February 2017 Running Challenge

1…4243454748

Replies

  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    MNLittleFinn wrote: »
    Calvin2008Brian wrote: »
    MNLittleFinn wrote: »
    I ended up running the 15.12 miles in 2:24:22 for a 9:33 pace, which is stretch marathon goal pace -22sec. Too fast, like I said, but I got it done.

    How do you know it's too fast? Are you still monitoring HR? Do you feel like you are racing your workouts, in particular your long runs?

    HR was 165 That's too high. I wasn't tracking HR during the run, just checked after the run, just zoned out and ran. truth is it might not be too fast. I'm still new enough to not know for sure where my limits are.

    I would say, if you can complete your long run this past weekend and then come back Monday morning and then do all your planned workouts for the week with no significant issues, then you did fine this past weekend.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    Date Miles today - Miles for February
    2/1 5 miles - 5
    2/2 10miles - 15
    2/3 5 miles - 20
    2/4 18 miles - 38
    2/5 REST DAY
    2/6 10 miles - 48
    2/7 10 miles - 58
    2/7 5 miles - 63 << Daily Double and leg workout in the gym
    2/8 5 miles - 68
    2/9 7.5 miles - 75.5
    2/10 REST DAY
    2/11 14 miles - 89.5
    2/12 REST DAY
    2/13 7 miles - 96.5
    2/14 7.5 miles - 104
    2/15 4 miles - 108
    2/16 7.5 miles - 115.5
    2/17 REST DAY
    2/18 13.1 -128.6
    2/19 REST DAY
    2/20 10 miles - 138.6
    2/21 10 miles - 148.6
    2/21 5 miles - 153.6 << Daily Double
    2/22 4 miles - 157.6
    2/23 10 miles - 167.6 << Hill Repeats x8
    2/24 REST DAY
    2/25 20 miles - 187.6
    2/26 REST DAY
    2/27 10 miles - 197.6 Madkin Mountain

    exercise.png

    Upcoming races:
    UAH 8K - 3/6 <<< 34:33 3 in AG
    Oak Barrel HM - 4/2 <<<< 1:38:00 3 in AG
    Bridge Street HM - 4/10 <<< 1:36:33 3 in AG
    PEO-AVN Team Day 5K - 5/4 <<< 19:10 (2.9 mi) 1 in AG 5 OA
    Cotton Row Run 10K - 5/30 << 44:57 PR
    Firecracker Chase 10.2 miler 6/25 << 1:20:22 1 in AG & 15 OA
    Huntsville Half Marathon - 11/12 << 1:35:55 2 in AG & 25 OA
    Rocket City Marathon - 12/10 << 2:44:41
    Elkmont Hound Dog Half (unofficial) - 1/21 << 1:46:48 2 OA
    Elkmont Hound Dog Half (rescheduled) - 2/18 << 1:41:04 1 in AG & 24 OA
    Kentucky Derby Marathon - 4/29


  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,498 Member
    @KeepRunningFatboy sorry to hear about your week. Hope this week is much better for you.
    @MobyCarp awesome job on that race!
    @RespectTheKitty you remember well. Coincidentally I had a similar issue Saturday and it was one of the few times I went on a long run without carrying wipes with me. Thankfully the primitive toilets at the trailhead were unlocked and I was able to take care of business.
    @dpwellman nice crowd for the group run.
    @skippygirlsmom that must be comforting to have your doctor friend approve of your surgeon. Hoping for the best possible news from your appointment tomorrow.
    @_nikkiwolf_ the trail looks great!
    @BeeerRunner I already responded to your post on your feed but it bears repeating...AWESOME JOB!!! I'm very excited for you! I had the same experience. My cardio was fine but my legs were trashed at the end. And your bloody race bib is testament to your determination and toughness!
    @bmelb1 glad you're making progress, but sorry about having to walk the race. That's a few weeks off though, so you may be able to run it all.
    @lporter229 UGH!!! Sorry about your hamstring. To add to your collection of stories about successful marathons after injuries, I had a strained Achilles 5 weeks prior to my first marathon which took me out of training for two weeks. When I should have been tapering I was trying to build back up and get my fitness back. I didn't hit my 4 hour goal but I was close enough that I was happy. That's not as bad as coming back from a stress fracture, but I thought my marathon was out of the question at the time.







