July (2016) Running Challenge

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Replies

  • Ohhim
    Ohhim Posts: 1,142 Member
    edited July 2016
    Falling behind already and I'm only 5 days into the month. Tough running in the Florida heat, but at least I haven't missed a swim workout and I'm making lots of use of my bikes.

    7/2 - 9 miles
    7/4 - 1 mile
    7/5 - 7 miles

    Total: 17 miles
    Goal: 180 miles
    Remaining: 163 miles

    @MNLittleFinn - Big congrads on the 2:15 (as I'm still catching up)!
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,423 Member
    edited July 2016
    Got up early and despite being exhausted yesterday I felt great so I went out for a little early morning quick run. Managed to get in 4 miles before my first meeting and while humid it was under 70. I was dripping when I got home but it was a good run and felt great even after the 13+ on Monday.

    Date.........Miles........Total
    07/01.......6.28.........6.28
    07/02.......7.36.......13.64
    07/03.......0.00.......13.64
    07/04.....13.50.......27.14 - ShePower Virtual HM
    07/05.......4.13.......31.27 - + Strength Training

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    Upcoming Races - Let me know if you will be running too!
    07/04/16 - SHEPower Virtual Half Marathon
    07/31/16 - San Francisco 2nd Half Marathon
    09/18/16 - Beat the Blerch Half Marathon, Seattle
    11/19/16 - USA Invitational Half Marathon (Yay, I qualified again!)
    12/18/16 - San Diego Holiday Half Marathon
    02/05/17 - Surf City Half Marathon

    @MNLittleFinn - I pretty much have not run a race yet where some part of my body didn't hate me the next day :) Take it easy, rest and eat well and you will feel much better and ready to get out there again. A question - what kind of socks are you wearing that you are getting blisters? My nephew started getting blisters with the heat and humidity (really, really, bad blisters) and I think it is the result of wearing cotton socks. I am trying to get him to try Smartwool or any of the wool or polyester socks to see if they help but he doesn't want to spend the $$.
    I also don't think $15 is too bad for pictures but I have seen recently at many of the bigger races here where they are giving free picture downloads. As @kristinegift said, most of mine have been $30-50 per picture for a download and I honestly don't need/want them that badly. I look pretty goofy in most of them anyways :)
    @Stoshew71 - not surprised that @PoppetsMaster has deactivated yet again. It just seems to depend on how his personal life is going. I miss his witty comments though! Also @Elise4270 - I think his next username should be ZenWolfMaster!
    @Somebody_Loved - Awesome picture from your hike!
    @ddmom0811 - nice job getting out in the heat and humidity for a run! I couldn't do it if it were like that here!
    @ROBOTFOOD - congratulations on being cleared to run. Are you really going to be able to tone it done and keep it easy during a race? Good luck with that :wink:
    @AdrianChr92 - Running along the Danube would be awesome. Being chased by hungry dogs not so much and I love dogs. We were chased by two along the trail I ran on Monday and I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to do if they came down closer to us. My pup is not aggressive unless directly threatened and I don't think he could take on two. I slowed down to a walk so they wouldn't think we were running like prey and they barked and chased us from along a little rise but then just dropped away. I was very relieved!
    @michable - You go girl! You rocked that marathon and I have no doubt 4:30 will be in your future!
    @juliet3455 - Welcome back! So glad to see you back running a bit again. I hope that calf behaves itself!
  • AdrianChr92
    AdrianChr92 Posts: 567 Member
    @5BeautifulDays It's a funny situation. Also sad. Every time someone gets injured (or killed like a kid last year) the media blows up and some people ask for their extermination but then other organizations, something similar to PETA steps up and they round it up in shelters and decide they get killed after a while when no one adopts them. But then, inevitable, one of these shelters becomes a kill zone where they start killing dogs by gassing them or some other method that upsets people and so people are upset again and by now people forget about the attack so in the end nothing is done and things are back like they started. The government doesn't get involved if they aren't forced too and some people make a habit to feed the dogs so they stick around residential zones. Some business sites keep these dogs as guard dogs since they feed them constantly and they stick around but they are still free to go. So when someone like a kid wanders in their territory things like attacks happen. It's the number one thing I hate about this country and all my life I had keep an eye out for dogs and I'm pretty sure every single person living here has at least one story about stray dogs getting aggressive. You get the hang of it eventually, single dogs aren't usually a problem and most of them just want food but packs are dangerous.

    Which is why I love cats
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    edited July 2016
    @louubelle16 So happy you're having some enjoyable runs lately! :heart:

    [...]Which is why I love cats

    @AdrianChr92 *kitten* yeah!

