Summertime Routine

One of my goals this year is to limit my number of out-of-competition travel days.  I love going to training camps but I have found that if I am always moving around it is hard to really get in to a good groove.  I have really enjoyed the last four weeks of staying at home and training and working in Minneapolis.  I have been training a lot, logging just over 30 hours a week ago and that load is so much easier if you can do most of it right outside your door.  I even had one whole week where I didn't use the car once.  Although that was because Caitlin had the car for a camp up in Wisconsin.  Still, it is pretty fantastic to have great training and a great job right in your backyard.

'Everyone who wants to play line up at the Glengale Park Sign"

This summer has been busier than ever at the club and our attendance is at a record high.  The Jerry Gamble Boys and Girls Club is really understaffed so if you have a few spare hours drop on by and volunteer.  It is so much fun to be able to be with the kids consistently and fun to see our Run Program continue to grow.  We have a date set now of September 7th for us all to compete in the 5km Heart of the City Race.  We are super excited.

"Get outside and play an hour or more each day"

One of our favorite new games is to set up challenging obstacle courses and see if we can all complete them.  The playground offers some pretty hard challenges.

I try to get in two races each month and I was psyched to find a 5km running race just up the street in North Minneapolis yesterday.  I ran a PR on an offical USATF 5km course of 16:03.  I am still looking to break 16 minutes.  I thought I had it but couldn't hold the pace on the final mile.  I haven't done much foot speed though and was still happy with a PR.

I am pretty sure today marked my first prize money ever in a running race.  $50 for the win isn't much but it still helps.  I was lucky to have Caitlin and Lahti to cheer and provide splits out on the course.