May 2018 Running Challenge

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  • katharmonic
    katharmonic Posts: 5,720 Member
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    That's amazing, @polskagirl01. What an incredible woman and sounds like you are right, that she takes the opportunity to help others. I love that, and have met quite a few runners with that kind of spirit. Thanks for sharing her and your story with us.
  • cburke8909
    cburke8909 Posts: 990 Member
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    fast 5 this am. I hate the humidity. I was suppose to do 3/4 mile intervals but again struggled to get up early so I adjusted and ran a 5mile run at close to top pace for me.(7:15/mile) It's not following the plan quite right but it's close and hopefully I get back to the plan next week

    exercise.png
  • polskagirl01
    polskagirl01 Posts: 2,010 Member
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    PastorVincent wrote: »
    polskagirl01 wrote: »

    exercise.png

    Quick 2.8 km today. It felt good, but I didn't really feel like going any further, so I guess it was just about right. Some of my toes hurt, as they haven't been in those shoes since Sunday. It's not too bad, though. We've got a tennis court reserved for tonight (although we may get rained out), but I'll just wear my other shoes.

    Alright, STORY TIME!!!
    Have I told you all about this lady? (For the record, that's me in the background, light-blue visor and looking like a dork with a veggie-juice drink I took from my kids' stash. This was at the very start of the race.)
    fb9rdfovm1ol.png

    We met last year at the start line of my first marathon. She was wearing a rabbit hat that one of the pacers had given her the night before at the pasta party. I overheard her telling the slowest pace group their goal was too fast for her, so I asked her if she might be aiming for the same time as me, about 30 minutes under the cut-off. She was worried about the hilly course and said she just wanted to finish in the time limit. But as we got a few miles into the race, we found ourselves together, close to the back of the race, and she started a conversation with me. When the 10k runners split off, we were at the very back - as in literally holding up the ambulance (until it stopped and went back - apparently some marathoners had turned with the 10k and were actually behind us). We ran pretty much the whole race together, slow and steady. She was a wealth of advice about running marathons, and finally I asked her how many she had done. Her answer started with, "well, it depends on how you could the ultras". She started running 9 years earlier at age 60, and was somewhere around 170 marathons - closer to 200 if you count the marathons inside the ultras separately. I was sure I had heard her wrong, and couldn't figure out the math on how that was even possible. Her brain was doing math wonderfully, though. At every kilometer marker, she would pull up the wristband covering her watch (you know, the kind with hands, that only tells you what time it is) and would announce the pace we would need to maintain to finish in the time limit. Except that, as I later realized, she wasn't pacing for a finish "just under the time limit"; she was pacing at about 30 minutes faster. We would occasionally take turns going ahead of and catching back up to each other, and were starting to pass a few people, but at some point in the last third of the race I had the thought that I NEEDED to stay with her. Somewhere in my head I thought if I let her get away from me, I might not finish. She would take walk breaks, but her walk was so fast I had to still run to keep up with her. I stayed with her, until about 4 km from the end, when I started to get a second wind. She was slowing at that point and looked really tired. As I was pulling away from her, I kept looking back, wondering if I should wait for her, but instead she started cheering me on, yelling for me to "Run! Go!"... I heard her cheering for me until I was out of earshot. I finished 5 minutes under my goal, which was in no way an impressive marathon time, but I had finished and I was thrilled. Then I waited to cheer for her when she came in a few minutes later and we got some pictures together. She won her age group, as there was only one other woman her age running.

    Later I looked up her profile on a running portal and sure enough, she really does run marathons all the time. She had done some faster times, but her usual time was slower than our finish. I don't know for sure, but I suspect she sped up just to help me reach my goal.

    So this past Sunday she came in to our city by train in the morning, having run a half marathon somewhere else the day before. Her arm was in a sling, because of a fall she had taken while walking on ice. She has aged up and was the only woman in the 70+ age group, and finished close to the cut-off time. I had left before she finished, so never got to connect with her after the race, but when I looked at the results, I see that she passed the halfway point with a young girl (18-29 age group) who ended up finishing just a minute or two ahead of her. Again, I don't know for sure, but I imagine she was encouraging that girl the whole way, just as she had done for me last year.

    AWESOME! You need to tell this story to Runner's World, or one of the other mags!

    I just don't know that she would want the extra attention. But I suppose I could leave the picture and names out of it :)
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
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    polskagirl01 wrote: »
    PastorVincent wrote: »
    polskagirl01 wrote: »

    exercise.png

    Quick 2.8 km today. It felt good, but I didn't really feel like going any further, so I guess it was just about right. Some of my toes hurt, as they haven't been in those shoes since Sunday. It's not too bad, though. We've got a tennis court reserved for tonight (although we may get rained out), but I'll just wear my other shoes.

