January 2018 Running Challenge
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Here's my recap of yesterday's Madeira Marathon (a Portugese Island somewhere in the Atlantic ocean between Portugal and Morocco). It sure is beautiful here!
I woke up before sunrise and realized it was raining and cold. Not what I was expecting. I made a last-minute decision to switch to my backup set of clothing that was slightly warmer than shorts and tank-top, and it was a good decision. The weather switched between rain and sunshine for pretty much the whole race. Marathon start was at 8 am, about a 5-minute walk from my hotel. Got to the start about 20 minutes early, which was actually before the truck showed up with the staging materials and they started assembling the start line (seriously-BUT they were technically ready to go in time for the race, and started right on time). The first part was 3.5 laps on a 7k loop. I liked this loop, especially seeing the leaders and all of the other competitors. I kept the pace right at my "don't go faster than this for the first half" pace and was ticking along pretty comfortably for about the first 25k. I knew I was towards the back of the pack and making myself slow down, but it stayed interesting because 2 hours in, after the lead runners had moved on to the rest of the course, they started the half marathoners on the same loop. At some point they started the "mini marathon", which ended up being about 5-6k or something, so there were constantly other runners around. My main thought going into this, and through the whole first section has been amazement that "I get to" do this. At one point the clouds opened up and the sun was shining through on this huge rock out in the ocean, and I just couldn't believe that I am so blessed to be able to be out here, running a marathon.
So then it was time to go through the "transition" section and on to the second loop. There had been some up and down to this point, as it was not exactly flat like they said, but they did the best they could for the way the roads are on this island. Transition was basically a big downhill where I realized that, hey, my legs kinda hurt. This started to get worse as I crossed the finish line for the first time and started lap 1 of four shorter laps on a 4k loop. There was more elevation change on this short loop, many more spectators, wet slippery cobblestones in one section, and the pain was starting to get worse. I saw my hubby and kids by the finish line one of those times early on, my son thought I was done and I was like, "no, 4 more times, more than an hour". So they left the finish area and I saw them a couple other times further down the route. I kind of wanted to cry though, as every step was getting more and more painful (basically my whole upper leg all the way around)... but once you've run 34k it's kind of pointless to do anything but keep going. By lap 2 I was starting to think of bad words in my head and so put my one earbud in and turned on some praise music (yes, it helped a little). At one point passing the finish I noticed a lady who had given me a high-5 earlier; I knew she was behind me... but there she was not running, celebrating with her team. I guess she DNF'd
Lap 3 was the worst because I knew I would still have to do it one more time. Walk breaks weren't helping, it hurt to walk, too. At one point I came up along a lady who was walking and walked with her for a little while, she was hurting too but we encouraged each other and then got back to running. I felt awful, but was still passing people, and I think the only people who were passing me were running the shorter races. I would run as much as I could, then walk briefly, then start running (literally crying out in pain) and repeat the cycle.
I told myself I don't ever want to run an ultra, and decided that I would not run the Lublin marathon in May. I clearly lied, because I'm already signed up for the marathon - how did my brain manage to block that out so conveniently? The gel, bananas, gummies (1 for each turn-around point to help me keep track), energy bar and good breakfast never really kicked in for a second wind. Last lap got a little lonely, but as soon as I saw the finish line (for the last time), I took back everything I said and my "I GET TO" was back. It felt SO good to be done and to turn right after the finish line instead of doing another lap. Medal, yes thank you, Cola? I always turn down yucky cola, but Yes, that does sound good right now. Fresh delicious orange? Oh. Yes.
I actually wasn't too far from my goal time. Beat my PR from my first marathon by 17 minutes! And even though there were 55 women in my age group in the various races that day, with a lot of them probably faster than me, all but 2 of us ran the shorter races. So I got to stand on a podium, get kissed by a cute Portuguese guy handing out the awards, and get a trophy while my hubby took my picture. Funny thing is, the other girl finished only one minute ahead of me, so I guess I didn't do THAT badly
The picture is towards the end. I kind of like it, even though I was seriously in pain at this point, because I can look back and know that I got through it. The smiley pictures I've got from other races are fun, but this one tells a different story.
January goals: all met. I can't really walk today, so did about 20 minutes of swimming and then sat around all day. The hotel we're staying at is awesome, pools indoor and out, jacuzzi, sauna, good breakfast I don't have to make or clean up... I
this vacation.
