January 2019 Monthly Running Challenge
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I was scheduled for a 20 minute tempo run today. I decided to do it on the treadmill so I could better control my pace. I started off conservatively, since I ran yesterday, and just kept bumping the pace up one notch every 2 minutes until I reached what felt like a comfortably challenging pace (11 min/mile). Then I slowed down to my typical pace so I'd be at an even two miles when I finished. I think I should have included a longer warm-up at my usual pace instead of just walking for a few minutes before starting. My legs felt very stiff and heavy until about 8 minutes in. I'll remember that next time, for sure! Tomorrow is supposed to be an easy run day, and I should be able to get outdoors for that one and see how my legs feel on the third day in a row, which is not my normal routine.
@Fitatelo, you're doing great; any mileage is better than no mileage. I'm by far the weakest link on my RTY team, but I'm having a blast nonetheless!
13.5/45.0 miles for January so far6 -
amymoreorless wrote: »_nikkiwolf_ wrote: »
@Avidkeo Which fitnessblender strength programme are you doing, "Strong" or "Mass"? I have both, but somehow I like "Strong" a little better - I've only done "Mass" once, but I'm halfway through my 3rd iteration of "Strong".
@nikkiwolf I am currently doing the "Strong" program and I was thinking of doing the "Mass" program next. I was hesitant because this means I will have to buy a bench. Can you tell me why you like the Mass program less than the Strong program? I might just do the Strong program again with heavier weights....
@amymoreorless I should have a closer look to really do a fair comparison of the programmes. Of the top of my head, I think I just liked some of the videos of "Strong" better, the "bored easily" ones for example. "Mass" seemed to have more videos with HIIT intermissions, which I didn't like so much. But I can have a closer look at the weekend. Maybe I just liked it less because on average the videos are a bit longer
I still think I might do 1 Mass after 3 Strongs again, just to mix it up, so it wasn't that bad.
I didn't buy a bench, I don't think it's necessary. There are some exercises where it would give you a little more range of motion, like chest press / chest fly / pull-overs . But in one video I saw Kelly suggests doing them lying on the floor in bridge position, so that's what I do instead. Or I lie down on the armrest/backrest of my couch, but that's only possible thanks to the fact that the couch is a 1,60m-long-corner-shaped thing (if that makes any sense?), it probably won't work for everyone's furniture.5 -
We have a plastic sort of box with adjustable pods on each side at my gym so the trainer can make it low or high depending on your ability or the specific exercise. I used to be terrified of not being able to jump high enough and face planting but so far in 5 years that has not happened. What I actually hate more is doing step ups to a very high bench. I do not think it is fair that I have to step up to a bench almost hip high where on others it is just above their knees! It is great for the glutei though!RunsOnEspresso wrote: »martaindale wrote: »katharmonic wrote: »We also did box jumps and that is such a mental challenge for me. I have to get over that voice that says "what if you don't make it" every time.
Box jumps scare me so much!! Especially those wooden boxes with the completely sharp edges. I just can't. Huge mental block there. The padded ones at least don't conjure up images of all the skin on my shins getting scraped off. Instead I think about face planting. Man, I hate box jumps...
My shins are well acquainted with a wooden box. It stings but if you just swear some and keep going it's fine. 😂
@dewit - waving back at you 👋 😁
@honunui and @elise4270 - I casually mentioned Hawaii (for a race) to my husband last night and he just said 'ok, go for it'!!! So hopefully I will be all mended soon and can start working on running hills and nothing else will get in the way. Yay - so excited already and it is a full year away. I am going to add it to my race list though!
Oh ya! Oh no... Those hills. Oh boy. Good for the kitten and i cant pass up more fish tacos and kona coffee
And @dewit - waving back at you 🤙4 -
greyparks206 wrote: »I was scheduled for a 20 minute tempo run today. I decided to do it on the treadmill so I could better control my pace. I started off conservatively, since I ran yesterday, and just kept bumping the pace up one notch every 2 minutes until I reached what felt like a comfortably challenging pace (11 min/mile). Then I slowed down to my typical pace so I'd be at an even two miles when I finished. I think I should have included a longer warm-up at my usual pace instead of just walking for a few minutes before starting. My legs felt very stiff and heavy until about 8 minutes in. I'll remember that next time, for sure! Tomorrow is supposed to be an easy run day, and I should be able to get outdoors for that one and see how my legs feel on the third day in a row, which is not my normal routine.
