songs that pops up on Jango), basically pretty much anything by 21 Pilots (especially "Lane Boy"), “Hold Me Down” by Halsey.  Also, during my runs where I want to go faster, I’m totally obsessed with listening to military cadence on runs I want to really push myself on now. 
 
Looking forward to: running the South Padre Island Marathon on the 12th and hopefully getting a huge PR!  Cutting back my monthly mileage a smidge.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOOOOOOVE running lots and lots of miles, but I like to dial it back before I get burnt out and I could feel that coming up.  So the taper came at the exact right time!  Also, looking forward to wearing the yellow plaid flannel shirt I bought when it starts getting cooler.  It was a “boyfriend” cut so it was all loose on the sides, so I used my handy dandy serger sewing machine and tapered it so now it’s a fitted flannel!  HA!  Take that!
 
Things I did well: RUN!  Seriously, I totally nailed my runs this month.  Which is good because it is now taper time and then show time in less than 1 week (at the delayed posting of this post) for SPI!  Let the nervousness and anxiety about whether I did everything I could have to make sure I hit my goal begin!  I’ve gotten really good at picking a pace to run and then hitting it and holding it!  I’m doing what I’ve termed as “running purposefully.” 
 
Things I can improve: making better choices when faced with eating meals out.  I need to not treat eating out as an excuse or a reason to just say f*ck it to healthy eating and healthy choices and just let myself pig out on junk.  Also, when I get stressed I give in too easily.  I don’t feel good the next day or even for a few days after eating like and I know that, so I need to keep that in mind when making decisions about eating out.  Most places have fairly healthy choices and I can almost always make what I order more conforming to the paleo way of eating…it just might involve annoying the waiter/waitress and the cook/chef.  But I have to take care of myself and making better choices is always step #1 in that regard.

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