April 2016 Running Challenge
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April Running Totals (miles)
4/1 – scheduled rest day
4/2 – 13.31 easy
4/3 – 7.83 easy
4/4 – 4.59 easy 30 minutes + 4 strides
4/5 – 14.14 warm up + speed work
4/6 – 5.18 easy
4/7 – 11.45 – short warmup, long speed work
4/8 – scheduled rest day
4/9 – 7.30 speed work
4/10 – 11.67 easy
4/11 – 3.87 easy
4/12 – 7.78 warm up, speed work, cool down, commute
4/13 – 3.92 easy
4/14 – 7.30 warmup + light speed work
4/15 – 3.86 easy
4/16 – travel day, no running
4/17 – 2.70 very easy
4/18 – 26.39 Boston Marathon (couldn’t' run good tangents)
4/19 – travel day, no running
4/20 – 4.05 recovery run
4/21 – 5.28 easy
4/22 – 4.00 easy
4/23 – ad hoc rest day
April total to date – 144.62
Nominal Challenge Goal – 200 miles
Real Goals: Taper well. Arrive at Hopkinton healthy. Run Boston well. Recover well.
Today's notes – Yesterday evening I set out to run more than 2 miles nonstop for the first time since Boston. I had in mind possible limits of 5K, 30 minutes, 4 miles, 5 miles, or 6 miles. Pace was not important, other than not being terribly fast, but listening to how my legs felt was vital. Still had Boston aches, particularly in the right calf and quads, so I avoided hills to the extent I can near home. Ended up deciding 4 miles was the number, and that turned out to be 31:37 for an average pace of 7:54. While avoiding hills, my heart rate stayed in Zone 2 and overwhelming 94% of the time, and I think the early spike up to 168 was a data error. But the heart rate isn't really a key statistic at this point, it's all about recovery for the legs.
This morning I turned off the alarm and rolled over for another 45 minutes. Got up to a leisurely version of the morning routine. Still feel those last sore spots in the right quads and calf; it's kind of surreal to be doing push-ups and have the most noteworthy points of ache be in the calves! The original plan was to go for an easy run this morning, something in the 4 to 6 mile range. Got to thinking about it, looked at my running pattern a year ago and after Buffalo, and decided to take today as a rest day. Heard Coach in the back of my mind, telling me that at this point less is more.
The thing is, I *could* have gone out and run 6 miles this morning. I have no doubt I could have completed the run, stayed in the 7:45-8:15 pace range, and not felt any problems immediately. However, I have a half marathon tomorrow morning, and I don't feel like a coiled spring coming out of a taper. The plan tomorrow is to hang with the 1:40 pacer and possibly run a bit ahead or drop a bit behind depending on how I feel, keeping it relatively easy. But it is a race, and I know myself. It's likely that once I get past the hills in Mt. Hope Cemetery I'll want to run and see if I can win my age group. (I might even win my new and easier age group running a 1:45. It depends on who shows up. Last year, 1:30:59 was 4 minutes too slow to win the 55-59 age group; but last year's winner is only 56 this year and I'm 60.)
So after I decided to take today as a rest day, I eased back into some of my supporting exercises. Most of them went reasonably well, though the better part of valor was to only do 1 set of one-leg weighted calf raises instead of 3. Then my body told me, "Take a nap!" So I did, and I feel a whole lot better now.
This is kind of new territory for me. I don't really understand recovery after a marathon, and I was somewhat in denial about the need for it after Buffalo. There are a few themes here doing different things that make it hard to compare Buffalo to Boston. I wasn't as well conditioned for Buffalo as I was for Boston; but I didn't run the first half of Buffalo as fast as I ran the first half of Boston. After Buffalo, I was somewhat in denial about how long recovery should take, and paid more attention to how far I could run than how my body felt in detail. Boston is a tougher course, and in particular beats on the quads much more than Buffalo. And I didn't attempt a race until 2 weeks after Buffalo.
