July Wrap Up

Total Miles: 92.3
Longest Run: 13 miles
Run/Walk break down: 69.02 running miles

Long run distances/run-walk ratio/paces:
7/2--7 miles; 6/4 ratio;13:06 pace
7/10--10 miles; 7/3:20 ratio, 13:05 pace
7/17--8 miles; 6/3 ratio12:44
7/24--12 miles; 6/3 ratio; 13:07 pace (HOT)
7/31--13 miles; 6/3 ratio; 12:51 pace

February Wrap-Up

Here were my February goals at the end of January:

●100 miles
●Long run/walk: 10 miles
●Run 2 straight miles 
●12 strength training sessions
●Establish half marathon training schedule for half marathon at end of April

1. Done.
2. Mmm, sort of. I did do 10 miles, but only ran walked the first hour (about 4.6 miles) and then walked the remainder.
3. Nope. (But did it today on my first run for March. However, still a no.)
4. No! According to my strength training log I only made it 8 times. Seemed like more than that. Hmmm.
5. Nope. Might not be running it now, either.

Dang, I guess I didn't do so well on my goals, although I am quite proud of meeting my 100 mile goal for the 2nd month in a row.

March goals:
●100 miles
●12 strength training sessions (3 per week)
●increase running miles to 40% (unless knees object)
●determine race goals for year
●clean eating 5-6 days a week.

I've noticed what I eat makes a huge difference how I feel. Im trying hard to practice a mantra I came up with: I feel how I fuel. That and weight loss make it easier to stick to it....

Until next time!

Since kicking this run/walk thing off on August 10:

January Wrap Up

100 miles - check! (100.3)
Total running miles - 30.27 miles
Longest distance - 9.1 miles run/walk
Biggest challenge - 9.1 miles run/walk miles with a fever! Never sweated so much, and was dizzy as soon as I finished.
Proudest moment(s) - more run/walks with longer run stints of walk 4min/run 1mi, and one stint at 1.75 miles.

Room for improvement - fitting in strength training; it's happening, but not as frequently as it should.

February goals:
●100 miles
●Long run/walk: 10 miles
●Run 2 straight miles
●12 strength training sessions
●Establish half marathon training schedule for half marathon at end of April

Since beginning my walking/running back in August:

December wrap-up

You may recall that in November I met my 90 mile goal, but not without some nonsense. I had a huge blister on the bottom of my foot covering my entire heel to my arch. I decided to take it easy. I ended up doing a run/walk on December 7, but was sore again afterwards, so chilled some more...also was very busy prepping for my daughter's ballet stuff.

I picked things back up once I went on vacation the week of Christmas.

I did a total of 49.48 miles, and my longest walk was 8.27 miles, 3 different times. I ran/walked twice, and another time I ran the last mile. Total miles covered since kicking this off on August 10 are 348 miles and over 83 hours of time elapsed.

My January goal is 100 miles, but most of it will be walking.  I am also working hard to eat as cleanly as possible. No added sugar (or very limited, that is), protein, veggies, fruit and complex carbohydrates.

As "luck" would have it, my callous, formerly know as my blister, decided to shed right before new year's. So now it's like baby skin on my heel and extremely tender.

I'll set more detailed goals for February, but truthfully I'm just glad to be moving again.

And those are the facts, ma'am/sir.

Farewell, October (monthly report)

October
Goal: 80 miles.
Goal (internal silent goal): 7 mile long walk/run
Goal (implied): introduce more run/walk

Check, check and check.

80 miles: made it with 80.74 miles. I had another late month ultra slowdown . Week 3 found me completely exhausted and I didn't walk/run for 4 days straight at one point. (The blue dots under the days represent workouts.) And then this last week found me with over 400 cookies to bake for a major order and one small one. Sheesh!

7 mile: I want to be used to being on my feet for not just lots of miles each month, but for occasionally longer periods of time. Did it last weekend.

Introduce more running: yep. Being careful though. Of my 80.74 miles, 19.95 miles of it were running.

I also tested out apps this month. Not sure what I'm going to continue with...maybe all for now. I like Nike to be able to see what some of my.other running friends are doing. The jogger app provides lots of detail. And the one I've been using until it started acting funny is ok I guess. Somehow, despite putting in the exact same run info, it calculates and rounds things weirdly, though. I understand a straight up round down or round up to a 10th of a mile, but it's off by weird numbers.