  • foomsy
    foomsy Posts: 222 Member
    Going along slowly.
    Today had a bit of pain in my knee but carried on. Hope its better before next run on friday.

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  • vandinem
    vandinem Posts: 550 Member
    Date      Miles      MTD
    -------   -----    -------
    July  2     6.5      6.5 
    July  3     5.0     11.5 
    July  4     4.3     15.8 
    July  6     4.3     20.1 
    

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  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
    7/1: Rest/moving day
    7/2: 8 miles
    7/3: 3 miles
    7/4: 5.8 miles
    7/5: 8 miles
    7/6: 5 miles

    Another warm one! A bit over 70F at 6 am and an unrelentingly oppressive 90% humidity. We're under an excessive heat warning from today through Friday, and in our forecast we don't have any days under 88F for a high for the next two weeks. It's going to be mid-90s the rest of the week, which doesn't bode well for my intentions to race my 5 miler on Saturday (which starts at the late, late hour of 8:30 am!). Overnight lows aren't even dipping below 70F... is this what it's like to live in the South @Stoshew71 @skippygirlsmom @9voice9 (and any other south-US dwellers!)? Good thing I stocked up on Gatorade and popsicles this week for post-run treats!

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    Upcoming Races:
    7/9: Belmar 5 miler (Belmar, NJ)
    9/11: Lehigh Valley Via Marathon (Allentown, PA)
    11/20: Philadelphia Marathon (Philly, PA)

  • rfmurphy1
    rfmurphy1 Posts: 1 Member

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    getting started today. 30 miles.
  • ddmom0811
    ddmom0811 Posts: 1,881 Member
    As hard as running in this Florida heat is, I feel great the rest of the day. At least I felt great yesterday, my first day back! Today was a little better and went the whole 5 I had planned. Although the temp on my app says it was 3 degrees hotter. (84 degrees/80% humidity). It felt like 100 on both!

    My daughter reminded me that we are going to try to get into the Disney Princess run the end of Feb. Ooops - this was after I had just signed up for the Daytona Beach one. Oh well - they are 3 weeks apart, I can do it. And who knows if I can even get in it.

    7/1 - 5.23 miles in Washington
    7/2 - 3.7 miles in Washington
    7/3 - flying home all day - no running.
    7/4 - :disappointed: couldn’t ride today.
    7/5 - 4.5 miles in the Florida heat and humidity.
    7/6 - 5 miles


    exercise.png


    Upcoming races
    2/5/17 - Daytona Beach HM
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    7/1- rest
    7/2- rest
    7/3- rest
    7/4- 13.1
    7/5- rest
    7/6- rest

    Another recovery day here. Reading my food log, I just realized that I was 1250 calories down on Monday and 5 calories down yesterday. In thinking I should probably eat those back to aid in my recovery. What you all think?

    Also, have a weird random pain in my lower leg, can't tell if it's my fibula or muscle pain. No pain when I put pressure on the bone, so I'm thinking it's just another sore spot, but not sure.....

    ....it sucks when my cardio tells me I'm ready to run but my muscles disagree....I'm listening to the muscles on this one.
  • gkingbr
    gkingbr Posts: 292 Member
    7/5 - 8.82 miles


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  • sweetdianachka
    sweetdianachka Posts: 318 Member

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    Starting the month somewhat behind. Holiday weekend and all. No worries,, will make it up!
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    edited July 2016
    Another warm one! A bit over 70F at 6 am and an unrelentingly oppressive 90% humidity. We're under an excessive heat warning from today through Friday, and in our forecast we don't have any days under 88F for a high for the next two weeks. It's going to be mid-90s the rest of the week, which doesn't bode well for my intentions to race my 5 miler on Saturday (which starts at the late, late hour of 8:30 am!). Overnight lows aren't even dipping below 70F... is this what it's like to live in the South @Stoshew71 @skippygirlsmom @9voice9 (and any other south-US dwellers!)? Good thing I stocked up on Gatorade and popsicles this week for post-run treats!

    It's probably even worse. That's why I have to get up super *kitten* early to go run. But you'll get used to it, and the heat training does amazing things to your timing.


    I slept in this morning and will run after my early afternoon meeting. Today is an easy day with no daily doubles. I will do a double tomorrow, and Friday night my group is planning a midnight run followed by beer and Waffle House. lol So I will be doing some juggling around with my schedule this week. Jenn also has a Strong Girl's 5K Saturday morning. @skippygirlsmom I believe you are doing this one too?
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    edited July 2016
    @michable - Awesome job! Great first marathon. That 10K out and back would be a nightmare. Talk about a motivation thief! And speaking of odd footware choices, I saw a girl running the Charleston marathon in flip flops. Seriously. probably my last possible choice.

