March 2021 Monthly Running Challenge

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  • polskagirl01
    polskagirl01 Posts: 2,024 Member
    There is a lot of variation as to what is considered a trail, and if you're one who is worried about staying upright, you wouldn't have to do any technical trails. It's funny as I'm reading this while getting notifications from the girls from the running club discussing running more in the forest (due to the restrictions) and they're listing off how they prefer the woods as it's easier on their knees, joints/ligaments, mood etc.
    Of course we can run in all sorts of places. Variety can be great, too :) I love seeing all of your pictures and the fun places you get to run.
  • martaindale
    martaindale Posts: 2,375 Member
    quilteryoyo wrote: »
    @martaindale Nice running and that medal is awesome. Is there a story behind the name of the race?

    The lake and adjacent state park are called Possum Kingdom, so in fun ultra racing fashion, this one is Possum's Revenge. The name of the lake and park crack me up though. It doesn't conjure up beautiful images, but it actually looks like a pretty area.

    Re: trail running and injuries. I am so careful on trails because I am worried about hurting myself. I have a knee that give me some issues so I don't run very technical trails or do anything that feels even slightly sketchy. Most of the stuff in my area is dirt trail with maybe a few small rocks. I don't go for speed but I find trails to be a nice distraction and a good reason to travel for a race. It is supposed to be good for building strength because it forces muscle recruitment that you don't need on a flat road. That said, if I had joint instability, I might be too nervous to run trails.
  • Tramboman
    Tramboman Posts: 2,482 Member
    Teresa502 wrote: »
    Looks like the next Run the World runners will be doing some swimming today!

    rp8l71g8myf8.jpg

    Swim south and stop in Aurora!!!
  • martaindale
    martaindale Posts: 2,375 Member
    @Tramboman Great job on your mileage PR! You are so consistent.

    @scott6255 @WhatMeRunning I can definitely tell a difference in perceived effort, but I don't see much of a difference in the distribution of my heart rate zones on Garmin over the run, even when I am definitely taking it slower and easier versus when I am doing speed or threshold runs. I have to be going super duper slow or doing run-walk with the family to see a noticeable drop in heart rate out of the upper zone. But, I feel my heart rate is higher during harder perceived effort runs. Someone on here a while back mentioned that their watch has to be pretty tight to get a good HR reading while they are running. This has me wondering if maybe my watch is not really getting a good reading and maybe picking up my cadence.
  • SummerSkier
    SummerSkier Posts: 5,254 Member
    shanaber wrote: »
    Since I had the pacemaker put in I have been trying to figure out how to measure my effort other than by feel. I can't really use HR Zones any longer as the PM will determine that I have a requirement and pace my HR to 130-140 (max) even when I am just walking. It also means I can't really use changes in my HR/RHR to determine when I need to rest vs being well rested and ready to go. I was looking also into HRV which seems to be kind of a hot thing these days. It is and has been available on my Apple Watch for quite a while now and I found an interesting app called Training Today that uses the HRV data to determine where you are in your training cycle and when to rest vs push it. Unfortunately I discovered that I cannot use it either as ever since the PM it the HRV has become a pretty flat number so the PM is also impacting it most of the time (makes sense since I am pacing 75-80% of the time).
    So... Does anyone have any other ideas on metrics to use both instead of HR zones and for determining training cycle readiness? Or do I need to just forget all of those and go strictly by how I feel?

    that is really interesting. I have no advice but perhaps your dr or cardiologist might? My running heart rate is REALLY high all the time (like 170 all the way to 190 sometimes!) and I imagine if I had a pacemaker I would not be able to run at all.
  • ContraryMaryMary
    ContraryMaryMary Posts: 1,801 Member
    martaindale wrote: »
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10828841/april-2021-monthly-running-challenge

    Next month is UP!

    Thank you. Incidentally, where did March go?
  • quilteryoyo
    quilteryoyo Posts: 6,635 Member
    edited March 2021
    @shanaber Nice to run more than you have in a while. You had a lot of activities yesterday. No wonder you were tired. Glad you and Hobbes enjoyed agility.

    @Avidkeo Glad the storms weren't worse and that you got your run in around them.

    @martaindale Thanks for setting up the April challenge. I hate it when a bug decides to fly in my mouth while running. I can relate.

  • RunsOnEspresso
    RunsOnEspresso Posts: 3,218 Member
    I think all trails in Phoenix are technical. 🤣

    Some downhill portions have scared the *kitten* out of me. I carefully pick my way down those.
  • Teresa502
    Teresa502 Posts: 1,891 Member
    kgirlhart wrote: »
    @martaindale Thanks for setting us up for April. The Half I run every year is also at Possum Kingdom, but not at the State Park. . It's a road race, not a trail race and it's really nice. PK is only about 40 minutes away from me. We used to go camping there at the State Park every summer when I was growing up.