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1/1/18-6 miles
1/4/18-3 miles
1/6/18-6 miles
1/7/18-3.25 miles
1/9/18-3miles
1/10/18-2.25 miles
1/13/18-1.5 miles
1/14/18-8 miles
1/15/18-3 miles
1/17/18-3 miles
1/21/18-6 miles
1/22/18-5 miles
1/24/18-2 miles
1/25/18-6 miles
1/26/18-2 miles
1/28/18-9.25 miles
69.25/60 Miles
Upcoming Races:
5/12/18-Montana Women's Run-5 Miles
7/15/18-Missoula Marathon7 -
@polskagirl01 - Amazing race! And kudos to you for fighting through it! I'm sure that's one you'll remember fondly for years to come!2
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@polskagirl01 Go you! Congratulations on your trophy, medal, and PR. I've been hiking on Madeira a couple of times. It's a beautiful place to visit, and your picture has made me want to go back there.1
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Yes, it seems like flights from western Europe are very affordable, at least now during the "off-season". Hoping the rain quits so we can get out more before it's time to go home.BruinsGal_91 wrote: »@polskagirl01 Go you! Congratulations on your trophy, medal, and PR. I've been hiking on Madeira a couple of times. It's a beautiful place to visit, and your picture has made me want to go back there.
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@polskagirl01 - I love your photo! It tells the real story - you were in pain but you kept going! How cool that you got to be on the podium.2
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@HonuNui Your poor hand! I love the design of the medal and logo.
Re: living / running in a dangerous neighborhood - the thing is, when this place went Section 8 the property value dropped steeply, so now we can't really afford to sell it. Don't really want to delve into the politics of our changing neighborhood, so I'll just say that no place around here is really safe - my riding teacher who was like a second mom to me was carjacked and murdered in a "good" neighborhood near the park we drive to. Wherever you live there are different hazards - some people run with cougars, which don't live here.
I looked at the Strava heat map and can easily see all the routes we run at the park. The area near our house is gray except that there are a lot of people who "run" down the main street leading past our block of houses, which is a terrible place to run, and I have never seen a runner there. I'm almost certain it represents carless people walking to work at the corner shopping/restaurant area, and carrying groceries back home. It's interesting as I wouldn't have expected most of the people I see walking here to be on Strava.
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@polskagirl01 Way to go! You got to stand on the podium! I have never been there! Well done, and way to push through the pain!1
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@stoshew71 - so sorry you have the flu - That's awful! Sorry a bad month also. It's almost February after what everyone is calling the longest January ever.
@honunui - awesome medal! Sorry about the fall!
@polskagirl01 - that sounds like a really hard race! Great job!1 -
01/01/2018 - 3.0 miles @ 9:15
01/02/2018 - 6.5 MPH and 4% Grade for 1 hour
01/03/2018 - 6.5 MPH For 8 Miles at 4% grade
01/04/2018 - 6.7 MPH For 8 Miles at 4% grade
01/05/2018 - 6.8 MPH For 8 Miles at 4% grade
01/06/2018 - Rest
01/07/2018 - Rest - Family Time
01/08/2018 - 7.0 MPH for 7 miles at 4% grade
01/09/2018 - 10 miles @ 8:58 pace
01/10/2018 - *grumble grumble meetings*
01/11/2018 - 11 miles @ 8:34 pace
01/12/2018 - *grumble* *grumble*
01/13/2018 - 7.0 MPH for 7 miles at 4.25% grade
01/14/2018 - 11 miles @ 9:46 pace - in the snow.
01/15/2018 - 7.0 MPH for 6 miles at 4.5% grade
01/16/2018 - *grumble grumble*
01/17/2018 - 7.0 MPH for 10.3 miles at 4% grade
01/18/2018 - 7.0 MPH for 9 miles at 4% grade
01/19/2018 - Rest
01/20/2018 - 20 miles @ 9:22 average pace
01/21/2018 - Meetings
01/22/2018 - 8.8 miles I think. Forgot to start Garmin
01/23/2018 - 10 miles @ 9:31
01/24/2018 - Nada
01/25/2018 - 10 miles @ 9:27
01/26/2018 - 10 miles @ 9:30
01/27/2018 - Nada
01/28/2018 - 13.2 miles @ 9:38
01/29/2018 - 10 miles @ 9:46
Big Hairy Audacious Goal: Sub 4 hours in Pittsburgh 2018!
Official Marathon PR: 4:11:28
Next Races (more as I find them):
03/17/18 - Shamrock Shuffle Half Marathon
04/07/18 - Achilles 9.3 Challange
05/06/18 - Pittsburgh Marathon - aiming for sub four hours.