With all that going on, it's like this is my first time recovering from a marathon. It's a new experience, and I'm kind of playing it by ear. It looks like I'll miss my nominal 200 mile goal for April, and that's okay. Recovery, and rebuilding a base in May are more important.
Back up 16 weeks from Rochester, and the next marathon training cycle will start on May 29. The mission before then is to recover and see what kind of base I have going into the structured program.
2016 races:
January 1, 2016 Resolution Run 7.5 mile (Mendon, NY) finished in 53:58
January 9, 2016 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Gates, NY) finished in 1:30:59
March 12, 2016 Johnny's Runnin' of the Green 5 mile (Rochester, NY) finished in 32:32
March 26, 2016 Spring Forward Distance Run 15K (Mendon, NY) finished in 1:05:24
April 18, 2016 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA) finished in 3:23:01
April 24, 2016 Flower City Challenge Half Marathon (Rochester, NY)
May 15, 2016 Highland Hospital Lilac Run 10K (Rochester, NY)
June 19, 2016 Medved 5K to Cure ALS (Rochester, NY)
July 16, 2016 Shoreline Half Marathon (Hilton, NY)
September 18, 2016 Rochester Marathon (Rochester, NY)
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@orphia - awesome!!! And love the picture too!
@HonuNui - beautiful pics! Hope your son is doing okay.
@MNLittleFinn - I love my Brooks Glycerin 13s - on my second pair. I have used them for all my long runs - and my Sauconys and Nike's for shorter runs. Nice speed!
Not sure on hitting my goal although next Saturday I can't ride bike because I have to take students to a programming competition.... so I will get an extra run in on the last day of the month. So maybe! But I'm fine with all I've done this month so it's all fine. Tomorrow is a long bike ride assuming weather stays nice. It's beautiful now in Orlando. I try to always talk about how great the weather is when it is good because we have six months of absolutely awful weather coming up.
4/1- 5.1 miles in the rain
4/2 - rest/travel day
4/3 - 34 miles on bike
4/4 - 5.1 miles (intervals)
4/5 - 5.1 miles - intervals (although slower than yesterday)
4/6 - 22 miles on bike + Strength training
4/7 - 4.2 miles - slow and steady
4/8 - strength training
4/9 - 34 miles on bike
4/10 - 50 miles on bike
4/11 - 5.1 miles - recovery run from all the biking + strength training
4/12 - 4.2 miles
4/13 - rest day (biking rained out).
4/14 - 4.8 miles
4/15 - sick day
4/16 - 4.2 very slow miles (feeling better)
4/17 - 35 miles on bike
4/18 - 5 miles (intervals)
4/19 - strength training
4/20 - 4 miles + 24 mile bike ride
4/21 - 5 miles
4/22 - strength training
4/23 - 34 miles on bike
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4/01: Off, rest day
4/02: 12 miles, long and easy
4/03: 8K race - 36:36 (7:22 pace) - new PR! + 1 mile warm up
4/04: 4 miles, easy
4/05: 5 miles, easy
4/06: 5 miles total, 2 miles @ 7:38 (LT) pace (am)
4/06: 4 miles, easy (pm)
4/07: 5 miles, easy
4/08: Off, rest day
4/09: Half Marathon - 1:53:11 - treated as a long run with strong finish
4/10: 4 miles, easy
4/11: 6 miles, easy
4/12: 7 miles total, 3x1 mile repeats @ 7:19 pace
4/13: 6 miles, easy (am)
4/13: 4 miles, easy (pm)
4/14: 8 miles total, 5 miles @ 7:45 (goal HM) pace
4/15: Off, rest day
4/16: 6 miles, easy
4/17: 13 miles, long and easy
4/18: 6 miles, easy
4/19: 7 miles total, 3x1 mile repeats @ 5K effort
4/20: 5 miles, easy (am)
4/20: 4 miles, easy (pm)
4/21: 6 miles, easy
4/22: Off, rest day (+ core)
4/23: 7 miles, easy
Total: 143.78 miles
Recap:
A crappy 7 miles this morning. I don’t know what’s going on with me this week, but I’ve just had one awful run after another. I have a 5K race tomorrow that I’ve really been hoping to PR at, but now I kind of feel like I don’t even want to go to the race *sigh*
Races I'm registered for:
04/03 - Shamrock Shuffle (8K) 36:36 - new 8K PR!
