January 2018 Running Challenge
Replies
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Nice consistency @skippygirlsmom1
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@7lenny7 - Wow! Glad you & your companion are safe! Guess that's one way to get your heart rate up?
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Monthly Goal: 23 miles
1/8: 2.22
1/9: 2.23 - 4.45 done, 18.55 to go
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Year goal: 200 miles - 4.45 done -- 195.55 to go1 -
girlinahat wrote: »@Ryokat
Generally running against traffic is the norm if running on the road.
I second the need for a headlamp rather than just hi-vis. Hi-vis only works if the cars lights are trained on you, and they need to be remarkably close to see you. /// so flashing lights are even better to give drivers a chance to figure out well in advance what you are on the road.
@7lenny7 there is a certain element of blame to the van also. If he was passing into the facility and the route was not clear, then he shouldn’t have continued – hitting pedestrians is just not cool – over here I frequently struggle to explain to drivers that if they are turning from a major road into a minor road, and I am already crossing that minor road as a pedestrian then I do actually have RIGHT OF WAY
Just glad that Lenny and Kody were not injured. I agree with ^^. Also I must add that if you have the ability to add a Red Flasher to the rear of the headlamp it is well worth doing. I picked up some small 1.5in round Led Flasher's from a local Bike shop and clipped one to the back of each headlamp. It wouldn't have helped Lenny this time but in the future??
A friend of mine retired from the RCMP ( Canada's National Police Force ) as the senior Collision Analyst in Alberta. so he was the guy who would show up at Traffic/Automobile collisions where there was a fatality and do a scene survey and site evaluation - analysis. The number of accidents at corners, road junctions 70-80%. Lighting, weather, road conditions ( slight curves ) and Driver perception were the cause in most of them. They once did an illumination study of Vehicle Headlights and pedestrians ( Highway and City speed limits ). Black clothes, White clothes, High Vis. Not surprising that the drivers could not see the pedestrians until it was to late for them to react and miss/avoid a collision. Didn't matter what the pedestrians were wearing. As pedestrians we get fooled because we can see the headlights from a long distance away so we assume the Drivers can see us. Be safe my friends.6 -
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
21.25/60 Miles
Upcoming Races:
3/17/18-Run to the Pub-half Marathon (not signed up yet)
5/12/18-Montana Womens Run-5 Miles
7/15/18-Missoula Marathon2 -
angmarie28 wrote: »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
21.25/60 Miles
Upcoming Races:
3/17/18-Run to the Pub-half Marathon (not signed up yet)
5/12/18-Montana Womens Run-5 Miles
7/15/18-Missoula Marathon
Looks like you're perfectly on track to meet/exceed your goal this month. Great job!0 -
1/1 - 4 treadmill miles on a way too cold day.
1/2 - Two flat tires doomed my chances of getting to the Y / gym.
1/3 - 4 more 'mill miles.
1/4 - 5.1 treadmill miles at Trek Class, then upper body weights.
1/5 - Unplanned rest day.
1/6 - 4 treadmill miles, then upper body weights.
1/7 - Another 4 on the 'mill. Finally could have run outside, but my son asks me to take him to the gym
1/8 - Nothing yet, but planning an odd (for me) evening run.
1/8 - 4.8 miles. First outdoor run in a while. Almost got hit by cars twice...people are stupid.
1/9 - Rest day.
1/10 - 5 miles outside...woot!
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MNLittleFinn wrote: »I track on Strava and just note which pair I used. Strava does all the tracking. Remember, rotating shoes makes a difference. There's a reason I have 6 pair of road and 4 pair of trail. Though I expect to get closer to 1000 miles from trail shies, as it's less impact.
Yea, but then I have to edit every run and add the shoes right? There is little chance of me remembering to do that long-term.
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January goal - 35 miles
1/3 - 1.5 miles - put on my new fleece lined pants a couple of shirts, jacket, new buff & gloves and hit the street. It was 25 degrees. Not too bad, think i'll try it again tonight.
