Reflect/Reset: July & August
Reflect/Reset is a new series on the blog that will be published on the first Friday of the month. In this series of blog posts, I will be sharing details about the previous month of training and sharing my training plans for the month ahead. I will reflect on the past month and reset to create space for the experiences that await in the new month.
Reflect: July
Deep summer running and, in Miami, that means every run felt like it was done either in a sauna or a swamp. July is when I started to feel like myself again on the run; it’s when I started seeing paces without the grueling effort that I hadn’t seen since March. So, while the weather was a challenge, I felt like I was finding my stride again. I also feel like I made the best decision training-wise when I decided to focus on the 5K distance this summer. I have so much respect for my past runner selves who spent summers training for marathons, but now I have so much love for my current self who finally gets that to be my happiest runner self I cannot train long and hard in the summer. Don’t get me wrong, running is still hard and focusing on the 5K is hard as well, but there’s a different mindset I get into when my longest run is supposed to be 9 miles (I went the extra mile this month!) as opposed to the mindset I would have to muster to get through 18–20-mile runs. 9 miles? I can do that, survive, and get on with my day. 18-20 miles? I knew I could do that, but I didn’t know how deep I would have to dig or what dark hole of thoughts I would have to crawl out of to keep going. Last July those long marathon runs depleted me; this July those long 5K runs reinvigorate me.
July Stats:
103.4 miles total
25.9 miles average weekly
17 runs total
Longest run: 10.14 miles
Shortest run: 4.06 miles
Favorite workout: Aerobic + strides
Most memorable moment: Tackling the Rickenbacker bridge with She RUNS This Town – Miami
What supported running this month: Yoga, strength training, and physical therapy
Reset: August
New month, new goals, right? In August I will continue my 5K training (race is September 9th). A big goal for the month is staying on top of hydration and rest and challenging myself to do more of both. For the past few months my training has been on a 3-week cycle of 2 weeks higher intensity and 1-week deload/lower intensity, and I have been loving that change of pace. I have felt fresh, ready, and excited to run and I hope those feelings stick with me in this final month of 5K training.
Stay tuned for next months post. I’m curious to see how my August stats compare to the July’s stats.
Did you have any memorable running moments from July? If so, I’d love to hear about them!
