Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Where'd September go?

Lawsy me, September has flown by! And a busy month it was. Between volunteering, time with friends and a few truly fun races, my birthday month began the slow skid into October.

Which means fall running, which makes me happy. (Not fall itself, mind you; no, that cruel season reminds me of death and boredom. But running in 40 to 60 degree temps is pretty stellar, thankyouverymuch.)

So what did we do this month? Well, the whole thing kicked off with Labor Day weekend - also known as my opportunity to lay by the pool and eat ice cream, which did nothing for my fitness goals. But then there was Ironman weekend, during which I was completely entranced by some incredible athletes - three of whom are my friends! You can't witness something like Ironman and remain unchanged. Just yesterday, I took an hour-long dance class and then headed out for an eight-mile run, and that sounded kind of difficult to me. Until I remembered two miles in the water, followed by 112 on the bike and a marathon. Nah ... eight miles is nothin'. 

Personally, I had some great races this month. On the 16th I went to the Blackhawks training camp festival with my sisters Pat and Jenn, and Jenn and I did the "Mad Dash to Madison" 5K. It was my second-best 5K ever, and just 38 off my PR for this distance. I ran it in 39:06, with a 12:37 minute mile - an excellent race for me! Plus, it was just a ton of fun.

Less than a week later, I did the Women Rock 10K, and it's my new 10K PR! WOOT! I finished in 1:23:09, running an average 13:23/mile. Not fast, by anyone's standards, but still better than I've done before. Really happy with it.

Then, just last Saturday, I rounded out my month of races with the Eat Dirt Mud Run ... which, frankly, ate dirt. Not good, really. Kinda borning, not a lot of dirt or mud, not many obstacles. But I did it, and it was fun with the folks I was with (my sister Jenn, friend Angelicque and her friend Jen.) 

At any rate, that's a month with three events! Crazy, I know. And now that it's drawing to a close, I'm realizing I have just six weeks to train for Wine & Dine. Nutso. Soon I'll be in Disney World, ready to run my fourth and final half marathon of the year. I will be ready. I will have fun. And hopefully, by the time it's here, I will be even stronger and healthier, and ready to run.

Next week, I promise a weigh in. But this week, I'll share the workout plan:

  • Monday - Rest day
  • Tuesday - Three miles, easy
  • Wednesday - Seven miles, tempo 
  • Thursday - Two miles, easy
  • Friday - Yoga (or 10-mile long run, to get it out of the way)
  • Saturday - Strength training, swim and maybe a bike ride (if I do my long run on Friday)
  • Sunday - Rest day 
Not gonna lie; the rest days are my favorite. 

Some weeks, it seems, the prescribed runs are harder than others. Last night's three miles almost killed me, and I can't really begin to understand why. I should be able to run three with ZERO issues, right? Wrong. Every run is it's own thing. Taking them as they come is part of why they can be so healing. 

Ever forward.

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