August (2016) Running Challenge

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  • Frmswtpot2spff
    Frmswtpot2spff Posts: 20 Member
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    <a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/exercise/wtNvVoj/">;
    <img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/t/wtNvVoj/exercise.png"></a&gt;
  • Frmswtpot2spff
    Frmswtpot2spff Posts: 20 Member
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    exercise.png
  • Frmswtpot2spff
    Frmswtpot2spff Posts: 20 Member
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    Yay. Finally.
  • Twallace101
    Twallace101 Posts: 5 Member
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    8/4 - 3.5 Miles
  • vandinem
    vandinem Posts: 550 Member
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    Date     Miles      MTD
------   -----    -------
Aug  2     5.0      5.0 
Aug  3     5.8     10.8 
Aug  4     4.3     15.1

    exercise.png

  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
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    @Frmswtpot2spff Nice Running! you're a third of the way to your goal on the 4th day of the month!
    @Twallace101 nice running
    @vandinem nice job getting those miles in, you're almost a third of the way to your goal!
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
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    @katharmonic nice running. You'll get your 25 in.
  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
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    August Running Totals (miles)
    8/1 – 5.90 easy plus 4 strides
    8/2 – 6.24 hill run
    8/3 – rest day
    8/4 – 13.56 hot and humid

    August total to date – 25.70

    Nominal Challenge Goal – 200 miles
    Real Goals: Survive last month before retirement. Train as well as possible toward Rochester Marathon. Avoid putting myself back on the couch.

    Today's notes – I'm feeling healthy enough for the workouts on the marathon training plan, but I don't have a large enough base of easy miles to support all the quality workouts. So I get to pick and choose, and tone down workouts to fit my current level of conditioning. Today called for 15 easy miles. But Saturday calls for 2 miles easy, 10-13 miles at MP, 2 miles easy. I'm committed to pacing a steady run of 14 miles on Saturday, probably at 8:30 though there is an off chance I could be pacing 8:00 or 9:00. So I kind of had in my mind that I might do Saturday's workout today, and count Saturday as today's easy 15 miles. Maybe even run a mile solo after pacing 14 to fill it out.

    Well, it was 91º when I ran the 2 mile warmup at the club. Coach told everyone not to expect to run their usual paces, the heat would make us at least 15 seconds per mile slower. The idea of trying to run 10 miles of MP at 91º wasn't appealing, so it was the easy miles. And I would claim credit for the 2 mile warmup at close to a 9 minute pace.

    I ended up running 11.5 miles on the continual run, at an average pace of 7:58. Some of the miles in the middle were closer to 7:45, which is normally the fast end of my easy range. Today, the effort was closer to MP even though the pace wasn't there. I decided 13.5 miles was good enough under the conditions, and the fast end of easy was close enough to MP effort for enough of the run, under the conditions. I'm not terribly dissatisfied, because 14 miles Saturday plus anything between 10 and 15 today will round out the week in a reasonable range of miles, given what I've been running recently.

    It's all a guessing game, because I wasn't really healthy enough to start serious training for Rochester when I should have. So I'm building my base, doing what quality workouts I think I'm capable of, and hoping for the best. The goal for Rochester is to pace myself well and finish feeling reasonably good, even if it turns out to be my slowest marathon to date.

    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) finished in 1:36:50, targeting MP
    May 15, 2016 Highland Hospital Lilac Run 10K (Rochester, NY) DNS - injury
    June 19, 2016 Medved 5K to Cure ALS (Rochester, NY) DNS - recovering from face plant
    July 16, 2016 Shoreline Half Marathon (Hamlin, NY) finished in 1:31:11
    August 13, 2016 Bergen Road Race 5K (Bergen, NY)
    September 18, 2016 Rochester Marathon (Rochester, NY)
    November 24, 2016 Race with Grace 10K (Hilton, NY)

  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
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    Azercord wrote: »
    OK @Stoshew71 @MNLittleFinn @5512bf (and anyone else that wants to chime in). I'm fairly new to the long distance stuff and I think I may be running a bit too fast but I'm not 100% (nor how much I should slow it down to). I'm currently running between a 7:30-8 minute pace and I can hold this for about 8 miles (when I do 20k I tend to slide into the 8:30+ range) but my HR is around 165-170 which sounds like it is a bit high from what is posted here. Should I slow down or is this a sustainable thing? I don't think I'll train much past a 20k because of time restrictions so how should I approach this?

    You've already got several replies talking about paying attention to your heart rate. I'll put things a bit more simply: If you can only sustain a pace for 8 miles, it's too fast to be your long run pace.

    My favorite cautionary tale: I've been running with a pace group targeting an 8:30 pace for about 2 years. When we get just the core of regular marathon runners, we tend to push a bit and average 8:15. The marathon runners in this group are fine with an 8:15 pace for distances up to and including 22 miles.