November Goals:
-90 miles. This will FORCE me to not just do lots on the front end, but to avoid major gaps.
-8 mile long walk
-7 mile run/walk

Pictured: long lapses between walks/runs

Nike app

Elite Running app...was acting funky at beginning of October, which is what precipitated my checking out a few for the month. Despite entering everything the same, both distance and pace are different between the apps.

Jogger app definitely provides lots of feedback and details. Keeping this one for sure. May keep Nike bc i can see how my friends are doing too...although this is the antithesis of what running is...you compete against yourself, not anyone else. Right? This shows 80.71 miles too. And an even higher avg pace. Hmmm.

Farewell, September! (monthly report)

My goal for the month was 75 miles. Lessons learned:

1. Put miles in early in the month, just in case. Things come up, like for me, massive cookie baking requirements (9/15-9/19) and then a proposal at work that made it hard to get my walks in.

2. Plan ahead. School is back in session. The best time to workout is almost always gonna be early in the morning.

3. Vacation is a GREAT time to workout and get extra walking in, in general. I killed it in NYC.

Anyway, I made my goal. The knee pain from last month is gone, but my big toe consistently hurts...in what sorta feels like an arthritic kind of way.

October goal: 80 miles

August Recap

Total Miles: 92.42 miles (last month 73.85)

Total Time: 17:34:17 (last month 14:09:54)

Average Pace: 11:04 (last month 11:31)

Longest Run: 18 miles last month 13.1)

Races: 0 (last month 3)

Compared to last month, it's a nice increase of nearly 20 miles, and a good pace improvement too.

I'm really proud of myself for keeping up with my runs while out of town for work, and overall, my runs have been increasingly better this month. July and August have been my best running months I've ever had. Looking forward to the fall weather (cross your fingers) this September and winding down my marathon training for what will be my best marathon to date.

July--a turning point month

My July run totals include the following stats:

Total Miles: 73.85 miles

Total Duration: 14:09:54

Average Pace: 11:31

Longest Run: 13.1 miles (half marathon)

Number of Races: 3 (including one P.R.)

Now I realize that 73 miles is probably a minimum of where I should be in marathon training right now, and that professional runners run that much in 1 week, but I'm still really happy with how far I've come since those days in May and June where I was still struggling to put solid runs together without a walking break. It's amazing the role that ADEQUATE nutrition makes...I simply wasn't eating enough food, or enough of the right foods. As soon as I changed those two factors, it was as if a light switch was turned on. (And yes, this really should be a no-brainer, but I just can't get over how FAST that turnaround was for me.) I'm also happy with the attitude change. In past years, I dreaded some long runs, while this past month and a half, I've approached each run with a healthy balance of slight fear and total kick-assery "you got this" attitude. Isn't that what halfway decent running should be like? Balancing that mental game with a respect for the distance while stoking that confidence level just a bit?

My average pace is another source of smiles for me. 11:31? For years my pace has been 12:00, and even that was more like "12:00 for shorter runs, not long ones." Here is where I see such a huge difference due to my weight loss. Exciting! I see this as only improving...maybe not a whole lot more for the time being (meaning prior to the marathon), but these changes are definitely sustainable.

The month of August should be an even higher mileage total, as my long runs will begin venturing into the mid to upper teens starting this weekend. On another note, I've also been reading my "free" book that I got from CARA, Hal Higdon's "Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide"...and I think that after the marathon, my goal will be to eventually run around 30 miles per week, also adding in one day of speed training. Still formulating these goals, however.

I've read bits and pieces of HH's book before in different editions, but this is the first time I've tackled it as a straight read. While a good chunk of it is stuff I already kinda knew (after learning in bits and pieces over the past 5 years or so), in general, it's a good read with lots of wisdom about running from HH as expert, and all sorts of personal stories from running greats to regular people just like you and me. If you're into running for the long haul, consider checking it out for tips and pointers to help you tweak your performance. I know I will continue to use this as a resource as I set a training plan for the fall and winter.

Bring on August!