05/12/18 - Glacier Ridge 50k Trail Ultra (I must hate myself)
2020 - Disney World Dopey! (if can raise funds)
Much slower than I wanted, and I was overdressed but knocked out 10 miles.
Thing is the weather said the temps were headed to 18 and snow was coming. So, while it was like 43 or 44 when I left, I dressed a bit warmer thinking the temps would fall fast since It was almost sunset when I left. The did not. It was still over 40 when I came in all overheated and stuff.
Ah well.4 -
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@fitoverfortymom love that you had a great ocean run. I have felt exactly the same every time I manage to run along the ocean - it's such a treat. Too bad about not recording your other great run! Hope you can achieve your goal for your 10k coming up.
@HonuNui Ouch! Great job overcoming that fall and getting 2nd in your age group! Awesome!
@polskagirl01 congrats on the Madeira Marathon. Great job getting persevering and getting a PR! And a trophy. Well done. Sounds like an amazing experience.
Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
01/01/18 :::: 4.5 :::: 4.5
01/02/18 :::: 0.0 :::: 4.5
01/03/18 :::: 2.5 :::: 7.0
01/04/18 :::: 3.0 :::: 10.0
01/05/18 :::: 7.2 :::: 17.2
01/06/18 :::: 0.0 :::: 17.2
01/07/18 :::: 0.0 :::: 17.2
01/08/18 :::: 3.0 :::: 20.2
01/09/18 :::: 0.0 :::: 20.2
01/10/18 :::: 3.1 :::: 23.4
01/11/18 :::: 3.1 :::: 26.4
01/12/18 :::: 0.0 :::: 26.4
01/13/18 :::: 2.1 :::: 28.6
01/14/18 :::: 13.1 :::: 41.7
01/15/18 :::: 0.0 :::: 41.7
01/16/18 :::: 0.0 :::: 41.7
01/17/18 :::: 4.4 :::: 46.0
01/18/18 :::: 4.1 :::: 50.2
01/19/18 :::: 0.0 :::: 50.2
01/20/18 :::: 0.0 :::: 50.2
01/21/18 :::: 0.0 :::: 50.2
01/22/18 :::: 3.7 :::: 53.9
01/23/18 :::: 3.0 :::: 56.9
01/24/18 :::: 3.0 :::: 59.9
01/25/18 :::: 0.0 :::: 59.9
01/26/18 :::: 2.7 :::: 62.6
01/27/18 :::: 8.2 :::: 70.9
01/28/18 :::: 4.4 :::: 75.3
01/29/18 :::: 3.2 :::: 78.4
Tonight's group workout was a 15-minute tempo run, with warm-up, cool-down and 4 sprints. I think I had my watched stopped for a bit of it. And somehow my cadence got all messed up in Garmin. Scratch that, it's back to normal now when I refreshed Garmin Connect. Odd. We moved our workout to a new street/loop and it was quite a bit hillier. Felt like a tempo and hill workout in one.
My goal was 93 miles for the month so I'm not going to make that. I took a few more rest days right before and after my HM than I had planned, but given that the race well and I feel really good now, I think it worked out for the best.
Hope everyone who is sick or injured feels better soon!
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@skippygirlsmom I hear you about being up against the work time clock when running; so many times I wish I could run further, but don't have the time as I have to get in to work. That's why this year, my long runs will no longer be Friday morning, but Friday evenings instead.
@RunsOnEspresso Sorry to hear about your race, and hope you got to feeling better quickly.
@HonuNui Congrats on a great race!
@KatieJane83 Welcome back! Injuries suck, so looking forward to seeing you post your February runs!
@Stoshew71 Sorry to hear you came down with the flu...it's hitting just about everyone this season it seems.
@polskagirl01 Great write-up, and congrats on placing second in your age group!!! Absolutely well done!
Also, congrats to all that have already made goal this month. 5 -
6.68 km River Bank run. -13C Wind out of the North at 10km/h.
~ 16km/h windchill when running in-bound.
Stopped and chatted with a fellow runner for a while and did not pause my watch.
We both agree it has been a rough winter for us, dark overcast cold weather, snow, rain = sheets of ice. That shows in the 9 day breaks = 18 days of not running.
I am about 1/2 to 1/3 of my normal average monthly run distance. Heck I don't even care about the 6.68 number. The normal me would keep going to get to 7 km.