1/6 - 6.5 only 25 degrees, but great run. I can't believe how much more I like running in the cold than the heat.
1/7 - 2.5 warmer, 50 degrees, but a cool wind and I didn't bundle up enough for the first part.
1/9 - 2.0 miles
total so far - 12.5
I adjusted my Garmin to my stride before the last run. I knew it wasn't tracking right for me and I've been lowballing my distances. I run short and slow. But wow, what an eye opener. My mph time went way up. Speed has never been a big goal for me. I enjoy running for the peace it gives me. It helps so much with stress. I have run through deaths, sick kids, and being downsized at work. I've run with tears running down my face, but I always feel better afterwards. And I've only been running 4 years. I started at 49, determined to run a 5K before I turned 50, and found I enjoyed it (most days). I've increased my mileage bit by bit over the past year and that has been enjoyable for me. So I guess I'll take that, maybe work on the speed, but in the big picture..... its not my motivation.
Bossymom159 -
5km run in new PR and fastest km yet. Feeling the improvement. Was perfect running weather though and as it was a day off for me midday so in the daylight which meant fewer other people/traffic and more relaxed running over non sealed paths
If nothing bad happens weather wise the 60 km this month should be easily achieved.
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no run again. not well5
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@7lenny7 - wow, glad you and Kody are okay! Where I live, pedestrians legally have the right of way at all times - there is never any situation in which it is okay for a vehicle to hit a pedestrian. But the flip side of that is that pedestrians are extremely squishy and vehicles can't always see them, so the best principle is to make sure you are never where a car can hit you.
Mine is not a running kind of neighborhood, but we have a lot of people who walk to the store and work, and sometimes I'm horrified by how invisible they are at night. Even on a fairly well-lit street a dark skinned person in dark clothing is just not visible at all. Flashers and reflective tape only make the slightest bit of difference, since tape only shows up when the headlights hit the person directly, by which time they are too close to avoid, and flashing lights at night don't give any sense of scale or distance to a driver.1 -
Glad Kody and you are OK @7lenny7. I frequently run around the building complex here at work which is surrounded by parking lot and many entrances from the main roads into those parking lots which have cars constantly coming and going. I have to be very careful cause most of these drivers do not look out for pedestrians when coming in. You're experience is a great reminder of the need for us to be made aware of our surroundings at all times.
I know you want to take full responsibility as you may have been a little careless (we all do when we get into the run). As @girlinahat said, there is a responsibility that drivers pulling in have to make sure there are no pedestrians and the coast is clear. But I would argue that the car pulling out blocking the crosswalk did a big no-no. Before you cross into a pedestrian marked cross walk, you have to ensure that both ways are clear. Too many drivers just drive on through and just stop thereby blocking things and making things unsafe.
If the driver stopped at the solid white line before the cross walk and yielded to you, then it would have made it safer for the incoming car to see you trying to cross the walk and also yield accordingly.
But all of that goes out the window, it doesn't matter. As runners (pedestrians), you always have to assume that the driver will do the wrong things and you should be prepared to take evasive action or yield for the sake of your own safety (despite who as the right of way). That's a lesson we all can learn and remember. This goes double for people who like to run with music. (I stopped a long time ago.) Don't let your music be a distraction so you become unaware of your surroundings. Even if you're on a trail or greenway. Bikers could sneak up on you. They are supposed to ring a bell or make some kind of noise to alert other pedestrians that they are about to pass you. Even faster runners. I like to make extra noises (stomping my feet, cough, or a simple "On your left") as I am about to pass a slower runner, so they don't change course abruptly or startle them as I pass by. If you have the music turned up too high, you will miss out on these warnings. It's advised that if you do wear earphones that you wear only a single ear bud in one ear so you can be alert of your surroundings by your other ear.8 -
PastorVincent wrote: »MNLittleFinn wrote: »I track on Strava and just note which pair I used. Strava does all the tracking. Remember, rotating shoes makes a difference. There's a reason I have 6 pair of road and 4 pair of trail. Though I expect to get closer to 1000 miles from trail shies, as it's less impact.