    I think you and @Scott655 need to have a meet-up with @martaindale!
  • Teresa502
    Teresa502 Posts: 1,891 Member
    Where is @katharmonic? Did you get lost in the woods hiking? :'(
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    3/17 - 1.67 mile 31 min easy effort
    3/18 - .98 mile 15 min stamina effort
    3/19 - 1.66 mile 30 min easy effort
    3/22 - 1.67 mile 30 min easy effort
    3/23 - 1.73 mile 30 min easy effort
    3/24 - 1.31 mile 20 min stamina effort
    3/25 - 1.75 mile 30 min easy effort
    3/26 - 1.80 mile 30 min easy effort
    3/28 - 3.45 mile 60 min easy effort
    3/29 - 1.87 mile 30 min easy effort
    3/30 - 1.85 mile 30 min easy effort
    3/21 - 1.42 mile 20 min Stamina effort

    March total - 21.16 miles

    Hope everyone had a great March! I'll see everyone in the April thread. :sunglasses:
  • martaindale
    martaindale Posts: 2,375 Member
    Teresa502 wrote: »
    kgirlhart wrote: »
    @martaindale Thanks for setting us up for April. The Half I run every year is also at Possum Kingdom, but not at the State Park. . It's a road race, not a trail race and it's really nice. PK is only about 40 minutes away from me. We used to go camping there at the State Park every summer when I was growing up.

    I think you and @Scott655 need to have a meet-up with @martaindale!

    Yeah! It's too bad neither of you are doing this race!
  • eleanorhawkins
    eleanorhawkins Posts: 1,659 Member
    shanaber wrote: »
    Scott6255 wrote: »
    polskagirl01 wrote: »
    Sounds like someone needs to get @Scott6255 out on a trail!

    As susceptible as I am to leg injuries, that would be a bad idea. I have a hard enough problem on flat roads 😉

    But I am in awe of all of who are trail runners!
    I have read that trail running is actually very good for your legs and ankles and helps with strengthening and mobility especially in your ankles. That said I am absolutely terrified of falling and breaking an ankle or otherwise injuring myself so I don't run trails either 😁
    I also have a horrible time running easy even before the PM and injury, my easy runs were always too fast and still felt really hard.


    2021 Run the Year Team - LeftRightLeftRepeat 216.07/1256 miles (running and walking)
    Also my team overall passed the 600 mile mark thanks mostly to @eleanorhawkins!!

    2021 Planned and Completed Races
    09/11/21 - Surf City Half Marathon (rescheduled)

    @shanaber I don't know whether we went back under, RTY always double registers my walks so I have to go in and delete one. But yeah, we rock!

    Work is SO busy I can't keep up with forums at all at the moment, miss you guys, sorry!

    Funny that you tagged me and I came into a discussion about trail running. My local sports club just opened a trail club, which for some random reason (probably to do with federation licence that includes accident insurance in case I hurt myself doing stupid things in the middle of nowhere and will make race entries (but only trail race entries) cheaper whenever they start again) I went and joined.
    Group training starts on Monday afternoon. I'm terrified, I've seen a photo of the two trainers and they look young and fit. Think I'm going be WAY out of my league. Help! Also, I only ever run first thing in the morning so afternoons may be interesting. Still, I can always not go if I don't like it, right?

  • pfeiferlindsey
    pfeiferlindsey Posts: 163 Member
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    pfeiferlindsey wrote: »
    3/1 - No running - Spin and strength training
    3/2 - 4 early morning miles that felt really awesome

    Total for March - 4 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - 66 miles

    :smile:

    I have to say, even though I don't respond a lot, I do read and you all are such a positive, upbeat bunch and I love it. I love the motivation. :smiley: I did the challenges 2 years ago, but then "The Year That Will Be Forgotten" happened.

    So:

    March 3 - 3.11 miles
    March 4 - 3.11 miles
    March 5 - Today will be some spin and strength

    Total for March - 10.22 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - 59.78 miles

    My huge goal this year is to get my base back that I lost last year. Before 2020, I was averaging 1000+ mile years and last year, I barely got to 600. So, my base is shot.

    I ran 5 miles today without walking and felt totally amazing the entire time. Super happy with how it went and I have no doubt that I'll get to my goals this year. March goal is to get up to 6 miles comfortably and I'm sure I can do it.

    March 6 - 5 miles

    Total for March - 15.22 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - 54.78 miles

    :smiley:

    Donated blood on Saturday morning, so I kind of expected my Sunday run to be a bit rough. Ended up being a beautiful day and I was actually 20 seconds faster per mile than what I normally run. Perhaps the slight weight loss helped ;):p .