04/09 - Chi Town Half Marathon 1:53:11 - took it nice and easy
04/24 - Ravenswood Run (5K)
05/22 - Chicago Spring 13.1
05/28 - Soldier Field Run (10 miles)
07/21 - Esprit de She 5K
09/10 - Magnificent Mile Half Marathon
09/25 - Chicago Lifetime 5K
10/09 - Chicago Marathon
10/30 - Hot Chocolate 5K
11/27 - Space Coast Half Marathon1 -
_nikkiwolf_ wrote: »@Orphia Congratulations! That's a great PB, and you reached your monthly goal well ahead of time. I love the photo, you look so happy!
I'm actually pretty happy too right now: I hit my goal weight yesterday
Actually, I already got to my target weight in October 2014, kept it for a year, and then gained back 5kg end of 2015 (too much stress, too little exercise...). The good thing about that is that loosing those 5kg a second time gave me the opportunity to celebrate reaching my goal weight again. Translation: I had a good excuse for buying some trail running shoes!
Here they are: a pair of Asics Gel FujiRunnegade
They really look different from my road running shoes - they have all kinds of fun features like a funny "ankle collar" to keep dirt out and a very spiky sole. Can't wait to try them out!
I love the shoes! They look a lot like the Merrell all out terra I loved so much!0 -
Ran the Heroes for Hope Half Marathon in North Kansas City this morning. It was a small event with only 111 racers, so I started way further up front than I normally would!
The course was very well supported.
It was a bit more hilly than last weeks half, with most of the uphill on the last half of the course!
I did not prep my Garmin on Run prior to hitting the start line so I had already started running before the GPS and everything kicked in, so I was expecting my Garmin to be ticking off the miles after the course mile markers, and I was about 1/10th of a mile off at mile one! I was surprised at that gap. As the race went on though, I kept getting further off and by mile 11 I was showing a half mile short of that. Some people around me asked if my distance was off to confirm they were not having a problem. Others started talking too about it as we approached the finish. The course was certified, so not sure why there seemed to be this big difference.
I had been chatting with a couple fellow Half Fanatics over the first mile. One of them was just getting back into half's after an injury last year and was hoping to run in 2:45. I wound up breaking ahead of them fairly soon and was surprised to see one of them catching up with me at mile 11!
He had been busting out 7:00 miles for the last couple miles to catch up with me (he runs 2:00 halfs apparently). It was nice having him catch up with me because he slowed down for me but at the same time running with him picked up my pace for the last couple miles. So I finished quite fast and I knew I was going to PR no matter what the final distance was. I was just too far ahead at that point.
Per my Garmin the total distance was 12.47 miles. My chip time was 2:19:14 basically a full 9 minutes faster than my PR last weekend. If I extrapolate my time to a 13.1 distance I would have finished in 2:26:16 which would have been 2 full minutes faster than my prior PR so I definitely had a PR day.
The only thing is...
I feel a bit cheated because I don't think I actually ran a true half in 2:19:14, but being a certified course and being chip timed that is my official time for this half marathon. Garmin Connect is not showing a new Half PR because, well, I didn't run a half today!
I'm guessing I'll go ahead and count this as my new PR. It will be difficult to beat though since it sets the bar pretty high.
4/1 - Rest
4/2 - 14 miles
4/3 - 5 miles
4/4 - 5 miles
4/5 - 5 miles
4/6 - 8 miles
4/7 - 5 miles
4/8 - Rest
4/9 - 13.1 miles
4/10 - 5 miles
4/11 - 5 miles
4/12 - 5 miles
4/13 - 8.3 miles
4/14 - 5 miles
4/15 - Rest
4/16 - 13.3 miles
4/17 - 5 miles
4/18 - 4 miles
4/19 - 4 miles
4/20 - 4 miles
4/21 - 4 miles
4/22 - Rest
4/23 - 13.1 miles (or 12.5???)