Yea, but then I have to edit every run and add the shoes right? There is little chance of me remembering to do that long-term.
My Run-OCD makes it easy. I go into edit after every run, mainly because I switch it to say workout or Long Run anyway, and I'm often renaming runs so I can just look at my training log and see what kind of workouts I did, so It's easy for me to just switch shoes then2 -
1/1 - 4.2
2.2-2.0
3/7-3.7 & 1.7
4/7-ill
5/7-ill
6/7-ill
8/7-ill
9/7-ill
10/7-4.2
Total - 15.8Miles/120 Miles
Amended goal to 120 miles due to being ill at start of month
Upcoming races:
25th February - Brighton Half Marathon
22nd April - London Marathon
5th May - Mid Sussex Marathon 10 Mile
6th May - Mid Sussex Marathon 10 Mile
7th May - Mid Sussex Marathon 10k5 -
MNLittleFinn wrote: »PastorVincent wrote: »MNLittleFinn wrote: »I track on Strava and just note which pair I used. Strava does all the tracking. Remember, rotating shoes makes a difference. There's a reason I have 6 pair of road and 4 pair of trail. Though I expect to get closer to 1000 miles from trail shies, as it's less impact.
My Run-OCD makes it easy. I go into edit after every run, mainly because I switch it to say workout or Long Run anyway, and I'm often renaming runs so I can just look at my training log and see what kind of workouts I did, so It's easy for me to just switch shoes then
My Run-Laziness makes that very unlikely to happen After a run, I am thinking about shower and food not Strava3 -
PastorVincent wrote: »MNLittleFinn wrote: »PastorVincent wrote: »MNLittleFinn wrote: »I track on Strava and just note which pair I used. Strava does all the tracking. Remember, rotating shoes makes a difference. There's a reason I have 6 pair of road and 4 pair of trail. Though I expect to get closer to 1000 miles from trail shies, as it's less impact.
My Run-OCD makes it easy. I go into edit after every run, mainly because I switch it to say workout or Long Run anyway, and I'm often renaming runs so I can just look at my training log and see what kind of workouts I did, so It's easy for me to just switch shoes then
My Run-Laziness makes that very unlikely to happen After a run, I am thinking about shower and food not Strava
After run for me it's Food, poop, Strava (during poop) and shower... yay for multitasking!3 -
MNLittleFinn wrote: »Nice consistency @skippygirlsmom
Thanks @MNLittleFinn that was my problem last month. All over the place.0 -
Thanks for all comments. Day or night, a runner has to assume that they're invisible to drivers. I know this, and I practice this, except for that one moment. Talking about right of way and liability might make for some academic arguments but ultimately we all have to take responsibility for our own safety. My son is going through drivers training and as I tell him, knowing which driver has right of way is great, but we can't assume other drivers will respect that. You may be right, but you may be dead right. Treat all other drivers as idiots.
@girlinahat & @Stoshew71 I was going between two cars so that minivan had no way of seeing me until it was too late. There is no fault on their part. They had no time to react at all. As far as the car blocking the crosswalk, I came up from behind him, I wasn't running parallel. He didn't need to block the crosswalk to turn but he couldn't have seen me as I came from behind him and there was no yielding he could do at that point.
@juliet3455 I normally do wear flashing red lights on the back of my headlamp but last night I didn't. I picked up some cheap ones on Amazon. One goes on me, one goes on Kody. You make a great point about not assuming drivers can see us, particularly if they're turning.
@rheddmobile we have the same law here but there's not much a driver can do when a pedestrian steps out between to cars right in their path. Since I wasn't in a crosswalk I don't think they would have any liability in that case, not that I would care at that point It's not OK, but you can't find fault with that driver for my screwup.
Here's a diagram to give the incident more context:
@orphia you always have such great photos!
