One run. All it takes.

93.35.

It's how many miles I ran in November. It's a respectable total, especially as I was finished training for the Bourbon Chase and my friends were no longer marathon training. I wasn't logging double digits on the weekend, and I couldn't always fit in a mid-week 6-miler the way I used to.

Even still, I was disappointed. I like to hit 100 miles in a month and to be so close, made it sting that much more. Had I been at 80 miles, there would have been no chance, not realistically. 93.35 ... yes. One and a half miles more each week, and I would have been there. An extra run in November, and the standard, so to speak, would have been met.

Alas, once I realized that I wouldn't hit 100, it was too late to do anything. I certainly wasn't going to squeeze in a 10-miler on a Monday morning when I hadn't run that distance all month. Live and learn, I shrugged.

And learn I did.

The first week of December, I hit 30 miles come Sunday (if you count Nov. 30). The total was bolstered by a double-digit run on Saturday and a quick, easy run on Monday.

The zen run.

I don't normally run on Mondays, much less at night, but a teething baby and sassy Pre-K kid gave me just the motivation I needed to head out. I left my phone, my watch, at home and took a familiar 3-mile route.

I looked at Christmas lights.

I listened to my breath.

I worked through writer's block.

I thought about pumpkin ice cream, the good kind with bits of pie crust.

I found myself and was surprised to find a shred of sanity attacked.

I rebounded, setting myself up for a strong week.

It was that 3-mile run, a bonus fifth outing, that helped me reach 30 miles. It showed me that if my goal is to hit a certain monthly total that even a quick outing can help me be successful. I don't have to be locked into a certain schedule or time. I can be a five-day-a-week runner. I can be a night runner.

I can be who I need to become who I want.

Here's how the week shook out:

Monday, Nov. 30: Strength class in the a.m., 3-mile run in the p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 1: 5 miles (9:29 pace)
Wednesday, Dec. 2: Boxing class
Thursday, Dec. 3: 5 miles (9:00 pace) in the a.m., boxing class in the p.m.
Friday, Dec. 4: 5 miles (9:07 pace)
Saturday, Dec. 5: 12 miles (9:49 pace)