After training for and racing the Boston Marathon in April, I took a much needed mental and physical break from intense training. I had been riding the high of running a huge PR last fall in Chicago, so I put in more miles than I ever had this past winter/spring hoping to put up a PR in Boston. However, it just wasn’t meant to be, as the highest mileage of my life didn’t directly correlate to running a faster marathon. It was a little frustrating to have put in so much hard work, only to fall short of my goal. Nevertheless, I reminded myself that I’m training for so much more than PRs – for the community of running with friends and for the love of the sport.
I took a month of downtime before thinking about my summer and fall plans. I’ve decided to pass on a fall marathon, and instead, focus on a half marathon. I think it’ll be good to mix it up and train for something different. My summer training got off to a consistent start, but my workouts weren’t quite where I wanted them to be, which has been a great reminder of the importance of patience and respecting the process. I began to hit my stride at the end of June, just as I spent the entire month of July travelling the country, attending two weddings of BRR teammates, and starting a new job. I took separate trips to Oregon, South Carolina, Michigan, and Colorado. Each of these trips was absolutely incredible – I got to run on the beach on both coasts, I spent quality time with my family (and extended family), and I got engaged to the love of my life!
Through it all, I was able to stay consistent with my training, but my workouts did suffer some with all of the travelling. I do have to say that it’s all been worth it, and I should still hopefully be on track to break 70 minutes for my half marathon in October. I’ve put together some solid, but not outstanding, workouts this summer including a 3×2-mile effort where I averaged 10:15s and a 6-mile tempo where I averaged 5:25s.
The hot and humid weather as of late has made training more difficult, but I’ve really appreciated the company of my teammates and friends on my runs – shout outs to Sarah Fisher, Matt Lawder, Kwin Keuter, Matt O’Connor, Brian Holdmeyer, Eric Johannigmeier, Carter Snow, Brian Lyons, Chris Loseman, Danny Stults, and Tom Albes!
I am looking forward to competing in my 9th consecutive Wash U. Early Bird XC Meet this Saturday and progressing with my half marathon training. It all should be a lot of fun!