  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    MobyCarp wrote: »
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    Will there be a thread for March? I'd like to join if so. I don't run any where near what some of you do but I try to run 3 times a week.

    @RuNaRoUnDaFiEld - There will almost certainly be a thread for March. Expect @Stoshew71 to announce it tomorrow or Tuesday.

    As far as not running much, many of us didn't always run this much. Last October, I ran all of 16 miles. I'm healthier now, and putting up some mileage that might intimidate new runners; but you start from wherever you are, and go to wherever you're comfortable going.

    I will probably post it this afternoon sometime.

  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    7lenny7 wrote: »
    @lporter229 UGH!!! Sorry about your hamstring. To add to your collection of stories about successful marathons after injuries, I had a strained Achilles 5 weeks prior to my first marathon which took me out of training for two weeks. When I should have been tapering I was trying to build back up and get my fitness back. I didn't hit my 4 hour goal but I was close enough that I was happy. That's not as bad as coming back from a stress fracture, but I thought my marathon was out of the question at the time.

    Thanks for that @7lenny7 ! Any other marathon injury success stories welcome!!
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,498 Member
    edited February 2017
    Weekend catchup...

    2/25 - 14.5 trail miles @ 11:52 pace
    2/26 - 8.1 road miles @ 9:00 pace

    Saturday's plan was 16 trail miles but I cut it short. The run just kicked my *kitten*. Normally I power walk up the longest, steepest hills but this day I was walking up many of the hills and even some of the flats after hills. I just didn't have much energy even though this was a cutback week. About half way through my run I figured out why. I normally have just run trails on the weekend but last week I started running weeknights on them as well. At the end of Saturday's run I had run 53 out of my last 59 miles, a span of 7 days, on hilly trails. It was a cutback week as far as miles but my hill climbing muscles had a pretty tough week.

    My Garmin 220 reports an elevation gain of 1100 ft but my Garmin Vivofit tells me I climbed 240 flights of stairs!! I first assumed the steps were wrong but when I manually created the same route in Strava and it reports 2160 feet of elevation gain, so perhaps it was close to 240 flights. It sure felt like it. I wish elevation measuring was more accurate.

    Sunday I skipped the trails and ran pavement. After 10:00 warmup mile I was able to get some great pace going and my last 6 mile splits were all under 9:00. I'm very happy with that. My Garmin never picked up my HR during the run so I'm not sure how that went. I know I was running faster than a conversational pace, but not very much faster. It appears that these hills are helping my speed if I want to make conclusions from a single data point.

    I've nailed my trail mile goals and am just 3 miles from my total mile goal and have already made this might highest month ever, in spite of just 4 weekends in it.

    svbl8hpfutnz.jpg

    gslt7odvb7oa.jpg



  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    @BeeerRunner Congratulations on your marathon finish and under 4 hours and after a fall.

    Rocket City Marathon '14 was my first marathon and that was the first year they changed the course to include the US Space & Rocket Center (home to Space Camp) and Botanical Gardens as part of the course which forced them to reroute the entire course and had the finish inside Propst Arena of the Von Braun Center which is a 10,000 seating capacity concert hall and home of our UAH and Huntsville Havoc hockey teams. The last .2 mile you are running off Monroe Road and around the outside of the arena and you turn a corner and bingo the finish line is 20 feet in front of you. The problem that first year was right at the entrance of the arena they had a cable lead which you had to step over. Well after running over 26.1 miles, yes you are doing the marathon shuffle, turn the corner, look up and see the finish line, and this woman is like "watch your feet", huh? *face plant*. I tripped but some how maintained my balance by miracle. But there were so many face plants that came after me. very poor planning

    Congratulations again.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    edited February 2017
    @MobyCarp Congratulations on your race finish and 1 in AG and winning your series.

