Cat in a box.

Last night was a productive evening! I went to yoga after work (good class, not too tough, but more hip openers would always be good for me!). When Aaron picked me up, we headed to Sand Run for a four-mile run. I didn't use my watch, even though I don't feel like I'm a watch-hawk, but maybe I am. I went by effort. I wanted to keep it easy because my legs were tired from various warrior poses and because I typically run faster during the Wednesday night group runs. (The group, generally, is faster than I, so their easy pace is my tempo pace.) I ran by effort, finished a couple of minutes after Aaron and felt pretty decent.

Then it was off to do a little holiday shopping. Luckily I had chili in the slow-cooker at home so dinner was taken care of. Actually I think the chili overcooked, although Aaron seemed to think it was okay. It was definitely edible. It was a little strange to not season as I cooked. It wasn't spicy enough, but that's what Cholula is for!

After dinner, we cleaned up and then it was time to wrap some gifts. What that really means is that I gather supplies while Aaron wraps.

No, what that really means is... kitty in a box!

Gah.

The rain and hail on the way home last night thwarted my plans to run after work. I could have run on the treadmill at home or I could have run later after it cleared up. I chose not to. I did some laundry and cooked dinner at least. The plan remains for four runs this week and some yoga, for sure.

November Recap

In preparation for next year, I'm increasing strength-training and yoga now, so I'll have a solid base for next year. November shows that my base needs improvement in those areas particularly:

• 15 runs for 67.55 miles (4.5 average length)
• 10:48 average pace (at least that's what DailyMile says for the last 4 weeks, and that's close enough... and slow)
• 3 yoga sessions
• 2 strength-training sessions

December's numbers will be better, I hope:

• 16-18 runs for 80ish miles
• 10:30 average pace (is that too be a decrease over a month?)
• 4-6 yoga sessions
• 4-6 strength-training sessions

Believe it or not, I can already tell that the recent yoga has helped me. I'm sore from it, but I'm also feeling better, if that makes any sense. Since I've taken to the streets more often than the trails, I've been experiencing some heel pain (hello, plantar fasciitis), but it's better now. "Fancy stretching" helps!

Later on, I'll share my HM training plans. I need to merge the two plans for the DC race and the Cleveland race. There will be five weeks of overlap, and it actually is pretty nice. When I'm scaling up for Cleveland, I'm scaling down for DC. I think it'll work out nicely. Still trying to dial it in. Technically the DC plan starts the week of Dec. 12 - although my current base is greater than the plan's. My current mileage/activity is more than a month into the plan. 

I like starting off ahead of the class!

In other news, November kind of sucked as far as my loved ones' are concerned. Illness and hospitalizations and death seemed rampant. Let's hope that December is FAR better in that respect. 

Another week of excuses.

I'm going to end up with fewer than 20 miles this week and no strength-training or yoga. Way fewer. I have "reasons," but they don't matter. While I'd like to get another 100-mile month, trying to do so in November or December is unrealistic (and trying to do it when I'm not actually training for anything might not be realistic either). But an 80-mile month isn't (although catching up at this point might be hard).

In any case, I think I'm still eating like I'm running a hundred miles a month, and that's ill-advised. Time to both dial back the portions and dial up (?) the running. And the strength-training. And the yoga.

Oh, the yoga. I haven't done any in forever. I am horrible at home practice, and because of GOTR, I'm missing my usual class. The fall season ends the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so I'll be able to start back up. I'm having calf/ankle pain that I never had before, but I think it's because during my higher-mileage months, I was also getting in at least one yoga session per week.

We head out of town tonight - after running twice this week - and I hope to run once over the weekend. I'm not sure how the setup is, but I should be able to get in 3 or 4 miles. And I should be able to get in a mile with the girls tonight.

Next week, back to normal. What worked over the summer was running Monday or Tuesday morning, Wednesday night, Friday morning, and a long run on the weekend. I want to go back to that:

Monday or Tuesday morning: 4 miles
Wednesday night: 6 miles
Friday morning: 4 miles
Weekend long run: 6-8 miles (maybe more)

My mood is definitely better when I'm running more too, so those around me should appreciate that.