    In the 4th quarter of 2014, we had a guy join us who seemed fine with the 8:15 to 8:30 pace. But the pace leader was only doing the half marathon distances because it was his off season. I was running the marathon distances, even if it meant running the last part without a pace leader. And I'm a bit faster than the average in this group, so I'd run the back half closer to an 8:00 pace.

    Anyway, we had a couple of runs structured as 8 + 8 miles. Mark stayed with us fine for the first 8, then decided he'd run the back 8 with me. Both times, he broke down around 12 miles. While Mark looked fine running at an 8:15 pace for 8 or 10 miles, for longer than that he really needed to slow down to around a 9:00 pace. Failure to do so was hazardous to his health.

    That's what it looks like when you push the pace harder than you should for the distance. You end up being forced to slow to a walk before the end of the planned run. No doubt @Stoshew71 can tell us in some detail why this happens, but the fact that it *does* happen is evident from simple observation.

    In the category of deja vu, last Saturday I paced 17 miles at a 9:00 pace. There was a guy who was having trouble keeping up in the first 10 miles. He reminded me a lot of Mark, just 30 seconds per mile slower. He so wanted to run a 9:00 pace, but it was just too fast to be an easy run *for him*. I expect he was more successful when he dropped to run with the 9:30 group for his last 7 miles. Same symptoms, easy diagnosis. He couldn't hold the pace for longer than 6 or 7 miles, so it's too fast for his long easy runs.
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
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    shaunamaki1979 wrote: »
    @5512bf

    Agreed. I haven't had much luck finding the right shoes. I have always had issues with finding sneakers that fit my heels without causing injuries.

    @shaunamaki1979 do you have a running store in your area? That's where I bought mine...a little pricey, but they evaluate how you run on a treadmill, and then suggest shoes that would correct your gait...anyway, I have been wearing mine for a couple of years...probably need another pair soon but shoes are still really comfortable. Also wear 2 pair of socks...I still get calluses but no more blisters.
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
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    Thanks to everyone for their advice on the poison ivy. I went to the doctor yesterday and he prescribed a tapering dose of Prednisone. ((thank God). The itching was much improved and I actually was able to work Wednesday night. Afterwards, I slept 5 hours. Then my first run in August. 4 miles at pace of 11:48. Not sure if I was feeling better being on Prednisone, but I originally wanted to run at 85% max heart rate, but in the middle of mile 3, I was starting to feel really great and kicked it up a notch in mile 4. I finished strongly without breathing hard, probably about 92% max heart rate. I am still using a heart rate monitor and stop watch to gauge my pace. The temperature was 91 degrees, heat index at 96...not sure of the humidity, but it was really humid.

    My trip to the doctor was interesting. The assistant placed an oximeter on when checking me in, and I could see the worried look on her face. I explained that my heart rate runs low, around 50-52 due to being a runner. She told me that she was glad that I told her because I registered at 48.

    Still have rash on arms and hands but it has faded from my face and neck. The itching is the worst. I am hoping that goes away soon. I really didn't feel more itchy after sweating but only ran 4...so we'll see when I run farther. Still felt good to get a run in.

    August 4...4 miles. August goal is 85 miles.
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
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    instantmartian wrote: »
    Re: Non Runners

    Last week at work, one of my coworkers, who knows I run and is the only one who will talk to me about it, asked if I had a run planned for that afternoon/evening. I noted that I was supposed to be doing 4 miles, but I wasn't sure if that was going to happen with the storms rolling through. (We had torrential downpours that day, and I never did make it out.) We then got to talking about my half marathon training, and I noted that my next long run was 7 miles.

    The new girl who sits between me and the coworker who was having said conversation chimes in and goes, "Wait, you're going to run 7 miles all at once?" To which I replied, "Well, yeah. I have to if I'm going to be in good enough shape to run 13.1 in a month and a half." She then asks, "But that doesn't make you tired? I can't run for more than a couple minutes at a time." I replied that if you pace yourself properly it's doable, and that I would, of course, run the 4 miles faster than I would run the 7. She then asked me how long it would take me to run the 7 miles, and I noted that I am kind of slow right now, quite a bit slower than I had been at one point, but I could probably do the 7 miles at an 11 minute per mile pace, so it would probably take me somewhere around an hour and twenty minutes to finish. Her response was, "Oh. So you don't run for 7 miles...you JOG." All I could say was, "Yeah, I guess." and I walked away.

    I had to comment on this story. (I have just finished reading 6 pages of posts---THAT will teach me to go to work! LOL) I work with nurses and nursing assistants, but when I started working on my diet and fitness, and actually getting excited about training for races, I noticed that some of the nurses look at me like I have 3 heads or something. I figure that if I talk the talk, I should at least walk the walk, you know. Like you, there is one nurse who seems interested in my runs/workouts and will ask questions. She seems genuinely surprised when I casually tell her that I have run "x" miles, and am not limping or complaining about hurting. Oh, and I am about 20 years older than most of my co-workers.

