This week was interesting for training. I had to switch a few days around to make room for plans after work and for the weekend. This threw me off for the week and made it easier to push my runs around. Note to self, stick to the regular training schedule from now on, you don’t want the habit of pushing off runs. I had my best run Wednesday when I ran an old loop from high school. I ran the first half mile with my sister who is training for her first 5k in September. From then on my pace got quicker and quicker. I always feel great running this route, I’ve done it so many times I know what pace I should be at and how far I’ve run at any moment. My pace even got down to 8:34, first time since the heat!

Unfortunately, the good feelings didn’t last long. I woke up Thursday with both my knees hurting. I hoped they would be gone by mid afternoon so I could do a longer run that night. Nope, no such thing, so I took Thursday as a preventative injury day. I changed a few things around and decided to let my knees rest a few days and wait to hit up more miles in the weekend.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 4 Miles

Wednesday: 3.5 Miles

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: 14 Miles

Total Miles: 21.5 Miles

Sunday would be a big day, my longest run yet was scheduled, and how the way the week went, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it. Just as I’ve done before, I would let the day decide my run, focusing on one mile at a time. The temperature was in my favor, unfortunately the humidity was not.

Luckily the weather wasn’t hotter or else it would have been miserable. I started with my regular shorter loop and felt pretty good. I stopped at home for a short bathroom break and was ready to take on the remaining 10 miles. Somehow in the time I was inside, the sun came out in full force and so did traffic. Unfortunately half of my run didn’t have sidewalks, so I was battling for some space on the roads, which wasn’t welcomed by many drivers. However, the views were worth seeing. I love running in Wooster so I can enjoy the silence and take in pure country.

One thing I always forget are the hills. They aren’t all bad, sometime they’re rolling and sometimes they’re steep, but it’s a big difference compared to running up north. I did pretty well with them until mile 12 when I hit the last big hill. It certainly wasn’t fun, and I felt the effects of it all day long. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good for most of the run. I think my body is finally adjusting to running further and adding more miles. I did start to struggle at the end, but I think part of it was from the warm water I was carrying around and the amount of work I had to do with the hills.

What did I learn this week?

• Hills are tough, but they can benefit me in the long run. The more I challenge myself on them, the easier they will become.
• Proper recovery is key. I think by adjusting my schedule a bit to give myself an extra rest day, I prepared my body for the long run. Two weeks until my next long run, I should be able to come back ready to take it on!