February 2021 Monthly Running Challenge

Tramboman

@Avidkeo You're ready!

@AlphaHowls You're amazing!

quilteryoyo

@shanaber That fine line is indeed tough to find. I am confident that you will listen to your body and know when to give it a rest. So glad you weren't told that you couldn't run.

@SummerSkier You are doing great! I usually am NOT a morning person, but there are some days that I just know if I don't go ahead and get the workout in early it won't get done. It usually energizes me for the rest of the day too.

Glad you had such an awesome run @Avidkeo ! Love the sunrise photo. What a great place to run. With that pace, you are going to kill your HM!

@AlphaHowls Love the shoe porn! The tops of your old ones look like new!

quilteryoyo

2/1 2.02 miles 3.5 mph - treadmill
2/2 2.23 miles 3.5 mph - treadmill
2/3 2.00 miles 3.6 mph - driveway laps
2/4 2.00 miles 3.3 mph - driveway laps
2/5 2.00 miles 3.5 mph - driveway laps and neighbor's field

Monthly Total: 10.25/56 miles

Tippy's home. I didn't think I missed her as much as I did, but when I saw her, I started to cry. It's been 4 weeks since I saw her. It's nice to have another soul in the house.

Since she was home, I bundled up and we went for a walk into the neighbor's field and then I finished with laps on the driveway. I haven't walked in the field since my surgery. We've had a lot of snow and rain. It was sloppier than I expected it to be, and slippery. I really, really don't need to fall right now, so I took the slippery parts really slow, holding onto trees when I felt I needed to. It was nice to get a little bit of a different view.

AlphaHowls

@quilteryoyo wrote: »

@AlphaHowls Love the shoe porn! The tops of your old ones look like new!

Aye, all my shoes are like that. My running shoes do not get in grass, only on the road and only for my runs. They get parked until next run. Sort of nice, then I can use them at work because the tops look good.

kgirlhart

February Goal: 90 Miles

2/2: 5.31 miles
2/3: 6.07 miles
2/5: 5.26 miles

16.64/90  miles completed for February

I ran 5.25 miles today.  It was a pretty good run.  I did switch my run from Thursday to Friday. The temperature was better yesterday,  but it was really windy and even though it was colder today it wasn't windy so that was nice. I smelled skunk several times this morning, but I didn't see any. It is supposed to be really cold here next week. I'm not sure which days I will run, but it is supposed to be 12°F on Friday morning,  so I definitely won't be running that day.

@shanaber I hope the hamstring heals soon and I'm glad you are still able to run a little.

@quilteryoyo I didn't realize that Tippy wasn't home. I'm sure you are glad to have him back.

@Avidkeo and @marisap2010 You are both going to do great on your races. I can't wait for the reports.

Love the new shoes @AlphaHowls!




2021 Races:
11/6/21: Run For 57th AHC Half Marathon

142jmh

2.5 / 20 hours done! Weather is cold and snowy here (-25C / 13F), I love the cold, but I think it might be time for some treadmill running

marisap2010

Took yesterday off and got in a 4 mile run in the morning.

Thanks for all of the input about dressing my the half. I wasn’t so worried about the temps but more so about the snow. I’ll email the race directors to see what the plan is for the roads.

Tramboman

2-1 6.1k treadmill
2-2 5k treadmill + yoga
2-3 6k slow
2-4 6k easy + yoga
2-5 5k treadmill
2-6 6k slow + treadmill

February Total: 34.1k
February Goal: 150k

Sunny, mid teens F, and a nasty wind from the west. A person with sense wouldn't have run outside today, but the weather is supposed to go downhill starting tonight and continuing all through next week. Heard some cardinals and robins, and even said "good morning" to two runners as crazy as me

When you pop in here claiming your December 2021 mileage, what accomplishments will you have made?

PUT THE FUN BACK IN THE RUN!
Return to a good running weight of 175 lbs (second attempt)

quilteryoyo

@kgirlhart Great running. I wouldn't run in 12°F temperatures either. Good call! I had the sitter keep Tippy while I was having my surgery and until yesterday, so I had time to heal enough that I thought IF she pulled on the leash it wouldn't hurt me. She's usually pretty good, but it just takes that one time. Four weeks is a long time to be without her.

