Looking at just my numbers for the month is a little old, so I’m switching things up as I look back at April and grading myself.

It’s not all about the mileage or the scale — there’s the question of how I feel and a variety of factors that lead to how satisfied I am with a month. I think this may help me provide a more honest answer with myself and my state of running each month.

In hindsight, I’d give each of the first three months a B. I could easily look back at March and be disappointed because getting sick cut out about 20 running miles, but overall I felt really good at Shamrock and ending the quarter with a decent weight loss.

April, however, gets a downgrade. I ran more this month than last (a little more than 80 miles), but I failed miserably at cross training, including one little bike ride and minimal core work.

I ate too many cookies. I had too many second helpings. My saving grace is having a stand-up desk at work.

So here’s how I’m grading things right now. I may adjust my “classes” moving forward.

Overall mileage: A-
I’m happy to get past 80 miles after some downtime in March. Ideally I wanted to be in the mid 80s, but cut back on a few runs because of lack of time.

Quality mileage: A-
For three Fridays I did some speedwork. It was nice to add that back into my routine. I also added some great hill work ahead of Blue Ridge. It just wasn’t quite 4.0 graded material.

Cross training: D
Now that it’s warmer, I hope to hit my bike more. I also need to get back to more push-ups, planks and other core work. April was just bad.

Nutrition: C-
People need to stop bringing in cookies to work and I need to stop eating them. It’s really that simple.

Attitude: B
In my comeback to better running this year, I’ve realized more and more how negative of an attitude I had for much of last year toward my runs, racing and even other runners. If I have a better attitude, other things should improve, too.

Overall grade: C+
Since I’m a nice teacher, I’ll give my 2.18 average a little bump. And this sounds about right. It was slightly above average all around. I’ll try to bring this up a bit for May.