The better half

Like all of you, just finished my first half of the year, entering into the training season for fall marathoning. It's a good time to give a check into the year so far.



For the half-year mark, I logged 946 miles, which puts me on target for about 1800 to 1900 miles for the year. I had a really slow bounce back after my last marathon in May, taking a pause to focus on work and to recover from calf issues.

The good news, I suppose, is I'm getting the groove back on in June, 150 miles compared with 100 the month before. This ain't no high mileage, but the miles will definitely jump in July.

I'm enjoying the summer so far, not minding that much that work is a commute away. It's made running home after work a perfect way to wind down while getting my runs in.

I can't help but think this is another year with no real theme to my running life. In the last few years, I've focused on number of marathons rather than the speed. In a way, it's not as hard as those harder running days, but I think I've found a pretty good balance. There will be a time again to run for time, but I'm content that training with vigor through the summer to let me do three marathons in October will be a great achievement. I'm excited to get my 18th marathon in this fall, and even more so to find an appropriate place to run my 20th.

Looking forward, I know I'll pile the miles on. Need new shoes soon, maybe a new Garmin by my birthday, and look forward to trudging my way, happily, to close off another running year, relatively unscathed.