May in review: Most likely my highest-volume month in five years

I'm late to review May, but I wanted to take a bit of a time away to give space to the voices who need to be heard right now. In Detroit, things have settled down a bit and our curfew has been lifted, and we seem to be moving to long-term strategies for diversity and equality.

A pretty good variety of training last month.

So, my long overdue May totals. Spoiler alert: When I added up my totals I was blown away with 64 sessions in more than 58 hours. I had to add it up a couple of times because I couldn't believe it.

The last time I had volume like this I was in the thick of 70.3 training in July 2015, when I hit 67+ hours and, not coincidentally, the most I've ever swum or ran in a month. Also not coincidentally, I wasn't doing any weights, PT, or yoga and was on the verge of IT band issues that would take me out for a while that fall. So while my volume looks a bit different these days, I am definitely feeling like a more well-rounded athlete. (Or at least duathlete, since I'm not swimming.)

What's the point, since there aren't any races coming up? Well, I'm going to try to do the virtual versions of a few of my regulars, and support local organizations. Plus, I like having a steady training schedule to keep me grounded in the midst of everything else that's up in the air. Michigan is slowly opening back up, but I won't be going back to the office any time soon, so I want to take advantage of the extra free time I have right now.

Anyway, May's totals:

Feeling good about these running totals.

Run: 15 times for 121.85 miles in almost exactly 20 hours. Hooray! This was a hair less mileage than April, but with one fewer run and about 10 fewer minutes, so I'm going to interpret that as me getting a little faster. Haha. I did my long runs each of the four Wednesdays, speed work every Saturday, and easy runs throughout the week. This 100-125 monthly mileage is a good range for me, and I'm going to try to stay in this sweet spot.

Bike: 14 times, all on the trainer, for 264.5 fake trainer miles in about 17.5 hours. I didn't make it outside last month but, honestly, I'm not comfortable riding my usual routes right now because I don't trust other people to be safe. I could go during the week, but I'm already doing my long run on my furlough day. Since any outdoor bike race is a LONG ways away yet, I'm OK with sticking to the trainer for right now. Also, this volume was a small increase from April, so there is good news in there.

Weights: 8 times, 5 heavy/body sessions (on the weekends) and 3 videos, for about 8:45. This is pretty much right where I want it to be, so yay for me.

PT: 12 times for about 7 hours. This was good but not great, although more sessions than April so I'll take that victory. I did 3 x per week most weeks, and I need to get it up to 3 x per week EVERY week. So there's a bit of progress to be made there yet.

Yoga: 10 times for about 2.5 hours. This may be the most yoga I've ever done in a month since I stopped going to in-person classes, which is kind of sad. But I'm glad I'm trying to make it more of a priority. Even shooting for twice a week instead of once makes a big difference in my flexibility and recovery.

Dryland: It seems like forever ago, but I did do 5 dryland sessions of 15 minutes each for 1.25 hours total. I kind of ... don't see the point right now, and the stretch cords I have and rigged to do dryland are just OK, so I stopped. Also, earlier in the year, I was doing dryland to warm up for weights on Saturdays until the temperature rose enough for a comfortable run. Well, since we skipped spring and went straight into the heat of summer, I definitely don't need to wait to run anymore. Eh, I don't care about dryland right now so I'm going to put my mental energy elsewhere.

Total: 64 sessions in just longer than 58 hours. A really good month that I'm proud of. I'm as proud of the variety of things I did, and how I kept the habit of supplemental training, as I am with the volume. Yay me!

June didn't start out as strongly as May so I doubt it will be as good overall, but that's OK. I feel like I got deeper into some good habits last month and can continue to build on them. Until races really come back, those good habits are going to be my goal.

I hope you are staying safe and healthy!