@142jmh I definitely would be using the treadmill in those temps. You're doing great!

@Tramboman You're a beast. Too cold for me - especially with wind.

Eaglesfanintn

2/1 3.16
2/2 3.16
2/3 3.19
2/4 3.16
2/5 3.4
Total 20 / 90 for the month
91 / 1114 for the year

SummerSkier

My plan today was 5 slow miles (on purpose!) at an 11 min pace. I ended up doing 8 so far. And may do another 3 later. What can I say. Addiction is tough.

I finished my 2020 tax return and reworded myself with a shoe purchase! dammit. that's another addiction. Well I suppose it could be worse.

Weather is supposed to crater late next week for a few days so like a squirrel I appear to be saving up miles.

Summer

katharmonic

@quilteryoyo so glad Tippy is home! I bet you really missed each other and it is so good to be back home together.

Good running all, cold temps make you stronger!

Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
02/01/21 :::: 2.1 :::: 2.1
02/02/21 :::: 1.6 :::: 3.6
02/03/21 :::: 5.0 :::: 8.7
02/04/21 :::: 2.9 :::: 11.5
02/05/21 :::: 8.6 :::: 20.1
02/06/21 :::: 4.0 :::: 24.1

It was in the low 20s this morning and windy, but the sun was out. The park where we meet on even dates is pretty challenging in these conditions. The lake trails were not runnable due to the snow and slush from yesterday's warm day freezing over and creating bumpy icy ankle-twisting conditions. The main roads through the park were clear but some of the other ones were not plowed, and neither were some of the parking lots. One of my friends is just coming back from injury so she did not want to do hills, which left us with very few options. So we ran back and forth and round and round on the stretch we could manage. It was a slow 4 miles but really fun to catch up with two good friends who managed to get me out of the cranky mood I started with.

142jmh

142jmh wrote: »

2.5 / 20 hours done! Weather is cold and snowy here (-25C / 13F), I love the cold, but I think it might be time for some treadmill running

the cold must be getting to my brain, forgot the "-" It was -25C / -13F. Although now its -30C / -22F, so more treadmill for me! I might bundle up for a walk later... we'll see how the wind is.

I love that I get to run outside vicariously through all of your posts!

kirstymn

01/02... 5.02
02/02... 6.53
04/02... 5.07
05/02... 13.21
06/02... 5.40

Total KM 35.23

This past week has been challenging for me. Early in the week a family member decided they were basically going to blame many of the problems they've been having emotionally on me. That didn't go down too well with me and things got very tense for a few days. Thankfully we seem to have moved past that and we'll pretend like nothing ever happened and go back to normal which is what generally happens in our family.

Work has been crazy. A key staff member has been on holiday for a couple of weeks which increased all our work loads. We've also just signed the lease on another building to accommodate new staff (which I haven't even managed to hire yet) we had to move quickly to secure the new building even though we're not quite ready for it. Industrial warehouses in our area are very sought after and aren't available very often. This particular building, which is around the corner from our current premises, was listed by the real estate agent Wednesday evening, we were the 3rd prospective tenants to view it Thursday morning, and thankfully we put in a good enough application over the other people to have it leased to us by that evening. Now I just need to find staff to work in it!

Anyway, as far as actual running is concerned. I've been doing great. It really is a life saver being able to get out and be alone and just run. I especially enjoyed my 'One Love' run yesterday. It's Waitangi Day (NZ holiday) and every year we have the One Love Music Festival here in Tauranga which attracts many thousand people to come together and listen to reggae style music and chill out in the park. I ran past around 9am while they were finishing the setup and there were already bus loads of people arriving and the smell of weed was quite strong!

