continuing with my monthly updates on how half marathon training is going, and i am happy to report that september has been a really good running month so far. as the weather cools off and my strength training kicks in, i am feeling stronger with each run.

my friend jeff is helping me put together a training plan, and he is adapting it every few weeks based on how i’m feeling. we are slowly building time and distance to ensure i still feel like i have something left at the end of each run, and in between i am doing my strength training workouts to continue building and toning my muscles. [one of the greatest disappointments of my life is admitting that strength training works because i really hate planks in all forms]

this past friday i made it through a 4-mile run which felt pretty great; i’m pretty sure the last time i did 4 miles was in 2023, so it felt like a great accomplishment to make it to the end and still feel like i could keep going. my long run will continue building by at least a mile a week from now until the end of november.

i am especially proud of completing my runs this month, because my dog sitting jobs have taken me all over the city. i have run on the upper east side, in red hook, and in astoria, and later this week i’ll be in harlem until the end of the month. the variety in running routes has been good for me, and if the weather cooperates i am hoping to do some long runs in central park this fall.

right now the weather will likely be my biggest foe. the temperatures are cooling off which is great, but the extended forecast is calling for a lot of rain the next few weeks, and since i am an outdoor runner that impacts when i can run. mostly i am excited for the cooler weather because it will mean no more 6am wakeup calls until next year.

looking ahead to the fall and longer runs, i picked up a variety of gels and chews to use for nutrition. i used a variety of them when i trained for my first few half marathons, but for the last one i got lazy and didn’t use them. there are lots of new flavors these days so if i remember i will report back in a future post with which ones work best for me.

i have slowly been replacing and upgrading my workout gear the last few months, a lot of which is at least 7-10 years old. over the summer i got a few new running tanks and sports bras, and recently i got a new pair of earbuds [they just arrived yesterday so i have not yet run with them]. i also got a heavier set of dumbbells to aid in my strength training.

the next big purchase on my list is a running vest. i never needed one in memphis because i either did long runs in my neighborhood or drove to where i was running and could leave extra water, my license, some cash, etc in my car. if i want to do long runs around the city i need to be able to carry all that with me, and many of my friends have running vests they recommend, and i am going to test out jordana’s while i’m staying at her place this week, so i am narrowing down my choices and will order one soon.

i think that’s everything for september. as of today i have run 19.6 miles this month which is far and away my highest monthly total since april 2023. i’m looking forward to seeing how the next month goes.

xx