It was a pretty good week overall. Any week where I get to see my nephews can’t be all that bad.
Oh, and of course I’m thankful for running. Yes, I’m thankful even when Raleigh closes part of their greenway and sends me on a detour that puts me on a road that’s one giant hill (which I have to go over twice because I’m doing an out and back), and I’m thankful even when it’s cold, windy, and damp.
Weight Check: 167.1 pounds, down 0.3 from last week. The 2018 edition of “Operation Minimize Weight Gain” was a success. Granted, I had to drive home Thursday evening, and that cut back a little on my drinking on Thanksgiving day, and not being around my family on Friday and/or Saturday meant I ate less. And yeah, 167.1 is still a couple of pounds heavier than I’d like, especially with more weight gaining opportunities coming up in December. Still, I need to put it in perspective. I’m 45 years old, and after Thanksgiving, I’m about 3 pounds overweight. That’s pretty good.
| Day | Scheduled | Total Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 3 miles easy | 3.11 |
| Tuesday | 3 miles easy | 3.11 |
| Thursday | 4 miles easy | 4.01 |
| Friday | 3 miles easy | 3.11 |
| Saturday | 5 miles easy | 5.01 |
Total: 18.35 miles
On Monday, the weather was cool but pretty nice. I had done a lot of walking over the weekend, a little bit of bike riding (for the first time in years), and I had a run in with a scooter that left several scrapes and an ugly bruise on my right knee. (We shall never speak of this scooter encounter again.) So I wasn’t quite 100%, but I was still able to run. I was a little slower than last week, but I definitely felt better as I went along, and managed to speed up just a little bit as my condition improved.
Tuesday was warmer, but very comfortable. I felt better than Monday, although I didn’t quite feel 100%. Once I got through the first mile, though, it got easier, and it was a good run.
I ran on Thanksgiving, although unlike the last two years, it wasn’t a race. It was cold, 36 degrees, but not too bad. My legs felt OK. I drove over to a greenway in Raleigh, and due to construction, on the first mile I had to take a detour off of the flat greenway and on to a road that was just one big hill, so that wasn’t fun, and since I was doing an out and back, I hit that hill again on the last mile. I went out a little too fast, so miles 2 and 3 were slower, but not too bad, and I recovered a bit for the last mile.
Friday, I was back at home, and, well, it was the day after Thanksgiving, I didn’t feel 100%. It didn’t help that I had to drive home 3 hours Thursday night. Also, it was colder, and quite windy. Anyway, I got through it, and gradually sped up along the way. It was slower than some of my recent runs, but considering everything, I’ll take it.
On Saturday, I was worried about getting a call from work (I ended up not getting called at all, so that was nice), but I still waited before going out there because I was waiting for the rain to stop. I have no problem running in the rain when it’s 50 degrees, but 37 is a different story. I did still get a little bit of drizzle and occasional wind, and everything was still damp, so it was pretty miserable out there. My legs felt OK, though. I resisted the temptation to sprint so I could get back inside to warm up, and kept an easy, relatively steady pace, with a nice push at the end.
This week, it’s back to normal. I’ve even got something that could be considered a long run, 8 miles. I’ll also work on my NYC recap some more, and hopefully get it finished, but I’m thinking I’ll need another week. Oh, and next Saturday is December 1(!), so I guess I’ll have to fit in a November wrap-up.