Review of October Running Goals

October 2013 is quickly coming to a close with only four hours left in the day.  Since it’s close enough to being over, and I have the extra time, I thought I’d review how I did on the goals I had set for myself this month.  They were …

• Run over 100 total miles in the month (I ran 70 in September, but only ran 13 days… I can do better than that!) I bombed this… I did run 16 days, but only got in 76.3 miles.  I’m disappointed in myself, but missed getting in a 12-mile long run and an entire week of regular runs due to activities going on.  I just didn’t have the time.

• Complete P90X training at least 4 days per week I tried doing the P90X, but not much luck on this either.  An additional hour for this program just wasn’t happening this month.  I’m thinking about waiting until after my half marathon on January 5 to start it since the weather then will probably keep me from enjoying my runs outside.

• Run one 5k race at sub-30 minutes  I got this one!! Yea!!!  I ran a 5k last Saturday at a pace of 9:09 m/m for a total of 28:24.  I placed second in my division!!

• Continue to maintain weight at healthy 130-135 pounds  I have totally failed this one and have started back to using MyFitnessPal.

• Restrict myself to no more than 3 cups of coffee per day by October 15th  I did this one!!  Once in a while I’ll sneak a 4th cup, but I’ve done really good with stopping at 3 cups on most days.  Additionally, I switch over to water and am increasing my water intake.  That’s good!

• Have fun!! Take at least 6 pictures of the colorful leaves during training runs this month and write a blog post about them (My favorite goal!)  I nailed this one too.  And had loads of fun looking for good pics during my runs.  Here they are…

This is a local farm I run by a lot.  They had just finished cutting hay a few days prior to this pic.  You could still smell it.

I’m pointing to a couple of Black Walnuts I found along a route I was running one day.

Those things are everywhere this time of year, and really hurt when they land on top of your head.  🙂

This is some pretty flowers along the creek in my front yard.  This was taken at the start of a run one evening.

I took this at end of another run that I ran at night this month.

You can’t see any leaves, but the October full moon was gorgeous!!

I spooked up these two deer, but they stopped and watched me long enough to get a pic.

I see deer on nearly every run I take here.

I couldn’t help but take a pic of this beautiful October sunset over these WV hills.  Breathtaking!!

Did you take my challenge and snap some pictures along your running routes this month?  I hope so.  Let me know in the comments below, and I’ll check them out and share your blog on Twitter and Facebook.  I’ll be posting my November goals and challenge in the next couple of days, so be watching.

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October Challenge for Fellow Runners

I have learned two very valuable lessons over the past year+ of running:

1. If you want to be successful and improve, you have to be serious about your training
2. You can’t be serious All. The. Time!!

I don’t have a problem with lesson number one, as I tend to take the bull by the horns when I set my mind to something.  I don’t like to do things half way.  I’ve always said, “If you’re going to do something, you might as well give 110%!”  So I take my training serious.  I find a big race (right now that would be the half marathon on November 24th), set up a training plan, be prepared to be flexible to allow for modifications due to the weather, life, etc., and give it all I have every time I give.

That’s all well and good, until …. I crash and burn!!

And that’s happened more than once.  I allow myself to get so deeply involved with the training and prepping and the hard work that I forget to have fun.  I forget to look around at the beauty of the West Virginia scenery during a run.  I forget to smell the aroma of the honeysuckle in the spring or the falling leaves in autumn.  I forget to stop and catch snowflakes on my tongue.  I forget to jump in the mud puddle during a run in the rain.  I forget to stop and watch the falling star during a night run or the beautiful sunrise during an early morning run.  I forget to chat to the neighbors’ horses or pet their coon dog as I run by.  I forget to have fun!!

Yesterday I posted my goals for October … run over 100 miles for the month, do at least four P90X workouts per week, blah blah blah.  To help myself remember to have fun, I tacked on one “fun” goal at the end of my list.  I have to take at least six pictures of the colorful leaves during my training runs during the month and write a blog post about it.

During my 7.5-miler last evening, I took my first picture… a shot of a small red barn sitting on the edge of a field with a backdrop of a hillside coated with changing leaves.  And you know what… It felt really good taking that picture.  It refreshed my run and put an extra spring in my step so I could easily and enjoyably finish the last 3 miles.  Then I realized that there are probably lots of other runners out there with the same problem I have of forgetting to have fun … falling into the habit of just taking it a little too seriously.  So, I thought I would make this a challenge to all those other running bloggers out there to have a little fun with me.

Here’s the challenge:

• Do the same as me… take at least six pictures of the colorful leaves during your training runs over the month of October.  Now I realize not everyone lives in areas where leaves change and fall off for autumn.  If that’s the case, then just take at least six pictures of what autumn looks like in your area.
• Each picture needs to be taken during different runs.  This forces you to stop and enjoy your surroundings during at least six different outings.
• At the end of October or first of November, blog about your results.  Share your six+ pictures and tell us about them.
• Link to this post in your blog post so I know you’ve completed the challenge.  I’ll write a blog post and include a link to everyone’s post so we can check each other’s results.  You can also share it on Twitter and Facebook using #OctoberRunChallenge.

I hope you’ll join in on the fun and take my challenge.  Share this with other running friends, and maybe we’ll get to see how autumn looks all over the world.  Train seriously, but add in a little fun, too.  😀