01/01 0.0 km – 0.0km –140.0 km – YTD 0 km
01/02 9.37 km –9.37km –130.63 km
01/04 11.0 km –20.37km –11x.63 km x =9
01/13 10.47km –30.84km –109.16 km
01/14 6.45km –37.29km –102.74 km
01/23 11.14km –48.43km – 91.60 km
01/27 9.36km –57.79km – 82.24 km
01/29 6.68km –64.47km – 75.56 km – YTD 64.47 km - River Bank Evening Trail Run
My Sunday 4 Feb Chilly Willy Event promises to live up to it's name. The forecast
A mix of sun and cloud with 60 percent chance of flurries. High minus 18. Clear. Low minus 20. Celsius.4 -
PastorVincent wrote: »@polskagirl01 Way to go! You got to stand on the podium! I have never been there! Well done, and way to push through the pain!
Didn't understand a word they were saying, and the posted list was only the top 10 finishers, so I was sticking around just in case - had no idea how the age group looked until I heard my name. They had to tell me which one box to stand on!4 -
@RunsOnEspresso , get well soon! there will be other races
@iporterm33 , kudos for going over your goal!
@Link2Life , those firsst long runs feel amazing, don't they? afterwards you could focus on distance (do a 5 to 10K program) or speed (sub-30 5K, for example)
@fitoverfortymom , you're my hero, I can't get out of bed at 6:30 to have a quiet morning while everyone is still sleeping, let alone run at 4am. when do you go to bed?
@HonuNui , ouch about your hand, but what an awesome medal!
@KatieJane83 , good thing about monthly challenges, next one is never too far away.
@Stoshew71 , get well soon! Flu's definitely no fun...
@polskagirl01 , what an amazing location to run! congrats for being on podium!!
@rheddmobile , I've listened to a podcast about changing US neighborhoods (I'm in Europe), can only imagine how that sucks when you suddenly find yourself in a totally different place and dynamic...
@juliet3455 , -13°C??? that's very cold...4 -
Decided to do Phase 3 of Higdon's base training plan before starting my HM training. Ran 2.25. Made monthly goal. Moving on.
MTD: 45.6/45
1/2 - 1.0 + 2.0
1/3 - 1.25
1/5 - 1.3
1/6 - 1.5 + 2.0
1/7 - 2.25
1/8 - 1.5
1/9 - 1.7
1/11 - 1.5
1/13 - 2.0 + 1.5
1/14 - 3.1
1/16 - 2.0
1/17 - 2.5
1/18 - 3.5
1/21 - 2.5
1/22 - 2.5
1/24 - 2.5
1/25 - 1.5
1/27 - 3.5
1/30 - 2.5
*****
Goals for 2018:
- Run 500 miles
- Run a nonstop (no walking) 5K
- Run/walk my first 10K
- Run/walk a HM
- Run 3+ trail races
- Run in 3+ states
Races:
1/27 - Mississippi Blues Marathon 5K (Registered) - DNS
2/14 - Luv 2 Run 2.14M virtual (Registered)
2/18 - Q50 Trails Extravaganza 5M (Registered)
3/10 - Hammond Shamrock Run 5K
3/18 - Shamrockin Run 8K in NOLA
3/31 - Crescent City Classic 10K
4/20 - Star Wars Dark Side 5K in WDW (Registered)
5/12 - Q50 Cinco de Mayo Trail Race 5K
6/21 - Summer Solstice 6.21M
*****
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It appears winter has returned
(that is in F not C for non-US folks)5 -
4 miles on a really nice 50F morning! Probably do some strength training after work. I'm looking at 2-3 rest days before Sunday's HM so I'm obsessing about getting some lifting in.
1/1 - 4.5 miles #RWRunStreak Day 40!!! I’m done!
1/2 - REST day!
1/3 - Strength training - glutes/arms
1/4 - 5 miles
1/5 - strength training - glutes/arms W4C
1/6 - 8 miles
1/7 - strength training - arms only
1/8 - strength training - glutes
1/9 - 4 miles
1/10 - REST day
1/11 - 4 miles
1/12 - 3.75 miles
1/13 - 44 miles biking
1/14 - 3 miles + glutes
1/15 - REST
1/16 - StrengthTraining - S1-A
1/17 - 4 miles
1/18 - Strength training S1-B
1/19 - 3 miles + strength training S1-C
1/20 - 43 miles biking
1/21 - 10 miles!
1/22 - REST
1/23 - 4 miles
1/24 - 4 miles + strength S1-D
1/25 - strength S2-A
1/26 - 4.5 miles w/intervals + S2-B
1/27 - 44 miles cycling
1/28 - 56 miles cycling — 100 mile weekend!
1/29 - strengthS2-C
1/30 - 4 miles + TBD
Upcoming:
Daytona Beach HM - 2/4/198 -
Got in an easy 6 this am. hoping to get in 7 or 8s .
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