August Recap

Amazing that another month is almost over and soon we’ll be full steam ahead into September. August was a bit of a strange month – it started off well with a 70+ mile week, including a 5 mile MAF Test at 7:21/mile pace and a long run of just over 15 miles.

Mount Ephraim Finish
Mount Ephraim Finish

The following week saw a dramatic drop in training miles which happened to coincide with a much-needed trip to the UK and my first running rest days since the middle of May. I managed just under 30 miles which included a rare 10km effort on a hilly course near Faversham in Kent.

The race went surprisingly well (37:22 for 6th overall/1st 45-49 age group) even if the mile splits were a bit erratic thanks to the ups-and-downs of the Kent countryside – 5:44, 5:51, 5:57, 6:38, 6:30, 5:39. Can you guess the 2 hilly miles?

Here’s me racing to the finish line in the beautiful Mount Ephraim Gardens, clear in 6th place, but with no chance of catching the 5th place guy who was a good 10 seconds ahead. The Mount Ephraim 10K was well organised, had a great atmosphere and cost just £16.00 to enter (approximately $20.00). Post-race snacks were plentiful and although there was no event t-shirt (a good thing in my opinion), each runner was awarded a medal at the finish line.

Newport parkrun
Newport parkrun – photo courtesy Shannon Ralston

I logged just 15 miles on the second week of vacation – 3 x 4 milers and a 5km parkrun on the Saturday before flying home. The Newport parkrun was another excellent no-frills event, which just happened to be my first race as a 50 year old after celebrating my birthday 2 days earlier. Despite some wet/muddy conditions, the race went well and I managed to snag my first ever win at a Welsh event with a not-too-shabby 18:24.

The post-vacation week of training is always a bit of a struggle – for some reason, days off from running make me feel really sluggish and it takes a good 4 or 5 days to get back into the swing of things. The Wednesday MAF Test was a good confidence booster, however, as I was able to take advantage of a rare cool morning and average 6:56/mile for the 5 mile test.

The rest of the week went fine, aside from a rough Saturday morning run where I bailed after 8 miles of a planned 10 miler. It was one of those rare days where my motivation was low, and energy level even lower. Thankfully I was able to bounce back the following day and log my first 20 miler in ages to round off an okay 64 mile week.

August mileage breakdown:

August 1 – August 7: 71 miles ~ 9 hours
August 8 – August 14: 30 miles ~ 3.5 hours
August 15 – August 21: 15 miles ~ 2 hours
August 22 – August 28: 64 miles ~ 8 hours

So, only 210 miles in August, but onwards to September and another crack at the Athletic Equation 12-Hour ATR on the 17th. It’s been a couple of years since my last race at Prince William Forest Park, so definitely looking forward to a few fun trail loops in some good company. Happy miles!

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