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in Monthly Goal Check-In · May 6, 2016

Monthly Check-In: April 2016

I know I am a few days late, but now that April is over it’s time to check in on my goals. I feel like this month flew by! The next few months will continue to be busy so I don’t anticipate these months slowing down any time soon.

You can read my other 2016 updates here:
January 
February
March

april

Summary of April:

This month was really busy. I started out the first weekend in April with a trip to Arkansas for my niece’s Baptism. Then I went to Miami for my friend’s bachelorette party the following weekend. 

baptism

The next two weekends were spent racing: I ran my first two races of the year, the Sole of the City 10k and the Port to Fort 10k. Both ended up being PRs!

sole of the city

The last weekend in April I spent in NY for a bridal shower. 

shower

What else happened this month besides traveling and racing? Not too much actually. I feel like I just got in workouts when I could and tried to stick to my schedule. I created a new total body circuit to switch up my strength training, ran some hills, and built up my long run to 10 miles.

hills

A few other posts from this month:

6 Weeks Without Coffee and 1 Year in Our House

A Crazy Week and First Race of the Year

A Last Minute Race Week

2016 goals

FITNESS GOALS:

  1. Continue to work on staying strong and healthy  I’ve continued to do my core work and strength training. This month I added some different exercises into my routine.
  2. Run/Walk 2016 miles This month I ran 113 miles and walked 90 miles. I’m at 755 total miles for the year. (I track my walking using my Vivofit but subtract a mile each day for what I consider just getting around the house.)
  3. Work towards a BQ No marathons are scheduled for anytime soon. I’m working on building a solid base right now.
  4. Work towards sub 1:40 half Maybe there will be a half in May, but I won’t be shooting for a 1:40. It’s a tough course and I haven’t put in the training for that kind of time.
  5. Do at least 10 push-ups 3 days per week I think I stuck with 3 days every week this month. There were some days I didn’t want to do them but remembered that I keep track of my goals on here!

dead lifts

OTHER GOALS:

  1. Improve posture I am still working on this, and just started reading “Deskbound”. So far it’s been helpful with giving cues as far as how to stand and sit well. 
  2. Move more Probably the same as last month- in fact I think I walked exactly the same number of miles in March and April!
  3. Focus on saving money Well this month I had some major car issues, so didn’t do to great with saving because of that…otherwise I did pretty well.
  4. Get back in the habit of weekly meal prep I did at least a little bit of meal prep every week (I always make something for breakfast because I know  won’t have a lot of time in the mornings). Rather than prepping lunches I have been relying on leftovers.
  5. Make time to unplug Some days I was really good about this, others not so much. I really just depends on how busy I am during the day and how much I want to get done for the blog in the evenings!

How did you do with your goals in April?

What are you looking forward to in May?

[Tweet “How did you do with your goals in Apri? @runningoutowine “]

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. meredith @ cookie chrunicles says

    May 6, 2016 at 5:09 am

    April flew by, I can’t even believe we are already into May. It’s such a busy time of year that it takes dedication to stick to our routines and goals, right?!

    • [email protected] says

      May 7, 2016 at 6:02 am

      I know, keep thinking that I will be able to increase my mileage but then things just keep getting busier!

  2. Sarah @ BucketListTummy says

    May 6, 2016 at 6:02 am

    You definitely had a busy month and it sounds like April was a good one for your running! Congrats again on your two PR’s and upping that long run.

    • [email protected] says

      May 7, 2016 at 6:02 am

      Thank you!

  3. Michele @ paleorunningmomma says

    May 6, 2016 at 6:58 am

    I agree April flew by! And now I feel May is doing the same. I don’t have any fitness goals this month besides start yoga 30 minutes 3 days per week. Next month though I think some running goals will be added in, as in start running again, lol!

    • [email protected] says

      May 7, 2016 at 6:03 am

      Your yoga goal is a good one! I’m sure that now that you aren’t training you will be able to get back into your yoga routine.

  4. Laura @ This Runner's Recipes says

    May 6, 2016 at 8:33 am

    April did fly by! Congrats again on the PRs! My goals for May are to keep plugging away at marathon training and pay more attention to the little things like strides, drills, foam rolling, etc.

    • [email protected] says

      May 7, 2016 at 6:04 am

      Those sound like some good goals! It’s easy to forget about that stuff as marathon training picks up.

  5. Suzy says

    May 6, 2016 at 9:44 am

    Having these posts to write out are really good for accountability. Nice job in April! You were a rockstar with your races. Building a base is a great idea, and the weather is getting nicer for those longer runs.

    • [email protected] says

      May 7, 2016 at 6:05 am

      If it ever stops raining there is potential for nice running weather! Seriously, this week was so depressing I had like no motivation to run. But once again, it comes back to accountability!

  6. Susie @ Suzlyfe says

    May 6, 2016 at 10:53 am

    I’m hoping that I will get back into meal prep once we move. I did really well with Alex and me this past week, but I hope that the excitement of being in a new place doesn’t derail me!

    • [email protected] says

      May 7, 2016 at 6:06 am

      Maybe you will be extra motivated to get organized in your new place!

