100 Miles in November — and more

Posted on by Vanessa Junkin (She Runs by the Seashore)

One especially fun part of my November running was participating in BibRave Pro Angie Maske-Berka’s annual 100 Miles in November challenge, which has an active and supportive Facebook group.

This was my third year taking part in the challenge, which is not a competition. Read on for more about my November running and this challenge, which is recapped in Angie’s post here.

  1. I ran 121.01 miles in November. I hit 100 miles for the month on Nov. 27, but I still had a half marathon to go in those last three days, so I ended up with a total of 121.01 miles for the month.
  2. Week 1 of 100 Miles in November: The added challenge for the first week was a run streak — running at least a mile per day. I did this for the first nine days, then took a few days off because of a cough (it was not COVID).
  3. Week 2 of 100 Miles in November: For the second week, there was a scavenger hunt, with a different item posted each day to find. The item that stuck out the most to me was a fire hydrant. There was one basically across from my house that I didn’t remember seeing before, and now I notice them everywhere on runs!
  4. Week 3 of 100 Miles in November: During the third week, we were challenged to run somewhere different. I ran on the backroads of Vienna, Maryland, with my friends Nicole and Lisa, which was fun and scenic.
  5. Week 4 of 100 Miles in November: For the last week, we were challenged to pay it forward. I did this and participated in Joceanic‘s OptOutside Solo Cleanup, picking up a trash around my neighborhood to fill up a bag. I ended up winning a cool shirt just for picking up trash!
  6. Mile Challenge: We were also challenged to run a mile for speed at the beginning of the month and the end of the month. I was slightly slower in my second mile, but it was the day after a half marathon, so I’m not too disappointed by that. I’d like to try another mile for speed soon. I went from 8:45.9 on Nov. 2 to 8:49.3 on Nov. 30.
  7. I participated in a BibRave regional mileage challenge. BibRave had a fun mileage competition between regions, and my region, the East Region, won!
  8. I ran two races. And not just two races, but two in-person races! These were the Turkey Trek 5K and the Run for the Animals Half Marathon.
  9. I went on an Eastern Shore Running Club camping trip. Several Eastern Shore Running Club members camped at Assateague Island National Seashore one weekend, and it was fun and something different for me. I ran at Assateague with a couple friends after waking up to the sunrise — and also did a short yoga session outside prior to that. I didn’t do any formal yoga classes this month.
  10. I ran on the Algonquin trail twice. I’m happy to be getting some running in on the Algonquin Cross-County Trail, since I am signed up for the Algonquin 50K in February. When I ran this 50K in 2017, I did meet the cutoff, but I don’t think I did enough trail training to prepare. I’m glad running the trail is starting to become a more regular part of my schedule.

Onto the rest of December and then a much-sought-after new year!