A Look Back at July

Summer is officially over for me this week as next Thursday and Friday I return to work. One of my goals this summer was to really take advantage of the time off and get a good base of running. I wanted to really establish good habits and a routine because I knew once work came, my time would be more limited. If I had already set up a good base, I’d feel more motivated to continue with my training full force.

I am VERY happy with how I did this past month–the first official full month of training. So much so, that exactly what I wanted to happen, happened. I’m so motivated to keep it going with my training 🙂

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A quick look at some numbers

My long runs:

Week 4- 8 miles at 10:07/avg pace
Week 5- 14 miles at 10:02/avg pace
Week 6- 15 miles at 9:57/avg pace
Week 7- 10 miles at 9:58/avg pace

I was very happy to see that I stayed consistent. This training I’ve been really working on making my long slow distance runs, slow. And while a 10 minute average isn’t really all that slow for me, it’s the pace I feel like I could run for a long time. I don’t feel like I’m over exerting myself and so far, I’ve felt like I could’ve kept going each time.

My speed work: (each workout was some variation of a drill that accumulated to 3 miles)

Week 4- 25:53, avg pace 8:37
Week 5- *16:08 avg pace 8:07 (*two miles; I had an allergic reaction)
Week 6- 24:04 avg pace 8:01
Week 7- 24:27 avg pace 8:08

Again, I am very happy with these numbers. Week 4 were mile repeats and Weeks 5-7 were Yasso 800’s (6×800).

Weekly Mileage:

Week 4- 21.83 miles
Week 5- 26. 02 miles
Week 6- 32.36 miles
Week 7- 22.12 miles

Thirty two miles in week 6 was my most ever for a week.

Monthly Mileage:

118.50 miles

I have a very exciting run today (that I’ll share with you once it’s done) that will increase this total mileage by about 5 or 6 miles. This will make it very close to my highest monthly mileage of 124 back in January.

The difference this time though, is that I don’t feel tired. (I was working in January however, so that’s a big factor.) I also think that my nightly rolling has helped my muscles and my Monday cycling days have helped. I cycled once each week, Weeks 4-7.

I have a good feeling going into August and back to work, that I’ll be able to maintain this momentum. I’ve seen my body change, I’ve seen improvements, and that’s all motivation to keep going strong.

This was a great July (even with the heat) 😀

Thanks for a great month, friends!! Here’s to an even better August! ❤ , helly

–How was your month of running?
–What keeps you motivated during your training? Seeing your numbers improve? Consistency with workouts?

 

 

22 responses

    • Yes!! Having been running my longs runs the way I have and feeling like I could keep going each time has helped me so much mentally. If I run my marathon at that pace, I’d PR! Mental endurance is big challenge for me too. Have a great weekend! 🙂

  1. Your training looks great! I’m very motivated by upcoming races. Since I really don’t have much planned this year, my “training” has fallen away. That’s ok, though. I’m still running and having fun 🙂

  2. Werk it!
    I can’t believe your summer is almost over. That blows my mind. Probably because it has only really gotten warm here the past few weeks. I’m just starting to get acclimated! And I feel completely unprepared Chicago. Even though I’m “right on track” as it were.

  3. I love that quote and those are some great stats. What a great month. I too loved July and am sad to see the summer days dwindling. I just love throwing on shorts and a tank and seeing where my runs take me. Despite many of them being on the treadmill due to pregnancy, I still feel so lucky to have had the chance to enjoy them. Great work!

  4. This is such a great breakdown!! Very detailed and able to see progress. I loved the post until you wrote about going back to WORK! Totally kidding but…Gahhhh not yet! I’m not ready for the end of freedom!! Awesome job, sister!

  5. Just so you know, for your long runs you did not stay consistent. You improved by leaps and bounds! Not only did you run each mile faster but you tacked on more miles to each long run. You are seriously crushing it! So excited for you! I love seeing progress like that. What a rush!