Jumpin' July

July is over! Less than 5 months til Christmas! :)

I didn't really have big expectations going into July. It kinda felt like it was more of a filler month between my June races and the ET Full Moon Midnight 51K. I hadn't actually planned any races for the month so it seemed like it would just be training, training, and more training. And it mostly was (which is not a bad thing except that I want the points for the RIF Extreme Racer contest) but I did get some racing in (Yay!) and I ended up having a stellar month. :)

Here are the dry facts:

• Running: 300.1 miles
• Riding: 478 miles
• Races: 1 5K, 1 Half

What the facts don't say is how happy I am with how each of those went. I feel like I made great strides in my 100 training this month, almost like I turned some corner. I can't really say what triggered the change. I was resigned to a lot of slow running and while there was some, for the most part my avg pace picked up to where I am close to what I was in December. Overall I felt more fluid and lighter on my feet.

Part of it might be that I have been much more diligent this month with my ab, leg, and arm work so I'm getting stronger all around. And also I've been doing surges & strides on my easy days. I had been slacking on that stuff for the beginning of the year and it really makes a difference! I have to make time for it even when the mileage gets up there.

One thing I was bad about this month was sleeping properly. Too many night distractions and late nights. And while last week wasn't my best week emotionally, one positive side effect was that I slept. A lot. I think the extra rest last week helped with recovery and energy during my long runs. I am really going to work on doing better with this in August. I have a feeling I'm going to need it. :)

My biggest victory in July though was my diet. I am proud that I didn't overeat or binge at all. In fact, I wasn't tempted and I had some trigger days in there. I saw a post on a blog where someone said that you couldn't dabble with addiction. That once you are addicted to something, there's no going back if you want to kick the habit for good. I don't believe that's true because I had a food addiction, obviously, or I wouldn't have weighed over 300 lbs most of my life. Anyway, it's not like I can give up food, right? I think... I hope... I've reached a point where gaining the weight back is no longer in the cards.

Some things you just have to learn to control so they don't control you.

So that's a recap of my month. I hope July was good for you too and that we all have a wonderful August!