The Big 2012 Running Summary Thing

The good news is I should be running again in about a month, with my Achilles tendon all healed up and ready to go.

The bad news is that means a lot more boring posts about running for everyone to read! At least I’m honest enough to admit I’m the only one fascinated by them.

Despite ending on an injured note, 2012 was by far my best year for running. I improved in every area and ran every month except for December. My only regret is that I missed hitting 1,000 km by a single measly run. So close!

The stats, as pulled from my Nike+ profile:

988.96 km total distance
4:57/km average pace
68,844 calories burned

73% of runs in the afternoon
15% in the morning
12% in the evening

Number of months I ran 100+ km: 7

Month when my overall average pace dropped below 5:00/km: June

Best month: September (4:38 average)

I don’t know why I added the random bold. I just like it.

Here’s to 2013 besting 2012, running-wise!

The ‘where did December go?’ post

In which I remember a month later that I have a blog.

There is not much new to report from the past 30 days. I have been working a temp position I hope will become permanent and should know whether that happens in the next week or so. Regular work would be nice.

I have not been running this month after noticing how the bone structure of my right foot does not quite match the bone structure of my left foot. Is it due to injury or just goofy asymmetry? I hope to find out at the doctor’s appointment next week.

With the lack of running and a bit of overindulgence my weight has crept past 150 pounds. I should be able to get it back down under control in the new year once I am back running. If I can’t run then…um…I’ll improvise, somehow.

Other than that, Christmas was pleasant and unexciting, just the way I like it, though I got a bothersome head cold as a bonus and unwanted extra gift.

I shall endeavor to blog more in 2013 but will make no specific resolutions for such, beyond making an official and content-free ‘first blog post of 2013’. You’re excited, I’m excited, everyone’s excited.

National Novel Writing Month 2012: Complete!

It’s been weeks since the last update but I continued to toil away on my novel, completing it a day early with an official word count of 50,050.

I give you my tiny jpg award picture:

Woo!

In 29 days of writing I had:

  • 21 days when I wrote over the 1,667 minimum (most was 4,545)
  • 2 days when I wrote under the 1,667 minimum (1,013 words and 12 words, respectively)
  • 5 days when I wrote 0 words
  • 1 day where I mucked up and forgot to add an entry but was probably around 1,800 words

Although I met the requirements of NaNoWriMo the novel is still unfinished and is a structural mess, though at least it’s not a structural disaster. In hindsight I think it was too ambitious to fit within the constraints of the 30 day write-like-a-madman format but there’s enough in there to make a rewrite (eventually) worth pursuing. And it helped reinforce the habit of writing every day (I believe I would have skipped fewer days if the requirement had only been to write and not to a minimum word count to stay on track).

Overall I’m pleased to taken part and to have won but The Mean Mind will be tucked away for now while I go back to finishing up The Ferry.

 

No runs plus Nanaimo bars = fat

After my run on Halloween I decided that heading out for another run in two days would be even scarier than the ghosts and witches I’d seen decorating the neighborhood, mainly due to my right Achilles tendon still being sore.

I’ve decided to rest it until at least this Saturday, November 10th. That will give me a week and a half for the tendon to recover. I think that may be enough time but we’ll see. If I still feel I am not up for a full run on Saturday I’ll probably at least do a walk as the low impact nature of that shouldn’t aggravate the foot.

The combination of not running and snacking has seen me inch above my maintenance weight for the first time in months. Granted it’s only by 0.2 pounds so far but still, it took me weeks to gain back the three pounds I’d lost from the flu. Now I seem to be having no trouble at all with the whole gaining thing. I’m trying to exercise (ho ho) a little more restraint when it comes to nibbling on calorie-laden goodies.

Day 8 of NaNoWriMo 2012

The dreaded start of Week 2 of NaNoWriMo is underway.

I have worked in the introduction of the main villain, which amounts to a story within a story. While this section will end up being trimmed (it has some repeated details from Ethan’s early experiences with the power) for now it has added 4,545 words, bringing the total to 17,113. That gives me a buffer of 3,777 or slightly over two days. I like that.

Day 7 of NaNoWriMo 2012

At the one week mark I return to form with 1728 words written today and a total of 12,568.

This shrinks my buffer to 899 words, less than a day’s worth but the story is picking up steam now so I’m not too concerned about falling behind.

But stranger things have happened!

Day 6 of NaNoWriMo 2012

Panic!

I found myself unsure where to take the story next and only wrote 12 words tonight. This would put me on pace to finish the novel in 2021, which is a bit late.

But I did do some good thinkin’ and believe I’ll be ready to jump into a more fruitful writing session tomorrow.

Day 3 of NaNoWriMo 2012

I’m moving into uncharted territory now. Starting with only the barest outline, the characters are now being introduced and I’m finding out just what the heck these people are all about. It’s exciting!

Today’s session was another success.

Word count: 2,063
Total word count: 6,807