@NikolaosKey get better soon, my friend! At least with a diagnosis you start targeting the rehab.
@MNLittleFinn you're getting some high miles from your shoes. I err on the side of caution and get rid of mine between 300 and 400 miles. I don't have a set mileage but wait until I can feel the difference in my body after a run. I figure at 215 pounds, I wear shoes out quicker than someone significantly lighter. I may be throwing away my shoes prematurely but I'd rather do that than risk injury. If you keep track of your shoe mileage on strava or Garmin Connnect it appears that that chart is redundant, unless I'm missing something. And your Nikes...why not just wait until take another run in them? There's no need to stop right AT 600 miles is there?
@PastorVincent You can set Strava up to include a default pair of shoes if there's on pair you usually use. To switch which pair you used on a particular run is pretty simple too. You're already editing your runs to change the titles. Logging shoes is just a matter of clicking on the drop-down menu just below that. The way you use for determining when to toss a pair of shoes work just fine, of course, but I'm a data geek so I like to track my miles.
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My post above prompted me to google.
https://news.wgbh.org/2016/06/08/local-news/who-has-right-way-crosswalk-its-not-simple-you-think
Bottom line, not all cross walks are made equal. It depends on local laws, if there are traffic lights at the intersection, and "walk/don't walk" lights. But when no lights are present at the intersection, the law (at least in Massachusetts) is:
"The right of way is not something that you have, it’s something that you give. So, you don’t take the right of way, you give the right of way," he explained.
Now there are, of course, no shortage of crosswalks where there’s no traffic signals or stoplights. And it’s at these kinds of crosswalks where the law really favors the pedestrian. Caselden explained some of the gritty details of the law:
• If a pedestrian is in a crosswalk you have to wait for them to complete their path all the way through.
• If they are coming toward your lane from the other side of a two way street, and are within 10 feet, you need to stop.
• If your side of the road is two lanes, and the car in the other lane has stopped, you are not permitted to pass that car and enter the crosswalk.
So what if a pedestrian is on the sidewalk and look like they want to cross? Here, the law is actually a little less specific, but Caselden says his read is that drivers need to hit the brakes.
"Basically that’s my understanding," he said. "If they have the intent of crossing within a reasonable distance of it then yeah you gotta stop."
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@7lenny7 The chart was more for general reference for others. I only track on Strava. I'll probably wait for next Wednesday for wearing those shoes, I have a road run scheduled for then, and will see how they perform. I'm only really retiring them to be on the safe side. at 132# (up this morning) I can probably get decent miles from my shoes.0
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@7lenny7 Thanks for the explanation. I still take exception to drivers who pull into the crosswalk and just hang out. That's unfair and rude to potential pedestrians. If they have no intention to pull out into the intersection, then they have no business blocking the crosswalk.3
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My post above prompted me to google.
https://news.wgbh.org/2016/06/08/local-news/who-has-right-way-crosswalk-its-not-simple-you-think
Bottom line, not all cross walks are made equal. It depends on local laws, if there are traffic lights at the intersection, and "walk/don't walk" lights. But when no lights are present at the intersection, the law (at least in Massachusetts) is:
"The right of way is not something that you have, it’s something that you give. So, you don’t take the right of way, you give the right of way," he explained.
Now there are, of course, no shortage of crosswalks where there’s no traffic signals or stoplights. And it’s at these kinds of crosswalks where the law really favors the pedestrian. Caselden explained some of the gritty details of the law:
• If a pedestrian is in a crosswalk you have to wait for them to complete their path all the way through.
• If they are coming toward your lane from the other side of a two way street, and are within 10 feet, you need to stop.
• If your side of the road is two lanes, and the car in the other lane has stopped, you are not permitted to pass that car and enter the crosswalk.
So what if a pedestrian is on the sidewalk and look like they want to cross? Here, the law is actually a little less specific, but Caselden says his read is that drivers need to hit the brakes.
"Basically that’s my understanding," he said. "If they have the intent of crossing within a reasonable distance of it then yeah you gotta stop."
