By the Numbers

The Month of March By the Numbers:

Total Miles Run: 83.64
Total Calories Burned: 8,644
Max/Min Weight: 142/138
Longest Run (miles): 15.07
Total Mileage on Shoes: 80.53

Most interesting distraction of the month: All of the budding flowers and trees. First it was the daffodil greens peaking out of mulch then budding with their vibrant yellow. The golden forsythia stood stark against the brown landscape signalling the beginning of spring. Then the trees began to bud out - little green specks above the run path. The blossoming tulip and cherry trees are magnificent this time of year and on my last long run in W-S I actually stopped to smell the blossoms because, hey - it's spring and that's what crazy me does! Somehow we went from frigid 30s/40s to gorgeous 60s and 70s. This last week has been in the upper 80s (!?>!?!?#L$JL#@!!!!) making it a little difficult to do the hard workouts since we've had no time to acclimate to the heat wave. I'm sure the sheets of pollen the wind is blowing from the trees does not help (yes - I saw SHEETS of pollen blowing yesterday). If this weather is evident of things to come, it's going to be a long summer - we're going to pay for such a cold winter!

This month had much lower mileage than planned due to a few setbacks. First - my allergies were getting the best of me and made me take a few days off at the start of the month. After recovering from whatever it was I had without missing too much mileage, I hit a larger setback. My acid reflux flaired up on account of some Jersey Mike's onions and I was having a lot of chest pain and reflux into my lungs which causes asthma forcing me to take a FULL week off - killer. I haven't had a "zero" week in almost 15 months of running now. I was itching like crazy to get out there and run through it, but the running/bouncing makes it even worse so rest is "best" if I can behave. What's even worse is the zero week fell near to my "peak" for the Pilot Mountain Payback (PMPB) training. It was a big bomb in the training plan, but one must adapt and move on (without making up mileage). With the PMPB nearing, I've been worried about over-training and injuring myself so close to the race day. So, with caution, I took off on the road again after Chris's marathon going a little easier on paces but fell right back into a 30 mile week - thank goodness I've been running through the winter because my endurance did not desert me during the Zero Week. I'll post more on the PMPB this week - race day is Saturday!