January 2017 Running Challenge
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@BeeerRunner thanks! I do think it would be fun in better conditions, so I won't give up on the idea of trail running completely yet. During the event though, I was all "no more hills, no more rough ground, EVER".
@9voice9 great job on your HM!!! Great improvement - you'll definitely get to your goal.
@lporter229 - yes, I think the snowshoe 5k would have been super hard on this course too! But I was planning on a more leisurely romp through the snow, rather than trying to run it. But those hills would have been tough work. And interesting info about the elevation gain data. Thanks for sharing.
@juliet3455 thanks for the tips about trail running. I can see it's got to be about the fun of it and not the time if/when I do another. It was an adventure, that's for sure.
@_nikkiwolf_ I hope you have much better luck with your snow trail run next weekend! It's really a shame we haven't had snow stick around much this year when I'm just getting into snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. It better not start sticking around in March/April.
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I'm going to update my ticker tonight when I get home, but wanted to say that I did a trail run today to scope out the park where that challenging run is on 4/1. I now definitely believe it is difficult. There was a lot more walking than running and I'm sure I did not follow the exact course of the run (I didn't, but there are a lot of trails near each other, so that was tough).
I am convinced I can't do the half now. But I still think I can do the 12K. It won't be easy and my time won't exactly be that great, but I still want to shoot for it.3 -
Asked the guy who's gonna be running thr marathon with me if he wanted to do a nice 6.5 mile run next Saturday....didn't mention that it was going to be the second half of a 13 miler for me.0
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January Running Totals (miles)
1/1 – 10.39 warmup, 7.5 mile race, cool down
1/2 – 2.12 easy cross country
1/3 – 8.58 warmup, tempo intervals
1/4 – 5.01 easy
1/5 – 5.99 warmup, speed work, cool down
1/6 – rest day
1/7 – 16.59 warmup + Winter Warrior Half Marathon
1/8 – 7.62 easy on indoor track
1/9 – 6.51 easy
1/10 – 6.02 warmup + MP
1/11 – 6.20 mostly easy
1/12 – 9.01 warm up, speed work, cool down
1/13 – rest day
1/14 – 15.88 warm up, 5 mile race, post-race easy run
January total to date – 99.92
Nominal Challenge Goal – 225 miles
Real Goals: Train toward Boston, working 3 Freezeroo races plus Winter Warrior Half into the training plan. Avoid injury.
Today's notes – The plan for today says "medium long 10-13 miles with hills." But today I have a 5 mile race on a flat course. So the plan has to change. Looked at the week, and saw that I needed between 15 and 16 miles to hit my weekly mileage target after the other adjustments earlier this week. A plan was born.
Gun time was 10 AM. Got there early, and started my warmup around 8:45. The idea was to do a preview of the course as a warmup, because I need the miles and because I'd never seen this course before. For the warmup, it was 19º F (-7º C). There was an ESE wind. It wasn't much, but at that temperature I noticed it. Started before the start line, and ran past the finish line. Got familiar with the route. The "two small hills" at mile 2 and mile 4.2 were there; they might have been an issue at 5K race pace, but they would be no issue at 5 mile race pace unless I try for a PR. This is not an A race. No problem with hills.
At the gun, the temperature had risen to 23º F (-5º C). I got sucked out by the race surge, just like always. The time announced as I passed the one mile mark was 6:38. After that, I moderated my pace so I wouldn't kill myself. I kept telling myself, I don't need to break 33 minutes. Anything under 35 minutes is a decent result. Looked at my watch as I passed the mile 3 marker, and it said 20:27. Okay, the math says I won't break 34 minutes but I'll be under 35. Good enough.
But there are only 2 miles left, and I know what those 2 miles are like. I pick the pace up a little, and pass 3 people that I expected to stay ahead of me. Get past the hill at 4.2 miles, and try to pick the pace up again. Turn the corner heading back into the park, and try to pick it up again to finish strong.
I hear footsteps, and another runner goes past me like I'm standing still. It's a kid, clearly running faster than my 1 mile race pace and probably faster than I could run 200 m. Wow. Looked him up later, and he was first in the Under 19 age group. Get toward the line, and a volunteer tells me, "You're under 34!" Sure enough, Garmin told me 33:41.4. Official time said 33:41.577. Garmin said 5.01 miles for a 5 mile race. There weren't many tangents to run on this course, and I tried to run them all well, but that's still phenomenally close for Garmin versus official distance.
Go to the shelter, have a cup of soup, a banana, and half a bagel. Check results. I'm 19th overall, and 1st in the M 60-64 age group. Go back out for more miles, and run the course in reverse. The preview and post-race easy run were longer than the race, because I started before the finish line and kept running after it. Total distance for the day, 15.88 miles. That brings the marathon training week mileage in on target.