    Alright, STORY TIME!!!
    Have I told you all about this lady? (For the record, that's me in the background, light-blue visor and looking like a dork with a veggie-juice drink I took from my kids' stash. This was at the very start of the race.)
    fb9rdfovm1ol.png

    We met last year at the start line of my first marathon. She was wearing a rabbit hat that one of the pacers had given her the night before at the pasta party. I overheard her telling the slowest pace group their goal was too fast for her, so I asked her if she might be aiming for the same time as me, about 30 minutes under the cut-off. She was worried about the hilly course and said she just wanted to finish in the time limit. But as we got a few miles into the race, we found ourselves together, close to the back of the race, and she started a conversation with me. When the 10k runners split off, we were at the very back - as in literally holding up the ambulance (until it stopped and went back - apparently some marathoners had turned with the 10k and were actually behind us). We ran pretty much the whole race together, slow and steady. She was a wealth of advice about running marathons, and finally I asked her how many she had done. Her answer started with, "well, it depends on how you could the ultras". She started running 9 years earlier at age 60, and was somewhere around 170 marathons - closer to 200 if you count the marathons inside the ultras separately. I was sure I had heard her wrong, and couldn't figure out the math on how that was even possible. Her brain was doing math wonderfully, though. At every kilometer marker, she would pull up the wristband covering her watch (you know, the kind with hands, that only tells you what time it is) and would announce the pace we would need to maintain to finish in the time limit. Except that, as I later realized, she wasn't pacing for a finish "just under the time limit"; she was pacing at about 30 minutes faster. We would occasionally take turns going ahead of and catching back up to each other, and were starting to pass a few people, but at some point in the last third of the race I had the thought that I NEEDED to stay with her. Somewhere in my head I thought if I let her get away from me, I might not finish. She would take walk breaks, but her walk was so fast I had to still run to keep up with her. I stayed with her, until about 4 km from the end, when I started to get a second wind. She was slowing at that point and looked really tired. As I was pulling away from her, I kept looking back, wondering if I should wait for her, but instead she started cheering me on, yelling for me to "Run! Go!"... I heard her cheering for me until I was out of earshot. I finished 5 minutes under my goal, which was in no way an impressive marathon time, but I had finished and I was thrilled. Then I waited to cheer for her when she came in a few minutes later and we got some pictures together. She won her age group, as there was only one other woman her age running.

    Later I looked up her profile on a running portal and sure enough, she really does run marathons all the time. She had done some faster times, but her usual time was slower than our finish. I don't know for sure, but I suspect she sped up just to help me reach my goal.

    So this past Sunday she came in to our city by train in the morning, having run a half marathon somewhere else the day before. Her arm was in a sling, because of a fall she had taken while walking on ice. She has aged up and was the only woman in the 70+ age group, and finished close to the cut-off time. I had left before she finished, so never got to connect with her after the race, but when I looked at the results, I see that she passed the halfway point with a young girl (18-29 age group) who ended up finishing just a minute or two ahead of her. Again, I don't know for sure, but I imagine she was encouraging that girl the whole way, just as she had done for me last year.

    AWESOME! You need to tell this story to Runner's World, or one of the other mags!

    I just don't know that she would want the extra attention. But I suppose I could leave the picture and names out of it :)

    Definitly.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    @polskagirl01 Lovely story! Thanks for sharing that, it's really inspiring.

    @skippygirlsmom Good to see you're on the mend!
  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
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    5/1 - 5 mile group speed/track workout, then upper body weights / abs.
    5/2 - Overslept...unplanned rest day.
    5/3 - 4 treadmill miles. Trek Class.
    5/4 - Nada. Again. :neutral:
    5/5 - 4.75 mile group run.
    5/6 - Baseball tournament and yard work.
    5/7 - 5.25 miles.
    5/8 - 4.5 miles.
    5/9 - 3.5 treadmill miles, then upper body weights.
    5/10 - 5 miles. Beautiful morning for a run.
    5/11 - Pre Relay rest day.
    5/12 - Market to Market Relay. Leg 4 - 4.88 miles, Leg 11 - 4.02 miles, Leg 18 / team finish - 4.13 miles.
    5/13 - Mothers' Day!
    5/14 - Unplanned rest day.
    5/15 - 5 miles.
    5/16 - 3.17 miles. Shorter than planned due to too many snooze bar hits.
    5/17 - 5 treadmill miles / Trek Class, then upper body weights and abs.

    58.2/120
  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
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    @skippygirlsmom - Glad to hear you are feeling mostly better! I've been missing this group too...with no excuse other than general life business.
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,388 Member
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    @polskagirl01 - That is such a wonderful story!
    @skippygirlsmom - Love to see you checking in here :)
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    I'm in need of some need trail shoes. My usuall surface is chipped granite/gravel. I occasionally run the grass area next to the trail, can be muddy and a little technical.

