Okay, here we go!
2011 Mileage Recap:
January: 66.62
March: 109.97
April: 103.58
May: 96.99
June: 124.2
Hmm, that doesn't look like 200 miles in October. This time let's start out with the bad and work our way to the good...
What didn't go well:
I don't really have the energy anymore to discuss what went wrong with October, but you can read about it here if you're just tuning in.
One of my things to look forward to this month should have been a long awaited 50 mile week. Unfortuantely I never got there. I peaked around 47/48 in late September. While I'm a little disappointed, I know there are many more training cycles in the future and I'll get there eventually. It's kind of like my old 31 mpw ceiling (and gosh does that seem like a lifetime ago!).
What went well:
I started out the month on a good note at the Rest in Peace 5k. It would have been a definite PR had the course not been short, but more importantly my legs weren't hurting and I had a blast.
I had my second 20-mile run and destroyed it. Again, it was a miracle day when my shins didn't hurt. Unfortunately that would not last...
Next up I hit a pretty big milestone at Ragnar, where I (slowly and painfully) crushed 34.5 miles over 5 legs (shin splints and all). It was stupid of me, but it sure felt great in the end!
This month I've rediscovered cross training and LOVED it, especially swimming, which I've started to crave on a daily basis.
Yesterday I was originally meant to do a 22 mile run, my last long run before tapering. I decided to just do as much as my body would allow/I felt comfortable with. That ended up being one loop of the river, a little over 11 miles. It felt fantastic! It was my first double digit run in more than three weeks and I got my pace down to the low 9's where it hasn't been since the beginning of the month.
My biggest goal for October was to listen to my body. Based on that goal alone, mileage count excluded, that makes October a successful month. Yes, it took me till around October 19th to actually do something about listening to my body (ie. not run), but a success nonetheless. If you want to read more about this you can go here, where I've already discussed my thoughts.
Another cool thing: I signed up for another 50k for 2012. The PHUNT 50k on January 7th. It's a fatass so it should be pretty chill (and chilly!). Mike, my sister, and her boyfriend are running too so I'm stoked!
November goals:
The obvious big things coming up are my taper period and the Philadelphia Marathon on November 20th (less than 3 weeks!).
Ideally I would have a full 3 week taper, but because of October's happenings I'm going to try to get in one last 18-20 mile run this Saturday. I know doing that 15 days before the race is probably not the best way to go about it, but at this point I'm more concerned about getting my endurance back up to where it needs to be.
I also want to re-encorporate a little speedwork during my taper if possible, considering most of my October runs were dead slow thanks to my shins. I don't even know what fast feels like anymore. At the very least, I'd like to sprint the last quarter mile of the marathon, so I need to work on it a little bit. I'll also need to make a decision about whether or not to go for a sub-4 with a pace group, or ditch the time goal and just fight to finish. I guess it's up to my legs over the next few weeks to make that decision!
2011 Mileage Recap:
January: 66.62
February: 75.69
April: 103.58
May: 96.99
June: 124.2
July: 151.95
August: 172.61
September: 193.06
October: 125.05
Hmm, that doesn't look like 200 miles in October. This time let's start out with the bad and work our way to the good...
What didn't go well:
I don't really have the energy anymore to discuss what went wrong with October, but you can read about it here if you're just tuning in.
One of my things to look forward to this month should have been a long awaited 50 mile week. Unfortuantely I never got there. I peaked around 47/48 in late September. While I'm a little disappointed, I know there are many more training cycles in the future and I'll get there eventually. It's kind of like my old 31 mpw ceiling (and gosh does that seem like a lifetime ago!).
What went well:
I started out the month on a good note at the Rest in Peace 5k. It would have been a definite PR had the course not been short, but more importantly my legs weren't hurting and I had a blast.
I had my second 20-mile run and destroyed it. Again, it was a miracle day when my shins didn't hurt. Unfortunately that would not last...
Next up I hit a pretty big milestone at Ragnar, where I (slowly and painfully) crushed 34.5 miles over 5 legs (shin splints and all). It was stupid of me, but it sure felt great in the end!
This month I've rediscovered cross training and LOVED it, especially swimming, which I've started to crave on a daily basis.
Yesterday I was originally meant to do a 22 mile run, my last long run before tapering. I decided to just do as much as my body would allow/I felt comfortable with. That ended up being one loop of the river, a little over 11 miles. It felt fantastic! It was my first double digit run in more than three weeks and I got my pace down to the low 9's where it hasn't been since the beginning of the month.
My biggest goal for October was to listen to my body. Based on that goal alone, mileage count excluded, that makes October a successful month. Yes, it took me till around October 19th to actually do something about listening to my body (ie. not run), but a success nonetheless. If you want to read more about this you can go here, where I've already discussed my thoughts.
Another cool thing: I signed up for another 50k for 2012. The PHUNT 50k on January 7th. It's a fatass so it should be pretty chill (and chilly!). Mike, my sister, and her boyfriend are running too so I'm stoked!
November goals:
The obvious big things coming up are my taper period and the Philadelphia Marathon on November 20th (less than 3 weeks!).
Ideally I would have a full 3 week taper, but because of October's happenings I'm going to try to get in one last 18-20 mile run this Saturday. I know doing that 15 days before the race is probably not the best way to go about it, but at this point I'm more concerned about getting my endurance back up to where it needs to be.
I also want to re-encorporate a little speedwork during my taper if possible, considering most of my October runs were dead slow thanks to my shins. I don't even know what fast feels like anymore. At the very least, I'd like to sprint the last quarter mile of the marathon, so I need to work on it a little bit. I'll also need to make a decision about whether or not to go for a sub-4 with a pace group, or ditch the time goal and just fight to finish. I guess it's up to my legs over the next few weeks to make that decision!
In addition to that there are some cool non-running related things like our engagement photo session on Friday, November 4th and our Engagement Party in DC on Friday, November 25th. Also, can't forget about Thanksgiving (apple pie NOM NOM NOM)!
My biggest goal for this month is to continue to train smartly. I want cross training at least 3 times per week whether it's spin or the pool. Training smartly also means other things like making sure I'm eating really well this month. Possibly cutting out that one glass of wine I have every Friday night. Getting enough sleep. Stretching every night. 20 minute abs and arm conditioning at least 5-6 nights per week. You get the idea. I've made it this far so I'm sure this is manageable!
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