This was the 7th week of the race across Maryland, and I finally gave in to the heat and did some of my runs on the treadmill. I just wan’t feeling great running outside for more than a few miles, especially pushing the stroller. I wanted to get in my miles for the challenge (and for my sanity) so I split up some runs between the treadmill and outside with the stroller. Let’s take a look at the Race Across Maryland Week 7: Caving to the Heat.
Weekly Run Down (Race Across Maryland Week 7: Caving to the Heat)
Monday: Strength Training + 5.8 Miles (2 Treadmill + 3.8 Stroller)
Tuesday: 5.1 Miles (2 Treadmill + 3.1 Stroller) + Core Work
Wednesday: Strength Training + 6.4 Miles (3.2 Treadmill + 3.2 Stroller)
Thursday: Rest Day
Friday: 11.2 Treadmill Miles
Saturday: 3.6 Stroller Miles + Hip/Glute Exercises
Sunday: 4.3 Miles
Weekly Run Miles: 34.6 miles
Total Race Across MD Miles: 226.2/250
Treadmill Runs
I managed to go a few months without running on the treadmill but that changed this week. Splitting up my runs between the treadmill and outside with the stroller was nice because neither run was very long. (2 miles on the treadmill goes by pretty quickly!) My long run on Friday was a different story. It was raining pretty steadily with a chance of storms, so I knew a stroller run was out of the question and I didn’t really want to do my long run outside in case there were storms. So I figured I would just get this done on the treadmill. Luckily some podcasts helped to get me through it because running so far on there was a struggle!
Caving to the Heat
I am not really sure why I have been struggling so much with the heat over the last few weeks. I guess part of it is that in past years I wasn’t running at 7am (more like 5am) plus the stroller makes it harder. As I said in my post on Friday, I could have just forgotten how hard summer running can be because its been a few years since I was running as much as I am now. It looks like maybe this week will be slightly cooler but I am also ok with continuing to do some more treadmill runs. I’ll also be taking a cutback week, so that should make it a little easier too.
July Mileage
In July I ran my highest mileage (145.5) since training for the Route 66 Marathon in October 2015. I’ve been focusing on slowly building my mileage each week with a cutback week every 4th week or so. It was exciting to see numbers that high again! I’m not sure that I will continue to increase because I might back off a bit after finishing my challenge, especially if the heat continues. It’s especially weird to hit numbers that high without having a race to train for. At least now I know I can do it whenever the time comes to think about training again!
Walking
I stopped tracking my walking miles on here this week. In general there was less walking for a few reasons. Of course, the heat is one of them. There were also a few day that we had some rain during times we would go for a walk. Also, my mom came over a few days to help watch Grayson while I worked, so I locked myself in the office to be as productive as possible. Part of the reason for so many walks was to keep busy/get out of the house when it was just the 2 of us all day long. Now my mom is on vacation for a few weeks so we will probably be back to walking a little more again!
What’s next?
Now that my Race Across Maryland challenge is almost over I’m trying to figure out what’s next. It’s nice to have something to focus on, big or small. I decided in August I’m going to try to do 10 minutes of stretching or rolling every day, as well as at least 2 minutes of planking. There’s an Instagram challenge for the stretching that motivated me to do that. As for the planking, I realized I haven’t been doing them very often and they are so easy to do throughout the day.
I have no idea about bigger running goals though. Maybe I’ll share more of my thoughts about that over coffee on Friday.
You may also like:
Race Across Maryland Week 6 (Miles 212-253)
Camp Run Happy Weekend and Race Across Maryland Week 5
Is anyone else caving to the heat and running indoor more lately?
Any goals for August?
How were your workouts last week?
I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down!
Nice miles for July! It seems like a lot of us have pretty high mileage for summer running. I find it so interesting–with nothing to train for, I wouldn’t expect it.
I guess we are all running off all the stress of 2020!
Awesome miles for July! I don’t blame you at all for doing some treadmill runs this week. When the humidity is that high, it’s really hard to get in a good run. Congrats on completing your miles for Race Across Maryland! I’m doing a similar challenge with a group of women and I think we should finish up sometimes next week.
Thank you! I hope the end of your challenge goes well!
I’ve never split a run between the TM and road but I’d be interested to try it. In particular I think it might help with my speed overall if I started on the TM since I’m faster there than on the road. For sure there is no shame in the treadmill game, it’s where I do most of my running in the winter. For goals, I have some virtual fall races coming up so that’s my next “thing”. I registered early for quite a few 2020 races back in December b/c there were a lot of good deals back then.
Sounds like a good plan to do some virtual races, especially if you were already registered for them! I hope they go well!
You had really great milage for July despite the heat. I always think July is the hottest and most humid month. Hoping it starts to cool down a bit this month. That is a great idea to split your runs up that way. Nicely done!
I’m a little worried to see what August will bring. For some reason in my mind I think that August is hotter than July!
Great monthly mileage for you and congrats on completing the Race Across Maryland! The heat has been brutal and I assure you, if I were running longer, I’d be doing some of it on the mill. That said, it feels like fall here today. I wore a hoodie and capris on our walk this morning and it was CHILLY! Maybe some of this will blow your way.
Wow! I sure hope some of that comes our way soon!
Great month for you!
I’ve been running outside because I don’t have a treadmill. Besides the heat and humidity in July, there’s been nothing else to stop me from running outside.
My goals for August are to do more Peloton workouts and to run more miles than I did in July.
Those sound like good goals! I still like doing most of my runs outside in the summer. But once in awhile its nice to take a break on the treadmill!
I swear we are on the same wavelength! I am definitely going to move some of my runs indoors. The heat was really getting to me, too.
Good luck coming up with some good goals to keep you motivated! Can’t wait to hear them.
The heat has just been too much lately! Hopefully moving some of your runs indoors will help your running feel a little better.
Great going on your miles! Running with a stroller is hard! Now that I am done with my July streak I’m not sure what to do next. I don’t want to keep going for more and more miles because I don’t want to get injured! I’ve been committing to a 5 or 10 min Peloton core workout every day and I think it’s really helping with my running form too.
The daily core workouts are a great idea! I find that doing a little bit every day is better than doing alot only a few times a week. Especially if I break it up throughout the day, I feel like it helps me to remember to keep my core engaged.
I hear you about caving to the heat. My difference is I don’t have a treadmill so I just cut my runs in half! 🙂 You’re doing great on your race across Maryland. Almost there!
Thanks! Cutting back on runs is a good plan too. I figured I would start by moving my runs inside and see if that helped. Its nice to have a fan blowing in my face while I run!
Congrats on a great month! I totally get taking some of your runs to the mill – July was just so hot! I’m really hoping that August will play nice!
Agreed! There were so many things going on in July, and the heat was just unbearable!
Sorry to be so late reading/replying (things are “maxCrazy” at the moment LOL). Knock wood, I don’t think I’ve ever caved to the heat and took a run inside during summer (well, I guess I did all of my runs inside that first year). I just cannot do it. I’m willing to sacrifice miles for the sake of saving my sanity LOL Kudos to you , though…11+ miles is beastly on the ‘mill!!
It was harder than I expected! Sometimes I can do long runs on there with no problem, but I guess I haven’t built up my tolerance lately. Hope Max is doing better!