A quick August in review

I don't feel like adding up all the hours I trained in August. It was a lot, but not as much as July, and then not very many by the end of the month. I know: Bad blogger. But I'm tired and right now, going to bed sounds more appealing to me than doing math.

So, let's look at some cool Daily Mile charts:

Swim mileage for the past 13 months.

August wasn't bad for swimming. I got in the lake a bunch of times, and although I missed a few sessions for my sister-in-law's wedding early in the month, I was pretty consistent mid-month until my race. My times are nothing to write home about, but I ended the season on a high-ish note of a few repeats below 2:00/100 yards, which is good for me. I'm chipping away at my times, very slowly but surely.

Biking by month for the last 13 months, and by week for August.

Biking was about on par compared to last year. I was in the saddle for less time, since I've only been doing an hour on the trainer at a time, and last year I was averaging 1:15 per session. I did do one more road ride than last year. My speed isn't shooting up but, like swimming, I'm chipping away at it, slowly but surely. I'm happy knowing that I was on par for about a 5-minute PR from last year's 70.3. That makes me feel like something is working and I just need to keep doing that: working.

Running by month for the last 13 months, and by week for August.

Running; oh, running. My favorite discipline, the one in which I am most likely to go long, and the one that is most likely to cause me issues. After a record-setting month of 187 miles in July, the high (for me) mileage, complete lack of stretching, and old shoes caught up to me. My SI joint went completely out of whack about a week and a half in.

I took about six days off and came back gingerly, although I couldn't go for too long. It was probably very good for my back that my 70.3 turned into an Aquabike because of lightning. After a few more days off running, throwing away my old shoes and doing LOTS AND LOTS of stretching of the hips, I was finally starting to feel like myself again by the last week of the month. A bunch of easy runs after work and a decent 10-miler on Sunday rounded me out at 101 miles for August.

The time off running, as well as the end of my swimming and biking for now, means I really have done a lot of yoga these last few weeks. I even lifted weights once. I plan on keeping up with the more strict stretching routine through this marathon cycle at least. The short sessions of about 20 minutes each night are a perfect way to wind down the day and work out the kinks from that day's run.

September is already off to a good start with a decent run and some stretching earlier today. Hopefully I'll have good things to report a month from now.