I love and always have loved summertime. It’s my favorite season. I love the longer days, the warm weather, the sunshine, the more relaxed atmosphere, being able to be outside all day long, sleeping in … need I go on?

I even don’t mind summer running. Do I prefer 45 degrees to 85 degrees if I’m running a half marathon? Yes, indeed. But if I’m just doing any everyday run, I prefer summer.

This past week was a good week, in terms of summertime fun. It included a walk along the beach with my parents and brother, some swimming, baseball, and a birthday celebration. What could be better?

Well, I didn’t get in as much running as I would’ve liked – but I did have a fun week. You can’t have it all! 

Here’s what the week looked like:  

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Back in the day (a.k.a. before we had three kids), I used to do more races. 5Ks, 10Ks, 5 milers, 10 milers, and even more than 1 half marathon a year. It was easier to fit them in, and when we lived downtown, we could often even walk to the starting line of them. 

These days, if we do a race, we have to plan it out. Who will watch the kids? Will we all go? Will we drive separate? Do they have soccer/basketball/swimming/ballet, etc. at the same time? So, it’s been easier not to do them. Oh, and I’m a lot slower now, so there’s less of a chance of me getting an award.

But every so often a race happens that you can’t say no to – especially a race that practically runs by your house!

This weekend, I was excited to do just that. It started with a 1 mile fun run for the kiddos, and then I ran the 5K. And my parents were in town, so they were able to watch the race and hang out while we ran!

Here’s how the week went overall, including the race:

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Happy belated Global Running Day to all my runner friends! Back in the day I used to celebrate by participating in a group run, or even running with some friends, but alas, this year I just celebrated by running solo. Which is still a celebration. 

This week I’ve been a little tired and am getting over a cold, so my runs were not the best. BUT with summer officially here, I had a few reasons to celebrate:

• Getting to sleep in! Since I don’t have to be ready in the morning by 6 a.m., I can sleep in and get out for a run a little later.
• Daylight! The days are getting longer and I’m getting outside later, which means daylight for all my runs. 
• Trails! Because of the daylight, I am able to get in some runs where I don’t go when it’s dark – mainly on streets that aren’t well lit and trails. This makes my heart happy.  

Despite the cold, here’s how the week went:

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Man, I am still feeling a little worn out since my half marathon more than a week ago. I’m surprised it has taken me so long to recover — my feet are tired/sore still and my legs aren’t quite back at 100%. That said, I kept my running to a little less mileage this week. 

But first, IT’S JUNE (yikes!), so here’s a quick look at May’s highlights:

• Total mileage: 125.48 miles — not too high, not too low. Lower than my past few months, but still not my lowest month this year (Jan. and Feb. were a little lower)
• Core work — I kept up my core work a few times a week nearly every week, minus when I was on my business trip and tapering for my race. But I’m back at it now!
• Races — I did the Cleveland Marathon 5K and half marathon (their Challenge Series), and it went well. I ran faster than I did last year, but didn’t PR by a long shot.

So, I’d say May was a solid month. Not my best, not my worst, but overall pretty good. Here’s how the past week turned out: Continue reading →