Sometimes after a tough month (October was pretty rough), you need to stop, reflect, think a little more about what is important and get off your arse and do.

November became more a month to do things that needed to be done.

Yeah, that do thing.

As Master Yoda says…

“Do. Or Do Not. There is no try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ4yd2W50No

Since this is primarily a running blog, I am not going to get into all the “do” that I tackled during November, but I did get a lot accomplished and am doing pretty damn good moving forward with my life.

Sometimes we all need to stop, take stock of what we have, what is important and make choices that are positive for ourselves and others in our lives. You might change a few things if you really do look closely.

It might even mean making yourself and others uncomfortable for a while. Remember you become more like the people you surround yourself with.

The good part is that I am healthy, got my VA physical out of the way, getting some new glasses and I am feeling pretty darn good about life in general.

Running

I surprised myself with getting over 140 miles for the month again. We did get some early very cold weather and also a lot of rain, so hitting that mark was not guaranteed.

As the colder weather gets here, I spend more and more time on the treadmill. Which is not a bad thing, but at the same time running on one is not as enjoyable as running outside.

Well, Harold get your arse outside then.

Err no. I have chosen to make some pretty hard standards on when I will run outside this year and while I may flaunt them once in a while. However, for the most part I will adhere to them and run on the treadmill where I get to run more comfortably and safely than I would outside braving the elements.

So you will notice many more PF Treadmill runs on November’s spreadsheet running log.

I did have a 20 day running streak going earlier in the month that I ended when I needed a rest day. I tend to listen to my body a bit more than I used to. Instead of bulling through if the body is telling me it needs a day off I take it. If I am feeling good I keep running.

No racing, but good quality speedwork sessions on the treadmill are leading me to believe that at some point I do need to get out and do a race.

Running Shoes

My running shoe rotation has really sorted itself out during November. While the rotation looks huge, I actually have only really been using the New Balance shoes for the most part.

I have been impressed with them enough that last night I went to the New Balance website and signed up to be a wear-tester. I am not sure where that will lead – if anywhere, but New Balance has really upped their game and I find that their running shoes are working better for me than the other offerings I have been wearing.

Nike Zoom Fly v1 (Blue) – 3 Runs. I will probably put these away until next spring. I don’t really like them on the treadmill and running outside with their outsole can be an adventure with all the grit/sand and stuff on the roads now.

Nike Zoom Fly SP (Red) – 1 Run. I run fast and well in the SPs and really want to save them for racing in good weather, so I have been using other shoes for training runs. I will most likely dig them out for my 5K treadmill time trials or a race where weather is not a factor.

New Balance Beacon 2 (Blue) 3 Runs. These are getting very worn on the outsole and seem to be getting firmer when I run outside in them.

I would like to get another month out of them, because they are the best shoes that I have for running on the treadmill. The B2s are light, cushioned – yet firm enough and most of all comfortable when I am running on the treadmill.

New Balance 1400 v6 – 3 Runs. The shoes I primarily wear to train in when I want to run faster. The outsole is a great multipurpose where I feel confident about remaining upright in most weather conditions I run in on the roads.

Plus they are comfortable to run on the treadmill in. Which surprised me because the toe box is pretty snug for me and that usually signals that I will have issues there. Great shoe and the one that I will run races in, if the conditions are less than ideal.

Altra Duo v1 (Blue) – 1 Run. I am in a quandary what to do with these shoes. I like them…but when I run in the Duo I feel ungainly and they just do not feel smooth underfoot for me.

Maybe I just need to take them out on a longer run, see how they do and let that make up my mind. At this point they are too airy for winter use and I have decided to put them in the back of the garage until spring.

New Balance Propel (Gray) – Primary Trainer. I love the feel on the road of these, a cushioned but not marshmallowy feel underfoot.

However, they are not perfect the left toe seems to get a little too much rubbing from the taper and the rand around the toe box, a bit of excess wear for the relatively low mileage in the toe off area of the outsole and the ankle well fabric has split in one place and the other shoe is shoe signs that it will be doing the same fairly soon.

I love how I run in the shoe, but the upper needs some tweaking or I need a wide version…which is sitting in the closet as a Christmas present from Bennie if memory serves me correctly. 😉

The Reality is That

I took time in November to clean some things up and re-prioritize others in my life and feel better for having done so. I still have a few more things to work on, but I will do those that need to be done.

Like they say life is a journey and not everything is going to happen overnight.

Running is a pretty big part of that and right now it is going good. I have to remember to to foam roll that right hip and leg more often, which really seems to help alleviate the discomfort that I tend to get in that area. Having one leg shorter than the other ain’t helping either :-).

Nope November turned out to be a much better month than I thought it was going to be when it first started out and I am making progress towards where I want to be.

Now to move onward to December and a new year 2020. Time flies when you get older, it doesn’t seem possible that I am 62…all I can say is Wow!

And the journey continues.