    @kristinegift - I used to live in Atlanta, and yeah, that southern humidity is chokingly oppressive. Ugh. But it has been pretty bad here too. I can't decide if I would rather run in the early morning when it's not quite as hot yet, but 90% humidity, or wait until after work when it's 89 degrees. Either way, not fun and definitely not fast! We had two days of straight rain here on Sunday and Monday, so last night the gnats were out in full force. please tell me that I am not the only one who finds myself picking bugs off my chest, face, neck, etc after a particularly sweaty run!
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    edited July 2016
    July 1-7.3 +1.1 with the puppy
    July 2-12 miles
    July 3-8 miles
    July 4-rest day
    July 5-6 miles + 1.1 with the puppy
    July 6- 5 miles

    Got my run done this morning. Probably will do another mile with the doggie tonight. She was aching for a run last night. We did a mile and I realized that she is super lazy on the hills. I thought she was tired, so I brought her home. She drank some water then started doing laps around the yard at warp speed. I guess she just wanted to go faster. No way I could keep up when she hits that pace.

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

    Another recovery day here. Reading my food log, I just realized that I was 1250 calories down on Monday and 5 calories down yesterday. In thinking I should probably eat those back to aid in my recovery. What you all think?

    Also, have a weird random pain in my lower leg, can't tell if it's my fibula or muscle pain. No pain when I put pressure on the bone, so I'm thinking it's just another sore spot, but not sure.....

    ....it sucks when my cardio tells me I'm ready to run but my muscles disagree....I'm listening to the muscles on this one.

    @MNLittleFinn This video is for you. If you're muscles are making progress, give them time to recover and improve. It means more to let them develop over time as your cardio progress will improve much quicker.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TWzC0KA6uo



    Also, make sure you eat a bunch of protein (for muscles) and calcium (for bones).
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    @Stoshew71 thanks for the video. I'm definitely taking it easy this week, just my normal walks with little man, and stretching, and that's it. My quads hate me right now, so it's easier to not run...
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    edited July 2016
    @michable - Way to go on that marathon! That last 10k is really quite a chore, no doubt. I can't believe they had an out and back for that last 10k, that seems just cruel! That should be part of the description of the race, about the challenge of being near the finish only to do an out and back for that final 10k to prove you really want it! Awesome job!

    So a question for everyone. I have begun adding in regular LT effort runs because they not only "feel good" (strange as that sounds) but they are known to be super helpful. Based on my health and age perhaps this caps my mileage, which was anticipated, and starting to run again in the summer heat also is a limiting distance factor. No big deal, I know mileage will increase. But then I start reading a bit more about Joe Friel running, specifically in regards to aging. I turn 45 this year, and I know that while I have the youth to build strength and endurance I am also doing this against the current of aging which is pushing against my ability to gain strength and endurance. Again, no big deal, just do it, right? Well, I read some blog posts of Joe Friel's specifically about aging and the importance of runs stressing your VO2Max as opposed to simple aerobic endurance and LT running. It perks my interest a bit because, yes, I had planned on having my next run be intervals stressing my VO2Max (actually how I stumbled upon the blog post).

    Anyhow, the question I wanted to ask was, has anyone here done this? Going from the standard high mileage endurance training plans that typically use LT as the cap of effort in training to working VO2Max, and what was that experience like? Also, for you aging athletes out there, what do you think of Joe Friels philosophy (if you are aware of it) that aging athletes are better served by maintaining their VO2Max as they age by making sure to regularly exercise at that effort as opposed to slowing down and running slower and easier as they age?

    All this is sort of making my head spin as I really can't help but think that I might need to flip my training about 180 degrees seemingly.
  • skippygirlsmom
    skippygirlsmom Posts: 4,433 Member
    Stoshew71 wrote: »
    Another warm one! A bit over 70F at 6 am and an unrelentingly oppressive 90% humidity. We're under an excessive heat warning from today through Friday, and in our forecast we don't have any days under 88F for a high for the next two weeks. It's going to be mid-90s the rest of the week, which doesn't bode well for my intentions to race my 5 miler on Saturday (which starts at the late, late hour of 8:30 am!). Overnight lows aren't even dipping below 70F... is this what it's like to live in the South @Stoshew71 @skippygirlsmom @9voice9 (and any other south-US dwellers!)? Good thing I stocked up on Gatorade and popsicles this week for post-run treats!

    It's probably even worse. That's why I have to get up super *kitten* early to go run. But you'll get used to it, and the heat training does amazing things to your timing.


