Outside of training, the month of July wasn’t the most exciting or best month for me. In running, however, it was a great month of training. In fact, July was the best month of training I have had in 2 years.
Even with integrating speed workouts in, the month went very smoothly. I couldn’t have asked for a better month!
Miles: 296 (my highest mileage month in a very long time)
Paces: 5:59-12:05-untimed
Races:
Firecracker 5k (19:15)
Belmar 5 miler (33:04)
Community Heros 5k (20:20)
Run for the Hill of it 5 miler (34:40)
Best Race: Firecracker 5k
Favorite training run:
My track workouts were all fun. I think my first track workout was my favorite because it really pushed me out of my comfort zone. I realized I don’t mind the track too much!
I had a lot of fun runs with friends as well.
In summary, July got me out of my training rut. I’ve been maximizing speed workouts to get back to where I was.
Two summers ago when I moved to Texas, I stopped racing. I claimed racing is my “speed workout” but in reality I was only racing once a month if that. I wasn’t doing speed workouts and I wasn’t doing speed by racing. I was running slow easy miles all of the time and in time that made me race shorter distances slower. While I have raced occasionally in the last two years, I was not racing like when I was set my PRs.
Now I’m slowly getting back into the same shape I was in two years ago. I did not lose my speed in a week and I won’t gain it back in a month. I want to keep consistently doing the speed and training I am doing. I am beginning to feel confident with two workouts a week.
August Goals:
Races:
August 22: Belmar Chase 5k
I would like to find a few more races but I haven’t looked into them yet. I know they are out there. I’ll continue to add layers of workouts and mileage.
Questions for you:
How was your month of training?
What is the biggest helpful change you’ve made to help your fitness? (anything from food to sleep to life to training…)
I’m glad you had such a good month of training! Hope the positive path continues on in August! 🙂
Woohoo! Consistency is key. In recent weeks, I’ve experienced a huge difference between 7.5, 8, and 8.5+ hours of sleep. As a fellow “high-maintenance sleeper,” I know you understand. 😉 With my “A” race coming up, I’m going to try to get 8.5 hours of sleep each night this week.
Congrats on an awesome month of training! That’s the best when it all just comes together. When I started getting really consistent about doing at least one but usually two speedwork sessions a week, my pace improved dramatically, last spring/summer. The other thing I’ve done in training that’s been a game changer is to fast finish long runs every single time. Makes such a difference.
296?! Holy.snap! Congrats on the awesome month of training, Hollie! And Im pretty sure that sleep is what makes the biggest difference for me when it comes to my workouts. If I don’t get enough, I’ll be dragging my feet no matter how well I’l doing with all the other factors.
It really does seem like you’re finding your groove and I could not be happier for you!! I don’t really enjoy doing speedwork and wish I did more races, but I also never know where I’m going to be on weekends which makes it hard. I’m trying to add some more tempo runs in because I just can’t bring myself to get back on the track lol
Looks like such a great month, lady! Let’s goooooooooo, August!<3
My training was great this month! I had some tough runs, but who hasn’t?! Overall, the best thing i did was adding more speed work as well! It helps with pace, endurance, breathing, and a million other things!
I agree! I think harder runs make the good runs feel the best. Thanks for stopping by!
So many races! You crushed all of them so great job. Hoping your training continues to go smoothly because you are KILLING it lately. Can I borrow some of your speed!?
Do you ever think about how far you ran in a month? Like, you ran almost from Atlanta to Jacksonville (well, 100 miles less, but 3/4 of the way!). That’s insane! You did look like you did some fun runs with friends this month too! I noticed that!
What a badass month of high mileage and fast paces! You’re amazing. I think my highest mileage months were about two years ago and I don’t think I ever got over 250. Maybe next month if my body cooperates. You are on FIRE!!
You are on a roll with your running and unstoppable! Consistency with speed workouts is really tough, you have it down right now and are all set to crush your goals.
Sleep is the biggest one for me. If I don’t sleep well, I’m not motivated to push myself and I don’t eat as well, which makes my runs feel not so great. I’m amazed by your mileage!! Keep it up girl!