Well here we are, the time between two training plans and I need to prevent myself from losing everything I’ve done over the past 11 months. So, to make sure that I’m still putting in the time and miles, I wanted to start up my weekly fitness recaps again. It’s my way of making sure I’m not letting everything go, but also, a time where I can try new things without it messing up any formal training plans.

Monday- 3.4 Miles, 9:35 average pace
Tuesday- 4.25 Miles, 10:35 average pace
Wednesday- Off
Thursday-4.4 Miles, 9:00 average pace
Friday- Off
Saturday- Off
Sunday- 3.2 Miles, 8:48 average pace
Total – 15.25 Miles, 9:30 average pace

I was actually pretty nervous to get back into a regular routine, but I knew I needed it. My running had been pretty sporadic over the past few weeks, so I felt like I was extremely out of shape even though I knew I wasn’t. Knowing this would be the last week of evening runs with a sliver of daylight, I tried to get as many miles outside as I could.

Monday and Tuesday were probably my last outdoor runs of the year in shorts. Monday I stuck to the developments checking out Halloween decorations, and Tuesday, I met up with Mallory and we ran Blue Heron. Nothing says Halloween week like running an abandoned golf course at night! Both runs were enjoyable, but Blue Heron definitely pushed my legs because of all the hills. Even during my best week of marathon training, I couldn’t break a 10:15 average pace because of all the ups and downs.

Thursday I met up with Second Sole, and we ran to Roscoe Park and back. We really only got about a mile and a half of decent daylight before we relied on my headlamp and our own memory of the path. It felt a little like the Blair Witch project, but it was a good run, with a faster crowd so I was able to push myself more than I would on my own.

Sunday, after watching the New York City Marathon, I couldn’t help but want to lace up and head outside. I warmed up with Darren, but after about a quarter mile, I headed to the back roads and ran some rollers. I pushed myself to run an 8:50 pace on the smaller ones, and 8:40 pace on the larger ones. And while I know I can go faster, it was nice to ease myself in after focusing so much on distance rather than speeds.

I spent most of my time running routes with rolling hills and navigating the dark. I ended up with just a little over 15 miles, which is right where I want to be. The month of November, I’d like to stay between 15-20 miles per week, just enough to keep me active, but not too much I’ll get burnt out. December I’d like to push the mileage to 20-25 a week, the perfect amount to build my base for spring training. For my first true week back post marathon, I’d say I did pretty good.