When I wrote my last training recap, I had just accomplished my highest monthly mileage. September had been a month of ups and downs. I was only two weeks away from running my next marathon. I had no idea what was coming my way, but I knew I felt really good. And I thought maybe, just maybe, I could reach my “A” goal. Turns out… I did. I reached it and I crushed it. I’m still riding the high of that awesome accomplishment right into the “off season”. October 2018, you were a blast!
- Total Miles: 80.11 miles
Here’s where I stand with my “Banking the Miles” challenge for 2018:
- January 2017: 73.83 miles / January 2018: 66.50 miles
- February 2017: 33.39 miles / February 2018: 74.53 miles
- March 2017: 51.51 miles / March 2018: 89.00 miles
- April 2017: 68.68 miles / April 2018: 70.75 miles
- May 2017: 61.50 miles / May 2018: 100.19 miles
- June 2017: 51.62 miles / June 2018: 78.57 miles
- July 2017: 70.38 miles/ July 2018: 79.76 miles
- August 2017: 104.54 miles/ August 2018: 136.95 miles
- September 2017: 136.86 miles/ September 2018: 137.30 miles
- October 2017: 72.28 miles/ October 2018: 80.11 miles
- November 2017: 52.86 miles /
- December 2017: 57.54 miles /
- TOTAL 2017: 835 miles/ TOTAL 2018: 913.66 miles / GOAL: 1000 miles, 91%
What was I training for? Detroit Free Press/Chemical Bank Marathon
What races did I run? Bruckelaufe 5k, Detroit Free Press/Chemical Bank Marathon
Best performances: Detroit, hands down. I mean, first of all, I got a PR. A HUGE PR. I beat my A goal. My pace was super consistent and I managed to run my second half faster than my first half. I had a smile on my face pretty much the entire time. It was the first marathon I ran completely on my own… although in Detroit you’re never really just you on your own.
Opportunities for improvement: As always, diet and hydration. I improved this so much the week leading up to the marathon but despite my best efforts to keep that momentum going, I have struggled. I definitely am doing better than I was in the months leading up to the marathon, but there’s always room for improvement.
What’s ahead: Well, I had mentioned in my last training recap that I was going to take a little break from running. And I have – I have only run about 5 miles since the marathon a couple of weeks ago. But that’s about to change. I joined a group on Facebook that is doing a 30 day challenge in November – to run/walk as many miles as the date. So if you’re following that means on November 1st, you run or walk a mile. On the 2nd, you go for 2. And so on… so yes, you start walking or running double digit miles back to back after the 10th. You can split up the miles throughout the day… run a couple of miles in the morning, walk a mile at lunch, run a few more later, etc. You will run or walk more than a marathon after day 26. Before you think I am totally crazy, let me tell you that no one has ever made it through the whole month. It’s really a push to try to get as far as you can. My plan is to try to make it to at least 10 miles, further if I can, but after that I will aim for running 1/10th of the miles of the day. So day 14 would be 1.4, etc. And after the month is done I plan to keep going with a streak of at least a mile a day through New Year’s. So much for that break from running, huh? But the difference is I don’t start a new training plan until December 24th, and if things change… oh well! The point is I’m going to try to challenge myself to something new. I challenge you to do the same!
RD on the Run 