July 09 in Review

July was a month where I rebounded from the injuries which plagued me the previous month. I did not miss one training day or race in July due to an injury. I entered and completed four races in July. Also, I trained an additional fifteen times. In total, I ran nineteen times for a total of 80 miles in July.

This July in south-central Pennsylvania was a very mild one. Very rarely did I run in 90+ degree weather or humid conditions. I remember reading somewhere in a running magazine when the temperature and humidity add up to a value over 152, you must take the proper precautions to avoid heat stroke related issues. It hinted the humidity level was the primary contributor to runners miscalculating their ability to withstand the demands of a run.

I ran a variety of race lengths in July. A 4K, a 5K, a 5 miler, and a one miler. I have to say without question, my one mile time of 6 minutes and 54 seconds in the Miller's Mutual Mile in Harrisburg was my best performance to date. I feel I have made substantial progress in terms of solidifying a foundation necessary for building upon to address the longer training runs facing me this August.

While there are many 5K races available in August, I need to dedicate my training to much longer runs of 10K and above. I passed up a race in Dewey Beach Delaware on August 1st called the Venus on the Half Shell 5K. The race was featured in a recent issue of the Runner's World magazine. My grandparents-in-law have a beach house in Rehobeth Delaware and invited us to stay for the weekend. I also passed up a race on Saturday August 1st called the Sunset Stretch 5K in Middletown.

I am looking forward to incorporating strength training into my regimen as I feel I currently have the morphology of a stick figure man. Strengthening my core (abs-back) and my legs should aid in lowering my pace splits for my longer runs in August.