Yeah, I know this is a massive amount of workouts and training to catch up on, but I promise it will go fast!

July 3rd- 2 Miles at Indian Camp Creek 35:37 17:47/mile

While my training plan for my half marathon didn’t officially start until the following week, my friend Amy convinced me to go ahead and start running. I waited until 7:30 before heading out for my run because it was SO hot and humid out. My first mile was done in 16:52 and my second mile was 18:27. I took an extra walk break in the second mile because it was so hot out. My lower back was all kinds of not happy during this run as well.

July 7th- 2 Miles at Indian Camp Creek 32:17 16:07/mile

It was about 20 degrees cooler and much less humid for this run, which reflected in my times. My first mile was completed in 15:50, with my second mile coming in at 16:25. My lower back wasn’t as mad at me for this run as well, and overall I was really happy with how things went.

July 10- 2 Mile Hill Workout at Indian Camp Creek 33:56 16:56/mile

Since I was one vacation that week, I was able to run in the morning when it was too hot and humid. Indian Camp park has a really nice two-mile loop with basically a one mile hill climb followed by a gentler decline and then a flat portion. It’s also pretty close by the house so I run there quite a bit, especially when I am leaving for a run from home. My first mile, which includes the hill, was 18:01 and my second mile was 15:53, including a walk break. I ran 1.5 miles before taking my walk break and it felt amazing! I haven’t done that in forever. This was also my first “official” workout on my training plan.

July 12-2.5 Miles at Indian Camp Creek 45:04 18:02/mile

Ugh. This run was just not super fun. The heat index was already super high by the time I made it out after 9:30, and I didn’t get to bed until 1:30 that morning. Then I had to be up early because my niece was being dropped off at 7:15, and I had to take her to golf camp at 8:30. So by the time I made it to the park, it was not shaping up to be a great run. I had been hoping for 3 miles, but just didn’t have it in me to complete. Mile 1 was 16:23, which wasn’t awful, but mile 2 was finished in 18:25. I had to stop and walk extra in mile 2 because I was really feeling the effects of the heat and humidity. My half mile pace was even still quite slow, coming in at 9:33. I was pretty much over this run before it even started.

July 13-.78 Mile Hike with the Dogs at Indian Camp 44:06

Since my poor dogs had been cooped up all week with the fair going on and the unexpected babysitting of my niece, I took them for a hike and swim on Friday,

No weekend runs because I didn’t get up early enough on Saturday OR Sunday. Which brings us to this past weeks activities!

Monday July 16th-60 Minute Dynamic Flow Workout 58:58

Dynamic Flow is a Buti Yoga workout. Which is a type of yoga that combines kundalini, asana, and tribal dance. I love it! It really involves your entire core, which I desperately need to strengthen so my lower back stops being so cranky during runs. Dynamic Flow is one of the more beginner series, however I still had to take breaks and skips some of the moves. I also had to modify a few moves throughout, simply because I’m just not there in my practice. It was nice to hit the yoga mat though!

Tuesday July 17th-45 Minute Soul Sweat Workout 42:53

Another Buti Yoga video! This one is a bit more asana focused, which was nice for helping to get my stretch on, since my hips and calves are feeling very tight, and there is a disconnect that is causing some pain and issues in my right foot. I was supposed to have a run on this night, but I didn’t get home early enough to do dinner and everything else, and still make it out before the parks got gated.

Wednesday July 18th-13.15 Mile Ride at Creve Couer Lake Park 1:14:25

I started at the 364 trailhead and then rode down the Greenway to CC Lake Park. There were some small climbs, but nothing too major, so I didn’t have to take a break halfway through or anything like that. It’s definitely a nice little weeknight ride, so I will be repeating it several times. I opted to bike one of my training run nights, because a) I love biking and b) I don’t do much else for cross training and I am still getting the cardiovascular training in.

Thursday July 19th-3 Miles on the Katy Trail 56:14 18:45/mile

I hope this doesn’t set a precident that Thursday’s run will all be shit. Because this one was absolutely shitty. It wasn’t overly hot, but I hadn’t been hydrating like I should have and the portion of the trail I chose to run on had very little shade. So those things together made for a sucktastic run. Mile 1 was 17:36, mile 2 was 18:50, and mile 3 was 19:03. I’m not really happy with how this run panned out, especially considering with the breaks I took it took over an hour to complete, but I’m hoping these crappy runs with be a thing of the past soon. Or at least not happen weekly.

Thursday Night-Soul Sweat 45 Minute Workout 43:56

When I got home from my concert, I threw on the Soul Sweat 45 minute workout and managed to get through almost all of it with minimal breaks. I hadn’t planned on doing it, but felt the need to stretch away some of the crappy run vibes.

Friday July 20th- Rest day!

Saturday July 21st- 4 Mile Long Run at Quail Ridge Park 1:09:35 17:23/mile

First long run of the training program. I felt pretty great during this run because the weather was freaking amazing for late July. There was the best breeze, and there was also plenty of shade along the path. Mile 1 was 16:30, mile 2 was 17:30, mile 3 was 17:42, and mile 4 was 17:29. My left lower back had a bit of crankiness, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was anticipating, given all the stuff I had done this week. Just before I turned around to start mile 3 I came across a Copperhead snake laying out on the path! I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever seen a full-grown Copperhead in the wild. And to see it on a paved path versus a wooded trail was a little surprising too, but since it was so cool out Saturday morning, it may have been looking for a warmer place to hang out for a while. I just waited it out for a bit and it eventually turned around the way it had been coming and slithered back into the woods. And I continued on my merry way, but did warn several people, especially those with dogs that I had seen a Copperhead on the path and they may want to keep an eye out when they went through the wooded portions of the path.

Sunday July 22nd-14.83 Miles Defiance to Augusta Out & Back 1:28:46

So glad to be back out for my Sunday rides with Matt! Since this was his first ride of the season, we did a route that we were familiar with and wasn’t too terribly long. The trail was pretty crowded, given the glorious weather we had this weekend, so there was a lot of passing going on to get around the families out having a super leisurely Sunday ride. I don’t think this was my best effort on this segment of the trail, but it was a great way to end the week of workouts!

 

So, there you have it! All caught up on what I’ve been doing fitness-wise, and where I am at on my training. I’m going to go ahead and wrap this up because it’s already pretty long, but I will be posting again soon for sure!