    @lporter229 Sorry about your hamstring. I couldn't imagine working so hard for a goal and then so close to the race get depressing news. Since you already trained and raced that distance, and you already got a 20 miler in, finishing a marathon is not your concern. And I believe you already qualified. So, your focus should be to get back healthy and be able to run it. Totally doable at this point. One week off of running is not panic time just yet.
  • skippygirlsmom
    skippygirlsmom Posts: 4,433 Member
    @7lenny7 thanks it really is nice to have her input
    @lporter229 sorry on the hamstring - I hope for a quick recovery.
  • _nikkiwolf_
    _nikkiwolf_ Posts: 1,380 Member
    edited February 2017
    @7lenny7 That's a lot of trail running you did, nice!
    I also with I had a more accurate way to measure elevation. From what I've seen, the numbers for routes with rolling hills are all over the place. I've found that for a single long climb the numbers are more consistent, but still some fluctuations. Saturday's run for example:
    When I planned the route in Strava, it was 942m of elevation. Exporting it and putting it into gpsvisualizer with the option ot replace the elevation with data from the "best available source", it said 1030m elevation gain.
    After running it, my GPS watch (tomtom) claims an elevation of 1036m, while uploading the run to Strava left me me with 870m.
    I know that Strava uses different elevation data for route planning vs activities, and applies some smoothing; and that GPS altitude isn't 100% reliable. The only thing I know for sure is that I started around 580m and the highest point of the run was at 1414m, so a difference of 834m. Since it wasn't all climbing, but also some ups and downs, I expect the overall elevation gain to be more than that, but whether it's closer to Strava's 870m or the tomtom/gpsvisualizer value of 1030m, I don't know. Something in-between, I guess...

    I've been thinking about buying a watch with barometric altitude measurement for a while now, just for that reason. Sadly, the watch I bought four years ago shows no signs of breaking, so I don't have a good excuse to spend the money ;)
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    @skippygirlsmom & @Elise4270 Hoping for strong recoveries for the 2 of you and successful possible surgeries.
  • KatieJane83
    KatieJane83 Posts: 2,002 Member
    2/1 - cross-training - zumba
    2/2 - 7 mile general aerobic run
    2/3 - 6 mile general aerobic run
    2/4 - cross-training - zumba/weights
    2/5 - 9 mile long run
    2/6 - rest
    2/7 - 6 mile general aerobic run / cross-training - weights
    2/8 - cross-training - zumba+7 min elliptical
    2/9 - active rest - shoveling/walk
    2/10 - 7 mile LT tempo run on the dreadmill
    2/11 - 2.5 mile LT pace run to the gym / zumba / 3.5 mile general aerobic run home
    2/12 - rest/some shoveling - snow day!
    2/13 - 9 mile long run
    2/14 - 7 mile general aerobic run / cross-training - weights
    2/15 - cross-training - zumba + a little weighted ab work
    2/16 - 8 mile general aerobic run w/8x100m strides
    2/17 - 6 mile general aerobic run / cross-training - weights
    2/18 - cross-training - zumba
    2/19 - 9 mile long run
    2/20 - rest
    2/21 - unscheduled rest (sinus infection)
    2/22 - unscheduled rest (sinus infection)
    2/23 - 6 mile general aerobic run / cross-training - zumba
    2/24 - unscheduled rest (sinus infection)
    2/25 - cross-training - zumba
    2/26 - 6 mile run (should have been 10, but easing back w/sinus infection)
    2/27 - rest

    Total: 92/116

    200 miles/2,017 miles - goal for the year

    Whew, finally caught up! Too many posts to reply to, so awesome job to all those that had runs/races, and sending best wishes and positive vibes to all those on the injured/sick list!

    And a special shoutout to @BeeerRunner , even though I commented on her wall, for an amazing 1st marathon!!!

