Single-tracked Mind has taken a serious backseat in the last (almost) month. Between starting a new job where my hours are longer and blogging is an impossibility and being generally exhausted, neither Jesse nor I have made much time for blogging. I apologize for that and greatly miss the blogging world! Instead of recapping the last month of workouts, I’ll let this entry serve as a summary of the last month, and hopefully next week will be more regularly scheduled programming.

One thing I know for certain: I don’t like marathon training. Even with the carrot of a European trip dangling in front of me at the finish line, training for Berlin has cemented my disdain for distances longer than a half marathon. I’m not built like a Kenyan and value a variety in my workout regimen to make my body and mind happy. Next year, I won’t be running any road marathons, but I’ll keep my aspirations for next year for another post.

I missed several weekends of long runs due to unfortunate events and/or logistical snafus. I went camping with my mom, sister, and Fur Face the weekend of 8/1, and getting in a long run was nearly impossible.

I had one really good long run: Jesse and I ran a small trail race on the peninsula at Crystal Springs Reservoir, and the 22 miles I covered felt great! This was definitely the best confidence boost I’ve had since beginning training. Although the conditions won’t be the same for Berlin (hilly trail versus flat road), the long endurance effort felt consistent throughout, and I felt better after finishing than I ever have before.

Jesse and I went to Montreal from 8/13 – 8/18, and we had an absolute blast, eating treats like poutine, drinking delicious Quebec beer, and even fitting in several runs. We ran several times in Mount Royal, a large park in the center of the city with a winding trail that leads to a vista point of the city. We even managed a 15 mile run during 90 degree, 90% humidity temperatures.

After coming home and recovering from our red eye (I had to go to work the next day after crawling in bed at 4am…rough), we’re back in a normal workout regimen. We ran a race in Salt Point Park, north of Jenner near the Mendocino County border on Highway 1. While I originally planned to run the ~16 mile distance, rolling my ankle twice cut my race short, at 10 miles. Jesse was leading the men until the poorly marked trail led him down a wrong turn. He still did great, coming in 10th, and the area was absolutely beautiful. This morning, I went to yoga and ran 6 more miles to make up for yesterday’s misfortune.