    I slept in this morning and will run after my early afternoon meeting. Today is an easy day with no daily doubles. I will do a double tomorrow, and Friday night my group is planning a midnight run followed by beer and Waffle House. lol So I will be doing some juggling around with my schedule this week. Jenn also has a Strong Girl's 5K Saturday morning. @skippygirlsmom I believe you are doing this one too?

    @kristinegift honestly coming from Jersey I would say for me it can be the same this time of year. Though we tend to get in the upper 90s and just stay there along with hitting 100s. The humidity to me seems higher this year than the past, but that might just be me. There are days it can be 100 but the humidity is like 40% so you stand in the shade and it's fine. We are a good 5.5 hours North of the nearest ocean so if you even drive 3 hours South it's much worse.

    Like @stoshew71 I get up early to run before the sun is beating on me. But this morning it was 74F with 95% humidity at 5:15, it's supposed to rain. It was like running with a wet blanket on me. We tend to trade off heat for humidity, more humid in the morning but by 10 it can be 92F and the humidity will drop off a bit. When Skip ran the other night at 6:30 it was still 94F out, also since we are so close to the Eastern/Central time zone change it gets dark here earlier.

    @stoshew71 I don't think we are going to run in the Strong Girls. Honestly I didn't care for the course and we had to wait almost an hour for awards. Though we are the defending champions in our age group LOL Skip didn't want to do it. Justyna has her doing a 8 mile long run Saturday instead and she wants to follow her plan. I mentioned running the race then 5 more after and she said "I can race to win and then add 5 after in July" okay I'll buy that.

  • skippygirlsmom
    skippygirlsmom Posts: 4,433 Member
    7/1 - 2 miles
    7/2 - 5 miles
    7/3 - 3 miles
    7/4- hiking day with Skip
    7/5 - 5 miles
    7/6 - 5 miles

    20 of 110 miles

    exercise.png

    It was a hot 75F with 95% humidity this morning. Way hot.
  • greenolivetree
    greenolivetree Posts: 1,282 Member
    edited July 2016
    July 1 - 5 mile run with 3 miles of hills....10 min pilates
    July 2 - 2 mi "trail running fail".....4 miles real running :-p
    July 3 - 2.5 mi hard run
    July 4 - Rest day
    July 5 - 3 mi easy run....1.5 mi walk with sprinting intervals....25 min strength/pilates/stretching
    July 6 - 4 mi run

    20 miles of 60 (all bonus miles go to our invalids)


    Our overnight low was 77. Sheesh. I started my run at 6am and I was thankful for the light breeze every time I turned south. Humidity was slightly better today with 80% :-D But I can honestly say the weather was the last thing on my mind. My legs were DEAD. I started aching last night and I presume it's because I did some super fast (for me) sprinting yesterday morning. So my first 2 miles this morning were a rough warm up and then mile 3 got even worse. My legs just got heavier and achier. Amazingly, at 2.75 miles and .25 from home, I decided to turn off away from home and force myself to make 4 miles. I started running faster and it seemed like my legs finally loosened up and relaxed.

    @lporter229 Last summer I did evening running because I liked the lower humidity but I came back covered in gnats every time! I've had a few stuck to me this summer but since I'm running early now it's waaaay better. But dealing with humidity.

    @Tweaking_Time Horseflies scare me! Don't have them here but I grew up with them. Good luck with getting back into running and tri-training :)

    @lps1dragonfly This thread will definitely help you get more consistent! It's a very encouraging environment.
  • 9voice9
    9voice9 Posts: 693 Member
    We're under an excessive heat warning from today through Friday, and in our forecast we don't have any days under 88F for a high for the next two weeks. It's going to be mid-90s the rest of the week ... Overnight lows aren't even dipping below 70F... is this what it's like to live in the South @Stoshew71 @skippygirlsmom @9voice9 (and any other south-US dwellers!)?
    Pretty much, yeah. We're under "Hazardous Weather Outlook" with highs from 95 to 99 the next 5 days, and lows in the mid-70's. Didn't look at humidity, but it stays in the 80% range around here for July thru mid-September.
  • 5512bf
    5512bf Posts: 389 Member
    7/1 - 11.5 Easy
    7/2 - 5.86 Recovery
    7/3 - 18.11 Long Run
    7/4 - 2.0 Strength Training Warmup
    7/5 - 9.0 Tempo
    7/6 - 14.07 - Easy

