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Thursday, August 2, 2012

June and July Recap

I went to start my July recap and realized that I never did one for June. So you get both.

Miles: 302.68 (143.89 in June, 158.79 in July)  (+ ~20 miles in the pool)
            
X-Training: 14 (12 swims, 2 yoga classes)

Rest Days: 7

Race(s): Lawyers Have Heart 10k - 48:44, DST 5k - 23:21, Maryland Summer Swim Series Meet #2, DCRRC Track Championships - 1 mile - 6:14.8, Barnegat Light One Mile Ocean Swim - 24:35


Workout goals:
Get back to running - Total success. I ended up with my two biggest months of the year so far. I am really happy with the base I've built before marathon training officially kicks off on August 6.
Swim something other than freestyle - Another success. I threw in some IM and breaststroke workouts and did enough to sign up for the 100 breast in the Maryland Summer Swim series.
Glute stretches and strengthening exercises - I did really well with this in June, but got a bit off track towards the end of July when I was traveling a lot.

Summer is rapidly coming to an end and I am happy with how the first two thirds has gone. Surprisingly, I haven't hated running in the heat and humidity this year as much as I have in the past. Maybe it's because I've been running more and more consistently or maybe it hasn't been quite as bad. Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining. My swimming volume dropped a bit as I started running more, but I knew that would happen. I still managed to get to the pool at least once a week, something I hope to continue during marathon training. I felt the iron starting to kick in sometime in June, but I really saw some big improvements during workouts towards the end of July. I think the combination of increased iron levels and finally having my legs back under me (after several solid mileage weeks) is what did the trick.
August Preview

Workout goals:
Run a lot, but be smart about it - If it is possible to ease into marathon training, that is what I want to do. I have a solid base, but I still want to be careful about building up my mileage so that I'm ready for those peak weeks in late September and October. I want to work hard at the track during workouts, but be careful to run the "right" paces for my marathon time goal and not get sucked into racing or trying to keep up with teammates who are training for halfs (with faster pace goals).

Keep swimming - Last year I don't think I swam once between the end of August and December. I'd like to avoid that complete break this year. Once a week is the goal.
All the little things - As marathon training starts and the mileage ramps up, I need to be diligent about doing all the non-running things I have a tendency to skip: foam rolling, glute stretches and exercises, core work, etc.

Races: Track mile - August 12 and Hood to Coast - August 24 & 25

5 comments:

Jessica Karazsia (@irun26at8) said...

It takes a lot of discipline not to race the pace chart. But, as George wrote in the newsletter this week and we talked about last night, "keep the intensity of your interval workouts at a reasonable level and keep piling up the mileage volume in the weeks leading up to your marathons." You will do great!

Jen Feeny said...

So many numbers!!!! LOL!

Great job on both and keep up the great work!

Sarah said...

It's hard to run slower at the track when everyone else is speeding. but looks like you had a good summer. Just a couple more months of hot.

Elizabeth said...

Nice recap. You are very well poised for a fantastic training cycle!

Beth said...

Impressive base mileage! Swim Wednesday?