September Review

Another month has come and gone and I'm over here thinking, did September really happen? I feel like it was July just yesterday!! I'm excited for the fall though- warm clothes, more races, hot cocoa, pumpkin patches, apple pies. All sorts of goodness.  But its sad to realize summer is over. I feel like I missed it.  I don't have a nice bronzed tan and I didn't log a ton of miles outside while the weather was perfect.  There's always next year.

August sparked the fire in me, and September is where I put in work. Sure, I slacked and didn't work my ass off, but I did more than I had in a long time.  In June I ran 30.8 miles, July 13.5 and August 14.1- which is not a lot. The way I look at it, I ran for a week each month.  September I didn't accomplish a whole lot more, but I tried.  I had bursts of motivation, I had moments of inspiration, and I made a conscious effort to lace up and start running.  My total mileage for September was only 45.0 miles, but I was making more of an effort.  I still had my days, which happened to fall all in a row, where I didn't run.  However, the days I did run, I ran longer mileage and pushed myself. 

September, I was signed up for 2 races. I hadn't raced since my half marathon in June (that race is one reason my June mileage is higher than July and August).  The races were back to back weekends.  I put in some training before the first race, but the week of the second, I only ran once.  I see there is a lot of room for improvement.  I have one race in October and I plan to up my game!

With September over, its time to reexamine where I'm at- My goal is to run 75+ miles a month for the rest of the year. That means no sitting on the couch feeling all "woe is me", I need to lace up and get out there.  With fall officially being here, my days of running outside are about to become limited.  I have started to dislike treadmill training, but I need to get reacquainted, as I will be spending the winter months indoors at the gym. 

The race I'm participating in this month is 2 weeks away.  I need to make a conscious effort to really put in the work.  I plan to not only log more miles, but to add in hill training and speed work.  I also plan to start more cross training and weight training again.  I want to improve in all areas of my fitness and work towards gaining my speed and strength back.  I'm hoping that when I do my October review, I will have more of a success story to report! :)

Until next time:

Questions for you:

What are your goals for the end of the year?

Do you have any fall races lined up?