130.8/160 miles
Upcoming races:
4/9 - Rock the Parkway half marathon (Kansas City, MO) 2:30:17.6 new PR
4/16 - Garmin Wickedly Fast half marathon (Olathe, KS) 2:28:39.52 new PR
4/23 - Heroes for Hope half marathon (North Kansas City, MO) 2:19:14 new PR
5/1 - Buffalo Bell Stampede half marathon (Leavenworth, KS)
5/14 - Running with the Cows half marathon (Bucyrus, KS)
6/2 - Hospital Hill 5k 7pm PRE-RUN (Kansas City, MO)
6/3 - Hospital Hill half marathon 7am RE-RUN (Kansas City, MO)
9/25 - Broadway Bridge half marathon (Kansas City, MO)
10/15 - Kansas City Marathon 26.2 (Kansas City, MO)
11/5 - Jenks half marathon (Jenks, OK)
11/6 - Kansas half marathon (Lawrence, KS)
11/12 - Longview half marathon (Kansas City, MO)
11/13 - Gobbler Grind half marathon (Overland Park, KS)
11/19 - White River half marathon (Cotter, AR)
11/20 - Pilgrim Pacer half marathon (Lenexa, KS)[/quote]
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@WhatMeRunning I've never had my Garmin show less than I ran, but a certified course I'm thinking your Garmin started/stopped at some point0
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Congrats @Orphia on the 5K PR!! That is a fantastic time!
Way to go @_nikkiwolf_!! And nice shoes!
@MNLittleFinn - Hope that foot is OK!
Good luck tomorrow @MobyCarp!
Hoping you feel better tomorrow @ariceroni.
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@_nikkiwolf_ I've only worn my Guide 9s once, so I can't say that I won't grow to love them, but so far I think the 8s were actually a better shoe. These felt "hot" for lack of a better word--maybe the problem was my sock, and while they're lighter, they feel bulkier. So if you get to the point where you want to replace your 7s, I'd look for an awesome deal on 8s rather than spend full price on new 9s. Also--your new trail shoes are sweet!
@juliet3455 I've never heard Helliptical before...that made me laugh!
@MobyCarp At least you probably need all those calories for rebuilding and healing after your efforts. I'm just sabotaging myself--I'm up almost 10 lbs from my lowest weight and need to turn this train around. I'm so impressed you're going to run a half so soon after your full!
@instantmartian What a bike story! I'm not sure I'd ever want to get back on a bike after one disintegrated on me out on the trail, lol! I hope you give the Perkiomen another try someday--it really is lovely. I'm looking forward to running (and maybe riding some) on the C&O canal path this summer--I've heard it is similarly nice.
@snha I'm so sorry to hear about the stress fracture--hopefully you can find some good ways to stay fit while you heal up!
@greenolivetree That looks like a lovely place to hike!
@Orphia You are just booking it on those 5ks!!
@Stoshew71 Thanks for the article on running and the brain--I love running so much because of the way it helps me find that quiet in my own mind that is just so good for my mental health. This is especially important to remember when I have a disappointing run like today.
So today, I had my first race since my half in February. It was a trail race, so I didn't expect to beat my PR for a 10K (1:09:40-something), but I was hoping to come in somewhere in that neighborhood. As it was, I only did 1:14. I don't know if I could have run it any faster and still finished without walking any parts of it. Towards the end my legs were just tired. The lack of training miles really has had an enormous impact.
I also got a phone call on the way home from PA that my doctor was very concerned about some labs I had done recently, and that I've become quite anemic. I'm wondering if this is also affecting both my speed and stamina--so back to supplementing with lots of iron and buiding those miles back up after surgery mid-May.