    I'm looking at some Scott's. Any one try them? Any favorites? I'm currently in mizunos hayate, which I like just fine.
  • RunsOnEspresso
    RunsOnEspresso Posts: 3,218 Member
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    5/1/18 2 miles
    5/2/18 1.8 miles
    5/3/18 1.85 miles
    5/4/18 2 miles
    5/5/18 2 miles
    5/6/18 6 miles

    5/7/18 rest
    5/8/18 2.35 miles
    5/9/18 2.15 miles
    5/10/18 2 miles
    5/11/18 rest
    5/12/18 2.15 miles
    5/13/18 7 miles

    5/14/18 2 miles
    5/15/18 2.1 miles
    5/16/18 1.9 miles
    5/17/18 1.95 miles

    Total 39.25 miles

    For heart rate training is anyone elses zone 1 basically walking? For my warm up in z1 I can manage a very slow run but for the cool down I have to walk or I bounce right back into z2. It's hard for me because I usually do a 5 minute walk and cool down outside my run so this is an adjustment.

    @MobyCarp I'd love to retire to train but I have a few more years (17ish years).
  • cburke8909
    cburke8909 Posts: 990 Member
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    @RunsOnEspresso heart rate zones are very complicated. What did you do to determine yours?
    @skippygirlsmom Glad to see you are back. When you get the chance, I bet we'd all love a skip update as well.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    edited May 2018
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    @RunsOnEspresso - Z1 was always very hard for me too. I didn't worry about hitting my zone 1 target. I more or less just went by effort when I was supposed to be in zone 1. Just kept it as easy as possible.

    ETA: When you are doing the intervals, it will be very difficult to get back to zone 1 if you are doing a timed rest period. Some people will extend their rest period until they get back to zone 1. I always went by time though, even if I never actually made it back to zone 1. Individual choice.
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
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    5/1 6miles
    5/2 9.92miles
    5/3 6miles
    5/4 12miles
    5/5 6miles
    5/6 rest
    5/7 6.5miles
    5/8 6miles
    5/9 7miles
    5/10 8miles
    5/11 5miles
    5/12 14.11miles!
    5/13 rest
    5/14 5.75miles
    5/15 6miles
    5/16 9.84miles
    5/17 6miles

    An easy 6 miler. My legs felt really tired, so I tol myself to go as slow as I want. Ended up feeling pretty good after the second mile!

    Trying to plan my long run for tomorrow, but the weather might push it out to Saturday.


    3/18/2018 Shamrock half marathon
    3/24/2018 Don't Sit on Colon Cancer 5K
    5/28/2018 Run to Remember 5K
    10/7/2018 Crawlin Crab half marathon
    10/13/2018 Joggin for Frogmen 5K
    11/18/2018 Norfolk Harbor half marathon
  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
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    RunsOnEspresso wrote: »

    For heart rate training is anyone elses zone 1 basically walking? For my warm up in z1 I can manage a very slow run but for the cool down I have to walk or I bounce right back into z2. It's hard for me because I usually do a 5 minute walk and cool down outside my run so this is an adjustment.

    I had that problem with Zone 1 until I reset my zones to be the reserve method instead of percentage of max HR. In the simple method,

    Zone 1 = 50% to 50.9% * [maximum HR]

    In the reserve method,
    Zone 1 = resting HR + 50% to 59.9% * [maximum HR - resting HR]

    Simply changing Garmin to go from zones as % of max HR to % of Heart Rate Reserve made the zones feel more like the descriptions of what they should be.

    There are other issues. Every system to set zones wants your max HR or your lactic threshold HR, both of which are hard to determine. Beginners find the widely quoted formula that max HR = 220 - age; but that's wrong for most older distance runners. If my max HR is 220 minus my age, I routinely die in every race shorter than a half marathon and most speed workouts. I'm working with an estimated max HR of 185, which is close enough to reality to make Zone 1 feel easy . . . as long as I use the Heart Rate Reserve method. Under the percent of max HR method, may Zone 1 would be 93 to 111, and Zone 2 would be 112 to 129. Under the HRR method with estimated resting HR 145 and estimated max HR 185, my Zone 1 is 115 to 129, which fits well with easy runs being comfortable in the low 130s for my HR and feeling *very* easy with my HR in the mid 120s.

    So . . . if I believed *both* the % of max HR method and the 220 - age forumula, my Zone 1 would be 79 to 95, or basically walking in warm humid weather. I think Zone 1 of 115 to 129 is a lot closer to reality for me.

    TL/DR; If the zone numbers don't work for how you exercise, the most likely explanation is that the zones are wrong for you. Try a different zone calculation method to see if you get zones that make more sense.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    @polskagirl01 That is a delightful story.

  • RunsOnEspresso
    RunsOnEspresso Posts: 3,218 Member
    edited May 2018
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    @cburke8909 I did the running test. I can't remember what it was called. Threshold I think? And then followed the 80/20 math/garmin setup from Matt Fitzgerald.

    @lporter229 I've just been walking for my prescribed time for speed work. It brings me down to z2 usually. Last week I was supposed to be in z5 and I could only get to z4 so I'm loosely following to best of my ability.

    @MobyCarp z2 feels comfortable to me, maybe a little low. I will have to look through your post again and figure out if another method would work better for me. I did the 80/20 from Matt Fitzgerald originally.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    fitoverfortymom wrote: »
    @polskagirl01 That is a delightful story.

    Yes, it definitely is!

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