May Review

Oof what a month it has been!  Today was the last teacher work day of the year and now I am officially on summer vacation!  As I was falling asleep on the couch around 7:30 PM I suddenly realized that it was the last day of the month.  When I managed to rouse myself, I checked Strava to see how many miles I had run this month.  I learned that I only ran EIGHT times this month.  For a total of 53.5 miles. 

I did take 2 full weeks off after the marathon, on purpose.  Only running 4 times in the past 2 weeks was...less intentional.  But still ok.  There has been an awful lot going on this month and overworking my body by trying to come back too soon post-marathon would probably do a lot more harm than good.  Now that I am on vacation and "mostly" settled into my new house* though, I'm hoping to get back to some kind of running/strength training business-as-usual. 

*Anyone ever tried cramming a 5 day school field trip, a marathon, moving out of an apartment and into a house, wedding planning, and the last month of school before?  I don't recommend it.  But I wouldn't change a thing.   Also, I am in love with our house, and I survived much better on inadequate sleep at the end of the school year than I would have thought possible.  Even with absolutely terrible allergies driving me completely crazy. 

Anyway, I'm taking it one day a time.  I'm gonna spend the next week getting everything in the house into it's proper place.  And hopefully I will run more than twice.

Week 1 : 5/1 - 5/6 : run 35.6 miles
2 flat runs in Georgia in the midst of full days of kayaking in paddle boarding, and then the Pittsburgh Marathon.  My body was so beat by the end of all that!

Week 2 : 5/7 - 5/13 : nada

Week 3 : 5/14 - 5/20 : nada

Week 4 : 5/21 - 5/27 run 9.6 miles
After 2 full weeks off, I thought it was time to run again.  I did a nice easy run with the group on Monday, and planned to do the same on Tuesday.  But the Tuesday group was doing a track workout.  I should have just run by myself, but of course I went with the group instead.  I did their relatively-easy 1600, then did the 800 a bit faster, but not as much faster as them.  Then I knew there was no way I was going to make it through their whole workout (a bunch of 800s and then a bunch of 200s) and a cooldown, so I did a 400 and a 200 and then called it quits on the workout.  And then somehow I didn't manage to run again all week.  I could have run on Sunday with Coby but I took a nap instead while he ran in the rain...

Week 5 : 5/28-5/31 : run 8.3 miles
Week 2 of trying to come back.  On Monday we did our first run from the new house.  Only one questionable dog encounter.  Then I did the smart thing and did not go to run club on Tuesday.  (It was a really smart thing, because apparently the group did a timed 5k on the track.  Ew.)  Easy group run on Wednesday, and now here I am falling asleep on the couch again while Coby runs in the rain.  I think I'll run tomorrow...

January review

Well, January started out really strong, and ended really weak, but I at least managed to get 100+ miles in the bank and I'm still feeling strong even if I haven't been able to run much lately.  Tendonitis pain came back in my left foot after Wytheville, and I've had to take it pretty easy.  I've got an appointment to get new orthotics on the 5th, and until then I'm just trying to hold my foot together without completely quitting running.  There's been a lot more time spent on the bike trainer than I would like, but oh well!  I'm glad I have the trainer so that I have something to do other than run.  I also went to the gym to use the rowing machine once, and that was a nice change of pace.  

I like that the rowing machine is a full-body workout!  

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Week 1 : 1/1 - 1/7 : run 35.7 miles
What a week!  I can't imagine a stronger start to a new year than this one!  A nice easy New Year's Day run with a friend, a spectacular 4 mile tempo run paced by feel (all 4 tempo miles ended up under 7:00), an extra long wandering run around Bristol (8.8 solo, 6.5 with friends), an easy 5+ miler on tired and sore legs, and then finished out the week by running a few more easy miles with a friend.  Somewhere in there I also tried a circuit workout with my balance discs for the first time and all I can say about that is ouch! Great workout, but I was feeling it all through my 15 mile run and the 5 mile shakeout.

There have been some very cold days this month!

Week 2 : 1/8 - 1/14 : run 35.5 miles
Another really solid week!  Started off with a nice group 7 miler, had a great pick-up mile repeat session on the track at school after a circuit workout with co-workers, got introduced to a fun new hill, ran a mountainous half marathon and then kept going for 3 more miles to get a 16 mile long run, and finished out the week with a 2.5 mile shakeout. 

Week 3 : 1/15 - 1/21 : run 23.5 miles, bike 20 miles
Started off with some easy group 6-8 mile runs, then had a snow day and did easy AM miles in the snow and then a short group run in the evening.  By the end of that day, I knew my foot pain wasn't going to go away and I made the decision to take time off from running.  The rest of the week involved 2 trainer rides, a TRX workout, and a hike. 

Week 4 : 1/22 - 1/28 : run 13.3 miles, bike 25 miles 
I started off the week with a trainer ride and a circuit workout, then tried a run. Meant to ease my way back into running but got overly excited to run after 6 days off, ran 3 days in a row, and then had to take more time off because clearly my tendonitis is back.  Those three runs were each only 4-5 miles, and I tried to take them easy, but my foot started hurting about 3 miles into the first run.  It didn't hurt the second day, perhaps because I was wearing my Hokas and they are more cushioned, but by the end of the third run I could tell it needed more time off. I finished out the week with the rowing machine, a flat photo-walk, and another trainer ride.

Not my favorite way to exercise, but grateful for the option!

Week 5 : 1/29 - 1/31 : run 9.3 miles, bike 10.2 miles
Now that I've made an appointment to get new orthotics, short runs every other day feel like an ok idea.  So, easy run Monday, trainer Tuesday plus circuit workout, then an easy run on Wednesday.  Didn't really feel any pain today so I may run tomorrow, especially since I know I won't have time for exercise on Friday. 

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Year to date:

total run miles : 117

total bike miles : 55