@Fitatelo, you're doing great; any mileage is better than no mileage. I'm by far the weakest link on my RTY team, but I'm having a blast nonetheless!
13.5/45.0 miles for January so far
@greyparks206 I am totally calling "Woo" on your "weakest link" comment. Just wait until after I run the Maimi Marathon. You will catch up because I plan on moving as little as possible for 2 weeks after.
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amymoreorless wrote: »@greyparks206 I am totally calling "Woo" on your "weakest link" comment. Just wait until after I run the Maimi Marathon. You will catch up because I plan on moving as little as possible for 2 weeks after.
I'd say you'll be earning that rest period, for sure! One perk of being a fairly novice runner is that my mileage increases almost every week, so I at least have that going for me. Lol.
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_nikkiwolf_ wrote: »amymoreorless wrote: »_nikkiwolf_ wrote: »
@Avidkeo Which fitnessblender strength programme are you doing, "Strong" or "Mass"? I have both, but somehow I like "Strong" a little better - I've only done "Mass" once, but I'm halfway through my 3rd iteration of "Strong".
@nikkiwolf I am currently doing the "Strong" program and I was thinking of doing the "Mass" program next. I was hesitant because this means I will have to buy a bench. Can you tell me why you like the Mass program less than the Strong program? I might just do the Strong program again with heavier weights....
@amymoreorless I should have a closer look to really do a fair comparison of the programmes. Of the top of my head, I think I just liked some of the videos of "Strong" better, the "bored easily" ones for example. "Mass" seemed to have more videos with HIIT intermissions, which I didn't like so much. But I can have a closer look at the weekend. Maybe I just liked it less because on average the videos are a bit longer
I still think I might do 1 Mass after 3 Strongs again, just to mix it up, so it wasn't that bad.
I didn't buy a bench, I don't think it's necessary. There are some exercises where it would give you a little more range of motion, like chest press / chest fly / pull-overs . But in one video I saw Kelly suggests doing them lying on the floor in bridge position, so that's what I do instead. Or I lie down on the armrest/backrest of my couch, but that's only possible thanks to the fact that the couch is a 1,60m-long-corner-shaped thing (if that makes any sense?), it probably won't work for everyone's furniture.
@Nikkiwolf Thanks! I am glad I asked before buying a bench. You saved me some money.
I have been doing some of the "bench" exercises on a stability ball or the floor. I will continue with that. 4 -
almostsuperpowered wrote: »abowersgirl wrote: »The top of my foot is hurting, is this common among runners? Anything I can do about It?
Define hurting -- are we talking blister or pain on the inside? If the latter, I am guessing you have a shoe fit issue or are not landing properly.
It's at the top of my foot where it creases and now it sort of hurts when I walk. It's not a blister and there aren't any significant signs of injury. I am assuming it's from stretching that area of my body, since most exercises..my feet are planted firmly on the ground and not constantly bent. Stretch exercises might help with that or loosening my shoes lol1 -
@abowersgirl - sometimes discomfort (not pain or sharp pain) on the top of your foot can also be a result of lacing your shoe too tight. I have high arches and often have issues with it depending on the shoe. There are a number of articles and videos online and this is a good one with visuals of the different lacing patterns for different issues.
https://runrepeat.com/top-10-running-shoe-lacing-techniques
I was thinking the same thing. Thanks for the link 👍👍👍1 -
Yesterday I did my first ever speed training. I am following the Nike 10K plan which called for various intervals at various paces. I've never really focused on changing up my pace so it was weird to try and estimate my pace. I felt like I was constantly checking my watch!
My first 200m was far to fast so I slowed it down to get to what the plan calls my 'km pace' which is 5:55 p/km. In contrast my 800m which was supposed to be at my 5K pace (6:20 p/km) was too slow. I'm hoping with more practice I can understand pacing a bit better because it didn't feel all that different to the 200m. Any tips on regulating pace?
@jesspen91
Regulating your pace is a learned skill. You won't pick it up all at once, but with practice you will get better at it.