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4/1...5.0 @ 12:00 on the TM (4.0 @ 11:15 and 1.0 walking)
4/2....3.1 @ 11:45 through the neighborhood. My ankle hurt the first mile or so, especially on the uphill bits--downhill isn't too bad
4/3...Rest day
4/4...4.6 @ 11:32 on the rail trail and neighborhood streets
4/5...2.8 @ 11:50 on the TM--that's 2.3 (just to make it even!) @ 11:15 and .5 at a walk, plus strength training
4/6...Rest day, but I got to go help out at my son's RunFit club. Next time I'm wearing my own running shoes so I can chase him with a sharp stick so he doesn't walk so much! (That was a joke...don't call CPS or Jeff Galloway...)
4/7...7.0 @ 11:25 on the TM (This was really 6.25 at 11:05 and .75 walking to cool down)
4/8...2.0 @ 12:06 (just had a short time to run while the kids were at gym)
4/9...Unintended rest day. I got dressed to run...that counts for something, right? LOL
4/10...4.6 @ 13:39 with the slow poke pup. We ran about 3 miles in the 12:00 neighborhood and walked the rest. Well, I walked. He sniffed and did...doggy stuff.
4/11...3.0 @ 12:00 ish on the basement beheamoth. The kiddos were home sick from school so I was grounded, too.
4/12...2.25 @ 12:00 on the treadmill and strength training
4/13...6.2 @ 12:34 on the rail trail and neighborhood streets
4/14...Rest Day
4/15...4.75 @ 11:56 on the park trail. I decided to try running with earbuds so I couldn't hear my phone telling me how fast I was going. I settled in to a nice easy pace, but I didn't hold back either. This is the pace I love to run, and it was remarkably consistent, with splits of 11:55, 11:46, 12:03, 11:51 and 12:00.
4/16-17 I've been a slug with a terrible head cold, so no running.
4/18...5.0 @ 12:23 My first run in the heat...I was wilting by mile 4. The funny thing is that I looked at last year's run for today and lo and behold, I told myself then that I should remember water and sunscreen. Some people never learn!
4/19...3.5 @ 13:16 Ugh. I started out with the dog and then had to bring him back home because he just wouldn't get with the program. And then I was just sluggish with breathing troubles (oh, Spring, you are lovely but sneezy!!) It's probably good for me to just do a nice, easy run, but I was still a little disappointed.
4/20...4.75 @ 12:06 on the park trail. I'll be honest and say that I'm surprised my time was this slow--it felt like I was flying. It was a really nice run, though, and the weather was perfect. I think I was smiling the whole time.
4/21...Rest Day. I took my daughter to Temple University to visit with lots of walking...and food trucks!
4/22...3.5 @ a super easy 12:38 on the Perkiomen Trail--it was a wonderful run
4/23...6.25 @ 11:57 on the lake trail and roads for the Healthy Strides Community 10K
Completed races:
1/18 MLK 8K, Burke, VA 56:14
2/22 Princess Half, Orlando FL, 2:49:33
4/23 Healthy Strides Community 10K, Burke, VA 1:14:29
Upcoming races:
5/21 RunFitKidz 5K, Springfield, VA
6/12 Celebrate Fairfax 5K, Fairfax, VA
7/4 Freedom 5K, Fairfax VA
9/5 Great American 5K, Fairfax, VA
Either Hemlock Half or Divas Half in September
10/30 MCM 10K, Washington, DC
11/6 The Parks 10K, Washington, DC
11/19 Potomac River Half, Carderock, MD
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Running to beat my March total of 127.71:
04/01 3.36
04/02 8.26
04/03 8.38
04/04 4.82
04/05 5.07
04/06 3.51
04/07 7.53
04/08 3.96 walking
04/09 5.76
04/11 3.41
04/12 3.18
04/13 3.09
04/14 3.19
04/15 2.32
04/16 6.40
04/17 9.31
04/18 3.19
04/19 3.15; 16.05 bike ride
04/20 3.21
04/21 3.63
04/22 4.73
04/23 9.49
Total 105.76
GOAL = > 127.71
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After some research, self-reflection, and excellence guidance from this thoughtful, experienced community, I decided during a brief hiatus from running to find a 5K in late May and focus on that while dropping off another five pounds or so before beginning marathon training. I have nothing to lose by doing that, as I believe my base is reasonably solid - and I might just reduce my chance of injury. Thank you guys for your comments, here and over on the other group page. I am grateful. And I will continue to come to you, I'm sure!
On another note, I'm glad I didn't make that decision until the end of the month because I think I'll still make my goal, lol!1 -
@ariceroni Sorry to hear the runs have been crappy. Sometimes we just get on a bad streak. Have you been sleeping well? Under stress? Diet out of whack? Does TOM loom? If you do that 5k tomorrow, I hope you kick it's butt!
@WhatMeRunning How frustrating to have a great new PR and not the data to go with it! Sometimes my Garmin doesn't connect well to satellites and will get super-duper off. I usually just stop at what I know 1 mile is from my apartment and reset it, but you can't do that in a race! Still: 2:19 or 2:26, you still had a fantastic racing day!2 -
I was just wondering how I'm getting so close to my monthly target, I'll be about 14 miles over. I think I added up my training plan but forgot to add my half marathon
Just another 3 miler today. No long run for me tomorrow, because I'm moving it to midweek so I can do a run-commute. I'll do my 10miler on Wednesday or Thursday instead, which still leaves 9/10 days before my next half marathon. That'll be the longest run I do before it so then I'm on the downward slope. I reckon I could go sub-2 hours at this one, if 2:04 was quite easy earlier this month? All the race time predictors put me at 1:56 based on my 10km last month, which I think is a bit too fast, but I could get 1:59 I think. Eee!
3rd April - 13.1 miles - Half PB 2:04:35
5th April - 2.43 miles
6-8th April - away
9th April - 3.09 miles
10th April - 6.4 miles
12th April - 3.67 miles
14th April - 4.53 miles
17th April - 7.37 miles
19th April - 7.18 miles
22nd April - 3.07 miles
23rd April - 3.04 miles
MTD - 53.88/65 miles
Upcoming races:
8th May - Run Hackney Half Marathon
2nd Oct - Tonbridge Half Marathon
30th Oct - River Thames Half Marathon
9th April 2017 - Brighton Marathon2 -
@WhatMeRunning I went for a walk, foot felt fine. I think it's just not used to the abuse of all this running and is letting me know when it is displeased with me. I'm at my monthly mileage goal, and only like 1 mile shy of my weekly goal, so I'll just rest tomorrow and be content with that....it was a GOOD run this morning.2
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01/04 4 miles
04/04 5 miles
05/04 4 miles
06/04 4 miles
08/04 5 miles
09/04 4 miles
11/04 4 miles
13/04 4 miles
14/04 5miles
16/04 4miles
19/04 6.25 miles
20/04 4 miles
22/04 3 miles
23/04 4 miles
I haven't been around since Wednesday so will catch up on posts 2night.
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Date Miles MTD ------ ----- ----- Apr 01 103.7 103.7 April Fools!! Apr 03 6.2 6.2 Cohasset 10K, PR and 19th in my age group! Apr 05 5.3T 11.5 Apr 06 3.8T 15.3 Apr 09 6.4 21.7 Apr 10 5.0 26.7 Apr 11 3.6T 30.3 Apr 12 3.8T 34.1 Apr 16 11.2 45.3 Apr 17 4.3 49.6 Apr 19 5.0 54.6 Apr 20 4.2 58.8 Apr 22 5.1 63.9 Apr 23 11.4 75.3
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General plan for the 10k race I'm in: https://www.strava.com/routes/4761788
It starts/finishes in a parking lot, so I'm guessing I'll get the other 0.2 Miles from that.0 -
Great racing @WhatMeRunning and @5BeautifulDays1
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