August in Review

Total Miles:  188.63 miles up from 152.76 miles last month. 140.7 miles last August. This was my highest mileage month OF MY LIFE! I hate 180 miles in April 2010, the month prior to my marathon PR, so this is positive for TCM!

Total Time: 32:15:59 up from 26:39:38. 

Total Runs: 26 runs for an average of 7.26 miles/run.

Highest weekly mileage: 

8/20/2018 – 8/26/2018:	49.1 mi	8:24:23	10:16 / mi

Most hardcore run: The 20 mile loop. Uff. Such a struggle almost from the first mile to the last. Mentally hard, physically hard, and to finish was such good mental training!

Favorite run: 12 mile Monday with Melissa and 12 mile Monday with Chris. There's something about starting the week with that many miles that just gets your really amped for the rest of the week! Both runs were super hilly too so it was fun to conquer that to kick off the week!

Favorite Race: None. No races, just all the miles! 

Favorite Jam: Weezer's cover of Africa is still one of my top songs!

August in Review

Total Miles:   140.7 miles up from 112 miles last month. 58.7 miles last August.

Total Time:  24:45:18 up from 20:09:56. Average pace dropped from 10:49 to 10:34 even with more miles. Whoop!

Total Runs: 24 runs, an average of 5.86 miles/run.

Highest weekly mileage: 

8/14/2017 – 8/20/2017:	39.1 mi	6:51:01	10:32 / mi

Favorite run: 8 miles with 5x1000 m repeats at the track with Toni.

Most hardcore run: 14 mile long run in all the humidity after it had disappeared for a few weeks. Barf.

Favorite Race: The only race I did was the 605 Series 8 mile, which was part of our 11 mile long run with tempo miles. It wasn't a race-race, but it felt good to have a hard effort workout!

Bike Miles: 0 miles.

Favorite Jam: During the 14 mile death march long run, I was wishing I had brought my headphones to zone out during the last few hard miles, so I pretended I was listening to N Sync's Bye Bye Bye. So I suppose that.

August in Review

August in Review

Total Miles: 32.4 up from 18.7 last month. Down from 67.8 last August.

Total Time:  5:29:57 up from 3:06:26 last month.

Total Runs:7

Highest weekly mileage: 15.5 miles

Favorite run: 9 mile long run.

 

Most hardcore run: Inadvertent tempo run at running club before teaching yoga (ill advised, ha).

Favorite race: 
None.

Bike Miles: 13.1

Yoga: 7 hours.

Yoga Classes Taught: 2!

Barre: 7 classes.

August in Review + Goals

August in Review

Total Miles:  67.8 miles, down from 121.6  last month.  Down from 143 last August. Two races, (and subsequently recovering FOREVER from both of those races) had me missing way too many runs.

Total Time:  11:48:27 down from 20:49:54 last month. 

Total Runs:  10 for an average of 6.78 miles each run.

Highest weekly mileage: 8/18-8/24 22.5

Favorite run: Mile repeats in crazy humidity, still hitting my paces. 

Most hardcore run: The GoFar Woman Half Marathon. Anytime you're trying to run *hard* in 100% humidity is going to get a stamp of hardcore from me. hashtag gross.

Favorite race: USF 3k XC race.

Bike Miles: 27 miles, 1 ride.

Favorite Jam: Currently obsessed with Sia's Chandelier.

August Goals

• Run enough miles to have my 4th or 5th highest mileage month.
• Run two long runs as scheduled.
• Run all three speed sessions as scheduled. 2/3
• Run one of my fastest half marathons in Fargo (please be cool weather, please be cool weather)
• Watch 2 Oscar Best Picture Nominees.
• Every other day core work, hip stretches, and drills.
• 1 buddy run or ride a week. My running buddy is injured! Waaaah! We did get in one ride together!
• 2 20+ mile bike rides. (1/2)
• Make 2 new meals using my veggie box ingredients.
• Get 3-5 pounds closer to my racing weight. After being out of town for Labor Day weekend, I'm pretty sure I derailed any of my previous work. Whoops. KC has good beer, did you know that??

August in Review + I Heart 3 Day Weekends

August In Review

Total Miles: 143 up from 77.7 last month.  Doing, werkk!  (85.5 last August.  Also did some looking for previous Augusts, since I'm freaking about over what I'm capable of running in next Saturday's half, and this is my highest August EVER.  Which is stellar because August is always miserable weather.  WHOOP!) 