  7. Alaina @ The Simple Peach says

    May 6, 2016 at 11:25 am

    I’m hoping to continue building my base and get stronger for a half marathon PR later this summer. Also, I want to enjoy my last ish month before marathon training officially begins. I need to move more for sure. Working a desk job can be so frustrating at times. Congrats on your PRs 🙂

    • [email protected] says

      May 7, 2016 at 6:06 am

      Thanks! Sounds like you have some good goals for May. Enjoy your time before training begins!

  8. Rachael @ Catch Me if You Can says

    May 6, 2016 at 11:59 am

    wow you were a busy woman in April! great job sticking with your pushup goal! everytime you post about that i think how much i need to do this…i really need to just suck it up and add it to my nighttime routine!

    • [email protected] says

      May 7, 2016 at 6:07 am

      I think it becomes easier once its a habit! I usually just add them onto my strength or core workouts before after my run.

  9. [email protected] says

    May 6, 2016 at 2:46 pm

    Wow you did have a busy April. Your niece is adorable! I currently don’t have any goals for May. I just ran a 5k this mth so far. May do a few more shorter races. But no big races are currently on my schedule.

    • [email protected] says

      May 7, 2016 at 6:08 am

      It’s kind of nice to have some time to focus on those shorter races!

  10. Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home says

    May 6, 2016 at 8:23 pm

    As you know, I met my April goal, which was to finish Big Sur. Now I need to work on goals for not only May, but the rest of the year. What to do?

    • [email protected] says

      May 7, 2016 at 6:09 am

      Its always a bit of a challenge to come up with new goals after accomplishing a big one. Like you want to refocus but also give yourself some time off! I think you should take as long as you need to figure it out..you definitely earned a nice break!

  11. Tricia Vaughn says

    May 9, 2016 at 11:22 am

    April was so busy for me too. I hope May will bring some focus on some mini goals with a lot of the racing behind me.

    • [email protected] says

      May 9, 2016 at 7:21 pm

      It can be exciting to shift gears and focus on different goals!

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Life Is What Happens When You're Busy Running Marathons

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Would it even be race week if I wasn’t a ball of n Would it even be race week if I wasn’t a ball of nerves and not able to sleep? This is my first big marathon in 10 years, my first time traveling to a race in 10 years, and my first time spending the night away from my kids. And of course I’m tapering so I can’t run off the nerves 🙃 #marathontraining #taper #richmondmarathon
Looked like fall, felt like summer 🍁 I was definit Looked like fall, felt like summer 🍁 I was definitely overdressed for this run but it was nice to not wear gloves or a headband! This was the run I needed a week before my marathon. After last week’s disaster of a long run it felt great to just run an easy 10 miles. (And these days 10 miles feels like nothing). I think I figured out the fueling and shoes 🤞so nothing left to do but take it easy, carb load, and get in the right mindset! Is it unseasonably warm where you are?

#running #marathontraining #longrun
Yesterday’s long run was not what I wanted it to b Yesterday’s long run was not what I wanted it to be. The plan was to take the day off from work, head to the trail where I could run 10 uninterrupted miles at MP (16 total) and practice my race day fueling while wearing my race day shoes.

What actually happened? All week I was stressed about this run and the condition of the trail. We had lots of rain on Thursday, and Friday was forecasted to be very windy. I tried to get in the best mindset possible, reminding myself that I won’t be able to control the conditions on race day. Meanwhile, I haven’t been sleeping well thanks to my 2 year old waking up every night, and my watch has been basically telling me that I’m losing all my fitness and need a week of recovery.

While I started the run feeling pretty good, after 11 miles (7 at MP) my stomach turned and I almost got sick on the side of the trail. I just couldn’t recover from that. The best I could do was run the rest of the miles easy, and needed some walk breaks. On top of that, my shoe kept rubbing my foot on top and I stopped twice to retie it. This has never happened before and now I’m questioning what shoes I should wear for the race. The trail was also in rough condition with several trees blocking it, lots of wet leaves, and rocks/sticks that I had to look out for.

I just can’t believe how bad I felt for the last 5 miles of this run and I can’t pinpoint the cause. Am I overdoing it with the fueling and can’t handle it on harder effort runs? Was it something I ate recently? The hard part is there’s no time to really try something different before the race, as all I have left is a 10 mile easy run next weekend.

I’m trying to remember that one bad run does not take away from all the good runs this training cycle. I’m using today to reset and move on so I can make the most of my last 2 weeks of training. It’s not the way I wanted my last big long run to go, but I suppose it was good practice for pushing through even when I felt pretty awful.

Who else has had a terrible long run close to your race?

#running #marathontraining #longrun
Spent almost every step of this 21 mile run questi Spent almost every step of this 21 mile run questioning my life choices. Like waking up at 3am to run 12 miles on the treadmill and 9 outside. This was a crazy week with a kid that wasn’t sleeping great and fighting a cold and super busy days at work. My legs were just tired the whole time today. It was really hard to run outside after so many treadmill miles and my pace was much slower than inside.

I reminded myself that this is peak week. It’s supposed to feel hard. If it was easy everyone would do it. I ran 53 miles this week and am not injured. The weather is perfect. I’ve gotten in every planned run of this training cycle so far.  I get to do this. 

And I managed to finish strong with my last 3 miles the fastest of the (outside) run. I owe that to a solid fueling plan and taking all my gels even when I really didn’t want to.

3 weeks to go until race day!

#running #marathontraining #longrun
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