August Recap

Miles: 177.48 (+ ~6 miles in the pool)

X-Training: 9 (4 swims, 5 yoga classes)

Rest Days: 5

Race(s): PVTC track meet - 1 mile: 6:24.96, Hood to Coast Relay: 24:27:16

Workout goals:
Run a lot, but be smart about it - I got in a lot of miles and I feel ready to run even more in September. I'll call this a win.

Keep swimming - With the exception of the week of Hood to Coast, I managed to get to the pool once a week. I'll count this as a win. I really do like swimming as a cross training option that gives my legs a break, so hopefully I can continue this pattern in September.

All the little things - I did a decent job here. I was really consistent with my stretches and exercises at the beginning of the month, but dropped off a bit towards the end as I crammed in yoga classes and traveled for Hood to Coast. Still, I got to the end of the month feeling good so it's a semi-win. I just need to get back on track in September.

I'm very happy with the way that the first month of marathon training went. I believe that this is actually my highest monthly mileage ever (by a handful of miles) and I feel great. Sure there are occasional aches and pains, but my legs feel strong and I am looking forward to beating that total in September. I got myself back into that marathon training mentality and schedule and feel like I am prepared for the fact that every single run of the week will be getting longer. I did my first Wednesday double the last week of the month and will, hopefully, keep this going through the training cycle. I re-read Racing Weight in August and as a result I've also been trying to tweak my diet a bit this month. Not with any weight related goal, but to make it generally healthier and better suited to fuel my training. My main focus so far has been on eating more "real food" snacks and fewer pre-packaged ones. So far so good, although it does require me to bring a lot more food with me to work each day. A rolling cooler is starting to sound like a wise investment.

September Preview

Workout goals:
Keep going to yoga - I wasn't including it in my weekly recaps, but I was averaging one yoga class a week as I tried to use up a Groupon that expired on August 31. I prefer a slower hatha style yoga class and I think that all of the stretching was good for my legs. I'm hoping that I can manage to check out some other studios or get back to the basic class at my gym.

Focus on progression in long runs - I mentioned in one of my weekly Richmond training recaps that I am having a bit of a hard time with the last third of my long runs. I'm not slowing down, but also am not really picking up the pace either. My goal for September is not to stress out about this, but to be aware and push myself just a little bit harder at the end of long runs. I think I back off a bit, not because I am tired, but because my brain is afraid of getting to that point.

Smart recovery - Once again, I know I need to focus on the little things like stretching, core work and foam rolling. This will be particularly important in September as I race the Philly Half and run the first 20 miler of this training cycle. I know that I want to run more miles in a month than I ever have before, so I need to be smart about this and ease back if necessary. There's no point in getting all of those extra miles in if they leave me broken.

Races: Rock n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon - September 16