What helped me was running on a track. I would break down the target to seconds per 200m, put my Garmin on a screen showing interval duration, and check the time every 200m. I don't try to go faster or slower to make up for errors; I just try to run the next 200m as accurately as possible. Typical result: My target for threshold pace is 49 seconds per 200m. I typically run the first 200 too fast, and end up running the entire interval faster than 49 seconds per 200m; but slower than 48 seconds per 200m average. That's close enough.
For 200m intervals, there is no correction in the middle of an interval. If I'm running 4 x 200 at rep pace, target 43 seconds for a 200, I just have to see where the first 200 comes in then try to run the next 200 a little harder or a little easier, as the case may be. It's more of an art than a science.5 -
January Running Totals (miles)
1/1 – 10.09 warmup + 7.5 mile race
1/2 – 6.28 easy w/fast finish
1/3 – 6.76 warmup, intervals, cool down
1/4 – rest day
1/5 – 16.65 warmup, Winter Warrior Half
1/6 – 8.09 easy
1/7 – rest day
1/8 – 8.64 warmup, speed work, cool down
1/9 – 11.08 easy
January running total to date – 67.59
Nominal January mileage goal: 200 miles
Real Goals: Train well toward Boston. Work the January races into the training plan smoothly. Remain uninjured, even if it means cutting back on planned mileage or races.
Today's notes – Saturday's assignment is 10-13 miles with hills, but Saturday I have a race. I needed about 10 miles today to make the weekly target (assuming 16 miles Saturday, 5 of which is the race); so I decided to run a familiar 10 mile loop with hills. Then I'll have the medium long run with hills this week, even though a race happens on the day that the hills are assigned.
Temperature was right around freezing and slowly falling as I set out, with 15-21 mph WSW wind. My first 2 miles were mostly with the wind at my back, then a couple miles (including the most significant hill) with a cross wind, then about 3 miles into the wind. It wasn't all that exposed, and I've run in wind before; so it wasn't that big a deal. The last 3 miles had some nice rolling hills, and I thought about adjusting the route to 10.5 miles because yesterday didn't come in quite as long as I'd estimated for distance.
Well, along about 7.5 miles my gut indicated returning home the short way would be wise. Turned the short way, and got a visual reminder that there is a construction site port-a-pot 1.5 miles from home. Really, really needed it right where it was. Accidentally saved the run at the break (meant to pause it) then set out to finish the run. Of course, I can't let it go with a lousy 1.5 mile run; so I adjusted the route home to add some distance, got to a more respectable 2.5 miles or so. That involved a late stretch of about a half mile into the wind, after I'd thought I was done with that. For that stretch the wind was stronger and snow was blowing in my face. But it wasn't that far, so I was fine.
Total came in just over 11 miles, which is fine. I can be a bit easier tomorrow if I need to be, or I can trim post-race running distance on Saturday. It's all good.
Came in, saw that I could use some more bananas and a couple other things, and thought, "I don't want to go out in this mess." Which is typical runner thinking. Go running in the falling snow a bit below freezing, fine. Go out driving in the same weather, yuck. I can go to the store tomorrow in daylight. It will colder, but that's okay if I get out while it's still light.
2019 Races:
January 1, 2019 Freezeroo #2 (Resolution Run 7.5 mile) (Mendon, NY) finished in 50:55
January 5, 2019 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Gates, NY) finished in 1:30:48
January 12, 2019 Freezeroo #3 (Pineway Ponds 5 Mile) (Spencerport, NY)
January 26, 2019 Freezeroo #4 (Hearnish 5 mile) (Victory, NY)
February 2, 2019 USATF XC Championship, Masters 8K (Tallahassee, FL)
February 9, 2019 Freezeroo #5 (Tom Brannon 8 mile) (Greece, NY)
February 23, 2019 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY)
April 15, 2019 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA to Boston, MA)13 -
Sooo many posts! That does it..... I'm just going to quit my job and hang out here all day
4 miles this evening. Felt slow, but it was at marathon pace, so guess that's good.
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January Goal: Do more than last month
1/1 1.25
1/2 2.20
1/3 rest
1/4 carb loading dinner pre relay to remember @keeprunningfatboy
1/5 7.75
1/6 1.35
1/7 2.13
1/8 snorkel 2.5 hours: any day with a turtle...and an octopus is a great beach day!
