After a busy week last week, I was ready for a bit of a break. Unfortunately, this week was also quite busy with final meetings before the wedding. So I did what I could, when I could. Most of my runs were actually more of a stress reliever than anything. It was nice to spend some time away where my mind could just stop thinking about everything.

Monday: 3 Miles + Core

Tuesday: 0

Wednesday: 3.3 Miles

Thursday: 0

Friday: 0

Saturday: 5.13 Miles

Sunday: 0

Total Miles: 11.43 Miles

I started my week with a run on Monday. I had a free evening, so I took advantage of it. I decided to take it easy on the treadmill and just zone out while catching a few episodes of 30 Rock. I had a bit of stomach cramping in the beginning, but it was most likely from dehydration, stress and poor eating habits over the weekend.

Wednesday was also a free night without meetings so I knew I needed to get a run in before starting on some wedding projects.  I made my way to a neighboring development and actually felt pretty great. I checked on my pace to see that I was doing 8:11. A little too quick, so I slowed down to 8:30 pace and kept it there for the next 2.5 miles. I had some gradual inclines in the development that made me work a little harder, but other than that I felt fantastic, this quicker pace felt pretty easy. I had off and on stomach issues from 2.5 to 3 miles so I cut it short at 3.3 miles. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but overall the pace felt fairly easy almost the entire run.

Saturday was a disappointment. I was supposed to have a group run on Saturday morning, but my stomach was not cooperating. So I thought I’d run in the basement on the treadmill to play it safe. But of course the moment I turned on the treadmill, the circuit tripped. By this point, I was feeling a little better, and decided to head out for a short run close to home. I ran a loop on the back roads and finished up in the development. I was more mentally frustrated by the end of my run than anything else. I know I needed to get my long run in, but it just wasn’t in the cards this week.

Week Nine Thoughts:

• There seems to be a main theme with all of my runs this week, and that would be stomach issues. Last weekend and throughout this week I ate pretty poorly. And by poorly, I meant lots of pasta and cheese. Clearly, this is causing me to skip runs or cut them short. I need to take a better look at what I’m eating and make some changes.
• Mileage was low again this week, and I don’t expect it to be high for the rest of August. Hopefully this won’t harm me too much come September. I didn’t realize how busy August would be, and now I know I can’t do it all. I’m at peace with shorter runs, and less time lacing up. I may need to rearrange some goals, but as long as I can ramp things back up next month, I should be ok.