July running: Heat and my highest-mileage month of 2021

Posted on by Vanessa Junkin (She Runs by the Seashore)
Photo of horses at a farm with text reading "July" and "110."
I ran 110 miles in July. (Vanessa Junkin photo)

The heat is my least favorite temperature for running (well, maybe aside from that one day at Algonquin, though I wouldn’t be able to run a sub-eight-hour 50K in the heat and humidity, either). However, I was able to make July my highest-mileage month of 2021 as I racked up miles for the virtual Race Across Maryland.

I’m getting to this July wrap-up pretty late into August, as I’ve run and walked way more miles than usual to finish the Race Across Maryland — more on that later. It took up a decent amount of my free time!

  1. I ran 110 miles. As mentioned, this was my highest-mileage month so far this year. It was also the third month in a row that I ran at least 100 miles..
  2. I ran my fast 1600 in 8:31. This was after another attempt earlier in the day that involved running through standing water on the paved Bennett Middle track. I returned to the dry track and was able to run 8:31 — right in line with what I’ve been running this year.
  3. I finished the Tour de Salisbury. Read more about that experience here.
  4. I ran in several locations. For the Tour de Salisbury, this included the Pateywoods course in Newark, Maryland; Salisbury University; The Salisburian (in town in Salisbury); Assateague Island; Pemberton Park; and Trap Pond State Park. I also did a very short run while staying at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge.
  5. It was hot and humid. It got even hotter in August, but July had some very warm runs — I make notes about my runs in my Google Sheet, and there were several days I noted as “hot.” I try to encourage people not to get too down on themselves if their paces in the heat are slow. It affects us all, and it’s most important to stay safe in the heat and humidity.
  6. I participated in the Brooks Run Happy Team Camp Run Happy. Camp Run Happy took place during a weekend I spent with my family, so I wasn’t able to do it all, but I was able to take part in this fun virtual experience in July. I connected with fellow members of the Brooks Run Happy Team, listened to a DJ session, did a salsa warmup, used some of my fun new gear, and saw what everyone else was up to on social media. I also watched some recorded sessions with Des Linden and Scott Jurek after the weekend ended.
  7. I went to yoga once. I got out of the habit of going to yoga classes regularly, and I need to get back to it!

As always, I enjoyed many runs with the Eastern Shore Running Club. Onto the last couple weeks of August.