    total 60.53 of 289

    Woke up to thunderstorms about 4:30am and checked the radar. Looked like it was 50/50 that it's clear out so I could get my run in. Figured I had 2 choices, take a chance and have to call it off mid-run due to all the lightning, head to the gym and channel my inner Tony Stewart and NASCAR run around the track. Chose the gym which meant 84 laps around the track. Goal was to do marathon pace plus :40 which meant roughly 9:40 mile splits or 1:36/37 lap splits. Been a while since I've ran on the track but with a climate controlled environment it was a nice relief from the mid 70 degree 85%+ humidity we've been having in the Midwest early of the morning. Figured there would be more people on this track today but in the couple hours I ran I was the only one doing any sort of distance so it was a rather lonely run. Typically there is 5-6 people on the track and I can settle in with one of them and talk a bit to pass the time. All my miles splits were 9:36-9:40 with an average of 9:38 so I feel fairly good with this run.

    qe2owtwlh1km.png
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    @WhatMeRunning you made my head spin too. I guess another thing I was thinking about when I read what you wrote is this, for me, generally, faster runs are harder on my joints, so the V02 Max runs could be stressing more than just your cardio system more.
  • 5512bf
    5512bf Posts: 389 Member
    So a question for everyone. I have begun adding in regular LT effort runs because they not only "feel good" (strange as that sounds) but they are known to be super helpful. Based on my health and age perhaps this caps my mileage, which was anticipated, and starting to run again in the summer heat also is a limiting distance factor. No big deal, I know mileage will increase. But then I start reading a bit more about Joe Friel running, specifically in regards to aging. I turn 45 this year, and I know that while I have the youth to build strength and endurance I am also doing this against the current of aging which is pushing against my ability to gain strength and endurance. Again, no big deal, just do it, right? Well, I read some blog posts of Joe Friel's specifically about aging and the importance of runs stressing your VO2Max as opposed to simple aerobic endurance and LT running. It perks my interest a bit because, yes, I had planned on having my next run be intervals stressing my VO2Max (actually how I stumbled upon the blog post).

    Anyhow, the question I wanted to ask was, has anyone here done this? Going from the standard high mileage endurance training plans that typically use LT as the cap of effort in training to working VO2Max, and what was that experience like? Also, for you aging athletes out there, what do you think of Joe Friels philosophy (if you are aware of it) that aging athletes are better served by maintaining their VO2Max as they age by making sure to regularly exercise at that effort as opposed to slowing down and running slower and easier as they age?

    All this is sort of making my head spin as I really can't help but think that I might need to flip my training about 180 degrees seemingly.

    A good training plan will incorporate all aspect of running including threshold & VO2Max running. The key is balancing them and maintain roughly an 80/20 split, 80 being Easy running which would fall in the Z2 or lower Z3, depending on what your plan calls for. VO2Max runs would probably only be incorporated about 5% and only for about 5 weeks or 1 Mesocycle for long distance runners. LT runs are probably more beneficial to longer distance runners. My current training plan probably has 5 or 6 VO2Max runs that are intervals of 600m - 1600m, but 10-12 tempo or pace runs of 45min - 2 hours.

  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    edited July 2016
    @MNLittleFinn My guess is that you'll eat those calories back weather you want too or not! A few days into recovery, it's like my body wants to carb load all over again! If you cardiovascular system thinks it can handle a run and your muscles aren't 100%, you could probably still get some slow miles or a nice walk, bike, swim, ect to loosen it all back up.

    @WhatMeRunning I accept that age is holding me back. But only because I have a 21 year old 3 weeks into a running programme and he's killing it. :tired_face: i'd been in denial until recently. I know there are some women my age or older that are new-ish to running and have respectable times and distances. There are men your age that are still killing a 10k in under 30 minutes. Gah! I don't think you are near your natural limits just yet. When you've been logging 150+ miles/month for 5+ years at or near your racing weight, I'll accept that you've found it. (Don't sell yourself short my friend). I'm really interested in this VO2 training, don't understand it. But do want to indulge the potential I have. So if you fellas can dumb it down just a bit.... :blush:

    Edit- I don't understand it because no way I can run with my HR in anything below z4. My garmin thinks I have a z6 no matter how many times I try to correct it. Maybe I'm still conditioning my CV system. Or I'm an alien. My seemingly natural body temperature is 97.5F (36.4C) too.
  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
    7/1 - Baseball tournament...no chance to run.
    7/2 - More baseball!
    7/3 - Family day. Not starting the month so well.
    7/4 - 3.82 miles on a beautiful, cool morning.
    7/5 - Bodypump class, followed by 1.5 miles on indoor track.
    7/6 - 4.01 miles through the soupy air...HOLY HUMIDITY!

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  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    @Stoshew71 Thanks for the Galloway video! That's very encouraging!