Total Time: 27:06:33 up from 14:35:30 last month.  So. Many. LSD runs.  #basebuilding

Total Runs: 18 for an average of 7.94/run.

Highest weekly mileage:  8/19-8/25 46.0 miles 8:49:40

Favorite run: I did my first tempo run in a REALLY REALLY long time on the treadmill this week.  I was scheduled for a midweek LR of 11, and I set out to do it before work.  It was 96% humidity, and I ran so slowly, and felt so crappy that I had to cut it to 8 miles in order to get home in time to get ready and go to work.  I hit the treadmill after work to make up my mileage, and decided to attempt my tempo miles.  I did 5 total, with 4 at tempo, and ALERT!  I'm not as slow as I thought I was!  (although I'm still pretty slow).  It made me excited to start the next phase of my Pfitz training that focuses more on speed now that I have a pretty solid base built up.

Most hardcore run:  I had an 18 miler last Sunday.  I got started at 6:30am to "beat the heat" and it was a "feels like 90+" for the whole last hour of the run.  This 18 miler took me longer than it takes most people to run a marathon (this may or may not be an exaggeration).  But I didn't give up or throw in the towel, so I gave myself 5 B.A. gold stars.

Favorite race: NA
Bike Miles: I intended on riding it a couple of times....
Favorite Jam:  Still rocked out to Miley quite a few times, but after the VMAs I can't listen without a visual image.  

________________

Today is day #1 of my three day weekend, and so far it has been magical.  Ollie and I have had plenty of time to snuggle.  I finished season 2 of Modern Family.  (Who has season 3 and 4 for me to borrow, plzzzz???)  I started Orange is the New Black and I'm OBSESSED.  Already 1/3 of the way done.  Big day, I KNOW.  Pug and I took a nap, since we'd had such a STRESSFUL day already.  And now we're watching the Crimson Tide ROLL all over Virginia Tech.

And I have this giant stack o' books to attend to before Tuesday.  (Ok, I clearly won't finish all of these by Tuesday, what with the binge watching of OITNB that I plan to do, but a girl can dream, right??)

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE not being in school???  ZOMG.

Uff + August in Review

This morning I rolled out of bed ready to take on my last "tough" training run before the half.  I had a tempo run on deck, and if my memory serves me correctly, the last one sucked.  I checked the weather and was pleased with the mid-70s and glossed over the fact that the humidity was 100%.  My eyes must've been tired because ZOMG 100% HUMIDITY, IMMA GONNA DIE.  RIP JERBEAR.

It was kind of cool running through the dense fog in the fact that you felt like you were the only person on the planet.  It was not cool in that it.... was.... not cool.  Icky.  The air was thick.  I've learned to start my tempo runs on the slower side so my heart rate doesn't shoot through the roof, and attempted to do the same today after my warm up mile. 

I'm not sure if it was the fog or what, but my garmin was all over the place with my pace.  Not so much the first mile, but definitely in the second mile.  Granted my pace is not spot on, but I toggled between 7:47 to 8:30.  I really couldn't find a "groove."  I was ready to throw in the towel on mile 4, hense my crappy split, and then tried to push it the final mile, but really that kind of sucked too.

I did 7 miles in 1:01:15 for a pace of 8:45.  My tempo miles were, 8:16, 8:27, 8:28, 8:37, 8:21.

I'm a bit concerned because this pace is closer to the pace I planned to run for the half, but I had hoped to run it without feeling like my heart is going to explode.  :/  It's been a while since I've done a speed workout in THAT intense of humidity, so I forget (or perhaps blacked it out of my mind) if the humidity really affects the heart rate that much, or if I just suck and should stop running for.ev.er.... :P  Naturally, instead of giving me any semblance of confidence, I'm now 1000% freaked about the race and my goal time. 

BRB in the midst of a runner's panic attack!
_____________________

August In Review

Total Miles: 114.5 down from 131.1  last month. (115.9 miles from August 2010.)  Somewhat annoyed with myself for skipping so many runs when I was in Alabama, especially since my back was all out of whack the next week.  Oh well that's life. :)

Total Time: 18:04:30 down from 20:54:08 last month. (18:22:53 last August.)

Total Runs: 19 for an average of 6.02/run.

Highest weekly mileage:

8/1/2011 — 8/7/2011:

39.0 Mi

6:12:38

Favorite run: The hilly run where I ran to Kyle's softball game.  It was nice and cool and felt fabulous out, and I wasn't a sweaty mess when I arrived at the game.
Most hardcore run:  Meh, this morning's *should've* been hardcore.

Favorite race: The CMN State-A-Thon 5k.  PR PARTY/SMART RACE/WHOOT!
Bike Miles: Another goose egg.
Favorite Jams: I downloaded 3 new songs to listen to on my tempo run this morning, and my stupid iPod claimed they were loaded but it lied.  Maybe THAT'S why the run was so poor.  ;)  One was Nicki Minaj's Super Bass, I can't remember the other two.

August in Review

Total Miles: 115.9  up from 102.3 last month. (Last August 136.6)

Total Time:  18:22:53 up from 15:55:59.  (21:09:52 last August).
Total Runs: 15 for an average of 7.73/run (slacker!)

Highest weekly mileage: 8/23--8/30:  35 miles
Favorite run: The day that running cured my crabbiness.

Most hardcore run: 4x1600 m. repeats.  Uff.

Favorite Race:  Urban Wildland Half Marathon.  Super fun course and new (by the skin of my teeth) PR.
Bike Miles:  72.6. The trails being flooded for 2/3 of the month didn't really help this number.

Favorite Jams:  La Roux--Bulletproof (obsessed), OAR--Shattered

Tuesday morning I set out to do an 8 mile tempo run with 6 miles at 8:01 pace.  As soon as I started my hips were pissssssssed.  They were still quite angry from the long run (yes! I should've iced bathed, I get it).  Once I hit the one mile marker indicating the end of my warm up and the start of the tempo run, I picked up the pace, and decided to tail some fast looking chica.  I was aghast when my first mile wasn't under 8 minutes because it..uh.. hurt.  It was around this time that fast chica must've started her speedwork and left me in ze dust.  And then we both got stuck because of flooded trails.  Signs from the heavens indicate that today is not the day for a tempo run.....excellent.  So I turned around, slowed way down and put in my easy 5 miler that's on the schedule for later this week.  Who says I'm a control freak and can't adapt to change?  Oh... I say that?  Very well then.....

I did 5 miles in 47:31 for a pace of 9:31.

August in Review + Fall in August?

After checking the weather report before going to bed last night, I was kicking myself for not bringing running tights.  44 degrees at 6am?!?!  Um, that's cold.  It is still August, no?  When the alarm went off at 4:30am I felt like I hadn't even slept yet (damn you iced latte I drank at 2pm!!!)  I decided that I would attempt to get some shut eye, and would fore go Tay's softball awesomeness for the week and run after work.

What a beautiful day!  I may complain about the hot/humid of the summer and the cold/icey/snowy/windy of the winter, but I love me some fall!  And it definitely felt like fall.  The air had that crisp feel to it, and it was a perfect 69 degrees after work.  My legs definitely felt like I ran a half marathon on Saturday so I took it NICE and easy.  The first mile was a bit fast at 9:30, so I slowed it down, with miles 2-4 in the 9:45 range.  As always, the legs get restless, so the last 2 miles were around 9:30 again.  I ended with a pace of 9:36-9:38 (I looked at Garmin, but forgot exactly what it is, plus I forget to bring it with me to blog, wah wah).  

_________________________________________________________

August in Review

Total Mileage: 136.6 an increase from 130.4 last month. It probably would've been closer to 150+ but I skipped a few runs. Whoopsies.

Time spent:  21:09:52 Whoa, I almost spent a day running this month.  That's pretty cool.

Number of runs: 20.  2 Less than last month.  Eh.

Average run distance: 6.83

Highest weekly mileage: 35.8 this past week.

Favorite run: Mock half marathon. The run felt good, I finally broke the elusive 2 hour mark, and it got me way excited about the real thing in 13 days (but who's counting?)

Most Hardcore run(s): Three way tie between the 3 legs of the WWR. #1, #2, & #3. Altitude, hills (aka mountains), and in some cases wind. Uff da.

Favorite race: Wild West Relay. Duh! Not quite a race, but the closest thing to it this month.