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Monthly Summary – January 2015

 

One good month into 2015.

It’s taken a long time, but I finally feel like I’m back into a rhythm with my training and with life in general. January was a busy month, but I was able to fall into – and keep – a regular schedule. We had a bunch of free weekends and I took advantage of the time by doing some things around the house (including the decluttering that’s part of my #100FewerThings goal) and relaxing with Elizabeth and the dogs. I also started running again and (knock on wood) am still feeling good. Granted, I ran all of 49 miles this month, but 49 miles is better than 0 miles and better than more miles while injured.

For the last few months, I’ve been looking at the below six goals each month and then evaluating how I’ve done. I’m happy to say that I feel like I did pretty well this month. The red is my evaluation of how I feel I did in January:

1. Eat better. I did pretty well this month. Sure, I still let my sweet-tooth get the better of me now and then, but on the whole I avoided processed food and too much added sugar.
2. Focus on getting better sleep. I’m not sleeping great, but this month I was sleeping better than I have been. Since I’ve been getting back into training, I’m getting up earlier in the mornings, which forces me into bed a little earlier at night. Also, increasing my running and swimming a bit helps me sleep harder while I’m asleep.
3. Continue swimming, yoga and strength training on a regular basis. For the sixth month in a row, I swam more during the current month than the prior month. I’ve been consistently swimming 3-4 times per week (this week, I swan 5 times) and am feeling really good and fit in the water. On my 42nd birthday, I swam 4.2 miles (7,500 yards), split into morning and afternoon swims. I think that was the first time I’d ever done a double swim day. I also did a 1,000 yard time trial (15:33 = 1:33/100 yards – tons of room for improvement there; I went way too easy) and a 60 minute straight swim (3,850 yards with one short stop for a sip of water at 3,000 = 1:33.5/100 yards). I did some strength training – though my lighter and easier than what I was doing in the fall. I didn’t even really consider going to yoga. 
4. Run easy. Maybe hit the trails for some easy training. Except for one week when my knee started bothering me (out of nowhere), I managed to run pretty consistently in January. Still not very many miles, but at least I’m getting out there nearly every other day. And I even got on the trails a few times. I really missed the trails.
5. Be positive. I did better with this. Being able to do some running and getting some solid sleep definitely helps.
6. Read at least one book, hopefully two. I read one book this month – Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel. I really liked it and I gave it five stars on Goodreads, which is unusual for me. I probably would have given it 4.5 stars if that was an option but in this case I decided to round up. Next on my list is A Brief History of Seven Killings, by Marlon James. It’s been sitting on my nightstand for a couple weeks but I only started it last night.

Here’s January:

Swim: 43,890 meters
Cycling (outdoors): 0 miles
Run: 49.1 miles
Total Run Elevation Gain: 3,991 feet
Strength Training/Yoga: 5 sessions
Approximate monthly total training time: 31.25 hours
Weight: 163

Happy New Year!!