Fitness Challenge Report Card: October 2011

Hello November! What a wacky few days we just had around here with that freak snow storm and the damage it caused. The kids were back in school today and things are mostly back to normal, but in some areas here and there it feels like you're in a labyrinth trying to figure out how to get from A to B with some roads still closed due to broken tree limbs and power lines in the streets. As far as our school calendar, it's going to be an interesting year. We already have one day taken away from our spring break in April and no snow days to get us through the winter. Let's hope it's a mild winter and all snow storms take place on the weekends!

Thankfully, our town allowed trick-or-treating on Halloween, because I heard that some other New Jersey towns "cancelled" trick-or-treating because of the safety hazards. My girls were out for a while and came home with several pounds of candy--including at least a dozen Reese's peanut butter cups [my favorite] but only one Twix bar [my other favorite]. And yet I am reporting to you with immense pride and astonishment that I have successfully resisted the evil temptation of Halloween candy for 48 hours! I haven't had a single piece! NOT ONE! This is major, people. I don't think there's EVER been a time in my life when I haven't eaten Halloween candy. We're talking four+ decades! Where this resolve came from, I do not know. Maybe it's because I know exactly how freaking hard I have to work just to burn 100 calories! Speaking of which...

Did you track your fitness challenge miles* in October?

What kinds of exercise have you been getting?

My ongoing goal is to reach 100 fitness challenge miles* every month. I came in at 119.65 for October, exceeding my goal by a nice chunk this time. I only took two days off from working out this month. One day because of those monthly cramps [omg how many YEARS am I going to go through this? For a lovely rant, see my post from 2008 titled Don't Do the Math in which I do the math. Add on a few dozen days for the last three years... ]. The other was the day after the snow storm when the gym had no power and it was just too dangerous out there to exercise under the trees!

Here's a summary of what I did in October to rack up all those miles:

Cycling [on road]....... 31
Strength training........ 25
Running [outdoors].... 28.65
Spin class [in gym].... 16
Kickbox class ........... 14
Cardio Interval class... 4
Swim [indoor pool] ... 1

TOTAL fitness miles ....119.65

I did a lot of cycling in October. My friend Maureen and I are planning to bike in a Gran Fondo, next September [100 mile bike course], so we started training by doing some longish rides together. We spent over 8 hours biking over four weekend days, logging over 118 miles. :)

I ran two 5K races in October, which was pretty fun. The first one was on my birthday in which I ran my new personal best of 30:02! I am very excited about that, but hope to break 30 minutes in my next 5K, which will probably be in January. [5K = 3.1 miles]

Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial
Liberty State Park
Jersey City, NJ
Photo taken on October 16, 2011
NJ Make-A-Wish 5K Run

The second 5K I ran took place in Liberty State Park along the pier where I had views of the New York City skyline, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty for the whole run. There is also a new 9/11 Memorial in the park that was opened just this September called Empty Sky Memorial. If you stand in front of the memorial [as I was when I took the photo on the left], the memorial fills in the skyline where the twin towers once stood. The names of all those who died on 9/11 are engraved along the wall of the memorial. When you get to the other side, you see the skyline as it is today... an empty sky. I like the design of this memorial a lot and think it's a very meaningful and appropriate addition to Liberty State Park. If you're in the area, I recommend you see it for yourself.

I still miss my Friday 5:45 am Bootcamp class. Okay, I don't miss the 5:45 am part, but I DO miss the friends with whom I took the class and I miss how freaking hard it was. At least now I get to sleep in until 6:45 am on Fridays and then I go running with my friend Marie after the girls are off to school. I have to admit it's nice to exercise in the daylight instead of just before sunrise, and Marie and I get to chat the whole time. Plus fall weather is the best for running! Not too warm, not too cold and the foliage is pretty, too.

In November, I'm thinking of running a 5 Mile Race on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This is the same race that I did a few weeks after I first started running back in November 2009. I can't believe that was just two years ago--I've come such a long way since then. Anyway, I ran that 5 Mile race in 1:01:47 and would like to see what kind of time I could get now. Other than that, I'll just aim for 100 fitness miles again this month.

What are your fitness or exercise goals for November?


Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

*ONE fitness challenge miles = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR = 15 minute increments of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.