MPD goal achieved

I managed to hit my unofficial goal of running 365 miles, i.e. one mile per day, with just over a week to spare.  I even got a few extra miles in to account for any mistakes or discrepancies when I switched from DailyMile to Strava.

Month	Expected	Actual	Strava
Jan	31	25	24.8
Feb	28	34	33.7
Mar	31	25	24
April	30	18	18
May	31	38	38.8
June	30	30	30.5
July	31	24	24.2
August	31	39	39.2
Sept	30	29	29
Oct	31	45	45.3
Nov	30	32	32.7
Dec	18	29	29.1
totals	352	368	369.3
average			30.775
left 2 Go	13	-3	-4.3

I'm putting the above in text form instead of a screen capture so that I can cut and paste the numbers if I ever need them.  I'm also backdating this post because I'm not sure what direction I'll take Mysteries of Life in 2020 and maybe ending it in 2019 is the way to go.

At one point, I was 18 miles behind on the goal...but by October 17th I managed to catch up.

It was challenging especially when the trifecta of weather, work and motivation didn't always intersect.  There are days I just cannot get out to run.

The thing about a goal like this is I'm back to being married to a training schedule.  There are days when I have other things that need to be done, especially around the house.  Mowing the lawn, watering the lawn, raking leaves, shoveling snow.

What I've found is that there really is something to doing at least a 2 mile run.  If I'm not feeling it, quitting after 2 miles still knocks out that day and the next for recovery or the previous for makeup.  If I am feeling it, it isn't that hard to push through another mile or two and build up some running equity.

I think for 2020 I'll go with not having a goal.  I'll just run when and if I feel like it and not worry about hitting a mileage goal.

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5 miles to go

With 15 days left in 2019, I have 5 miles left to go on my MPD running goal.  It's amazing since at one time I was at least 18 miles behind where I should have been for the given month.  Luckily I was able to chip away at it once the weather got cooler.

I have four more days to knock out those last five miles before we head South for the holidays.  And if I don't do it by then, I usually manage to get at least one run in down there, though I wanted a little cushion to allow for any mileage miscounts since switching from DailyMile to Strava.

Whether I do those last 5 miles or not, I consider this goal a success.  It was challenging especially when the trifecta of weather, work and motivation didn't always intersect.  There are days I just cannot get out to run. Sometimes I have other smaller projects I need to get done during the span of time that I have daylight and no kids in the way.

And now with having to pick up the kids at 2:45, I have to be sure everything is quiet on the work front.

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MPD November Update

On Sunday, November 24th, I ran the Lincolnwood Turkey Trot, as I often have, on and off, for the last two decades.  I thought I had signed up for the 5K so that I would be done in time for the kids' Drumstick Dash, but evidently, I picked the 10K instead.  I ran it with Na, whose kids stayed with Nightingale and our kids.

Although I ran the 10K distance, Strava claims I did 7.5 so I'm going with that number instead.  There was a lot of walking back and forth to the cars.



Update:  As expected, I didn't run much the rest of November.  I did a run on Tuesday which was harder than it should have been so I decided to give myself the rest of the month off, especially since we had company over the holidays.

According to my stats, I have 25 miles to go with 29 days left (as of Dec 2).  Not a difficult number to achieve baring any unusual activity.  If I just ran 1 mile per day at the track after dropping off Moose and Squirrel to pre-K, I'd certainly put a dent in that 25 and then only need a few miles over Christmas Vacation to put it to bed.

The thing about a goal like this is I'm back to being married to a training schedule.  There are days when I have other things that need to be done, especially around the house.  Mowing the lawn, watering the lawn, raking leaves, shoveling snow.

I think for 2020 I'll go with not having a goal.  I'll just run when and if I feel like it and not worry about hitting a mileage goal. 

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What Dreams May Come

A little snow on Halloween

I have three recurring dreams.  I probably have more but I've noticed three in particular that have at
least a recurring theme.

In the first one, I'm back at Big Bucks Law Firm 1.0 and I'm a paralegal, assigned to a case that is just about to go to trial and I have no clue what the case is about.  I have not had this dream in some time, but it used to be more recurring.

In the second one, I'm back at the No-Name Software Company and I'm either back on the phones or watching everyone else back on the phones.  This one still crops up fairly frequently, even though it has been a dozen years since I left.

In the final one, I'm about to run a marathon but I have not trained at all.  In the past, it was a lack of training but real life has seeped in and as my body cannot run more than 5 miles on a good day (after two consecutive weeks of consistent running) now it is because I simply cannot run.   This dream seems to be more frequent.

I'm surprised I don't have any dreams from Big Bucks Law Firm 2.0, Low-Rent Consulting Firm or TopFive.  I guess my time there was too short to make lasting memories.

One last dream/theme that occurs frequently: living in my mom's crapshack and trying to renovate it. 

First Day of PreSchool

A few weeks ago, we got an email that there was an open pre-school spot for Boris at a nearby public school.  We asked about Natasha and they found one for her too.  This would mean not paying for daycare any longer.  While we hem and haw about where were are going to live, even our most aggressive plans for moving still have us here in the spring.  Which means a substantial saving if this pans out.

 The hours are more strict.  We have to drop them off between 7:30 and 7:45 am and pick them up at 2:45 pm.  With Daycare we could and have dropped them off as late as 8:15, though I generally avoided that if I could.  We could also pick them up as late as 7pm when we first started and then 6 pm once Daycare realized that model didn't work for them.

If they were getting some superior education at Daycare or if it were only for a couple more months, I would be inclined to actually keep them at daycare.  But we are talking about a significant amount of money here.  And it's not like they are learning a foreign language or computer coding or anything.

So a new learning curve begins.  So far we have been able to get to school on time, which irks me when I think about it because that means we could have done this all along.

I've already figured out that the drop off is another Circle of Hell that makes the daycare parking lot a fond memory.

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Fastest to 300 miles in a while

On Monday I reached 300 miles for 2019.  In the past, it was usually the month of December, often the very last week when I hit that milestone.  Having run 40+ miles this month -- something I have not done in a very long time -- I not only completed the mileage for October but eliminated the mileage deficit as well. 

Okay technically I have a mile to go but what are the odds I won't get a great Halloween day run in?  And even if  I don't, just add it to November.  32 miles to go!


What I've found is that there really is something to doing at least a 2 mile run.  If I'm not feeling it, quitting after 2 miles still knocks out that day and the next for recovery or the previous for makeup.  If I am feeling it, it isn't that hard to push through another mile or two and build up some running equity.

In the summer I often either made the mistake of or didn't have the opportunity to, run too late in the day. The summer sun would be out and I would get gassed.  Now that the weather is cooler, I strive to go a little later in the day to get the highest temperature.  I still should endeavor to run as early as possible since that leaves me with more of my day left to do mini-projects in between work activity. 

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Caught up on the MPD

After my run yesterday (Thursday) I had 290 miles, which by my math is what I was supposed to have by the 17th of October.  Obviously, I'm not running today and may not get to run this weekend so I will be behind again on Monday.  But as I've been managing 4 miles runs, I should be able to get back on track yet again.

Random plaque one block over

I found that pushing myself to do one more mile to make 4 mile runs was a bit easier than doing consecutive runs of three miles.  With 12 days left of October, I hope to build up some surplus miles because I anticipate December will be problematic to run the last week or so since we will be down South.

Update:  I actually got a 3 mile run on Sunday so I am still caught up and have completed my mileage for October.  Now onto those surplus miles.  

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