    I finally got a run in yesterday. It was supposed to be my long run day (10 miles) but with being sick I just took it easy, kept it close to home, and did what felt comfortable. I actually felt pretty good, and felt like I could go for longer, but didn't want to push it. This freaking sinus infection has been the worst. Finally got an email back from my doc, after reaching out again Sat morning, and am getting another round of antibiotics, cause I need to get this *kitten* infection kicked out of my head. I unfortunately won't be making my goal this week, but I'm gonna make tomorrow's 7 miler an 8 miler so I can at least get to 100 for the month, lol.

    In happy news, my rest day today lined up with my birthday, so I am gonna have a relaxing day and will eat all the bad things! B) At least I had an early bday present on Saturday, with a 2.2 lb loss on the scale, so I'm feeling pretty awesome in that regard!


    3/11 - Bill Fortune 10k
    4/9 - JFK Runway 5k
    4/29 - Run for the Wild 5k (through the Bronx Zoo)
    5/14 - Tinkerbell HM (Disneyland)
    6/4 - GW Bridge Challenge 10k
    6/10 - NYRR New York Mini 10k
    6/25 - Bay of Fundy HM
    7/ 8 - Women’s Distance Festival 5k
    9/10 - S. Nyack 10 Miler (registration not open yet)
    11/9 - Philadelphia Marathon (registration opens 4/1)
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    @KatieJane83 - Happy Birthday fellow Piscean. Mine is tomorrow. I will be taking a rest day too :)
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    Stoshew71 wrote: »
    I would say, if you can complete your long run this past weekend and then come back Monday morning and then do all your planned workouts for the week with no significant issues, then you did fine this past weekend.

    Thanks for that. Scheduled runs yesterday and today ( just 4 milers), went pretty well.
  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
    lporter229 wrote: »
    Speaking of Boston, my road there just took a sharp turn backwards. I am currently on day 4 of no running and waiting patiently for my PT appointment on Friday morning. I am pretty convinced (with the help of Dr. Google), that I have high hamastring tendinopathy. I am totally bummed about this. I have not run since my 1 mile jaunt with Stella on Friday morning and am planning on taking the rest of the week off until I have my appointment. I had a massage on Saturday and did some P90X pilates yesterday, neither of which seemed to help much.

    @lporter229 - I ran Boston last year in two ankle supports that I don't currently wear. The supports were to recover from ankle sprains. The most recent one was described by my podiatrist as a strain of the posterior tibial tendon, which is "used to decelerate." Yeah, just the thing you want injured before a marathon with major downhill distance. But it got taken care of, and I finished. I hope you can too.

    I skimmed the link you gave. "Deep buttock pain while sitting" would also describe the problem I had *after* Boston with my tensor fascia lata. Had the same pain after Good Life Halfsy 2015, a net downhill half marathon. Yep, one of those things that is caused by downhill running, and made worse by downhill running while injured. But not to worry about second-guessing yourself; your PT will be able to sort out which part of the running chain is causing you issues.

    There is a long list of people I'd like to see next April in Boston. You're on the list. Take care of yourself, and do your best to get there.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    edited February 2017
    @lporter229 I have bilateral high hamstring tendonosis. Although it's not been addressed with everything else going on. I assume it's heald all it's going to in the months off.

    Maybe the PT visit will help move things along. Steroid pack? Heat? Good luck. Tendons are just so resistant to heal. maybe some ultrasound therapy would help (PT).
  • lorax429
    lorax429 Posts: 16 Member
    edited February 2017
    lorax429 wrote: »
    New guy in for 50.
    exercise.png



    Passed the finish line today. It was a miserable 3.25 mi run. I felt horrible the whole time but I got it done anyway. It was the first bad run I had for the entire 50+ miles this month. Not a fun way to finish, but overall it was a great month running for me. I have an 8k race in March and I feel like this helped me get into good shape for it. Just have to keep the momentum going.....
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    @MobyCarp Thanks for sharing your story too. I suppose there are a lot of "banged up" people running Boston. Their Facebook page had a gripe thread started this weekend and there sure were a lot of people complaining of injuries! I have no doubt that whatever issue I am dealing with here is the result of running a lot of hilly terrain these past few months. It definitely makes the glutes, hamstrings and quads work a lot harder. No matter what though, I will be there, so we will definitely have to meet up! If you had asked me a couple of months ago, I would have said that I could pretty easily cruise through a sub 4. At this point, I will be happy with a finish. I don't necessarily want to walk, but if that's what it takes, so be it.