When results are posted online, I see that I am 19 of 153 overall, and 1 of 11 in the age group. Series points are awarded based on finish time relative to the overall winners by gender, and I got fewer points today than for either of the first two Freezeroo races; but I still own the 3 highest single race points in the age group. I'm in pretty good shape to win the age group for the series, though odd things could happen with the way the scoring is set up.
Odd thing: I ran both the pre-race warmup and the post-race easy run by feel, without particularly trying to control pace. My average pace came in at 7:47 for the pre-race and 7:50 for the post-race run. I'm more surprised by how close they are than the absolute magnitude of the pace; in between I ran a 6:43 average pace for a 5 mile race, and you would think I'd be more tired for the post-race run.
2017 races:
January 1, 2017 Freezeroo #2 (Resolution Run 7.5 mile) (Mendon, NY) Finished in 50:45
January 7, 2017 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Gates, NY) Finished in 1:32:40
January 14, 2017 Freezeroo #3 (Pineway Ponds Park 5 mile) (Spencerport, NY) Finished in 34:42
January 28, 2017 Freezeroo #4 (Hearnish 5 mile) (Victor, NY)
February 4, 2017 USATF Cross Country National Championship 8K (Bend, OR)
February 11, 2017 Freezeroo #5 (Valentines Run "In Memory of Tom Brannon" 8 Mile) (Greece, NY)
February 25, 2017 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY)
March 11, 2017 Johnny's Runnin' of the Green 5 mile (Rochester, NY)
April 17, 2017 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA)
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Nice race report @MobyCarp and congrats on a great race! I really liked how you got the miles you need incorporating the race. Something I'll have to keep in mind in thr future.0
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15.3 km LSR this morning. Nice and overcast; cool but not cold.
Ran up a nearby mountain, 178 metres elevation gain, so not exactly a huge mountain. But the feeling of freedom running back down the hill was amazing!
Plus I saw kangaroos.
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Late to this but going for 60km this month as I have insanely entered a 500 miles (800km) challenge for the year!
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Updated the ticker for today's slow, but challenging run.
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midwesterner85 wrote: »I'm going to update my ticker tonight when I get home, but wanted to say that I did a trail run today to scope out the park where that challenging run is on 4/1. I now definitely believe it is difficult. There was a lot more walking than running and I'm sure I did not follow the exact course of the run (I didn't, but there are a lot of trails near each other, so that was tough).
I am convinced I can't do the half now. But I still think I can do the 12K. It won't be easy and my time won't exactly be that great, but I still want to shoot for it.
Only one way to find out! In my training runs, no way I was convinced I could do the race. But come race day I always surprised and impressed myself.
Getting to the starting line and finishing the race (or best effort) is a win!
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@skippygirlsmom Cute pics! We had similar weather. 12 with -2 windchill Friday morning, then 72 on Wednesday 1
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midwesterner85 wrote: »I'm going to update my ticker tonight when I get home, but wanted to say that I did a trail run today to scope out the park where that challenging run is on 4/1. I now definitely believe it is difficult. There was a lot more walking than running and I'm sure I did not follow the exact course of the run (I didn't, but there are a lot of trails near each other, so that was tough).
I am convinced I can't do the half now. But I still think I can do the 12K. It won't be easy and my time won't exactly be that great, but I still want to shoot for it.
Only one way to find out! In my training runs, no way I was convinced I could do the race. But come race day I always surprised and impressed myself.
Getting to the starting line and finishing the race (or best effort) is a win!
Definitely agree!
@Orphia -Do you have any idea how cool those kangaroo pictures are to those of us outside of Australia???? #speechless
@MobyCarp - Thanks so much for the helpful insight! I knew you guys would help put things in perspective for me. Oh, and congrats on the great race today!2 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »I'm going to update my ticker tonight when I get home, but wanted to say that I did a trail run today to scope out the park where that challenging run is on 4/1. I now definitely believe it is difficult. There was a lot more walking than running and I'm sure I did not follow the exact course of the run (I didn't, but there are a lot of trails near each other, so that was tough).
I am convinced I can't do the half now. But I still think I can do the 12K. It won't be easy and my time won't exactly be that great, but I still want to shoot for it.
Only one way to find out! In my training runs, no way I was convinced I could do the race. But come race day I always surprised and impressed myself.
Getting to the starting line and finishing the race (or best effort) is a win!
I can finish the 12K. I did more than the race distance today in the same terrain in half the cut-off time. If I kept the same pace, I could do the half in about 1 hr. less than the cut-off time. But I'm not sure I can do the distance of the half in that terrain. The possibility of a DNF is too scary for me, so I'll do the 12K. I just don't want to be last, and I'm going to continue training.2 -
@RunsOnEspresso Oh, well that's just...really strange lol.RunsOnEspresso wrote: »@RunsOnEspresso Have you tried Spot Hero or a similar app? It allows you to purchase parking fare and guarantees you a spot in a lot ahead of time. In 2014, we took the train into Chicago for the Chicago Marathon. as advised. After the long walk back to the train station and almost passing out on the train back due to standing room only, we tried out Spot Hero the next year and it worked great! Have used it since then.