    March 7 - 3.19 miles
    March 8 - Spinning after work - No running today

    Total for March - 18.41 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - 51.59 miles

    Well...it caught up to me. Today's run with rough, but I got through it. Was a beautiful morning and considering I almost didn't get out there, I'll take it as a win.

    March 9 - 4.5 miles

    Total for March - 22.91 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - 47.09 miles

    Get busy for one day and you miss so much!

    I'll have my first in person race in over a year (it will be 444 days to be exact) on March 20 and I'm excited but nervous. Just trying to focus on what I can control. I signed up for the last start time, so hopefully won't be a busy course.

    March 10 - 3.12 miles of speed work
    March 12 - 3.11 miles - Just a good ol' 5K to start the day

    Total for March - 29.14 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - 40.86 miles

    Quick update for the weekend...

    March 13 - 5.57 miles
    March 14 - 3.26 miles

    Total for March - 37.97 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - 32.03 miles

    :smiley:

    So I am adding a small weekly goal for this week...I'd like to run a total of 20 miles. I think I can do it. :smile:

    March 15 - Spin and weights
    March 16 - 3.11 miles and weights

    Total for March - 41.08 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - 28.92 miles

    Miles for the week (March 15-March 21) - 3.11 miles with 16.89 miles to go

    Leg work last night and speed work this morning = sore me....eeek.

    March 17 - 4.07 miles

    Total for March - 45.15 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - 24.85 miles

    Miles for the week (March 15-March 21) - 7.18 miles with 12.82 miles to go

    First in person race in 444 days is tomorrow. Nervous, but excited to have this tiny bit of normal back in my life.

    March 19 - 5.25 miles to start the day.

    Total for March - 50.40 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to Go - 19.60 miles

    Miles for the week (March 15 - 21) - 12.43 miles with 7.57 miles to go

    Today's 5K went so well! So much better than I anticipated. :smiley:

    Fairly small and they started people in 15 minute waves from 7 AM - 9 AM. Everyone was great with distancing and it was nice to get a small piece of normal back in my life.

    March 20 - 3.11 miles

    Total for March - 53.51 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to Go - 16.49 miles

    Miles for the week (March 15 - March 21) - 15.54 miles with 4.46 miles to go.

    Easy long run today - Finally over 6 miles for the first time in over a year.

    March 21 - 6.51 miles

    Total for March - 60.02 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - 9.98 miles

    Miles for the week (March 15 - March 21) - 22.05 miles - Goal was 20 miles, so goal met!

    A really nice run this morning to start the day. I took one of my more challenging routes that just seems to be all uphill after mile 3. :D

    March 23 - 5.26 miles

    Total for March - 65.28 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - 4.72 miles

    Mileage goal for the week-(March 22 - March 28) - 25 miles - 19.74 miles to go

    Rough 4 miles today, but got it done. Really wanted 5 total because I'd surpass 70 for the month, but just couldn't get it done.

    March 24 - 4 miles

    Total for March - 69.28 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    Miles to go - .72 miles

    Mileage goal for the week - (March 22 - March 28) - 25 miles - 15.74 miles to go.

    Yesterday's lunch run was so much better than Wednesday. We'll see how tomorrow's run goes, I just got my first COVID vaccine dose yesterday.

    March 25 - 4.38 miles

    Total for March - 73.66 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles
    GOAL MET!!

    Mileage goal for the week - (March 22 - March 28) - 25 miles - 11.36 miles to go

    Not bad at all today! Rained for the first mile but then cleared up.

    March 27 - 4.5 miles

    Total for March - 78.16 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles

    Mileage goal for the week - (March 22 - March 28) - 25 miles - 6.86 miles to go

    Windy, but great 7 miles today.

    March 28 - 7 miles

    Total for March - 85.16 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles

    Mileage goal for the week - (March 22 - March 28) - 25 miles - Ending the week with 25.14 miles, so goal is met. :)

    Ran for time today. Nice and easy 1 hour run.

    March 30 - 5.6 miles
    Total for March - 90.76 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles

    Mileage goal for the week - (March 29 - April 4) - 25 miles - 19.4 miles to go.

    March 31 - 3.11 miles
    Total for March - 93.87 miles
    Goal for March - 70 miles

    Mileage goal for the week - (March 29 - April 4) - 25 miles - 16.29 miles to go
  • quilteryoyo
    quilteryoyo Posts: 6,635 Member
    You killed it @pfeiferlindsey ! WTG!
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,216 Member
    @martaindale @Teresa502
    Like @Scott6255 I have never run any trails and I am kind of nervous about trying it. But it would be nice to meet someone from the mfp group.

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