August running update

by Leyla [Thisdayilove] - 23:00

Running in August is always very tricky when you have small children. I tried to keep the children as busy as possible which meant lots of trips out to places and so often running during the day was not an option. I had a few times where I ran alongside the bikes or even rode my bike with them but most runs were confined to evenings and parkrun.

August had to be flexible in order to accommodate the school holidays and plans with the children. It meant I ran when I could and did not stick to a training plan. Possibly a bad idea given I have several marathons coming up, but really I had no choice. What was nice however was making the most of the early mornings with running friends and soaking in the warm weather.

In addition to birthdays and day trips we also took a family holiday to Canada. Whilst there we made the most of the outdoors with plenty of walks and bike rides. I even managed to squeeze in a few runs. One early morning run with my eldest daughter. She was worried about bears but we never saw any.

We found a local parkrun for our Saturday morning fix. A lovely flat course. My youngest stopped at 4km as she had had enough but my eldest ran the whole thing with me. Richmond Olympic parkrun is one worth visiting if you are in Canada.

There was an interesting off road experience in the mountains of Whistler. The group I was with basically left me and I got lost, I had brushed up on bear survival though so all was good in the end!

Canada was simply beautiful to run around. I always feel at home there and it really was my style of running too. I loved running through the trails and off road. More so when I had my daughter with me, it was just beautiful.

Returning to England though was a bit of a shock to the system. The cold weather had returned and it made a change running in the rain instead of the glorious sunshine. Full waterproofs were even required.

I can't say I covered the miles I needed to, or for that matter feel particularly prepared for the next marathon but I do feel I achieved a happy medium. No races in August either so no bling or race reports, just training runs. A total mileage just short of 80 miles run in August, and given it was the school holidays I am pleased with that.