Tuesday, August 2, 2011

July Recap

Overall I'm pretty happy with how July went.  I made significant strides in being more regularly active on a higher intensity level.  While I'm still climbing back up that running fitness ladder to where I once was, I'm definitely up a few rungs.  As the month progressed, so did I.

July 1-15 .... 3 runs, total 15.2 miles
July 16-31 ...6 runs, total 38.0 miles

for a total of 9 runs - 53.2 miles

I was shooting for 60 miles in July, so I'm a little short, but it's still my largest mileage month since January and it's 21 miles more than last month.  Improvement for sure!  The runs are starting to get a bit easier, but still far from easy.  There is still a mountain to climb.

In addition to the running I have also biked 217 miles (on a mountain bike with big knobby tires which requires significantly more effort than a road bike), as well as participated in 3 exercise classes and many walks (often 1-2 hrs+).  I'm happy with this!

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Saturday I did my longest run of the year (10 miles).  Rode my bike over to a friends and we ran from her house around town.  Weather was pretty hot, but there was a slight breeze that made it fairly pleasant.  I managed to break through my first mile barrier.  For a while now I find myself just done at about the 1 mile mark.  I need to stop, stretch and gather my thoughts.  This time when I hit that mile I mentally thought of stopping, but then did a once over on the body and realized I felt pretty good.  Made it to 2.8 miles (just after a hill) before I took my first break.  I'm REALLY looking forward to not needing these breaks anymore.  It's coming!

The last mile or so was TOUGH!  I really, REALLY had to push.  I'm very thankful for my friend because she really helped me through it.  I told her I couldn't talk for a bit, but I needed her to talk to me.  She came through.  I was so happy to get back to her place and finish my run.  However ... she's training for a fall marathon and had to run 16 miles.  So, I grabbed my bike and rode beside her as she finished off her distance.  It was then my turn to talk to her and help her through her mileage.  We make a good team.

Riding the bike immediately after my run actually felt really, really good.  Granted, it was a super slow biking pace, but I think it helped to loosen everything up because I felt fantastic for the rest of the day.

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August will be another month filled with even more running miles, as many biking miles as I can manage, and I'm planning to fit in a lot more of those fitness classes (specifically Abs Only & Bootcamp).  By the end of the month I want to be up to running 13.1 miles without needing a rest break.

Heidi
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7 comments:

Fran said...

I think you had an awesome month. I've been reading your blog for quite a while now and there's no doubt in my mind that you will run those 13.1 miles without stopping.

You've made very much improvement this last month, very well done!

And I think it's great of you to stay with your friend on your bike for her last 6 miles.

Go get August!

Fran said...

Hey there me again, to tell you I'm "stealing" your idea of where you want to be at the end of the month.

As you may (or may not know) I'm having to many walkbreaks too at the moment and I already made the decision that I would work on that but till I read your post I didn't exactly know how.

Now I do by setting a goal too at the end of the month and make a sort of a plan about the walk breaks the next 4 months.

So thank you for helping make the idea in my head a concrete one.

Lynsey said...

You had a great July! I have no doubt that you will make August even better. You are kinda like me, once your head is in it, it's game on. Good luck with that 13.1....you can do this!

Marlene said...

Great job in July! Your running is coming along - keep at it!

Marcelle said...

You did well in July...MY RUNNING QUEEN HAS RETURNED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darlene said...

Wow - no walk breaks for 13.1!!! I always take frequent breaks when I'm training and 5 miles is the most I've raced without stopping.

Roz @ weightingfor50 said...

Hi Heidi, thanks for stopping by my blog. So glad found yours! Congrats on your fantastic July!!! All the best for August!!!