August 2013 – end of month running report

Not the most structured month for my running. Made an effort to more frequently hit at least four miles, but our release in mid-August and scrambling to quickly redesign some fundamentally different pages on Smashrun meant late nights and very little rest.

I tried to keep my trailing weekly mileage close to 30 miles after the first two weeks, but I forgot that it requires a bit of patience to get used to higher mileage. I still haven’t committed to a race yet, but fall is usually a good time for long distance events so I’ve already got higher weekly mileage in the back of my mind.

What worked:

• Simplifying my training. For example: “1 interval and 1 tempo session each week.”
• Longer rest periods. Run early the day before and late the day after.
• Long slow “recovery” runs means I don’t have to compromise on mileage and I just run by feel.

What didn’t work:

• Offsetting lack of sleep with power naps. A long night’s rest just can be replaced.
• Cutting back on strength training to maximize rest. I think it actually makes me more vulnerable to injury.

I haven’t really had an opportunity yet to figure out this month’s running goals, but I think I gotta keep it simple in the near term. It would be great, though, if I could cross-train at least once a week, do speedwork twice a week, and run at least three 10k’s this month.