November is past and, in the US, is a month associated with Thanksgiving. The annual encouragement to ponder elements of gratitude is a worthwhile process, good for our own psyche, our relationships and, many have shown, our health.
We now lunge headlong into what for many becomes a frantic month of activities and travel. Perhaps it’s useful to hang on to that posture of thankfulness a bit??
Running certainly lends its own context for thankfulness...the mere ability to walk or run outdoors or get on a treadmill or dive into a pool or hop on a bike is something we can value. As my wife and I spend extended time caring for aging family members, this comes home daily for us.
I’m thankful for the encouragement of friends like all of you as well!! I learn more from you than you can imagine (Milktruck, thanks...I just printed out maps of our town’s streets and will aim to run them all next year).
So, looking back on November, tell us about your miles, your Turkey Trots, your other big events and be encouraged!
Persevere.
Joe
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I have nothing particularly clever or profound to add as a tag to each message...I just like to run.
Thanks Joe. I always look forward to this thread.
For November I ran 119.7 miles, which is exactly the same mileage I ran in October. This was not planned. I just happened to look at my log yesterday and noticed that. But in November I ran those 119.7 miles three hours faster than I did in October. and that's not because I'm that much faster. I ran a lot of trails in October and mostly roads in November. I ran one race last month: a 9 mile road run. And I took 1st in my AG. 1/1
Tammy
Thankful for the thread, Joe.
That's uncanny, Tammy.
November was about consistency and stretching out the miles in the pool, switching over to morning workouts (hard for me right now), and avoiding backstroke due to jamming my shoulder at the end of the pool one evening. I'd forgotten about it but, yeah, that's why my shoulder was hurting.
I swam 55,900 yards in November, not quite 32 miles. (31.75, we'll say)
I passed one of my goals for the year - 500,000 yards. Finished the month at 516,500 yards.
Primary distance goal for the year is 300 miles and I'm at just under 294 miles - should cross the line by the middle of next week.
I haven't had any meets to report on - probably nothing until spring.
BTY
This is too weird to be happening, I ran 119.6 miles in November. Tammy, you beat me by a tenth of a mile, lol.
Thanks, Joe. We definitely have much for which to be thankful, despite the struggles that we all face. I “raced” the Half Monkey in early November and missed a turn near the end which made for a much longer half marathon than I needed. I didn’t do a Turkey Trot, but our running group has a nice group run that doesn’t cost anything, so I did that. I got to do some of my miles in beautiful San Francisco this month.
182.2 miles for me, and I hit 2000 miles for the year on November 29!
Y’all are an inspiration and I’m impressed with the miles and swimming yards.
Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth
Thanks, Joe, both for last month's summary and for starting this thread.
The RA running game 2023 in 2023 playoffs significantly increased my mileage in November. My second highest ever monthly mileage at
157 miles - and a prime!
Talking of the RA running game, signups for the 2024 game are open up to December 10th (for team game) and December 31st for the individual game.
Started running at age 60.
AG 60-64 PR - 5K 25:45, 10K 53:28, HM 1:57:39, Marathon 4:32:09
AG 65-69 PR - 5K 26:11, HM 2:02:39, Marathon 5:04:47
Upcoming race: Four on the 4th 7/4/24 maybe.
64 miles for me. The month started off with a bang, the NYC Marathon, an amazing experience! Then I was on strict orders not to run much after that until Thanksgiving, when I started trying to burn off a little of all that good food. Getting to see Paul in the OKC area was a special treat the weekend after that.
"I didn’t run a race until I was 41 and that was a marathon! Let that sink in for a minute." -me
Thanks, Joe. We're in the same boat of caring for aging family members. Between my sister and me, we're spending a lot of time taking mom (92) and dad (96) to appointments and providing general supportive care. Glad we're retired, it's like a part time job!
Tammy, that is pretty weird. And Sub7 is just .1 mile behind you. Wow.
November had a lot more travel, which is fun but impacts the bike mileage. And my hip has gotten drastically worse the last couple of months, as I only walked 4 miles in November.
Stationary bike was 361.1 miles
Real bike was 12 miles
Walking only 4 miles
Thanks for another excellent start to this monthly effort, Joe. Yes, indeed, I also have a lot to be thankful for, not the least of which is the great support of the people on this forum.
Only 29 miles in November - a new personal low by far. I got in those miles before my knee surgery on Nov. 7. Since then, I've done numerous circuits of our driveway on my crutches, but those fractions of miles don't add up to a whole lot. I have 2.5 weeks till I am supposed to be able to start walking again, so I hope to get in a few more miles in Dec. than Nov.
Thanks,
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
185 miles biking, most of it indoors with a couple of final outdoor rides early in the month.
Doug, runnin' cycling in Rochester, MI
"Think blue, count two, and look for a red shoe"
Thanks, from me, too, Joe. I also look forward to this thread every month.
No racing for me in November, just my usual for-the-fun-of-it running. Not doing extra-long runs meant that my average pace was 20 seconds faster than in October, yay!
I ended up with 121.8 miles, so no prime for me this month. Gotta try harder in December
Good stuff, all!! Fascinating where running takes each of us.
And I forgot to mention my own November miles. I had 107 miles for November. Looking back to summer, this may be the "new normal" for me, which is an adjustment as I've always felt 140 was a baseline monthly mileage for me. But I had consistent, nagging injuries thru the summer and shifted in late August to Hal Higdon's "Senior Marathon" plan, which has modest mileage and running three days each week. It seems to have worked, as I've not had any further problems and have finished two marathons comfortably and enjoying running immensely. A mental shift but grateful for the plan.
I ran two Turkey Trots on Thanksgiving morning, which I do most years...very good to see nearly 1,500 people in our small town show up in total...raising nearly $40K for a homeless shelter in one race and a truck load of donated food for the local food bank at the other.
One trail marathon on tap on December 16...grateful.
an amazing likeness
130.9 run miles in November.
Unexpectedly light miles due to needing to take time off after a heavy fall from stumbling on a sidewalk irregularity during a tempo workout the night before Thanksgiving which left me with very painful left rib cage. I'm pretty sure it's all soft tissue and bruising, but having cracked ribs in the past -- wouldn't rule that out. Treatment is the same, regardless -- rest and don't breath deeply or rotate the torso. Ten days later, I can move better, but would still rather jam a pencil up my nose to stop a sneeze...
I am thankful for what running gives me...time outdoors experiencing sights, smells, weather, saying hello to strangers are we pass, not worrying about walking any old distance or flights of stairs. I'm sure hoping against hope that will pay off in activities of daily life in the coming decades.
PS Joe: I asked the town public works for a list of all roads a few years ago when I started doing run-every-street, and they had a pretty good spreadsheet. Made tracking a lot easier. Might be worth asking.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Thank you Joe!! Definitely lots to be thankful for in this life!!
94.4 miles - still not where I wanted but maybe right where I should be!!
November running saw a not nice spill when I was tripped by a sidewalk but a week later a decent 5k at Camp Harbor View in Boston
Lots of Peloton miles but I just don't keep track - maybe that will be a 2024 goal
denise
Thanks Joe.
A busy November led to a bit of slacking at the end of the month.
November running: 132.1 miles
Paul
Paul's blog