April 2016 Running Challenge

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Replies

  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    Wow, looking at the math on miles in this group, I'm definitely dragging down your average! Thanks for being open and available to newbies, you all are excellent inspiration (I just need to find the time to keep up with this thread!).

    4/1-rest
    4/2-2 miles
    4/3-2 miles (first back to back runs in about two months after back injury!)
    I've learned, just don't compare yourself to @kristinegift @Stoshew71 or @MobyCarp and it gets easier to feel good about distances.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    1---rest
    2---6.79 10:25 avg pace
    3---7.38 warm windy run.


    14.17/130 miles


    Upcoming races:

    04/24/16 OKC Memorial Half
    10/16/16 THAT dam half, Lewisville TX
    11/05/16 Jenks Half Jenks OK
    Run the year 2016  508.51/ 2016
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    @kgj4105 great long run!
    @elise4270 I'm going to use the word "rungries"
    @9voice9 "ministerial count" LOL love it! Great on the 10.5K what a shame on the 5K
    @ariceroni your run does sound miserable

    I'm running in a 5K later this afternoon with a friend, she's not a runner really so I doubt I'll be under 30 min. Skip was supposed to run, was even going to wear a super hero outfit, something she never does in a race. But we spent 5 hours in the ER yesterday. Everyone from the March challenge already know she has been sick. Even though she threw up in the morning she wanted to go to her meet. She took one slow lap around the track and went to the bathroom and got sick again. Her coach gave her some crackers and a Gatorade and they promptly came back up. We headed to our local ER, about 45 mins from the track and poor girl I had to pull over twice. Anything that went in come right back out. The gave her 2 bags of IV fluids, took a ton of blood and gave her 3 doses of anti nauseous meds. Verdict severe dehydration, she's anemic and her liver enzymes were high. He said the enzymes were most likely caused by the dehydration. I said she takes iron pills, eats veggies, what else can I do, she said "oh I don't take them on days I run" (which is 6 out 7 days UGH!). He told start taking them EVERY day. At first he said no running until next weekend, then asked if she had any big meets coming up, when I told him about Mon and Tues meets he said definitely no 5K today no running Mon and she can run the 800 ONLY on Tuesday if she doesn't get sick again and drinks everything I give her. I felt so bad and the doctor said when they have no fever and seem fine (except when they are throwing up duh), you just don't realize they are really that sick. He said I'm looking at her and talking to her and if I didn't know she had a stomach bug I would never know she was feeling bad. She lost 3 lbs since Thursday :-( Anyway, that was our day yesterday.

    So sorry for Skip. At least you all know better now and have a plan forward.
    Jennifer was supposed to do the Super Heroes 5K today but bailed out this morning and told me after church. She just hasn't been running much and if she couldn't do good, then she doesn't want to run it.

    So instead of going there and I am back home and going through the thread. When I am done, I will come up with a race report from yesterday.

  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    edited April 2016

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    and put this tag at the end just after the .png (again without the dot)-> [.\img]

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    [.img]http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/t/wuPE9Zg/exercise.png[.\img]


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  • Diantha21
    Diantha21 Posts: 112 Member
    Only have to code todays run for this week then will update weekly, I am sure, that is probably easier for you?? then i can code next Sunday...luck willing I will be adding 3 runs....

    just like adding this little ticker lol...ok

    1/4 Rest day
    2/4 3hrs 30mins riding motorbike
    3/4 = 5km run (4.5km in 33.30mins/km)


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  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
    4/1: Rest day!
    4/2: 5 miles
    4/3: 13.1 Caesar Rodney HM!

    What a day! First of all, the half marathon went really well. I think a lot of people skipped the race because of the weather (600-700 finishers, usually there are 1500-1800!), but the weather wasn't as scary as it could have been. 38-40 degrees, bright sunshine, 25-35 mph winds, with a few gusts up to 50 mph. The sun helped a lot; a gray, blustery day would have been more of an energy suck mentally.

