Running Around

The past month has been extremely hectic. I vacationed to Hawaii at the beginning of July. I had a blast and enjoyed my 10 days there. On my second day in Hawaii I ran the Freedom Fest 10k. They list it as a Run/Hike. I wasn't sure what the "Hike" part meant, but I figured that with my experience with running the hills in Huntsville, I didn't have much to worry about. Boy was I wrong! I quickly found out what "Hike" meant. It means that you will come across hills so steep they are impossible to run, so you must hike up them. This was the hardest course I've ever raced and it didn't take long for me to regret the fact this was a 10k and not a 5k. I ended up running 48:51 (7:49/mile). I also went out a bit to fast and paid the price at the end. I haven't done anything faster than mileage pace, and the 7:15 first mile hurt! My brother ended up passed me with about a half-mile left and I didn't have anyway to respond. He ended up beating me by about 20-seconds. He finished 9th overall and I finished 10th.

I didn't run much the rest of time in Hawaii. I stayed active (hiking, rock climbing, swimming, etc), but I only ran twice over the next 8 days. However, since getting back to Texas I've gotten back in the routine and have been doing well. I ran 54-miles this past week, which is my highest mileage week since January. I've also started lifting weights twice a week, spending a little bit of time on the elliptical, and I've started working in some quality workouts again. I feel pretty good at the moment and my mileage runs have been feeling better and better. By the end of August I plan on being back at 60-mile weeks while doing two quality workouts and one or two 10-12 mile runs each week. If I'm doing that my prep for a winter marathon will be right on track.