Training Summary: 8/23 - 8/29

Mon - 6 miles (7:39 avg) - Hanging Rock Trail w/ Andrew & Matthew
Tue - 6 miles (7:32 avg) - Brian Center in Fincastle, mostly dirt road
Wed - 6.5 miles (7:41 avg) - Salem, River Loop w/ Andrew & Matthew
Thu - 5 miles (7:59 avg) - Hanging Rock Trail
Fri - 7 miles (7:32 avg) - Greenway from the Ramada w/ Andrew & Matthew
Sat - 5.5 miles (7:44 avg) - from my house, roads
Sun - 8 miles (7:22 avg) - from my house, roads
Total: 44 miles (7:37 avg)

It took me until the very end to realize it, but overall this was a pretty darn good week! Seeing splits 30-60 seconds per mile slower than I’m accustomed to averaging had me a bit frustrated at times, especially since it didn’t feel easy, but as I was walking around Sunday to cool off from finishing what was my longest and fastest run since starting back, I realized that just 2 weeks prior I was still alternating running and walking, so I’ve made a ton of progress. My foot is fine too, which may be the best news of all. Now I just have to be patient and work my way back into shape, which I realize is going to be a long, somewhat painful process but one I’m more than happy to tackle!

No need to go into any details for any of my weekly runs because they were all just me running at whatever pace felt right for that day. Some days I struggled more than others, and I will say that taking it exceptionally easy on Thursday seemed to pay dividends thereafter, so that’s definitely something to keep in mind going forward. My best run of the week by far was Sunday, and I was able to close it out with my fastest mile since starting back, a 6:44. Slow, yes, but over a minute faster than I averaged on several of my runs throughout the week and I was able to walk away from it not feeling totally spent, so definitely a sign of progress.

This week will be more of the same. I’ll probably try to lengthen out a couple of the longer days by a little, especially the Sunday “long” run, but as I begin to approach 50 miles maybe even faster than I thought I would I’m more concerned about working on getting the pace to where it should be than anything else. Then, once I can average 7:10-7:15 AND feel comfortable doing it, I’ll slowly add in some light workouts and go from there. It’s something I have to constantly remind myself of, but patience builds consistency and consistency builds success! Slowly but surely, I WILL get there.