Time to get serious

August is always my worst training month. I'm not a fan of relentless sun, and by August we've already gotten eight weeks of it. Sunrise is at like 5am in the summer, so beating the sun and getting in a cool run is nearly impossible. And yes, I understand the irony of these complaints considering I spent the first dozen years of my running "career" in Florida. But I've discovered the joy of chilly, rainy runs, and now I find myself resentful of the heat.

More leaves, less heat

So in July I tend to fall off my training, and by August I'm often barely doing anything. That's not great considering I need to shift from a rest-mindset into a super-focused-training mindset by September for my February half.

This year, I struggled with the mental shift. A lot. Maybe it's partially because the "nice weather" overstayed its welcome, maybe it's because I'm still struggling to find a cadence that works for me with Matt's new schedule. Maybe taking four months off in the beginning of the year and attempting to get back into the swing of things just as the warm weather started has just made it that much harder.

Unbeatable running views

Whatever the reason, September came and went with barely any increase in consistency.

In October I finally realized I was going to be really behind on training if I didn't get serious, so I was much better about getting my runs in, but I wasn't really running with purpose or building mileage.

Back to very cold runs that end before the sun is up!

And now here we are, in November, race day three measly months away, and I am behind.

At least the realization has finally kicked me into gear. I've mapped out a training plan for the next three months that I think is pretty realistic. There's always the danger of bad weather interrupting a week or two in December, but if I can stick with the general plan and stop skipping my strength days, I should be ready to tackle my birthday half on February 11.

Goal-wise, I wouldn't mind another PR. Last year I broke my 9-year-old PR entirely by accident, which has me wondering what I could do if I actually tried, but I know how unpredictable training can be and I also know how much time and effort I'm willing to put in, so I'm not planning on anything too impressive.

As usual, I mostly want to finish the race, have fun, avoid injury, and close out another year with a shiny new medal.

...and getting to a place where I feel strong, consistent, and ready to build mileage for marathon training wouldn't hurt, either.

Ali