Wednesday, 11/9

35 minutes on the row machine. 

***

Thursday, 11/10

8.5 miles in Palmer Park. Scrambled around the bluffs a little, getting 1250 feet of elevation gain. 

Classic lovely weather on the bluffs.

***

Saturday, 11/12

Dumbbell overhead presses with the 15 lb dumbbells. Different angles, and both unilaterally and bilaterally.

Then dumbbell lunges with the same weights. These two exercises felt like they complimented each other well.

I even capped off today's workout with ab-wheel roll-outs!!

What a good strength day, hope I'm not too sore tomorrow!

***

Tuesday, 11/15

35 minutes on the row machine. Still feeling a little sore from the ab wheel!

***

Wednesday, 11/16

35 minutes on the row machine. Beginning to feel my strength for rowing coming back.

Consistency is key! Again, there's my "word of the year" - Consistency. I haven't thought of it in a few months. It's served me well this year to try to be more mindful of being consistent in whatever I'm trying to do in life.

I might be rowing a lot more often if it's really cold this winter.

It has been cold out with a bitter wind, and a little break from running was probably due. 

***

Thursday, 11/17

35 minutes on the row machine again today! Feeling good for the third day in a row.

I am definitely craving a run soon, though. 

***

Friday, 11/18

35 minutes on the row machine. The snow ❄️ is still falling outside!

***

Saturday, 11/19

By the early afternoon, most of the snow was already completely melted off the roads. Because of a number of factors, it's been over a week (8 days to be exact) since my last run.

So I took off towards the park today, planning on getting as much mileage as time allowed.

I went out towards Grandview Overlook and climbed out on the bluff.

I sat at the overlook for a few minutes and looked at the wintry mountains. How quickly winter has settled in up there!

I peeked up at Almagre Mountain, its bald summit adorned with more snow than even Pikes Peak (at least on the front side). I thought about how I'd only been up top on Almagre once this year, and how I wish I'd had time for more summits before the snow came.

But most of all, I thought about how little time we have to do all the things we want to accomplish in life, and how quickly life goes by. And then I appreciated the moment that I had, enjoying the sun on these peaceful bluffs and soaking in the views.

Then I took off on the other half of my run, content in having a thoughtful and restorative jog home.

I ended up with 10 miles, and 1100 feet elevation gain.

***

Sunday, 11/20

Devastatingly, between midnight and 1am this day, Alex's friend called him to tell him there had just been a shooting at Club Q. We stayed up most of the night trying to call friends and see if they had been there and if they were OK.

I was overwhelmed. I felt very vulnerable, and unsure if we were safe in this city. And most of all, mourning the lives that were lost.

After a poor few hours' sleep, I had a chance to fit a few flat miles in on the Rock Island Trail and MVP. On my run, I thought back to how short life really is. I felt stunned and shocked that I was now faced with this in a very close-to-home reality.

I ended up jogging down to the pull-up bars. I did several sets of pull-ups, and a few negatives when I began to fail out.

It was at least a little refreshing to be able to jog 7 miles today and do some pull-ups. 

***

Tuesday, 11/22

40 minutes on the row machine. Slowly working up to rowing longer.

***

Wednesday, 11/23

45 minutes on the elliptical in the morning, then 45 minutes on the row machine in the evening.

Today we watched the pride flag unfurling at the city capital building, and visited the Club Q memorial.

***

Thursday, 11/24

This Thanksgiving, I woke up early enough to get a chilly little 10k in on the bluffs.

The clouds today were fantastic, creating photo opportunities at every turn.

I stayed on the trails, climbing up and down the west side of the mesa. The wind was quite brutal at times, but it came in gusts.

I ruminated that I had lot to be thankful for, but also a lot to be pensive about, including those families who are missing someone at the table this year because of the shooting at the Q.

6.2 miles and 1400 feet of climbing today.

***

Saturday, 11/26

45 minutes on the row machine in the morning.

A few inclined push-ups in the evening.

***

Sunday, 11/27

10 miles lovely evening run. The air was crisp and cool, and I felt exceptionally refreshed. I stuck to the roads tonight, going to Grandview Overlook and back 3 times (from the gate where the overlook road starts).

I loved jogging along the top of the long bluff. It wasn't windy, so it didn't feel very cold at all.

I had a nice, focused run. I did stop for one quick photo when the moon set over the mountains.

I felt fast overall, the cool air helping me. Elevation gain was 1350 feet over the 10 miles.

Afterwards, I felt like I needed to supplement with a few extra inclined push-ups as I didn't get as many sets as I wanted yesterday.

***

I typically like to update weekly or every other week, but I got behind, so I let this blog get too long!

To summarize, the month of November 2022 has been very busy.

I feel exceptionally strong from an all-around standpoint going into the winter. I feel like I have done a pretty good balance of running, rowing, and bodyweight work lately. My weight is in a good place as well. I feel lean, but not too skinny. I indulged around Thanksgiving, but have lessened my calorie intake back to baseline since.

Goals for the upcoming month include getting a long mountain run in, and fitting in some weight room days, which were both lacking this past month.

And to keep hitting that row machine. What a fantastic cross-training exercise that I can fit into a half-hour and stay indoors for.