    I'll make a whole blog post about the race in detail but here are the highlights!
    New PR: 1:40:13
    2nd place in 25-29 women age group.
    My running buddy nabbed a 6.5 minute PR and ran a 1:47:30 which exceeded her expectations (1:50) and mine (1:48)! I was more jazzed about her time than my own, I think.

    I've got a lot of confidence going into NJ marathon now after this race. Today was a challenging course with ~3 miles of continuous uphill, and much of that was with a head or cross wind. NJM is very flat, so I'll have that advantage. I took a cutback this week to run on relatively fresh legs, and I could really feel it: the first five miles I paced 7:15-7:20, and it felt so easy! With the long taper for my marathon, I should feel really fresh and ready to go on race day. That sub-3:30 is looking ever more enticing... :)

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    Upcoming Races:
    3/12: Run O' The Mill 5K: New PR! 21:55
    4/3: Caesar Rodney HM: New PR! 1:40:13
    4/16: River Horse 6K (Ewing, NJ)
    5/1: New Jersey Marathon (Lots of towns, NJ)
    11/20: Philadelphia Marathon (Philly, PA)
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    edited April 2016
    @skippygirlsmom I use the spatone iron water. Something like that might help Skip take it everyday, if the higher dose iron is causing GI issues where she doesn't like taking it. So far I've never had issues with it.

    Hope shes 100% soon.

    I had elevated liver enzymes, specifically the ALT, when my gallbladder quit working. But no vomiting.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    Way to go @vandinem!
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    @AdrianChr92 congrats on the 10k and I find it hard sometimes to wear the right thing since I tend to overdress a lot as well. I just hate being chilly first thing. But the perfect running weather (especially for a race) starts chilly.
    Elise4270 wrote: »

    It was amazing seeing everyone's miles. Usually, I don't mind everyone's miles- its a personal challenge -respect- and I know 5 miles can seem as difficult as 100 miles. Actually- 100 miles a month is WAY EASIER than the 30 I started with my first month.

    So for all of you that missed a pat on the back and a high five- I am inspired, and very grateful for each step you took last month. I know we tend to have smaller circles of folks we each follow, and I miss all the great MILEstones. Just seriously- Ya'll rock!

    I also echo these 2 things. Running 60 miles in a week for me is much easier than what I used to do when I first started. Serious, my first bit of outdoor running for my current stage of life was in early November 2013 (after spending too much time on the treadmill). I went out on the greenway one Saturday morning and did a 5K's worth. I then remember the following weekend and did a 5k. Stopped for 15 minutes and then did it again. My mistake was stopping cause my muscles were fine, but tightened up after I stopped. They got loosed up again within the first 1/2 mile of starting back up again, but I never stopped again (unless potty breaks or tying my shoe). I hate stopping in the middle of a run once I get going. I even curse a little when I notice my shoe lace getting undone while I am in a middle of a good pace.

    Anyway, I wanted to say, stick with it. Don't get discouraged by some of us that put in big mileage. We all started were you are now. And sorry if I skip over people, especially the newbies. I am happy for everyone that joins in and I am here to help in any way.
  • ChrissalmonPT
    ChrissalmonPT Posts: 54 Member
    Sounds like fun, I will aim for 100 miles and hopefully do more. I will use my Nike app to keep track. Good luck everyone
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    Wow, looking at the math on miles in this group, I'm definitely dragging down your average! Thanks for being open and available to newbies, you all are excellent inspiration (I just need to find the time to keep up with this thread!).

    4/1-rest
    4/2-2 miles
    4/3-2 miles (first back to back runs in about two months after back injury!)

    You are not dragging anyone down. I am happy that you have joined us. Everyone just needs to focus on their own personal goals. A great thing I learned about the running community is that everyone from the elites to the beginner helps EVERYONE out. Runners are the most friendliest and supporting competitors (for the most part).

  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    Congratulations @kristinegift On the new PR and 2nd place AG award. Woo hoo.
    You will rock it at NJM.
  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
    So many posts! Doing my best to read/reply!

    @skippygirlsmom I'm glad you guys know what's wrong with Skip! Hopefully she'll be feeling better and healthy in no time! She's young... she'll bounce back!