Sorry I am so far behind on the thread I'm not able to individually comment, but I skimmed through and gave lots of likes and hugs

polskagirl01

@quilteryoyo I bet Tippy was happy to be back with you, too

I was getting in the car to go to the forest when my 10 year old came running... I said, "this is going to be 7 km, on hard trails. I want to run. If you come, you can't change your mind or complain. And I can't leave you to play by yourself because it will be too easy to get lost in these woods...." and he still wanted to come and was at that point already in the car. So I sent him back for a hat and gloves and readjusted my expectations for how fast I'd be going today. Ended up it was a real challenge for him and he did a good bit of hiking, but he did it (without a 1k loop I skipped) and didn't complain. And at the end he was thrilled and kept saying it was awesome running together. So it was worth skipping the workout goals. I did a lot of run/jogging, stopping to pause watch and wait, walking, repeat. Once we were in view of the car, I handed him keys, gave him instructions to lock himself in and wait while I got my last kilometer in, then ran ahead and did an out-and-back to complete my 40k for the week

The good news is that the trails were very runnable today. What a difference. SO much more fun. I have another week yet to get a time I'm happy with and submit it to the group to count towards their virtual run [and maybe still be last but it will be ok]. I'll see how it goes Monday, after tomorrow's rest day.

Definitely better than last time. I can run this.

Scott6255

13.1 miles this afternoon. Waited for it to warm up to 50F. Not a terrible run, considering I have been limping around all week. The outside of my left shin has been sore for a few weeks, and even right before I started my run. But after a few steps into the run, it stopped hurting and is ok now. Running always seems to help my injuries vs. resting. I'm just weird that way I guess 🤷‍♂️

quilteryoyo

@kirstymn Sorry about the family issues. They can be hard sometimes. You are doing great to run with everything else that is going on.

@polskagirl01 I'm glad your son hung in there and enjoyed the run! What a great example you are to him. Also glad the trail was in much better shape this week.

@Scott6255 Yeah for the long run and that your shin didn't hurt during the run. I am like that sometimes. I have a knee that will hurt during my warm up walk, but as soon as I start running, it's good. So weird.

quilteryoyo

2/1 2.02 miles 3.5 mph - treadmill
2/2 2.23 miles 3.5 mph - treadmill
2/3 2.00 miles 3.6 mph - driveway laps
2/4 2.00 miles 3.3 mph - driveway laps
2/5 2.00 miles 3.5 mph - driveway laps and neighbor's field
2/6 1.75 miles 3.3 mph - driveway laps and neighbor's field

Monthly Total: 12.00/56 miles

I spent most of the day today at my neighbor's funeral and spending some time with her family afterwards. She was 93 years old and had lived a good life. Still it was sad and is hard on everyone. CoVID restrictions make things so much harder.

When I got home, I did wrap up and take Tippy for a walk into the neighbor's field so she could get some exercise. The footing was much better today, but I went slower. Go figure.

I had thought about only walking 1.25 miles today, but realized that would have been way short of 30 minutes, which I am trying to do every day. So, I walked driveway laps until I got to a good stopping point past 30 minutes. Wound up with 1.75 miles in 31:59 minutes.

ContraryMaryMary

Sunday long run today. Coach had me down for two hours aerobic - I was kinda hoping for a taper as I have a half next Sunday, but I wasn't holding my breath as I have learned that my coach doesn't really do tapers for halfs, particularly given my fitness level.

So, reluctantly, I headed out at 7:30am. Slow start, but after a couple of kilometres I was feeling much better than expected and plodding along at a comfortable rate. I then checked my heart rate - nowhere near aerobic level. Only one solution for that - increase speed. I didn't feel like it, but duly did. However, it didn't have that much impact on my heart rate and unfortunately I didn't have the energy to push any harder.

I had to laugh though when I realised I was getting annoyed that running at sub-5:40 minutes per kilometre couldn't get me into aerobic zone! It's a great thing. However, after just over 20 kilometres in my two hours, Training Peaks tells me I spent less than three percent of my time in aerobic heart rate zone, even though my pace was aerobic or faster for 84 percent of my run!

I need to chat to my coach about this - he'll probably adjust my pace zones and force me to run faster for everything! My other solution is to simply find a hillier route - that'll boost my heart rate no end!

quilteryoyo

Sounds like you are doing great @ContraryMaryMary . I do understand your frustration, but not when running. I never have issues with too low of a heart rate when running, but it seems to stay pretty low when walking, even when doing a pretty good pace up hill, some days. It is frustrating.