Summary of the Minnesota Law:-
The Minnesota Crosswalk Law: Key Elements
- Drivers must stop for crossing pedestrians at marked crosswalks and at all intersections without crosswalks or stop lights.
- Pedestrians must obey traffic signs and signals at all intersections that have them.
- Vehicles stopped for pedestrians can proceed once the pedestrian has completely crossed the lane in front of the stopped vehicle.
- Pedestrians must not enter a crosswalk if a vehicle is approaching and it is impossible for the driver to stop. There is no defined distance that a pedestrian must abide by before entering the crosswalk; use common sense.
- When a vehicle is stopped at an intersection to allow pedestrians to cross the roadway, drivers of other vehicles approaching from the rear must not pass the stopped vehicle.
- Failure to obey the law is a misdemeanor. A second violation within one year is a gross misdemeanor.
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As far as cars go, I tell my son and myself "You are a squishy bag of mostly water, they are a 2-ton hunk of metal moving at speeds you can only dream of. This is a contest you can not win, no matter what the post-game ref says."
So I always ASSUME the car will NOT stop, and NOT yield and act accordingly. Risk of failure is just too high.
Still, I have been hit. The last time was a car that was in a parking space and decided to back up without warning or checking over his shoulder. I saw it happen in time to slam my hand down on his trunk which caused the driver to slam the breaks and finally look. Turn into a glancing blow at best, and hopefully a bit of a shock for the driver.3 -
@7lenny7 like others happy to hear you and Kody weren't hurt. I bet your heart rate monitor saw a spike.
I agree on being distracted, during my first half I saw Skip and instinctively started towards her to hug her. The only problem was the car in the lane next to me. I almost ran right into it. Never saw it. Gave me the wake up call I needed on being distracted.
Everyone stay safe.3 -
@PastorVincent You can set Strava up to include a default pair of shoes if there's on pair you usually use. To switch which pair you used on a particular run is pretty simple too. You're already editing your runs to change the titles. Logging shoes is just a matter of clicking on the drop-down menu just below that. The way you use for determining when to toss a pair of shoes work just fine, of course, but I'm a data geek so I like to track my miles.
hmm, thanks, I might try that but have to wait until my next pair of shoes now. Current pair has unknown 100s of miles on it.0 -
1/1 = 6 miles
1/2 = rest day
1/3 = 7.5 miles
1/4 = vinyasa yoga class
1/5 = 7.5 miles
1/6 = 13 miles - River Road Half Marathon
1/7 = 6 miles
1/8 = strength training at the gym
1/9 = early PT appt for my foot/ankle
1/10 = 8 miles
I ran with a new runner buddy this morning. The company was nice and we made tentative plans to meet again next week. She runs a faster pace than I do so it will be a good challenge to keep up with her on Wednesday’s. The only problem is that she runs at 5am. I have no problem running that early during the summer to escape the Texas heat. It is really hard getting up at 4:30am during the winter though.
The weather is now fantastic here so, of course, Cedar pollen is reaching record highs. I felt like a big running sinus this morning.
I swear, I feel like all I do here and on Strava is *kitten* about running weather and running allergies. LOL. Someone sent me this the other day and it immediately reminded me of running.
January Goal = 140 miles / total miles = 4813 -
Goal for January is 30 miles.
1/1 - 0
1/2 - 1
1/3 - 2.5
1/4 - 0
1/5 - .25
1/6 - 2.79
1/7 - 0 min
1/8 - 2.88
1/9 - 0
1/10 - 3.05
Total: 12.47
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Tonight almost took a turn for the absolute worst. Kody and I came very close to being seriously hurt or even killed. It all happened so quick that by the time I realized we were in harms way, we were already out of harms way.
I debated whether I was going to say anything here because it was completely my fault and I'm embarrassed about it but perhaps it will help remind others to be smart out there.