    @louubelle16 Congrats on the huge PR! An 8 minute cut is amazing!

    @ariceroni Great time at the 8k! You just keep killing it at these races! It's amazing!

    @AdrianChr92 Great 10k! Re clothing choices: I always have to remind myself that I'll heat up during races; I was shivering before my race today and questioning my outfit choice, but then I was very comfortable about 2 miles in while others around me looked like they wanted to tear their jackets off (couldn't though, because the race bib was attached!).

    Hope I didn't miss any race reports or mile stones! I read every post, but sometimes I forget to open tabs to recall who to @ reply. Sorry if I missed you!! Seems like there's been lots of good races and runs this weekend! Keep it up, MFPals!
  • JohnONE29
    JohnONE29 Posts: 101 Member
    4.3.16 - Knoxville Marathon this morning.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    Wow, looking at the math on miles in this group, I'm definitely dragging down your average! Thanks for being open and available to newbies, you all are excellent inspiration (I just need to find the time to keep up with this thread!).

    4/1-rest
    4/2-2 miles
    4/3-2 miles (first back to back runs in about two months after back injury!)

    We were all newbies at one time. And seriously, look at it justa little differently- we all are lifiting each other up.

    Congratulations on the back to back runs!
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    @JohnONE29 How'd it go?
  • nicolemarie999
    nicolemarie999 Posts: 91 Member
    edited April 2016
    Hi! Joining late, but I need the motivation to return to running. Goal for April will be 60 miles.
    4/3 - 5 miles
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    Hi! Joining late, but I need the motivation to return to running. Goal for April will be 60 miles.
    4/3 - 5 miles

    welcome to the group. You have a good start on the month, keep it up!
  • ddmom0811
    ddmom0811 Posts: 1,881 Member
    Had a long travel day yesterday due to storms and then my suitcase was lost. But they found it in the middle of the night and called me at that time. Really? You couldn't wait until the morning to call me, lol. It was delivered while I was out on the bike! I was panicking imagining that it wouldn't be found with two running shoes, tons of running clothes, my HRM, running belt, in there! Oh yeah, there were regular clothes too.
    Been busy all day getting ready to go back to work tomorrow and getting everything at home straightened out and just checked in and saw I missed 206 messages! WOW! I'm not going to be able to catch up with what I missed, but did read this page!


    @kristinegift - congratulations on the awesome HM! Amazing times!
    @skippygirlsmom - So sorry about Skip but I'm glad you got her to the ER and she will be better soon. Poor thing! What a trooper to want to race as bad as she must have been feeling. Imagine how well she is going to do when she is recovered because this has probably been coming on.

    4/1- 5.1 miles in the rain
    4/2 - rest/travel day
    4/3 - 34 miles on bike



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  • martha_ward
    martha_ward Posts: 4 Member
    I'm just going to count my running miles, and my goal for April is 25 miles. I would do more, but I have final exams this month. Hopefully I can go much higher for May and the rest of the year!
    I'm just going to count my running miles, and my goal for April is 25 miles. I would do more, but I have final exams this month. Hopefully I can go much higher for May and the rest of the year!

  • martha_ward
    martha_ward Posts: 4 Member
    Hi everyone I've committed to 25miles and so far have done 7.33 over 2 sessions. Feeling good. Start new job tomorrow so need to keep my focus on the running goal
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    edited April 2016
    OK. I think I am caught up on posts. So onto my mini-race report from yesterday.

    So yesterday was just supposed to be a fun training run because I have my real HM next Sunday and wanted to make sure I didn't exhaust myself yesterday too much for next Sunday. Yesterday's race was up in Lynchburg, TN right near the grounds of the Jack Daniels Distillery and is sponsored by the town and them. This year is the 7th year they put this HM on, and anyone that knows JD knows that No 7 is a special number. LOL I asked the tour guide yesterday why was that (I took a free tour of the distillery after the race) and no one no's why No 7 is important, but there are many rumors on the Internet. So this is a fun race, lots of bling (pullover long sleeve shirt, choice of hat or visor, Ecosolemax socks (with the Oak barrel logo), and a finisher's medal made out of the actual oak barrels. Plus lots of food: stew, grilled cheese made on the spot, hoecakes also made on the spot, choc milk, soda, Gatorade, bananas and other fruit, cookies, cake, and other stuff that I didn't even bother to go get. Then my big running group (We Run Huntsville not just the Pounders) put on a big picnic. So there was more food (chicken salad, meatballs, pulled pork, salads, lunch meat, fruit, more cake and cookies, and beer). It was basically a bring your own (enough to share) pot luck thing.

