JULY MILEAGE
Last day of July! Can you believe it?!? This month definitely FLEW BY for me. I think starting the month off with our vacation really made this month super funky and go-by with a bit of jet-lag.
I hit my HIGHEST MILEAGE WEEK EVER this month and am still in shock! I'm so awestruck that I was able to run this much this month (including a week of only 20 miles) and am really excited to see what else is in-store for me during this training cycle. I'm feeling fitter and stronger than ever.
I remember when I first started running and my long-runs would consist of running and walking (I think I was definitely battling Anemia as well) and would feel really disappointed after each training run. My legs would feel really heavy and I would just be defeated and continue to beat myself up about it. Now that I've over 50 miles longer than that milestone, I just feel really lucky, strong, and capable of so much more! It helps to have something stable in your life like running when other things in your life are unsteady and unknown.
I love how running is always there. Like your favorite sweater, it just fits and works with you rather than judging you if you maybe gain those 5 extra Ibs around the Holidays.
The first full week of the month was spent getting back into work and day-to-day rhythm and also building up my base mileage before marathon #5 training would begin the following week!
The next three weeks were spent building up mileage by 5 miles each week and now I'm at a point where I'll stay pretty steady around 45 miles for about 4 weeks before adding on a few more to get to 50!
I also got the new Brooks Ghost 10's and have seriously been LOVING them the past 2 weeks! I wish I could wear my running shoes ALL THE TIME.
I'm still debating adding in a half-marathon into this training schedule either in September or October- any thoughts? I'm torn between wanting to keep building my base and keep chipping-away at my speedwork sessions and also really try to trim-down my half marathon PR to the time that I know I'm capable of! I'm really always into being adventurous and "going for it", but I also want to play this training cycle safe and come to the starting line ready to run it all out. Hmmm...I have until tonight to make my decision on the September race (the price increases by $10) and I'm giving myself a deadline (the end of this week) to decide on the October race! I just really love racing!
I also had my first double-digit run since the marathon last month (10 miles) and it felt really strong. My training plan had me running at my long-run tempo pace of 9:29 min/mi and I was a bit skeptical of hitting this pace since I didn't start my run until 1pm on Saturday (it was overcast, but still over 80 degrees outside) and my legs were pretty sore from the week of tough training runs. I stopped a few times during my run to get in the shade and cool my body temperature down and take in some extra fluids to prevent dehydration. I kicked it up in the last mile (the bad thing about my garmin is that I'm unable to see what my average pace is throughout the run and only what my current pace is) since I knew I'd be close to hitting my average pace and couldn't be more excited to see that I hit my pace EXACTLY at the end of my run! This was such an uplifting feeling. I'm hoping to have more training runs like this!
I took Sunday as my rest day and ran 6.15 miles on the treadmill this morning to get me to 150 miles for the month at slow recovery pace (my heart rate didn't go above 150 so that's progress!).
How was your weekend?
Thoughts on racing a shorter distance before a big goal race?
Any big milestones for you this month or training plans scheduled for August?!
