My training during the month of August really suffered as we moved from place to place. I didn't make it to the track at all and ditched the tempo runs I had been running on Saturday's for the sake of easier miles. And honestly, I was fine with it. It had to happen. Life ebbs and flows and sometimes we have to let go of something in order to give our attention and energy to others, and during the month of August I was giving my attention and energy to moving packing up our car and moving our family from place, to place, to place. You can't beat yourself up about the way you think things "should be," sometimes you just accept what you can do and move on. [Tweet "Don't beat yourself up about the way you think things "should be""]

Now that's done and we're finally where we will be for the next 6 or so months while we build our house, I finally had a solid week of training. And it looked like this:

Sunday 8/21

Planned: 2hr long run

Actual: 2:05, 13.25 miles I haven't been taking fuel on these 2 hour runs, but after running in Colorado I realized that I ran much better when I took fuel along the run. So I opted to take a handheld and ended up feeling so much better in the final 1/3 of the run, compared to when I don't take fuel with me.

Monday 8/22

A little hike with the kids to get outside on a gorgeous day!

Planned: 7 miles easy

Actual: 25 minutes. The day was jammed packed and I wasn't able to get out for a run until well after the kids were in bed at 8pm.

Tuesday 8/23

Planned: 7-8 miles

Actual: 7.09 in 1:02 This run felt easy and smooth and it was good to run the planned workout.

Wednesday 8/24

Planned: Track Workout of at least 5K, plus warm up and cool down

Actual: 2 mile warm up and cool down, plus a track workout giving me ~7miles for the day

Track Workout: 1000m (400m), 800m(400m), 600m(200m), 400m(200m), 200m(200m),

Splits: 3:48(1000m); 3:04(800m); 2:18(600); 1:28(400m); 38sec(200m)

For the most part I was about 4 seconds off of the paces I had been hitting back in July. I think this is due to being off the track for a month, working out alone (I usually run track with others and that definitely pushes you to run faster) and it was 5:30am not 5:30pm which makes a huge difference in how you feel.

Thursday 8/25

Planned: 40 min recovery run

Actual: 34 minutes. I ended up having to hurry home and didn't have a chance to add on those last 6 minutes. My left knee felt a little tender during this run, but for the most part it was just a tweak and subsided.

Friday 8/26

Planned: 35-40 min recovery run

Actual: 20 minute run to go get donuts with my boys who were up really early. We needed to get out of the house to let everyone else sleep, so I strapped this in to the stroller and we ran a mile to get donuts and then a mile back.

Saturday 8/27

Planned: 8 mile tempo (2 mile warm up, 4 miles at tempo pace, 2 mile cool down)

Actual: This workout scared me. I slept in and regretted it because it was already 80 by the time I headed out to do this. I adjusted my expectations thinking I'd run 7 min or 7:15 pace for the tempo. But ended up nailing the workout and didn't feel like I was dying.

4 miles at tempo: 6:58; 6:58; 6:57; 6:36.

Sunday 8/28

Planned: 1:30 min run

Actual: Met up with Crystal, and Instagram friend who always inspires me with the way she balances strength training with running. Plus she's a pretty bad-ass ultra runner. We explored some trails around our area and despite all the little loops and short trails, we were able to string together a little over seven miles and about an 1:23 minute of trail running. For the most part I felt great except a few little tweaks in my left knee.

For the most part I've finished off the week feeling really good, with the exception of my left IT band. I can feel a huge knot down near my knee and spent some time massaging the area last night. It doesn't seem to want to budge and is the cause of those tweaky knee pains. The last time I had IT band tightness was two years ago and it was on my left side as well, it usually freaks me out for a bit and then I foam roll vigorously and it works itself out. I'm hoping that is the case with my knee here too, maybe a trip to my chiro and massage therapist are also do since it's been about a month since I've seen either of them.

Upcoming Races

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Originally I had wanted to run a 5K on Labor Day weekend and do my best to break 19 minutes on an honest course (I broke 19 earlier this year, but it was on a mostly downhill course and so "doesn't count"). But ditched that idea and signed up for the Jay Peak Trail Running Festival 25K. This trail run will cover 15.5 miles and 3000 ft in elevation gain. It will be a challenge for sure, but one I am looking forward to!

This week's training will mostly focus on making sure my knee feels OK and getting ready for the trail run. I've got my eye on a few other local trail races:

9/18 The Mount A Trail Festival-a nine mile trail race and festival with kids activities. I haven't signed up for this one yet. But it's on my list.

10/2 The Leaf Peeper Hal Marathon-this scenic half marathon is actually part of the retreat activities for Rise.Run.Retreat 2016 and I can't wait to run it!

10/16 CHaD Hero Half Marathon-and then of course I'll be running the CHaD Hero half marathon in support of the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

--Sarah

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Training Update-first full week of training in a month and upcoming races