    @Elise4270- I feel pretty silly complaining about this in comparison to everything you have been through! The truth is, I am still pretty okay running, but I am just afraid that I am doing more harm than good right now and I want to get the opinion of a professional. My dream scenario is that he says I am okay to run and he gives me some good strength exercises to help get this sucker feeling strong again. Either way, I think I will be doing some reduced mileage and more cross training between now and April. I guess I need to come to terms with the fact that I'm no spring chicken anymore!
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    @7Lenny7- No wonder your legs are tired! That trail looks fun, but challenging! I wish I had some trail options like that close to me. So jealous of you and @_nikkiwolf_ . In regards to the elevation data from Garmin, a few months back I was doing 30 second hill sprints on a hill near work. The hill is fairly steep, but has about a 58 foot elevation gain over the whole thing. I did 10 repeats up the hill, sprinting about three quarters of the way up each time. On the last one I went all the way to the top and did my cool down up there. My Garmin data only gave me 58 feet of elevation for the entire run. I did a Google search on it and found that there is a threshold for elevation, which I think is somewhere around 40 ft, so a lot of those rolling hills do not get captured.
  • dkabambe
    dkabambe Posts: 544 Member
    Life/depression got the better off me at the back end of last week, so I didn't get out for my long run on Friday as planned. Also haven't checked in here so about 200 posts behind which I probably won't get a chance to catch up on. Anyway, I finally tried to snap myself out of it this morning but kept finding excuses to put off my run but eventually forced myself out this afternoon.

    The plan called for 2hours slow, but I thought I'd extend out to HM distance. Technically to run it slowly would take me 2:15-2:30 but decided I'd aim for 2:10 with a negative split. I set out intending to do 3 x 7k loops around my neighbourhood but half way through the second one I was losing the mental battle so decided to switch things up a bit and run an out-and-back for the last 10k to stop me calling it quits up at the end of the second loop. At first I thought that was a major mistake as the route out was a lot less sheltered than my loop so felt quite hard into the 17mph headwind especially as I was trying to up the pace a bit to hit my negative split. I kept reminding myself I'd get the tailwind on the way home and pushed through and really enjoyed the tailwind section coming back - at least for the first kilometre or so before I got hit by hailstones for the last 20+ minutes of my run. Anyway, the hailstones did have the positive effect of encouraging a fast finish, but I did feel something in my right hamstring with about 1k to go. Nothing major but definitely affected my stride and despite extra stretching feels a little tight post-run, so will get the foam roller out after my recovery jog tomorrow.

    Ended up doing the HM distance in 2:08 which I was pleased with. My first 10K was run at 6:21/km pace and the second 10K at 5:51, (with the final km-and-a-bit around 5:30 pace) so achieved my negative split and sets me up nicely for my first official HM run in a few weeks. My target for that is a 2:02 and given how today went that is definitely achievable if the conditions are OK. Having said that I haven't looked at the course properly so don't know what the elevation profile is like.

    exercise.png
    01-Feb: 1.7km treadmill intervals [TM]
    02-Feb: 3.4k treadmill [TM]
    05-Feb: 6.6k + 5.5k easy
    06-Feb: 7.5k tempo
    07-Feb: 4.1k easy
    10-Feb: 10k easy
    13-Feb: 16k MP
    14-Feb: 6.4k steady
    15-Feb: 7.9k as 10min hard/3min recovery intervals
    16-Feb: 6k easy
    17-Feb: 9.2k steady
    19-Feb: 10k fast (race-sim) + 2k cool-down
    20-Feb (AM): 4.5k easy
    20-Feb (PM): 7.9k steady
    21-Feb: 9.5k off-road, hilly fartlek
    23-Feb: 9.2k easy
    27-Feb: 21.2k MP-easy

