March 2016 Running Challenge

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  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
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    @instantmartian That sucks about the shoes. I hate when "upgrades" are actually downgrades. I loved Saucony Kinvaras, but the last model was not good for my foot. And I'm too broke to try the new ones that just came out (as gorgeous as they are). PS: I see you're doing the River Horse 6k! My weekend running group is putting together a team and I'm on the fence about it (only because it's two weeks out from my marathon). Have you done the course before?
  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
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    3/3 - 3.25 miles on indoor track
    3/5 - 4 windy miles.
    3/6 - 6.5 flat, windy, hot (72°) miles...sweaty.
    3/9 - 3.46 miles
    3/10 - 4.45 miles on treadmill (Trek class)
    exercise.png

    Thanks all for the kind words! My wife is doing pretty well actually. She is glad to be home after spending nearly the entire last month helping her Mom (and Dad) through her final days.
  • freakymistkd
    freakymistkd Posts: 586 Member
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    March Goal - 50km walking

    March 10 - 1km
    March total - 27km

    23km to go :smile:

  • _EPIC_
    _EPIC_ Posts: 611 Member
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    3/1 - 4.0
    3/2 - 3.1
    3/4 - 2.95
    3/6 - 7.25
    3/7 - 3.75
    3/8 - 3.85
    3/9 - 5.76
    3/10 - 1.4

    32 / 75 mi completed
  • instantmartian
    instantmartian Posts: 335 Member
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    @kristinegift: It is super annoying! I can afford new shoes, but I simply don't want to have to buy them because, frankly, I'm cheap! The blisters and black toe nails, however, tell me I should just bite the bullet and go for new shoes. :frowning:
    I have not run the River Horse course, yet. I would assume, however, (though that has gotten me in trouble in the past) that it is a relatively easy course. Ewing is quite flat, though I have never been in the area near the brewery. I do have friends who live in Ewing. I think they might be running the 6K, as well. I'll have to ask them for some terrain details.
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
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    Really wanting to run today, but thinking it would be better to save my last short run of the week (really trying to make it an easy pace) for tomorrow, right before I do Saturday's long run. I'm already ahead of last week by 1 mile in distance.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    GBrady43068 wrote: »


    I am doing the "butt quarter" thing now and when I use the elliptical I set it on the glute setting. I suspect my weakest link is my ankles..not sure if there's anything I can do to target those, I tend to feel soreness around that area more. (I'm not feeling the hip soreness as much anymore..yeah!) I'm guessing by "locking" my hips you just mean to try and make sure I'm not swiveling them as I run? My cadence is not very fast though..not sure what will speed that up except lots and lots more running?

    What I mean by locking your hips forward... hmmm... how do I put this?

    OK all you other people, close your eyes for a second. lol you press your pelvis forward... like sex. :blush: lol but lock it forward, don't go back and forth. This keeps your entire pelvis and back and neck all lined up straight. I notice that when i did that combined with the "butt quarter" thing, I was much much more efficient and running became easier (therefore i was faster) and because this position forces you to use your upper thighs more, you get more power out of each stride and you get a naturally faster cadence.

    The other thing that is important is that you have to keep everything else relaxed. Your knees are relaxed, your shoulders and neck are relaxed, your fists are relaxed (imagine holding a raw egg in each hand) as you run.
  • Mathsrunner
    Mathsrunner Posts: 93 Member
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    Just started MFP so a bit late to this. I'm going to opt to try to hit 30 miles by the end of the month and see how I get on.

    exercise.png
  • pcarvalho3
    pcarvalho3 Posts: 36 Member
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    Monday - wish for a short run, but 2oC and rain, didn't go, I'm not that of a runner...
    Tuesday - 1h15 of step/tonus/aeroboxe
    Wednesday - 3.3 k run temperature was muuuch better 5oC and just a little drizzle
    Today - aiming for 8k on the Y track
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    Date Miles today. Miles for March
    3/1 7.25 miles - 7.25
    3/2 4 miles - 11.25
    3/3 9 miles - 20.25
    3/4 3.5 miles - 23.75
    3/5 6.2 miles - 29.95
    3/6 2 miles - 31.95 << race warm-up
    3/6 5 miles - 36.95 << 8K race
    3/7 6.2 miles - 43.15
    3/8 8 miles - 51.15
    3/8 4.1 miles - 55.25 << daily double
    3/9 6.2 miles - 61.45
    3/10 8 miles - 69.45


    exercise.png

    Upcoming races:
    Oak Barrel HM - 4/2
    Bridge Street HM - 4/10
    Cotton Row Run 10K - 5/30
    Firecracker Chase 10.2 miler - 6/25

  • ndraughn
    ndraughn Posts: 15 Member
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    I am a walker but am shooting for 10 miles a week so far this week 4 miles
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    LOL @Stoshew71! Hip locking sounds like it needs the Benny Hill theme music to it! Excellent way to engage those deep core muscles.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    Orphia wrote: »
    MobyCarp wrote: »
    A year ago, I could barely imagine running 60 miles in a week, and I wasn't anywhere close to that. It turns out that running 60 miles a week is different than I imagined a year ago.

    The keys to getting here, for me: Build slowly. Don't increase intense work at the same time you increase mileage. Don't be ashamed to hold the mileage steady for 3 weeks or 6 weeks if the body needs time to adapt. Honor the rest days. Hold firm to the discipline of running easy days easy, and most days will be easy when building mileage.

    The long runs of 20 or 22 miles draw admiration. Running the Yasso 800s impresses people. But what makes it all hang together is recovery, which means you don't do the impressive stuff all the time or even most of the time. But if you do it right, one day you realize that 6 miles or 8 miles is now an easy run, when you used to consider 3 or 4 miles an easy run. This sneaks up on you.

    Thanks, @MobyCarp !

    That post really resonates with me.

    I need to prioritise achieving either a sub-30-minute 5k OR improving on the 10k Distance PB from last weekend.

    Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

    I seem to recall someone I listen to saying if you increase your distance, your speed gets better in tandem.

    Bit confuzzled. :smile:

    The bolded part is very true. It's called base building. The reason most recerational runners are slow is because of poor cardio vascular. I bet you all could sprint at least a 6 min/mi pace (so you have the raw speed) but how long can you keep that pace up for? Many of you maybe 30, 45 maybe 90 seconds? Then you die exhausted and ready to puke. That's your cardio vascular system screaming. You can't just get in enough oxygen from your lungs into your muscle cells to produce long sustained amounts of energy. Your heart is not strong enough to pump your blood, your blood doesn't have enough hemoglobin to suck the oxygen out of your lungs and carry it to your muscles, and your muscles don't have enough mitochondria in the cells to take advantage of that oxygen. All of that improves with more running (time spent on your feet) which translates into distance. The more minutes you spend running each week (at a comfortable conversational pace or about 65% of your max heart rate) the faster you build all those things I just mentioned. In no time, you will be faster, because you can sustain a faster speed for much longer.
  • instantmartian
    instantmartian Posts: 335 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Stoshew71 wrote: »
    GBrady43068 wrote: »


    I am doing the "butt quarter" thing now and when I use the elliptical I set it on the glute setting. I suspect my weakest link is my ankles..not sure if there's anything I can do to target those, I tend to feel soreness around that area more. (I'm not feeling the hip soreness as much anymore..yeah!) I'm guessing by "locking" my hips you just mean to try and make sure I'm not swiveling them as I run? My cadence is not very fast though..not sure what will speed that up except lots and lots more running?

    What I mean by locking your hips forward... hmmm... how do I put this?

    OK all you other people, close your eyes for a second. lol you press your pelvis forward... like sex. :blush: lol but lock it forward, don't go back and forth. This keeps your entire pelvis and back and neck all lined up straight. I notice that when i did that combined with the "butt quarter" thing, I was much much more efficient and running became easier (therefore i was faster) and because this position forces you to use your upper thighs more, you get more power out of each stride and you get a naturally faster cadence.

    The other thing that is important is that you have to keep everything else relaxed. Your knees are relaxed, your shoulders and neck are relaxed, your fists are relaxed (imagine holding a raw egg in each hand) as you run.

    My PT actually told me to do and pay attention to this exact same thing (well, he didn't correlate it to sex :smiley:) when I was recovering from my hip injury last Spring. It is amazing how much easier running seems to be when you have your core engaged and your body relaxed! Also, when was focusing on these things, my injured hip didn't hurt when I was jogging. It was like magic. :smile:
  • instantmartian
    instantmartian Posts: 335 Member
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    @kristinegift: I apologize for being a little bit of a creeper, here, but I see you're doing the Run and Ride at Cedar Point this year. Have you run that race, before? I was thinking of doing it this year, but it's the weekend before my music festival. A half marathon in Ohio on a Sunday followed by few-day trip to Delaware the following Thursday isn't doable for me right now. Darn job and limited vacation time. That half is definitely on my radar for next year, though. Cedar Point is one of my favorite places to be!
  • lisad322
    lisad322 Posts: 3 Member
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    exercise.png
  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
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    instantmartian wrote: »
    @kristinegift: I apologize for being a little bit of a creeper, here, but I see you're doing the Run and Ride at Cedar Point this year. Have you run that race, before? I was thinking of doing it this year, but it's the weekend before my music festival. A half marathon in Ohio on a Sunday followed by few-day trip to Delaware the following Thursday isn't doable for me right now. Darn job and limited vacation time. That half is definitely on my radar for next year, though. Cedar Point is one of my favorite places to be!

    Haha not creeping! I am not sure if I am doing it. I am graduating my masters program in May and if I stay in the area, my family (they live in Iowa) will meet me in the middle and we'll all run/race. I haven't done the race before but it seems like it would be a fun get away if I can swing it with time and money!
  • skippygirlsmom
    skippygirlsmom Posts: 4,433 Member
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    @ljgfg sorry you have a sick kid at home, hope they are better soon. I love to window shoe shop, but then I buy, it's not pretty :-(
    @orphia great weight loss congrats! I have one thing to say for body recomp "lift heavy stuff" take a look into a program like Stronglifts 5x5 it's the bomb and it doesn't take 2 days 5 days in the gym.
    @kateparry84 I hope you feel better
    @4leighbee you little running sneak!
    @ddmom0811 what type of ride do you have coming up this weekend?
    @kristinegift I always picture Princeton in my head when you talk about running, it's so beautiful
    @instantmartian you can ask anyone who was here last year after I ran my first HM. I honestly thought I would never run again, my "stuggle bus" ha ha was still in the parking lot. I felt great after it but for days I couldn't get myself to feel comfortable running though I had no pains or soreness from the HM. Just keep on doing what you're doing.
    @karllundy glad to hear the Mrs. is going okay. Just a tough time.

    I forgot I had to brag/laugh on Skip. She's taking 9 weeks of PE this semester because she needed a 1/4 year class to match up with drivers ed. The teacher is her former XC/track coach and has them running a mile one day a week to see how they improve during the 9 weeks (plus other running). Most of the kids in the class are Juniors and Seniors. Well some of the boys who play football are making it their mission to beat her in the mile. She told me this week she ran a 7:40 mile and still killed them. LOL She said Coach told her since it's her last mile week to run her "real" mile time. She said Mom I couldn't embarrass them by running a 6:15 min mile I would have lapped almost everyone. She told the Coach, I have to go to school with these kids ha ha! I think she's loving the boy attention. But she cracks me up.
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
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    Question for ya'all. I've been pushing too hard on my runs...(I know this by how I feel, the face that I PR'ed my 5k time the last 3 times out, and what my HRM told me last night) Since I run alone, I have a hard time finding "conversational pace." I was googling, and found that every day pace should be 2-3 minutes slower than my "Magic Mile" time. Right now my PR mile is 8:34....that said, does it sound right to have a goal pace for my runs be in the 10:30-11:30 range?
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    @skippygirlsmom - That is hilarious how Skip can lap all those boys! I'm guessing it's all a fun chase for her. :smile:

    @Stoshew71 - You know, with all the butt squeezing and pelvis thrusting going on here, people might start getting the wrong idea!!:lol:

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