June in Review

Wow, I can't believe that we are now halfway done with 2010. Doesn't seem right somehow. On the one hand I have accomplished a lot in the first six months of the year, and on the other it seems that there is never enough time to build up the mileage to the level that I want prior to my first marathon attempt in September. When you are training for a long race like that the weeks, which normally look long and far away, are all of a sudden in short supply.

This week I finished off the month with two short recovery runs. I ran a really easy 5km on Tuesday morning and woke up a bit earlier today and ran 10km. My legs feel quite stiff, likely a byproduct of Monday's good leg weights and the high mileage in the previous three weeks. The first couple of kilometres this morning were quite creaky and slow, but I loosened up a bit toward the end, though I kept the pace nice and slow  because this is a recovery week.

So, things are moving along as smoothly as can be expected. More milestones were achieved in June and my training continues to slowly inch further along as I head towards September 26th and the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Once again, I hit all my goals for the month and did not miss any training runs despite a little scare in the weight room where my left kneecap forced me to stop a workout and ease up on the leg weights for a week.

Here are the details:

1. Ran 236.3km (goal was 215km)
2. Averaged 55.13km/week (goal was 50km/week)
3. Established a new high in weekly mileage (65km) and monthly mileage (see point 1)
4. Broke last year's total mileage (975.5km) and currently stand at 1054.05km for 2010.
5. Weighed in at 188.3lbs, nice and stable now despite my continued affection for all things in pie form.

As I slide down the other side of this annual mountain things are bound to get a little tougher. July will not only prove difficult as my mileage continues to increase, both weekly and for my long runs, but also because it will be a very busy time for us as a family. Two baseball tournaments out of town during the longest of my long run weeks will mean I will be waking up extra early to fit my training in. I hope that the lack of down time will not lead to some unexpected injury. My goal for the month of July is to average 55km/week, which means I am aiming for a total distance of 244km. Should be tough, but achievable.