Oh, all the paid lots were completely empty. They literally blocked them off so no one could park in them. You couldn't get to other lots because all the streets were closed due to the run.
I had planned to park in my work garage because I should have had access to it according to what streets they said would be closed but they had more streets closed than they said online or in the emails. It was just a really weird situation.
@katharmonic Sounds like the race was quite a mess but great job sticking it out!
@Orphia So cool to see kangaroos in the wild on your run! Is that pretty common or does it just depend on the area?
@MobyCarp As always, very nice race. Congrats!
@9voice9 Congrats on the PR!
@skippygirlsmom Great pic! Jealous of the 70 degree weather, however it's supposed to be back up in the 40s and 50s next week here, so not too bad.
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@hootmom109 Come over to the January 2017 Challenge.0
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January Mile totals
1/1 rest. Colds suck
1/2- 5.23
1/3- 4.03
1/4- 4.01
1/5- 5.0
1/6- 4.0
1/7- Rest calf/achilles pain
1/8- recovery from calf/achilles pain
1/9- rest/recovery from calf/achilles pain
1/10- 2.01 YAY!
1/11-Rest, want to be careful before PT clearance
1/12- Rest- Saw PT, got clearance to run!
1/13- 4.02-first run after cleared
1/14- 6.11 test run-can I run a normal training distance? Yes, yes I can.
Total: 34.41
Monthly goal: stay healthy and continue base building to start marathon training at the end of the month.
Nominal mileage goal: 70 (revised down after injury).
Today's notes: After wife was home from her 8 hour OT shift, and little man was in bed, I finally got my run in for the day. Got in 6.11 miles at 9:43 pace, which was too fast but that's partially because I wanted to see how my calf/Achilles would take it. I'm happy to report that I felt fine the whole run.
Side note 1. Roads the last few days haven't been great, so I decided to wear my trail shoes today. This proved to be an interesting experience because they are both my heaviest, and lowest drop shoes. I could feel the drop difference effecting my running, and I'm now tempted to get a pair of road shoes with the lower drop, not for every day type running, but to do like short 3 milers in, just to get the benefit of running with less underfoot.
Side note 2. I was using this run to gauge how I felt, and to decide if I wanted to start marathon training 2 weeks early. I felt good enough that I'm now confident in starting "formal training" on Monday, knowing that the 2 week "cushion" it provides me for completing the training plan will give me the ability to either make up for lost time because of life happening or, ideally, give me an additional 2 weeks so I can add a 22 miler, and a third week of taper.
So, in the words of Bender, I'm back baby!5 -
@juliet3455 We have my inlaws in from Calgary during the CW for my middle girls' 3rd birthday or I totally would. I want to go to GP already!
So today was a good day. Tomorrow marks one month since my appendix tried to murder me (lol), so tonight I did my HM length in 2:04:34. Slower than I wanted but I'll take it given that my surgeon told me *maybe* I'd be able to run by six weeks post op...in intervals...maybe for 10 or 15 minutes. Our post op check on the 27th will be fun lol
January 1- Travel Day
January 2- 8.1km
January 3- 8.1km
January 4- 8.1km
January 5- Rest Day
January 6- 10km
January 7- 15.1km
January 8- 6km
January 9- HIIT Day
January 10- 10.1km
January 11- Rest Day
January 12- 10.1km
January 13- 7.1k
January 14- 21.1km
103.8/160km
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Date,,,,,,,,,,Miles,,,,,,,,,,Total
1/1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2.0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2.0
2/1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2.3,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,4.3
3/1,,,,,,,,,,,,,Rest,,,,,,,,,,,,,,4.3
4/1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2.3,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,6.6
5/1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2.6,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,9.2
6/1,,,,,,,,,,,,,Rest,,,,,,,,,,,,,,9.2
7/1,,,,,,,,,,,,,Rest,,,,,,,,,,,,,,9.2
8/1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2.6,,,,,,,,,,,,,,11.8
9/1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2.9,,,,,,,,,,,,,,14.7
10/1,,,,,,,,,,Rest,,,,,,,,,,,,,14.7
11/1,,,,,,,,,,,,3.0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,17.7
12/1,,,,,,,,,,,,2.3,,,,,,,,,,,,,,20.0
13/1,,,,,,,,,,Rest,,,,,,,,,,,,,20.0
14/1,,,,,,,,,,Rest,,,,,,,,,,,,,20.0
15/1,,,,,,,,,,,,3.4,,,,,,,,,,,,,,23.4![exercise.png[\img]](https://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/t/wg0CHq8/exercise.png[\img])
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@JessicaMcB awesome come back and great race!1
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