...unfortunately for @elise4270 and Eric, I made them suffer in the cold shade due to my sun phobia!
1/9 2.55
Total: 17.23
Well, the good news is that @elise4270 and I got our pictures in the paper, the bad news is that the race story only talked about the winners-not our Remembering Dennis mission! What's up with that!?@shanaber YAY!
@MobyCarp GI issues are....well I could think of many appropriate descriptors, which no one needs to hear, but glad there was a construction site just at the right time!
Ticker is my goal for 2019 and progress to date:
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martaindale wrote: »katharmonic wrote: »We also did box jumps and that is such a mental challenge for me. I have to get over that voice that says "what if you don't make it" every time.
Box jumps scare me so much!! Especially those wooden boxes with the completely sharp edges. I just can't. Huge mental block there. The padded ones at least don't conjure up images of all the skin on my shins getting scraped off. Instead I think about face planting. Man, I hate box jumps...
@martaindale definitely the wooden ones freak me way out. Can't do it. The soft ones still can be tough on the shins, I currently have some bruises from my misses yesterday. I watched this youtube video of this tiny kid who keeps trying and trying to jump up on this plastic step stool thing and missing. He finally gets it and it's pretty cool to see how excited he is - but man, I just feel like he's going to break his neck on that thing.
@shanaber it does seem it should be height proportional with steps and box jumps but I'm not sure it is. My previous trainer always told me I should be able to get the higher boxes because I'm tall but that doesn't seem to help me in the vertical department. Sometimes I feel like the shorter/smaller people have an easier time getting off the ground.
Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
01/01/19 :::: 4.0 :::: 4.0
01/02/19 :::: 5.3 :::: 9.3
01/03/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 9.3
01/04/19 :::: 3.6 :::: 12.9
01/05/19 :::: 10.4 :::: 23.3
01/06/19 :::: 4.3 :::: 27.6
01/07/19 :::: 3.4 :::: 31.0
01/08/19 :::: 3.2 :::: 34.1
01/09/19 :::: 3.8 :::: 37.9/ 120 mile goal
Pretty much a repeat of yesterday. Treadmill warm-up before another round of circuit training. I was sore and tired going into it so was not expecting the run to feel good, but I felt like it helped loosen up my legs as I went along. Not terrible. The circuit on the hand was rough today. I am definitely ready for my rest day tomorrow.
While I was at the gym the snow really started picking up and we are supposed to have lake effect snow and windy conditions through tomorrow evening. We are in the area expected to get 5+ inches but you never know with lake effect. Maybe we'll get a foot or more. Another reason I'm happy for a rest day tomorrow.5 -
amymoreorless wrote: »_nikkiwolf_ wrote: »amymoreorless wrote: »_nikkiwolf_ wrote: »
@Avidkeo Which fitnessblender strength programme are you doing, "Strong" or "Mass"? I have both, but somehow I like "Strong" a little better - I've only done "Mass" once, but I'm halfway through my 3rd iteration of "Strong".
@nikkiwolf I am currently doing the "Strong" program and I was thinking of doing the "Mass" program next. I was hesitant because this means I will have to buy a bench. Can you tell me why you like the Mass program less than the Strong program? I might just do the Strong program again with heavier weights....
@amymoreorless I should have a closer look to really do a fair comparison of the programmes. Of the top of my head, I think I just liked some of the videos of "Strong" better, the "bored easily" ones for example. "Mass" seemed to have more videos with HIIT intermissions, which I didn't like so much. But I can have a closer look at the weekend. Maybe I just liked it less because on average the videos are a bit longer
I still think I might do 1 Mass after 3 Strongs again, just to mix it up, so it wasn't that bad.
I didn't buy a bench, I don't think it's necessary. There are some exercises where it would give you a little more range of motion, like chest press / chest fly / pull-overs . But in one video I saw Kelly suggests doing them lying on the floor in bridge position, so that's what I do instead. Or I lie down on the armrest/backrest of my couch, but that's only possible thanks to the fact that the couch is a 1,60m-long-corner-shaped thing (if that makes any sense?), it probably won't work for everyone's furniture.
