September was a good month for running with beautiful Fall weather — right up until Summer decided to return just a few weeks before my Fall half marathon.

One thing that wasn’t good this training cycle? The speed work. For whatever reason, I was never able to hit my paces for speedwork. I can’t lie; after a while, it got me down. Most of the summer I couldn’t even blame the weather!

I decided it was okay if I didn’t meet my goal for this race, since I’d already had a pretty awesome year of running.

On the other hand, there was still hope because I found that with just a few exceptions, my easy runs got faster. And my 11 mile LSD was the fastest I’ve ever run 11 miles (outside of a race).

I still don’t know what race day will hand me, but I know my goal is still within reach. And I also know that a lot of things can happen over 13.1 miles. So here’s how I got after it in September:

Getting in scheduled runs
September saw a lot of runs being shuffled around. For the most part they got done, except for that senior moment when I brought two left shoes to my parents.

It’s all good, though, because that week I ended up tacking on a 5k to the end of the week I wasn’t already planning on. Things have a way of working out.

Grade Earned:  A-

Recording my runs
Still struggling with this one as I hit my peak training, had all sorts of appointments coming out of my ears, an overnight visit to the folks, and brunches out with the running crew.

I know I will kick myself for not doing a better job next year.

Grade Earned: B

Dynamic Warmup
It’s still oh-so-tempting to skimp on this. Sometimes I may decrease the reps I do to shorten it a bit, but I’m still getting it in and I even added one of the ankle mobility exercises from this blog post here.

Grade Earned: A+

Foam Rolling
I didn’t bring anything to foam roll with me when I went to visit my parents (I blame the humid 12 miles the day before!) but hey, it’s all still good since I ended up not running that day anyway.

Grade Earned: A

Respecting my body
I think I listened closely to my body and definitely respected it. And I was rewarded by not getting sick (knocks on wood).

Grade Earned: A

Nutrition
I’ve continued to eat pretty clean since I did Danette May’s 30 Day Challenge in August (read about it here), still using many of those recipes — but still going out to eat and enjoying a highly caloric treat (often shared — I never did tell you about the hot fudge brownie sundae that 4 of us couldn’t finish, did I?).

My weight has continued to fluctuate, which is fine as I’m at a healthy weight, but my clothes continue to feel good and so do I.

Grade Earned: A+

Support
Part of why September got so crazy busy was that I started to make all the appointments I’d been putting off for a while: massage, chiropractor, eye doctor, a consultation for Lola’s dental. I could have done some of these earlier (although the chiro really needed to be before my race!).

I still have some appointments I really need to get after — Bandit needs a dental, too (but I’m waiting to see how I feel about Lola’s). Gizmo is overdue for an annual. And then there’s the hair . . . I’ve been so busy all summer long on the weekends and my hairdresser only works on the weekends, so I’ve taken to just pushing the bangs back and shoving a bobby pin in there to keep it out of my eyes.

Grade Earned: A

Cross Training
We got a hike in on Labor Day. I did get to the pool once. I wanted to go more, but I ended up with a lot of appointments on the day I usually swim. Still no stationary biking.

I also got back to my almost-daily short Yoga practice (and sometimes longer). Even though I was doing a lot of stretching and Pilates, I noticed that my hamstrings just kept getting tighter and tighter. No bueno. With Jasyoga (and some of my other yoga DVDs) I can stretch them out in just 5 minutes (and other areas of my body, too).

Grade Earned: A

August 2017 gets  . . . 
. . . an A. It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty damn good.

Which leads me to:

Goals for September:

• Keep my journal up to date. Mostly, but not completely
• Return to swimming when the pool re-opens. Doesn’t have to be every week. Y
• Epsom salt soak once a week. I did it once . . . 
• Continue my clean eating plan — maybe about 90%. Deprivation never works! Y
• Continue with Pahla B’s Guide to Faster Running for strength training. Y, although I got off track a few times when I felt run down and didn’t quite finish it in time for my half
• Foam roll immediately following roll unless I’m not home, and then do it when I get home. I’m just too liable to let it go if I wait until the evening. Y

Goals for October:

• Enjoy my half — finishing = winning
• Get right back to clean eating when I get back home
• Epsom salt soak — shoot for every week; every week even better
• Swim every other week; every week even better
• Continue to research ID halfs
• Trail race (if the weather’s decent — yes, I’m a fair weather trail runner, except for my only trail half!)

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup