Friday, August 3, 2012

July Training Recap - Strong in the Saddle

July was a good training month.

According to my trusty training spreadsheet I ran the most miles I’ve ever run in a month, 192.34 miles, and came through relatively healthy.  I also logged the highest weekly total I’ve ever run, 58.63 miles, and the numbers only get bigger from here per the ultra plan I’m following.  My legs seem to be adjusting fairly well to the increased workload.  Still not getting enough sleep.  Broken record on that one.

The more interesting stat in July is my mileage on the bike.  I’ve generally substituted my Sunday recovery run with a relatively long ride on the bike, and I’m really enjoying the time in the saddle.  I think I like the speed a bit too much.  Hopefully that doesn’t end up getting me hurt in new and even more spectacular ways than running ever offered.  Although I only got in 5 rides in July, I managed 193.06 total miles, with a longest ride of 53.55 miles.  I think the biking is helping the running, and the running is helping the biking.  At the very least it’s giving my feet a break on Sundays and keeping the pounding in check.

Here’s the recap for July:

Running:  18 runs, 192.34 miles
Biking:  5 rides, 193.06 miles
Lifting:  8 trips to the gym

Sadly, zero times in the pool.  I’m planning to get there eventually this summer, but for now the running and biking are working for me, so they’re winning out when I need to decide what to do.

This Saturday I have a 24-mile long run on the plan, which will be the longest training run I’ve ever done.  Planning to try the 25 minutes running / 5 minutes walking approach which I need to adopt as part of my Ultra strategy.  Will also walk any major hills.  Still trying to get over the mental hurdle of feeling like I need to be running all the time.  We’ll see how it goes.

4 comments:

  1. Wow, impressive month. I'm sure all that bike time will be helping all around. If you figure out the sleep thing, let me know! :)

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  2. One of my runner friends swears by biking to improve his running. He told me he ran his best ever times when he was spending a lot of time on his bike so I think you might be on to something.

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  3. Great month Chris! Glad your legs are adjusting to the higher mileage with complaining too much :)

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  4. Nice mileage Chris! Biking definitely helps running, not so much the other way round but I think the break it gives your legs from impact is just SO helpful. I found that adding biking and reducing running has made me a faster runner - go figure! Get that sleep in though - keep trying it until you do it±

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