September

Not much to say about September. Between tapering for and recovering from the River Run Half-Marathon, I haven't run as much. Isn't it crazy that 68 miles isn't as much? I was pretty consistent, though - three runs per week. I'll try not to complain about the fact that I'm making progress!

Wednesday night, we did the 6 miles at Sand Run. I had about a 10:30 pace (no Garmin, so I had to use my watch - that also means there was no stopping time for lights or water, so in a way, it's more accurate). The first time I did the full 6 miles at Sand Run was President's Day. It was snow-covered and cold, and I did it with a 12:12 pace. Shoot, when I last did the 6 at Sand Run, it was June and with a 10:53 pace. Definite progress.

I'll start October off with a taper of sorts after Sunday's sort-of long run (8-9 miles). I'll run twice next week, and then I'll do the Towpath Half. Afterward, I'll start adding in more speed work (more? who am I kidding?). I'm sick of just covering the distance and having every run feel clunky. If I'm going to be slow, I should go farther, and I have no interest in doing more than a half-marathon.

In any case, I have a goal for Thanksgiving's four-mile Home Run for the Homeless: under 40 minutes. Last year I did it in 43-something, so I should be able to hit my goal, right? I'm thinking a general schedule of three to four runs per week - 4, 6, 4, long. Maybe one of those 4s will be the hills workout I need to conquer those hills in the race.