She Runs by the Seashore

April was a great month for me as I prepped for the Providence Marathon, which was this past weekend.

1. I ran 117.2 miles. This was my second-highest-mileage month of the year, after January, when I was preparing for the Algonquin 50K.
2. I ran my fast 1600 in 8:14. Because of the Salisbury Half Marathon on April 1, I waited till April 5 to run this one, and I was able to decrease my time by 10 seconds from March.
3. I ran two races. I ran the Salisbury Half Marathon for speed, finishing in 2:29:51, and then paced the 2:45 group at the Coastal Delaware Half Marathon.
4. In addition to my usual running locations, I ran in Millsboro and Ocean City. After a doctor’s appointment in Millsboro, I made that town the location for a Monday night long run after missing getting a long run in during the weekend. I also ran on the Ocean City Boardwalk with Eastern Shore Running Club friends for a tie dye run.
5. I continued working on my speed. Like last month, I kept working on my speed. I ran a 5K with the 11:30 Club during a group run and managed to run 30:17, not far off my 5K race pace. I also did a workout that involved running 10 one-minute fast intervals, each followed by two minutes of recovery. I enjoyed pushing myself and it gave me confidence for my next 1600-meter run.
6. I didn’t do as well with cross training. I had a busy month, and I only made it to one yoga class and did one DribbleUp class. I’m sure I can improve that during May, and now that my marathon has passed, I’m more willing to introduce more strength training, since sometimes I’m sore for days after even a short workout.