A November to Kind of Remember

November 2023 in review!

Total mileage for the month: 245.3

• Oct. 30-Nov. 5: 68.0
• Nov. 6-12: 40.7
• Nov. 12-19: 53.3
• Nov. 20-26: 63.6
• Nov. 27-Dec. 3: 69.0

Post-run core work

Races:

• Nov. 5: Bass Pro Marathon in 3:07:45, which was what I had after the October I had! That got me first masters female and 5th overall female.

Workouts:

• Nov. 1: 3 x 1 mile at MP, HMP, 5k pace with 1:30 recoveries. My splits were 6:48, 6:27, 5:54. The third mile was supposed to be 10k pace but it felt good to let it rip - and I hadn't run a sub-6 full mile since April so it felt good to do so.
• I did zero doubles and tons of strides and hill strides this month!

#notnippynovember (unexpected warm-ish run)

Long Runs:

• Nov. 5: 27.2 miles with the Bass Pro Marathon.
• Nov. 18: 12 miles (7:59) the felt alright.
• Nov. 24: 14.4 miles (8:25) of cold wind!

Running Highlights:

• My running group did a post-season/fall birthday celebration.
• I did the rabbit Run it Forward Challenge with my same team as last year. We discussed each of us running 100+ miles Thanksgiving week again, but then we all 3 vetoed it, and came in with a more conservative total of 211 miles. Last year we won the competition for the most miles, but this year we were still responsible for 21 clothing donations!

Birthday cake for Karen & me

It weighed 30 lbs, hah!

We clean up alright

Houlihans

4 x 4 Brewery

Life Highlights:

• November was a lot better than October for me. I got a new-to-me car, a silver Volt that is almost identical to what I already had but with about half the mileage on it. In a random stroke of luck, I also got to drive it home from Kansas City on a work trip, saving me 6 hours of driving to pick it up on the weekend.
• Thanksgiving, of course!

Thanksgiving

Books (bold = 5 stars):

• Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian
• The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
• The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
• The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
• Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
• The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner
• Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell
• Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
• Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Theme for the month:

• Moving on from October! I think I'm still fatigued from COVID though.
• I wrote this poem for my running group when I couldn't sleep before Bass Pro and forgot to include it in my race recap, so here it is:
• Twas the night before Bass Pro, and all through the town,
  Runners sleeping, or attempting to sleep, abound.
  The fish arrows were painted on the roads with care,
  Because excited marathoners soon would be there.
  The bibs were pinned on the singlets real straight,
  While everyone set two alarms so they would not be late.
  And MfM in purple and green,
  Was ready for the race of a dream.
  When suddenly I awoke for no reason,
  Just to remember it was Daylight Savings Times season.
  To turn on my iPhone my hand flew like a flash,
  I hastily swiped up with a dash.
  The time of 1:30 was displayed below,
  Reminding me that time travel would happen soon, no?
  Soon, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

  2 a.m. changed by to 1 a.m., dear.

  I thought of soon running a marathon quick,

  I knew in a moment sleep would not stick.

  More rapid than eagles race excitement came,

  Hometown races are special, you know the race director by name.

  Soon on the course we will hear bells and whistles,

  Perhaps at the end you'll get a kiss-tle.

  Regardless we will exclaim as we run out of sight,

  Happy Marathon Day to all, and make sure you pace right.