Thursday, July 30, 2015

Back to Training

Hello again friends,
Since my last blog post I have been up to a lot. I took some much needed time off, it's always hard to start running again, especially when you don't have any goals. In May and June I did some shorter runs and workouts to prepare for the Manitoba Half. I ended up running 1:29:28 - goal full marathon pace :-p. It was obviously not the fastest half marathon I have ever run, but in the end I felt that it was still respectable. About a week later I decided that it was time to start training seriously again. My goal is the Twin Cities Marathon on October 4th. My training is basically the same as what I did for Boston, except I will be going a bit further on my easy days, working a bit more on my dynamic warm up and strengthening after runs.

Since I am a teacher, I have 2 full months off work in the summer. This lets me run for 2+ hours a day without it getting in the way of my personal and professional lifestyle. So far, my summer vacation has been very relaxing and my training has gone according to plan. I have been really focusing on sleeping enough, and recovering effectively. Chocolate milk continues to be an important part of my post-run routine. This summer has been hotter than usual and I am finding hydration has been extremely important. The average temperature in Winnipeg this July has been ~26c. This has taken me a bit of time to get used to. Some of my running gear has proven to be essential this summer in the heat.

Here are my summer must haves:
  • Hat - not only does it block the sun, but it also has a handy sweat band so that sweat won't drip in my eyes
  • Sunglasses
  • Bodyglide (to avoid chafing)
  • Spandex shorts  (also to avoid chafing)
  • lightweight, loose fitting running shirts (Brooks)
  • Gatorade 
  • Cold showers and/or a lake to jump in
That's all for now! Stay cool!

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