    Oak Barrel just happens to have this big hill that everyone dreads "Whiskey Hill". (google it or look for my description in March's thread). So it's not really a PR course. Next week's Bridge Street HM is pretty much flat which is why I was just supposed to take yesterday's race easy so that I can PR next week.

    So I line up front with the 8:00 pacers (after running a warm-up of 1.2 miles at 7:40 pace LOL). OK, I guess my legs are pretty fresh my week's cutback. There weren't actual pacers, just people holding sticks with pace times at lineup so people knew where to start. They moved off course to the side as the RD told everyone to move forward towards the starting line. Gun goes off and I am trying to figure out what pace I should be running. Usually I just wing it for the first 30-50 yards while I give my watch some time to get a good readout. I think it said like 6:40 or something like that, so I knew I needed to slow down, which I did to a more reasonable 7:20-7:40. Finally after the first half mile everyone started to spread apart and I found a couple of folks to match up with that were maybe running around what I thought was a 7:40 pace which actually felt comfortable. My goal was simply to do a little better than last year which was 1:44:13 or 7:59 avg pace. So the new plan was to keep at this pace until I got to the hill and slow down if breathing was getting elevated. So mile 1 was actually 7:16, mile 2 was 7:30, mile 3 7:34, mile 4 was 7:51. This is when Whiskey Hill starts. (between ~mile 3 to mile 5 it goes from 773 feet to 1124 feet, but the biggest incline is the last switchback which goes up at least 150 feet in less than a 1/4 mile. It starts out as a long slow climb that you don't notice right away. But half way along this stretch a couple people that ran ahead of me started to walk and many others slowed way down. You can hear all the heavy breathing now. I knew to take it easier and if my pace was off, then let it go and slow down. This last stretch is probably about a good 1/2 to 3/4 mile. Then the switchback. The really bad part. After getting to the top and running the rest of mile 5 on a flat straight a way, I finished at 8:39 pace. Not too bad. Just 40 seconds above the pace I wanted to sustain for the whole race, and I can make that up. I made back most of it on the next mile in 7:34. After Whiskey Hill, it is pretty much flat or gentle rolling hills with one more uphill "bump". So I actually felt really confident at this point. I was still at this point thinking that if my legs started to feel weary or my breathing was too hard, then take it slow. Mile 7 was 7:44 then mile 8 was 7:38 and more downhill running lead to mile 9 6:53. At some point, I checked my overall race pace average and it said 7:34. I knew that PR HM pace is 7:35. So I knew that I was actually able to PR. But the idea of PRing today and screw up an even bigger potential PR next week was daunting me. So I thought, as long as it keeps going downhill, keep running hard. Mile 10 was 7:25 and Mile 11 7:28. Then the last turn onto the main roadway.

