June Recap

Summertime....

And the running is easy...

Feet are jumping; the endorphins are high....

The track's not pitched,

Down the backstretch you're booking....

So rush, little baby: fly, fly, fly.

Two more weeks until the ZOOMA Women's Half Marathon! I'm really enjoying my training. Despite increased mileage, my body is holding up fairly well. I need to sleep more, though. Going to bed early is still hard to do. My in-laws, whom I love, are staying with us for a month, and it's so tempting to stay up and hang out with them rather than put myself to bed at a runner's hour. And I've paid for it this week in particular, having to drag myself out of bed for the last couple of days' workouts.

The workouts themselves aren't suffering yet. Once I wake up, I feel good. But I know getting overtired is only a matter of time if I keep this up. So my resolution for July is to sleep well and lots, even if it means foregoing a good social life.

Meanwhile, here are June's facts and figures:

--I started my McMillan training plan! I can't believe I'm already four weeks into it. So far my favorite of his workouts is a speedy mid-week run that combines tempo-type sections (5 intervals of 5 minutes at half-marathon pace) with slower distance. Variations on this type of thing have really ramped up my mid-week miles.

--I ran 124 miles! To some of you miles addicts out there, that's nothing, but I'm pretty sure it's the most I've run in any month since I trained for NYC back in 2005.

--I attended two 45-minute spin classes (both at the Longmont Recreation Center in my new town). This class isn't as intense as Tammy's down in Boulder, but that's OK with me as I want to be careful while increasing my running mileage. When fall rolls around and Tammy's class restarts, I will hopefully be ready to intensify my cross-training again ahead of Houston. I'm sure I'll need some new tunes by then, and there's no better source than Tammy.

--Speaking of tunes, just for the heck of it, here are some I've recently added to my long-run mix: three by the Decemberists ("Down By the Water," "Rox in the Box," and "This is Why We Fight"), Florence + the Machine's "Dog Days are Over" and Lucinda Williams' "Can't Let Go."

--I made it to six one-hour weight training classes and hiked several times with Christine.

--I got into January's Houston Marathon (thank you lottery!) and signed up to raise $500 for the Houston Food Bank. This has been awesome--what wonderful friends I have! But I still need a few more people to give to meet my goal. So I'd humbly request you go to my fundraising page and give whatever works for you. You'll be helping people get a decent meal and ensuring that this race will be a success for me no matter what my time ends up being.

Alright then! July is here! Let's do it!