If I had time to write this on November 1 (or any other day before NYC), it might be a little more upbeat. I’ll try to put on a happy face, because, with one notable exception, October went pretty well, even if conditions were a little less than ideal for most of the month.
October 2017
Total Mileage: 168.26 miles
Average Pace: 11:39/mile
Number of Runs: 22
Last Month (September 2017): 191.23 miles
Last Year (October 2016): 181.28 miles
Races: None
Total Mileage for 2017 (through October 31): 1,472.32 miles
My taper started after my run on the 14th, so it took up the majority of the month. I’m slightly impressed that I was still able to get over 168 miles.
Also, in 2016, October 1 was a Saturday, so I had an extra long run last year, and that explains the lower mileage this year.
There’s not much change for my goals.
Goal 1: 1500 miles
At the end of October, I was 27.68 miles from my goal. Had I finished my marathon, I would have met this goal. I’ll still get it, a little later than I planned, but barring a disaster, it’ll be in November. Still fairly impressive.
Goal 2: 6 races, with 2 that are 13.1 or greater
Goal 3: A PR in 3 different races
So, technically, I was still on track for these goals at the end of October. I signed up for a 10K on Thanksgiving which would have been race #6, and I just had to either PR there or in New York City. Now, with my DNF in New York City, the only way I can get Goal 2 is to sign up for a half in December, because I need a new 6th race, and a 2nd that’s 13.1 or greater. I’m thinking about it.
I have a pretty good shot at a PR in my 10K. Since the goal just says 3 different races, it counts if I get two 10K PRs.
The non-specific goals are still the same as September. I’m getting a little bit of exercise, but my training schedule only allows one day a week with exercise. I’m still not sure if it should count towards my goal, but I’m foam rolling twice each week. Even if it doesn’t count, it works. I’m got the slow easy run thing down pat. Cooking, better eating, and more blogging aren’t happening, though.
Best Runs:
October 10, 8.01 miles, 11:01/mile
October 31, 6.01 miles, 11:17/mile
Yes, I had two runs that deserve the honor this month.
October 10 mainly gets it for degree of difficulty. 73 degrees and 100% humidity at 5:47 AM on October 10? Go home, Mother Nature, you’re drunk. I was supposed to run each mile at 11:10 (I mistakenly thought my goal was 11:15). In those conditions, I went out thinking I’d be lucky to hit 11:30. After I ran the first mile in 11:11, I realized I could do it. I somehow managed a 10:32 on the last mile. That’s insane.
October 31 was just an amazing run that will eventually get its own write up. It was the first run in a long time where I just enjoyed being out there running, and that’s a great feeling.
My October 14 run deserves a shout out, because it was 20 freaking miles. 20.02 miles, to be exact. Sadly, that will make it my longest run of 2017. Sigh. Also, it capped off a 48 mile week, which also deserves a shout out.
Worst Run: October 7: 10.01 miles, 13:27/mile
No exaggeration, this is isn’t just the worst run of October, it’s one of the worst runs I’ve ever had. The only run that was demonstrably worse was the one where I lost my car key. I had stomach issues, and instead of 18 miles, I could only make it 10. (Yeah, I see the parallels between this run and NYC, and I don’t like it.)
If there’s a silver lining, there’s no other run from October that comes close to being in the running for the worst. Maybe a few runs were meh, but none that were even slightly bad.
This is the part where I would look ahead to the next month. Well, as I write this on November 13(!), I’ve already had a DNF in New York City. I do have the Trophy Trot 10K on Thanksgiving to look forward to, which has gone from, “Hey, let’s go out there and have some fun” to “I must crush this race.” I’ll also finally get some cooler temperatures. (Spoiler alert: I’ve already seen some of those cooler temperatures.)