    OK, so the starting line is right in the middle of the town square near the Lynchburg visitor center. Downtown Lynchburg is actually small and cozy and has so many nice little shops. The distillery sits up ahead down the road. The town square itself was closed off to the runners this early in the morning. The race is only open to 1200 registrants because of limited parking and management. You run down Main Street which leads to a main county road (Rt 55). Half of the highway was coned off for the runners. Then you quickly turn off into these cow roads. And yes, you run past cow pastures. So you can smell it on a good day. It's actually quite pretty and peaceful and very well shaded by trees. But it is a regular paved rural road that you can drive on. Whiskey Hill starts off at the end of this cow road stretch until you get to the dreaded cutback. Then it gets more open. But it is pretty much more local farm and rural roads winding around. But then you eventually get back to Route 55 about a mile away from the turn that takes you back into the town square and onto the finish line. So no more downhill, but I felt very strong. So I continued to press on. Mile 12 was a 7:29 split, Now it started to get a little tough as I was smelling PR. So I picked up the pace and fought till the end. Mile 13 was a 7:10 and the last turn I could see the finish line. last .12 was 49 seconds. As I crossed the finish line I could see 1:39:05. I knew that was my PR but didn't know by how much. I knew it was by quite a few seconds. Later looked it up and 1:39:26 was my old PR. My official gun time was 1:39:07 and chip time was 1:39:00 on the nose. Although I thought I read one of the early sheets that showed 1:38:53. I must have misread the person above me. Anyway. It's a PR by over 20 seconds. Technically by 26 seconds. And best of all, I got a 3rd place age group award for males 40-44.

    So now, to taper up and rest to do it again next week. Hopefully for an even bigger PR.

    I am going to post pictures by I am going to do it from my phone.

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  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    Congrats @Stoshew71 and thanks for a great write up.
  • AdrianChr92
    AdrianChr92 Posts: 567 Member
    @Stoshew71 That's great congratulations on your PR. Saw your trophy it looked massive :))

    @kristinegift Tell me about it. Luckily I had a short sleeve shirt but there were people with 2 layers that were dripping sweat like a newly founded spring. I underestimated how much heat will I give out in an actual race. A training run with that attire at that temp and I would have been freezing. It was 6 degrees (42) at start but it quickly went up to 10 (50) once the sun went up.
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    Way that o ho @Stoshew71! The awards and medal look superb!!
  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
    Wow, looking at the math on miles in this group, I'm definitely dragging down your average! Thanks for being open and available to newbies, you all are excellent inspiration (I just need to find the time to keep up with this thread!).

    4/1-rest
    4/2-2 miles
    4/3-2 miles (first back to back runs in about two months after back injury!)
    I've learned, just don't compare yourself to @kristinegift @Stoshew71 or @MobyCarp and it gets easier to feel good about distances.

    There are a few things that new runners need to hear, and sometimes need to hear repeatedly:

    There is always someone running faster than you. There is always someone running slower than you. And no matter how slow you run, as long as you keep moving you're lapping the people who stay on the couch.

    Dead Last Finish beats Did Not Finish. Did Not Finish beats Did Not Start.

    And, just for this group: No matter how many miles you run, someone is running more miles. It doesn't matter, as long as you are running enough miles to be happy and healthy. Staying healthy to run again is more important that running farther.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    A couple more pics. BTW the bottle of Jack I bought myself and they etched that stuff on for me for an extra $5 after my tour at the distillery. That was not an AG award. The AG award is half of the top of an oak barrel.

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  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    MobyCarp wrote: »

    There are a few things that new runners need to hear, and sometimes need to hear repeatedly:

    There is always someone running faster than you. There is always someone running slower than you. And no matter how slow you run, as long as you keep moving you're lapping the people who stay on the couch.

    Dead Last Finish beats Did Not Finish. Did Not Finish beats Did Not Start.

    And, just for this group: No matter how many miles you run, someone is running more miles. It doesn't matter, as long as you are running enough miles to be happy and healthy. Staying healthy to run again is more important that running farther.

    Totally agree with you.....What I had was meant as a joke....forgot the smiley face
  • AdrianChr92
    AdrianChr92 Posts: 567 Member
    edited April 2016
    @MNLittleFinn Today at my 10k race I looked ahead and there quite a few people before me. I mean about 200 or more. "Man", I thought. Those are a lot of people. I really hope I'm at least in the first half. Then I finished. And I stayed to look at the other finishers as they came.

    The thing is they kept coming for like an hour. Around 822 of them came after me. And I was like "damn". So stop thinking you are slow. There will always be someone slower than you. If you finish a run there is almost always someone who DNF. There were 3 people today who didn't finish. And if you train the chances of a dnf are very low, god forbids an injury or something, but that doesn't count

    On a sidenote far too many people congratulated me for my "marathon" today. Even the event host kept calling it a marathon. I give up