I haven’t done one of these training recaps since AUGUST for June & July. I have not really felt inspired to write a whole lot. My training has gone very well, though. I’m definitely slower than I used to be, but that is definitely to be expected considering everything that has happened and how my body has changed in the last two years. I feel really good about where I am. I really enjoy running and I have remained injury free. I have taken time to focus on other parts of my life, too, like my relationship with my husband, my family, my friends, and especially my mental health. Instead of getting into the nitty gritty of what the heck I have been up to these last few months, I’ll just summarize it with races I’ve done, total mileage, and a wrap up of my “Marathon in a Month”.
Races Run in 2021
My first in person race since February of 2020 was the Crim in August. It was a miserably hot and muggy race, but I had so much fun with my running friends, especially getting to run a race with Paula again. Our time was not too shabby, considering neither of us had trained very intensely on top of the gross weather conditions.
The next in person race I ran was the Detroit Marathon in October, which you can read all about in my race recap post here.
My most recent in person race was the Great Turtle Run on Mackinac Island in October. Ken and I did this race together and we decided to walk the whole thing. It was a beautiful course that I cannot ever imagine running, and although I am very glad that we did it I’m not sure I would do it again. Well, of course, if Ken decides he needs to get the series medal for doing the trio of races on the island I guess I’ll be doing it again.
Banking the Miles Update
- January 2020: 50.0 miles / January 2021: 77.7 miles
- February 2020: 78.6 miles / February 2021: 26.0 miles
- March 2020: 84.3 miles / March 2021: 55.2 miles
- April 2020: 96.4 miles / April 2021: 28.4 miles
- May 2020: 83.3 miles / May 2021: 73.3 miles
- June 2020: 72.5 miles / June 2021: 69.95 miles
- July 2020: 84.0 miles / July 2021: 68.5 miles
- August 2020: 94.7 miles / August 2021: 105.5 miles
- September 2020: 50.1 miles / September 2021: 104.8 miles
- October 2020: 53.7 miles / October 2021: 62 miles
- November 2020: 69.3 miles
- December 2020: 86.0 miles
- TOTAL 2020: 902.9 miles / TOTAL 2021: 757.2 miles
Marathon in a Month Update: In November 2020, I signed up for a race called “Marathon in a Month”. To keep track of this, I have a spreadsheet where I list miles 1-26, plus 0.2. I record my 27 (one of them is for the 0.2 pace) fastest training mile times for the month. That gives me a total marathon time and average pace. I decided to continue recording it because I thought, “Hmm, I wonder if this will offer a good prediction for what my actual marathon time might be.” My marathon has come and gone, so let’s take a look at my “Marathon in a Month” times/paces compared to my actual marathon. It was fun to track this for a whole year!
- November 2020: 5:09:37, 11:49 min/mile
- December 2020: 5:25:24, 12:25 min/mile
- January 2021: 5:28:39, 12:33 min/mile
- February 2021: 6:02:29, 13:50 min/mile
- March 2021: 5:19:11, 12:11 min/mile
- April 2021: 5:20:10, 12:13 min/mile
- May 2021: 5:13:27, 11:58 min/mile
- June 2021: 5:33:43, 12:44 min/mile
- July 2021: 5:31:34, 12:39 min/mile
- August 2021: 5:31:14, 12:39 min/mile
- September 2021: 5:39:00, 12:56 min/mile
- October 2021: 5:47:09, 13:15 min/mile
My official time for the Detroit Marathon was 5:48:14, 13:17 min/mile. My average marathon time for my marathon in a month was 5:30:08, 12:36 min/mile. While I would have LOVED to do a 5:30 marathon (and that was in between my “A” and “B” goal), I am still extremely proud of how I did at Detroit this year. 2020-2021 were very difficult years for many reasons. I would have been happy with any marathon finish – just because I did the damn thing!
What’s Next?
I am taking it easy with running, currently loosely following a beginner 10k training plan to earn the 10k Garmin Badge this month. The next race that I have planned is Winterlaufe in February, which will be my 100th race! I do plan to start a beginner half marathon training plan in December to train for the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, but I am still not 100% sure that I will be doing the race. It all depends on what happens with… SCHOOL.
Yeah I said school. I am signed up to take a statistics class at a community college that is a pre-requisite for the master’s degree I am looking into pursuing! I am both nervous and excited about this adventure. I know that running will have to take a bit of a backseat in order for me to stay focused on my studies and still work full time, but I am okay with that. If we’re talking about silver linings, I think 2020-2021’s silver lining for running was that I learned to be okay with not always getting PRs, not always keeping streaks and goals, and balancing my life a little bit better.
So stay tuned – this blog will still feature my running, cuz I mean… it’s in my blog’s name after all. But I think you will be seeing more nutrition and life posts from me in the future!
RD on the Run 