My son had soccer practice tonight and I planned on taking him there and running for the hour. As usual for my runs after sunset I had my headlamp, flashing arm light, and my highly reflective vest. Kody had blue and red flashing lights on his collar. The parking lot entrance was busy with parents coming and going with their kids. The front car in the line of cars leaving the lot was over the crosswalk so i decided to go behind him. I quickly turned my headlamp into the second car to get his attention, got eye contact and even a wave so I knew I was good to go. As I walked in front of him I realized I knew who it was and gave him another wave and a smile. That was the distraction which almost did me in. I thought I saw recognition in his eyes and him pointing to me as if to say, "hey, I know you!".
No, it wasn't the look of recognition, it was the anxious look of impending disaster, and he wasn't pointing to me he was pointing at the minivan which was about to hit me.
The bit of distraction made me forget all about looking for incoming traffic to the facility. I crossed in front of one car, recognized the driver, and never looked to my right for cars entering the lot. What a dumbass. A lucky dumbass.
I can't say I remember everything, it happened so quick, but what I do recall is that after giving the guy the second wave, I turned to continue to run. By this time I was past my friends car and entering the incoming lane. As I turned my head I either saw, sensed, or felt a large mass by my face. I stopped my feet so fast my upper body continued to move forward and I instinctively put my hands up to guard my face from hitting this large object, which I was just now realizing was a minivan.
I put my hands up as my upper body continued to move forward. Both hands hit the side of the van, just behind the drivers door I think. As I pushed against it to keep my body from falling into it, I could feel the metal body of the van sliding forward under my hands. Though in my conscious mind I still hadn't figured out what was going on, my subconscious mind was hoping my gloves didn't catch on anything, was cringing in anticipation of my toes getting run over, and wondering where the hell Kody was.
When my hands reached the end of the van I continued to fall forward but was able to catch myself in a crazy stumble. This was about the time I finally realized what was going on. I glanced down to see Kody was just fine and running a step behind me, as he always does when we run in town. I'm so grateful Kody is trained to run at a heel.
With momentum still carrying me forward and the realization that we were unscathed, I just kept going. It took me about 5 minutes to process in my mind what had just happened, and what could have happened. Such a close call.
I feel bad for scaring the driver of the van, They did nothing wrong, it was all my fault. And I hope my friend didn't recognize me with my running gear on and beard covering my face because I really don't to talk about what a dumbshit I was.
I finished with just over 5 miles for the run. Much of the run was spent in prayer, thanking God for watching over me. I also spent the time thinking how this would never have happened if i were on a trail.
One bit of good news is that there was absolutely NO pain, discomfort, or anything in my knee! My knee hasn't felt this good after a run since before the IT band issue surfaced, so I'm very happy about that.
So be careful out there and learn from my stupidity. It only takes a little distraction to take your mind off safety.
@7lenny7 I am so glad you are okay! That is so scary.
I was clipped by a minivan at a crosswalk last year. I had the go crosswalk sign but she was looking down at her phone. Not paying attention, she just turned before looking. I was completely fine but I still get VERY nervous crossing at crosswalks.2 -
ah @7lenny7 if that is how you crossed then it could also be said you didn't have a clear line of sight as to where you were going either - so wouldn't have seen the van. Glad it was only a near miss and nothing more - I had a guy run out between two parked cars on me once. The look on his face as I slammed the brakes on six inches from him told me that he would NEVER do that again..
Like @PastorVincent, I also nearly was reversed into by someone the other day. She’d stopped at a junction, so I thought I’d let her go and pass behind her (like @7lenny7). She then promptly tried to reverse into a parking space at the side of the road. Some people just have no idea how to use those little sticky out reflective devices on the side of their vehicles (probably in the same category of those people who don’t know what that movable stick on the side of the steering column that makes a yellow light flash and gives information on intent.
I think we can all learn from this that cars are bigger and more solid than our soft squishy bodies, and making ourselves massively visible (making eye contact, going in front of a vehicle, flashing lights, bright lights, being obvious in our intentions) will probably help save our lives.2
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