Running – 52.2 miles over 9 runs. Sept saw a steady progression in training until the bottom fell out in my final preparation for Ironman 70.3 Poconos. During the month, I finally felt like I was healthy, for the first time in a long time. I started building the distance as well, with runs of 9.6 and 13.1 miles. I also competed in 3 races. The only thing I was unhappy with was my speed. I’m accostomed to running 5k races in 25-27 minutes, and half marathons in the 2:00-2:05 range, and my races this month were well below. However, there is good reason for this (recovering from injury), and I know my times will come down next year, once I start speed work again.
Races – 3 (East River Park 5k – 29:56; War at the Shore Triathlon – 2:20:24; Yonkers Half Marathon – 2:17:10)
Biking – 79.5 miles 4 rides. Good quality rides, and again, good progression in preparing for my race. Ultimately, I believe it was biking home after the Yonkers Half Marathon that initially aggravated my back, and ultimately causing severe injury.
Swims – 4
Gym workouts – 0
Softball – 1 (win! And first time I felt healthy in softball all year, due to the hard work I did with my personal trainer to heal my hip / groin / glute)
Injuries – My hip/groin/glute issue is almost all gone! I worked with a personal trainer all summer, and those injuries are slowly diminishing. As a result, my running this month was completely pain free! My downfall though was my back, which started acting up the day after the Yonkers Half Marathon, and ended with a severe lower back muscle spasm earlier this week that ended any hope I had of competing in Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains.
Sicknesses – 0
Weight – Down slightly, but honestly, I didn’t take enough measurements during the month to properly compare it to prior months.