@Nikkiwolf Thanks! I am glad I asked before buying a bench. You saved me some money. I have been doing some of the "bench" exercises on a stability ball or the floor. I will continue with that.
If you do decide you want a bench and want to go simple, I have this one and really like it. It’s sturdy but light enough to move easily. I think it’s totally been worth it, and I paid twice as much as it’s listed for right now. ETA: the only issue I’ve had with the bench is it’s a little short, so if you’re tall it might not work great for you. Since I’m short, I like it.4 -
1/1/2019 - 10.5 miles
1/2/2019 - 10.5 miles
1/3/2019 - 5 miles @ 7mph w/ 5% incline
1/4/2019 - Planned Rest day
1/5/2019 - 15 miles
1/6/2019 - 0KM
1/7/2019 - 0KM
1/8/2019 - 8 miles
1/9/2019 - 9.4 miles
Tight on time so another short run, but got sometime miles in at least so that is a win!
Upcoming Races
Steel Challange 5k - May 2019
Pittsburgh Marathon - May 2019
Glacier Ridge 50k Trail Race - May 2019
2021 - Disney World Dopey! (if can raise funds)
2019 GOAL: Knock a full hour off my 50k time at Glacier Ridge.6 -
January 9th: 6.3/25 miles
I was mildly worried I wouldn't be able to make my 25 mile goal because I've started a lot slower than I've anticipated, but I realized I can get back on track by the beginning of next week. So I'm happy about that. Even though no matter what I'll be way behind everyone else on my Run The Year team 😂
Every contribution counts toward our 2019 miles.
As the weather gets worse, some of us may not be able to meet our goals.
We can catch up when the weather gets better.
Absolutely! It's only January!! I think we are doing great!!1 -
Way behind in replying in the thread, no hope of catching up now, but I did try and read most of the posts
Tonight it was snowing, so I bailed work as soon as I could and got out of the city. Normally I would have run before leaving and drive home after rush hour, but with the snow, I was worried about my ummm... what is a polite word... let's go with "fellow drivers"... and their ability to drive on wet roads. Some places got like 1/2 inch, some places nothing at all. So nothing I was worried about personally.
Got home and headed out for my run. Weather peeps said the feels like was "15F" and it was windy and it was snowing, so I switched to my colder gear. I have run in colder, but my Raynaud's is way worse this winter so I was considering the dreadmill, but decided that if I did not try it, I would not know if I could handle it.
Everything in my kit I knew could handle the weather. In truth, I was a little over prepared. The wild card was my hands. Well, I have new gloves that I recently bought on Amazon for $20. They are the typical fingers/mitten convertible gloves with an awesome twist. They have a pocket sewn in for a hand warmer.
So running in a feels like of 15F, into the wind and snow... and I was overheated! These gloves are great! I probably will by a second pair soon so that I have dry set at all times. They are not touch screen gloves, but that is easily fixable. This is great, it means I will not have to take the winter off like I first worried about. If I can run in the teens, I should be okay for most of the winter here. I still had at least one more layer I could put on, so it looks like Raynaud's will not kill my winter training after all. Yay!
Not sure about subzero yet, but probably will try it now. 16 -
Day January
1 2.3
2 0
3 2.6
4 2.85
5 3.1
6 3.1
7 11
8 2.5
9 1.9
Total: 29.35
Goal: 115
Wednesday means speed work! I was scheduled for 1000m x 2 at 9:45. I averaged 9:39 and 9:38 so a tad faster than scheduled. It only took me 20 minutes so it doesn't count toward my runbet. Guess I need to run Thurs and Fri stil LOL6 -
@PastorVincent So happy to hear the gloves work!2
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January goal: 75 miles
1/1: 3.11 miles
1/4: 4.6 miles
1/5: 4.21 miles
1/6: 8.02 miles
1/8: 3.11 miles
1/9: 3.15 miles
26.2/75 miles completed
I had another nice 3.15 mile run today at lunch. It was cooler than I thought it would be, but my sleeves and my new gloves helped. I kind of like running at lunch, but it is also hard because I don't have a lot of time. And I have been very busy at work this week so it is harder on me to be late after lunch. I'd like to run before work in the morning, but I don't really like running in the dark when it is cold, so I'll probably run at lunch or maybe even after work.
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