November in review: Lots of time away but that’s OK

Hours last month: Decent biking and running, considering how busy November was.

It's the 8th already!!! It's been... a week. I don't get enough sleep on a good week, work has been stressful, I am letting Christmas stress get to me, the dark evenings are leaving me exhausted, and I had to work an evening last week, which threw off the whole rest of the week. But! I am here now and better late than never for a monthly recap.

I knew November wouldn’t be the best month for training as it’s usually a busy month. Both mine and my husband’s birthdays were last month, plus we usually semi-host Thanksgiving, and this year we went on a road trip for a few days. The last few months have seen at least 30 training sessions, but I only managed 26 for November. I ended up taking 9 days completely off training: five for our road trip, two for my husband's birthday, one for mine, and one Friday for a friend's holiday party. I mean, it's the holidays — there are going to be things scheduled, and I'm not going to feel guilty about them.

Even with the holiday hubbub I still had some training victories. I had a huge bump in my FTP. I ran a 9-miler, my longest run in months. I still managed some PT and weights. I managed to work out on the weeks we had events or were traveling, before or after we left. It wasn't all gloom and doom.

Overall, November worked out to be:

Bike: 9 times, all on the trainer, for 179 fake miles in about 11 hours, 53 minutes. It's still more than twice per week, and I am logging slightly more mileage in the same amount of time as my FTP goes up, so this is a slow and steady win.

Run: 10 times, 4 outside and 6 on the treadmill, for 61.5 miles in about 10 hours, 55 minutes. My hip was acting weird most of the month (I'm sure it's compensating for my weak glutes since I've been avoiding PT) so I had to cut back on mileage and speed work, but I was able to start building back by the end of the month.

Weights: Three times, two barre classes and one heavy/body session, for about 3:25. Not a great month for weights, but I was gone or off quite a bit, so I'm counting this as a victory.

PT: Three times for about 1:45. WAAAAAAAAY less than what I should have done. Most weeks, this was the first to go. And it's no coincidence that my hip starts acting up when I start neglecting the PT.

Yoga: Once for about 15 minutes. Again, WAAAAAAAAAY less than what I should have done. With everything else going on in my life, I just am not making this a priority.

Total: 26 sessions in about 27 hours, 43 minutes. I'll take it.

December is off to a slow start with a work event and a Friday off already throwing me for a loop, but I am confident I can rally and get into a better groove as the month goes on. Plus, I have some time off work coming up, which words cannot express about which how happy I am. If I can hang on until the 20th I know the extra rest and time for training will do me good.

I don't have any big goals for December since I have been slacking on adding up all my workouts for the year. I think I'm at 356 as of right now, so 400 is probably out, but maybe 375? (I did 453 total workouts last year, much of that PT.) I am not worried about the numbers as much as finishing strong — continuing to build my rides and runs; continuing my weights, yoga, and PT; and finally getting into the pool. And, while I'm at it, enjoying myself and the holiday season.

Hope your December is off to a holly jolly start!