    Regarding jogging, I was watching an old "Dragnet" episode starring Jack Webb, and he was quizzing a witness about a crime scene, and the witness was described as a "Jogger". The term was totally alien to Jack and it had to be explained to him. I think that the episode was in 1967-1968. Just find things like that fascinating.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    edited August 2016
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    kristinegift wrote: »
    My run mantra today whenever I wanted to slow down was, "Fatigue is a feeling!" I just listened to the Marathon Training Academy podcast episode with Tim Noakes who claims that fatigue is an emotion, not a physical fact (it's a good episode; I'd recommend it!).

    @kristinegift "Fatigue is a feeling".... Thanks, I'll be using that mantra!

    shaunamaki1979 wrote: »
    Hi All, I'm new to the group. I am also new to running. I am setting a goal of 50 miles. I've logged in 11.78 so far this month. My heels are covered in band-aids. Hope that's just part of the "fun"!

    @shaunamaki1979 Welcome! Oh, dear, that should not happen.

    Are you wearing non-running sneakers like Converse or something? Just a thought to add to other's comments.

    Your running shoes should feel like puffy clouds for your feet on your very first run.

    Stoshew71 wrote: »
    Any running lasting longer than ~90 minutes will be much slower than your shorter runs.
    1) ~60 minutes is the limit that you can sustain your LT pace. So running beyond that will result in paces much slower than this.

    2) The longer you run, you will begin to exhaust your slow twitch muscle fibers forcing you to engage your med twitch and fast twitch muscles (muscle fiber recruitment ladder). According to studies, once you activate your fast twitch muscles, you will breach your ventilatory threshold (breathing will become more rapid).

    I'm not sure if any of that helps, but it should explain why certain things happen.

    @Stoshew71 That was really, really helpful information.

    I liked this bit from the second link:

    "What is the practical upshot of this finding for you? It means that you shouldn’t bother to submit to blood lactate testing to determine your lactate threshold. Your blood lactate levels during exercise are essentially meaningless. Instead, have your ventilatory threshold determined through a VO2 exercise test. Or just pay closer attention to your pace and/or heart rate the next time you experience that loss-of-breath-control feeling. That’s your ventilatory threshold right there. Most of your training should be done below it; a modest amount right at it; and a small but consistent amount above it."
    Read more at http://running.competitor.com/2013/10/training/whats-the-ventilatory-threshold-and-why-does-it-matter_18338#ezUc3Tjl7rZW2wbu.99&quot;
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    Stoshew71 wrote: »
    Cool article about the Birmingham, Alabama running community.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/in-birmingham-southern-hospitality-shines-through-to-help-runners

    That. Is a beautiful thing. :heart:

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    Strava Premium now has "Beacon".

    http://blog.strava.com/turning-on-the-beacon-12207/

    "Beacon, our newest Premium feature, is the note on the fridge for the connected athlete. Instead of a lonely sticky note, Beacon safety contacts will get to see where you are during an activity in real time on a map. If you aren’t back on time, they can check to see where you are or if you’re stopped. If something were to happen to you, they’d be able to see your GPS location."
  • DayLi77
    DayLi77 Posts: 655 Member
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    8/1.....rest day
    8/2.....3.25 miles run/ walk on treadmill
    8/3.....weights
    8/4.....2.4 miles run/ walk in the park (achy, asthmatic slog in the heat & humidity - bleah)
    8/5.....swim

    Goal: 40 miles
    5.64 miles done, 34.35 to go

    Upcoming Races:
    Stride Against Violence 5K - 10/16/16
  • shaunamaki1979
    shaunamaki1979 Posts: 5 Member
    edited August 2016
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    Thanks all for the running shoes suggestions. I am sure I could find a running store, but I'll have to do a little searching. I am running in Nike Flex Experience RN's. I also bought a pair of Merrell Unifly trail running shoes as I plan to run on the trails in the state park in my area. I think I just have a narrow heel because I can feel it sliding around a bit. I will try a second pair of socks today to see if that helps. Otherwise, I am going to see about being properly fitted.

  • greenolivetree
    greenolivetree Posts: 1,282 Member
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    8/1 - 40 mins total body strength + pilates, 20 min light cardio, stretching
    8/2 - 3 mi walk - .75 mi of which was running intervals to test out my leg
    8/3 - 3.1 mi walk - again I ran about .75 mi in short intervals, also a few tiny hill repeats
    8/4 - 20 min light cardio, 55 min strength&pilates
    8/5 - 3 mi walk

    Running Goal: 0 of 75 miles
    Non-running goals: Take my strength training more seriously this month/Lose 5lbs (dang it!)

    My leg is not cooperating to run. My calf definitely feels better and I'd probably run on it although I feel a slight twinge. But since it's all calmed down so that my whole lower leg isn't raging I can feel what I suspected....shin pain. I've been worried about it for a week now but with my whole lower leg bothering me it was hard to pinpoint. I have gotten strength back in the calf to hop on that leg and the shin pain isn't severe when I hop. But worrisome.

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