August Training: Some glimmer of hope?

As training logs always start:

Wow, this month flew by.

But I accomplished my running goal of running around 70 miles per week. Why?

I’ve run all of my PRs at this mileage. Do I think it’s the be-all-end-all mileage? Of course not. Do many people run well on far less mileage? Of course. Am I maybe jealous that my history has said I’m probably not someone who can run well on little miles? Yes.

But I know part of why I haven’t run as well (in fact, running some of my worst times and races) is that I haven’t been all consistent. So I set out the goal in August to run 70 miles per week. I also wanted to vary the distance and not just run the same thing all the time. So I ran some longer things, including 14 mile long runs. Honestly, I can’t remember when I ran over a half marathon (which is almost always in a race). It feels like it’s paying off, and while I’m not “fit,” I’m fitter than when I started in August, and I can’t complain about that.

Quick Stats:

Miles Run: 322 miles

Range of Paces: 6:22-18:40-untimed
Rest Days: 3
Shortest Run: 2 miles
Longest Run: 14 miles
Swimming: 4 times
Workouts: 6

Races:

Bra Run 14k (60:46)
Mountain Gallop 5k (21:34)
Victory Lap 5k (21:08)

Thoughts:

My goal for August was to consistently get 70-mile weeks. I was able to meet my goal; truthfully, it was much more challenging than I had hoped. With working full time, I usually need to be in my office by 8 am, meaning I should finish my runs by 7. I didn’t always wake up early enough and a few mornings, I slept in and made running not happening. I say “slept in,” but it was until 5 am. I don’t like running on an empty stomach, want usually like to run about 75-90 minutes after waking up and eating. Maybe I need to find a better solution, but I do have the luxury of going to bed (mostly) whenever I want.

Anyway, all of that being said, I was able to get consistent miles in. I lacked more cross-training, but as I’m learning, there is only so much time in the day. I would love to bike more to work, but that is less appealing when it’s 110. Maybe in the fall!

As mentioned, fitness is coming along. I do feel fitter than at the start of the month. Do I think I’m “fit”? Not really, but I do feel fitter than when we started. The last ten months have been rough, from when I took a nasty fall tripping over my cats, to a swollen ankle to the flu. I could never get consistent training. I would “start to get fit,” and something would pop up. I it was just a rough year, and I can finally start working on my PRs again.

My fall ,was the worst and it took two months (November-January) to recover from that. I don’t feel like I ever regained the sam fitness. February I got a mysterious swollen ankle which took me out for another week. Then in April, I got a case of the flu which took me out of everything for a week, and then I went another two months not feeling like myself where breathing during strenuous efforts felt much harder than it should. For the last couple of months, I’ve been dealing with that.

My last race, the Bra Run, showed I was in better fitness than early in the month. I was able to run a 7:15 paced 14k (around 8 miles), whereas in the early part of the month, I was running a 7 min paced 5k, and I was not finishing strong. So hopefully, I am on the upward trend. I feel like I am.

September:

My goals for September are the same. Continue training. Continue racing. Continue resting when needed. I do best when I’m consistently running and have more speed workouts. So I hope I can continue that.