November: Month in Review

I'm happy to be able to say that November didn't feel as crazy as September and October did. There just wasn't as much on our plates, though it did seem to go by fast. There were even a few days where it felt like Fall.

I decided to eat Whole30-ish again, for the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. By Whole30-ish, I mean I allowed myself to have dairy, so it wasn't really Whole30. I ended up losing about 5lbs in the two weeks and was able to maintain the loss over the holiday, even though I ate everything I shouldn't. I was disappointed that my eczema didn't get any better though. I had previously thought that gluten was the culprit, maybe it just takes a longer period of not eating it for the eczema to improve, or maybe dairy is actually the problem. Whatever the case, being on a strict diet again did make me realize how much better I feel, stomach wise, when I eat this way. As soon as I started eating "normal" food again, I had terrible indigestion/heart burn, and the next day was greeted with a very upset stomach.

What else happened in November? Did this way of eating cause memory loss, or was the month just fairly uneventful up until Thanksgiving? Speaking of memory loss, I read the book Trust No One for November book club, which is about a crime writer who gets Alzheimer's and doesn't know if the crimes he wrote are truth or fiction. It was decent, not great, but not bad, not sure if I'll write a review. I have so many other posts to write right now. Write right now.

The month in running: I had some discouraging runs for a while, but the last week or so something seemed to click and I saw some definite improvement over what I had been experiencing lately. Oh, and I think I finally figured out this whole heart rate thing. I also found a new favorite running accessory, and started on a new challenge.

Isn't this a cute logo?

On Thanksgiving day, I did my first race in a while, at the Mexico Beach Community Garden Turkey Trot 5k. I finished with a decent time and also had an encouraging long run the Sunday after. I'm going to write a review of that Turkey Trot either today or tomorrow. It was, um, interesting.

I also started on this kick of reading books about ultra running. I read Finding Ultra over the holiday and started on Relentless Forward Progress. Then I went and got Eat & Run from the library. I've always had the idea of doing and ultra in the back of my mind as a "someday" type thing. Reading about it makes me wish someday would be a lot sooner.

Let's see, what does December have in store? Well, there's Christmas of course. Does that mean new running shoes? Well, if I'm going to train for a marathon there has to be new running shoes.

This weekend I have a 10 mile race, which I'm not really racing, it just happens to fit perfectly into my current training plan. I would like to beat my time from last year though and I know I'm capable of it. Last year, the 10 Mile Challenge was a training run leading up to my first half marathon, and was my first time running 9 miles. As soon as I hit 9 I walked off and on. Now, with more experience under my belt, I no longer feel like I have to run the whole thing for it to count. I can take walk breaks and still feel good about a run.

What else is December? Husband is in the church Christmas play this weekend. This is a full blown play, not just a skit that was thrown together. Will starts soccer this month and I'm super glad for him to stop asking when he's going to start soccer. Hashtag momlife, am I right?

I love running with Christmas music and all the lights.

How was your November? Anything you're looking forward to in December?