    2017 Confirmed Races:
    19-Mar: Richmond Half Marathon
    14-May: Bexhill Starfish Marathon
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    I'm thinking that for the price, I might just have to try this out

    http://www.runningwarehouse.com/Nathan_Trail_Mix_Belt/descpage-NTMBCL.html
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    Am I the only one refreshing the main challenges page every hour to see if the new MRC thread is up yet????? LOL, I think I'm a bit obsessed.
  • kimlight2
    kimlight2 Posts: 483 Member
    @MNLittleFinn nope you are not the only one and I prefer to think of it as highly focused not obsessed.
  • BeeerRunner
    BeeerRunner Posts: 728 Member
    Thank you so much for all your support!! I honestly don't know what I'd do without you all.

    @MNLittleFinn I certainly hope your 1st marathon is not as eventful as mine too! Lol!

    @MobyCarp and @lporter229 Yes, even though I'm incredibly sore today, I do see more marathons on my future. I honestly enjoyed the training. The last 6.2 miles were definitely hard but not unbearable. Even though I slowed down, I was happy I was still running. So many people were walking at that point. If I keep doing this running thing, I figure I should be able to BQ by 2019 when I go into the next age bracket. If I didn't fall, I probably would have finished in under 3:51:00. If I can shave 5 to 6 minutes off that, I'll be well under the BQ time for that age group! ;)

    @Stoshew71 Glad you didn't fall in yours, and you're right about the marathon shuffle!! Lol! That's exactly how I was running at the end! ;)

    @lporter229 Hopefully, the rest will do your hamstring some good, and I sure hope you can get back running soon. With your fitness level, I feel like you'll definitely be able to finish Boston. The timing is terrible because I know you want to be strong and well prepared for it.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    lporter229 wrote: »


    @Elise4270- I feel pretty silly complaining about this in comparison to everything you have been through! The truth is, I am still pretty okay running, but I am just afraid that I am doing more harm than good right now and I want to get the opinion of a professional. My dream scenario is that he says I am okay to run and he gives me some good strength exercises to help get this sucker feeling strong again. Either way, I think I will be doing some reduced mileage and more cross training between now and April. I guess I need to come to terms with the fact that I'm no spring chicken anymore!

    Oh cathart away! Every runner earns the chance to vent about everything, from the smallest niggle to the unspeakable concern.

    I read a story about a young man that was in an accident (I can't remember what happened). He was training (like Olympics). He was told he'd never even walk again, but last I heard he was back in the hunt for his Olympic? spot. Wish I could remember it all.

    That's why we're here, right? Share and support each other in the good and the railroad tracks :wink: .
  • 9voice9
    9voice9 Posts: 693 Member
    I've decided to do a little taper, since I want to have fresh legs for the HM this weekend. I've hit my goal for the month, so I'll do some little 5K-ish runs most days this week (instead of the 10K I usually do). It'll put me a little behind on March's 169 miles, but I hope I can make it up, even if the spring race season is in full-gear.

    I mushed my sister-in-law (who lost a son to PTSD in January) for her first 5K Saturday (so I wasn't racing it at all). We wound up with a ~17 minute pace, but she finished and didn't think she was dying, so I'm calling it a success. Haven't talked with her since Saturday, so I need to see if she's still thinking she wants to keep on with the running thing.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    MNLittleFinn wrote: »
    Am I the only one refreshing the main challenges page every hour to see if the new MRC thread is up yet????? LOL, I think I'm a bit obsessed.

    Yes..... *Taps foot impatiently* because no one else is ready to declare a goal that happens to coincide with lent. *Uh hum* Stan..... haha! JK!
    I surely haven't nailed down a goal for either *tick tock*
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    @BeerRunner- When do you turn 45? I qualified as a 45 year old when I was 43 because they go by your age on the day of Boston, not the day of the qualifying race. However, I did not know this at the time that I qualified and I thought my qualifying requirement was a 3:45 instead of 3:55. You should have absolutely no problem getting there either way though. I ran my first solo marathon in January of 2015 and got 3:52:24. I ran the next one 9 months later at 3:38:26. I am absolutely certain that you can see that kind of improvement with the way you train.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories