September 2021 Monthly Running Challenge

skippygirlsmom

9/1 – 6.22
9/2 – 4.01
9/4 – 3.70
9/6 – 6.03
9/7 – 4.02
9/9 – 7.02
9/10 – 2.31
9/11 – 13.15 Sept HM
9/13 – 5.02

51.48 of 75 miles

Did the Sept HM this past weekend, best time since my broken ankle, still over 3 hours but I’m happy.
Thanks @Scott6255 and @quilteryoyo he’s a sweetie boy, I’m glad he’s here too. At night he’ll climb up on me while I’m watching TV and just stare into my eyes it’s like you can see the love in his eyes. Since I shared Champ I need to share my Macy, who has been an old soul since she's 2 years old, she's now 10. I amuse myself with the stupid things when I walk them, some old couch for garbage pick up.

@TheMrWobbly I’m so sorry.

@Teresa502 funny you mention humidity for some reason I assumed the humidity was low in the Caribbean…wonder why I thought that.

@kgirlhart glad mom is okay

@polskagirl01 yay for you and the kids. Great job on the race, love the medal! Congrats

@shanaber oh no I can’t believe you fell like that, hope you are okay. The medal is beautiful.

@martaindale I use Honey Stinger Organic gels, they aren’t all sugary to me and I don’t have a problem with them. If I can find them in Gold they are the winner for me.

@RunsOnEspresso frozen chews might be nice in the heat. LOL

Ha ha @swenson19d it’s been probably 3 years since I’ve been in a relationship and much longer since I needed products LOL!!! Ha ha @shanaber Skip and I do that, don’t tell me what color the jar, box, bottle is just send me a picture

Woohoo @katharmonic

@7lenny7 If I ran with you I’d constantly be checking my pulse to make sure I was alive with all these vultures on your runs.

Teresa502

September 2 – 8.35
September 5 – 5.02
September 6 – 6.06
September 8 – 5.10
September 9 – 5.22
September 11 – 11.02
September 13 – 5.71

Unremarkable run with a couple of friends this morning. When you’re running on the city streets in the dark at 5:00 am, unremarkable is good!

@quilteryoyo – I would recommend starting in Elizabethton. I’ve parked at the Ingles in Elizabethton and gotten on the trail there before. It won’t be very scenic to start because the trail runs alongside the highway but it is pretty flat and would be a good warm-up and finish. If you start there, I would head towards JC from there. If you go the other way towards downtown Elizabethton, the trail kind of gets hard to follow and goes behind some industrial buildings.

@katharmonic – Congratulations!

That tree is very creepy @7lenny7! Right out of a Halloween horror movie.

Way to get that September HM done @skippygirlsmom! Love the puppy pics!

CarsonSurfs

7lenny7 wrote: »

Speaking of the OG members, it looks like Stan @Stoshew71 hasn't logged into MFP in over 3 years. For you new member, he was the originator of the monthly run challenge threads.

Stan and I ran together once(maybe twice?) when he came to Baltimore for a visit. This was probably 2013ish or so? I was on the original running challenges back then when I went by CarsonRuns(MFP won't let me reclaim it).

I moved to California 5 years ago and started surfing. Took 4 years off from running, but have now moved to North Carolina and I'm running again.

Goal for September is 100 miles.

My log is here: https://www.runningahead.com/logs/f395f426a792443989cc9b545ae45445

WhatMeRunning

Welcome back @CarsonRuns, err...I mean @CarsonSurfs I remember you posting here under that handle!

martaindale

@shanaber I expected that first spoiler to be your battered hand or knee or something and it was just cute puppies! Nice surprise!
I have not tried Skratch Labs – Or @scott6255 gatorade chews. I will keep those in mind if I don’t end up loving anything I bought this round.

@teresa502 I have a couple of Gu gels in my pile to try. One of my triathlete friends recommended them and she has a pretty touchy stomach, so we’ll see how they work for me.

@quilteryoyo Awesome driveway long run! Even for your driveway that’s a lot of laps.

Congrats @polskagirl01 on your 10k race! Well done on the spartan race @katharmonic!

@skippygirlsmom You are doing great with your recovery!

skippygirlsmom

Thanks @Teresa502 and @martaindale the ankle is still swollen at the bone and the incision are still numb which is weird, but I'm feeling good.

martaindale

Sept totals: 31.7/70 miles

9/2: 3.1 miles
9/3: 4.1 miles
9/5: 3.1 miles
9/6: 3 miles
9/8: 4.1 miles
9/9: 3.1 miles
9/11: 8.2 miles
9/13: 3 miles

Pretty unremarkable 3 miles this morning. Still a little cooler than average this morning but super humid ahead of tropical storm Nicholas blowing in later tonight. Light rain has already started but the heavier stuff and the wind won't come in until late tonight and the wee hours of tomorrow morning.
We live far enough north of Houston that mostly we just worry about flooding. Specifically road flooding. The Houston area is designed for roadways to flood first before property, as run-off since we basically live on a marsh. During Harvey when so much of the city was under water, we did fine but we were flooded in with no passable roads out for a couple of days. School has already been called for tomorrow and I will have to see if I can get to the office. As long as we don't lose power I actually kind of enjoy these tropical storms. They are so much less anxiety producing than hurricanes and I like a couple of good rainy days every now and then.

CarsonSurfs

9-1: 3.4 trails
9-2: 4.0 trails
9-3: 2.0 trails
9-4: 7.5 easy
9-5: 3.8 trails
9-6: 3.6 trails
9-7: rest
9-8: 4.1 trails
9-9: 3.5 trails
9-10:4.8 trails
9-11: rest
9-12: 8.0 easy
9-13: 3.6 trails

48.3 for the month

Legs_McGee23

9/13 - 27.08/60 completed

julieannegannon

Okay Doctor report. I got lucky with getting a really nice and good doctor. His goal is to get a person back to healthy to reach your sporting goals. He examined me with pushing and pulling on my legs to see when it hurt and exactly where the pain was in my hip. He ruled out bursitis and said he needed to take X-rays to see what’s going on. He said no fracture but some arthritis happening. He said it’s was a bone contusion from my fall. So he said stay low for 2 weeks and he gave me some strength and stretching Exercises to work on my legs to keep the joints going. Then at 2 weeks try to do some walking and running to see how it goes. He didn’t want to see me back unless the problem persists. He felt that I should be ready for the 10 k I have entered for October 31st.

quilteryoyo

Nice running @7lenny7 ! Glad your son and his wife ran with you too. I'm sure that was enjoyable. The tree with all of the birds is a bit creepy.

@skippygirlsmom Macy is a cutie too. Yeah on your Sept HM!

@Teresa502 Thanks for the information. Sounds like the best plan.

@CarsonSurfs Glad you came back to us. I live in E. TN, so potentially not that far away.

Thanks @martaindale ! I hope the flooding isn't too bad for you.

That's good news @julieannegannon ! I hope rest is all it takes.

quilteryoyo

I didn't update my mileage yesterday. Did my normal Sunday mile walk on the driveway between church and lunch.

Today was a very busy day for me. Started with an early, 8 am, meeting with the lawyer to finish up dad's probate and then a meeting with the bank to add my brother and myself to all of her accounts. After that, mom and I did a few other errands. I made phone calls, took the trash off, and then went down to do the push mowing at mom's. When I got home, I decided to go ahead and mow my yard, since I was already sweaty and dirty. I got done with it at 7:10 pm. I still needed to get my walk in, so did that before coming in for the night. If it weren't for the streak, there would NOT have been a walk taken tonight. (According to Garmin, I walked 2.65 miles total while mowing.)

Monthly mileage in the spoiler.

1 Sept - 0.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Driveway laps
2 Sept - 3.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Mixed interval run in the morning on the rural road
3 Sept - 0.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Treadmill at 9:44 pm, after my Aunt's visitation and funeral - also played tennis that morning
4 Sept - 0.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Driveway laps in the evening, after my Aunt's burial that morning
5 Sept - 0.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Driveway laps after church and before lunch
6 Sept - 12.0 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - PR for distance
7 Sept - 0.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Treadmill at 8:20 pm after work and weed eating mom's lawn
8 Sept - 0.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Driveway laps after 2 hours of doubles tennis
9 Sept - 3.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Driveway laps - Fartleks during the middle mile
10 Sept - 0.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Driveway laps after work - also played doubles tennis for nearly 2 hours
11 Sept - 10.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Driveway laps
12 Sept - 0.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Driveway laps after church and before lunch
12 Sept - 0.00 miles Ran - 1.0 mile Walk - Driveway laps after mowing

28 miles Ran - 13 mile Walked - No goal set for this month

7lenny7

I had my first session of Intro to Yoga tonight. Tonight was just working on the warmups. Nearly everything we did felt like it would also benefit running. I enjoyed it and wish I had time to do it several times per week. Perhaps when I retire I'll do it regularly.

I'm impressed you got that extra walk in @quilteryoyo I would have just considered mowing to be more than enough.

RunsOnEspresso

I did 5 of 7 this morning. Either I need to quit my job, get up at 3 am or get faster to fit 7 miles in before office days. None of which will happen so Wednesday I'll do 7.

76/174

ContraryMaryMary

7lenny7 wrote: »

I had my first session of Intro to Yoga tonight. Tonight was just working on the warmups. Nearly everything we did felt like it would also benefit running. I enjoyed it and wish I had time to do it several times per week.

I do 10 minutes before bed every night (more if I have time and energy). Easy to slot in to the routine, helps me fall asleep faster. Definitely helps with the joint mobility.

rheddmobile

@julieannegannon That’s great news! I fell ice skating a couple of years ago and landed on my hip, and it hurt for a long time, despite nothing being really wrong with it except a deep bruise. I know that not having pain is better, but if you gotta have pain it’s nice to know it doesn’t signify anything important!

@katharmonic Yay for finishing all your obstacles!

@skippygirlsmom wow running a half this quickly after ankle surgery, you are awesome.

@sweetdaisy13 My husband was checking my phone for something and my Strava notifications came up and he said, “One of your crazy friends just ran an ultra,” and I said, “Yes!” Congrats on your ultra!

rheddmobile

My husband and I ran the West Cancer Center Fight On 5k yesterday. This 5k is our 4 year runniversary - the first race we ever ran, back when we were still overweight, in the middle of c25k, and couldn’t even run the whole way - and it’s also special to us because when we ran it my husband still had stitches in from his cancer surgery, and was in treatment at West Cancer Clinic. It was a great first race, because it usually has a ton of folks - about 5000 - booths, swag, a live band, and a mimosa breakfast, as well as being very casual as far as the people who enter so it’s possible for not so great runners to be competitive in a big race. My first time back then was 44:17 and it included the longest I had run at a stretch since grade school! Next year, we ran the whole thing in a respectable middle of the pack time. Year after that, I won my AG. And then last year it was called off completely, not even virtual option, and we ran our own private race on a secluded access road near our house.

Which brings us up to this year, when it was all planned and everything and then went virtual due to Delta. We were disappointed but at least had the virtual to run. We decided to run it on the official course around Patriot Lake, which includes a couple of big hills. Two practice runs on the course did not make us hopeful that we would run a good race! It’s been too hot to run fast recently, and time constraints mean we have mostly been training at WC Johnson park which has no hills.

Recently due to caring for my mother we have been getting out to run at midday when it’s hottest, and the forecast said it would be nearly 90 on race day. My mom has a caretaker in the afternoon, and we’ve been staying up until about 4 am which is the only time we are guaranteed private time after my mom is asleep. But racing with no shade in full sun and heat didn’t appeal, so at the last minute we decided it was better to stay up and run it on no sleep, last thing in our day! We would have run it at night, but in Memphis it’s illegal to go anywhere after dark. Seriously, it’s illegal to be in the park between sundown and sunup, and they enforce it - the exact hour of sunrise is posted on the park info page. So that meant the earliest we could be at the park was 6:40 am.

Good news, the weather at that time of the morning was perfect. Slightly overcast - dense fog while we were driving down - with a bright red sunrise, and 66 F. The lake was covered with egrets, which must be migrating as they don’t usually live here.

When we arrived at the park we were surprised by all the other people there. Turns out there was another race scheduled - an in-person race! The Runner’s track Club 10k was that day at 7 am. Fortunately for us, they were doing it at a completely different part of the park and not in our way at all. But seeing all the cars with distance stickers, people stretching, and so on, gave our little virtual race an in-person feel which was nice.

So, our run is an example of how strategy can shave time off a short race. In practice we challenged the hills and rested on the downhills. On race day we didn’t challenge the hills and bombed the downhills. Difference in time, two whole minutes faster. Also, the cooler weather helped a lot. We were going to have to hang up our shoes in shame if we couldn’t manage a sub-30 and we just barely made it, 29:56. I feel like I could have probably shaved off a little but my husband was having exercise-induced asthma problems and called for a break at the beginning of mile 3, so we walked the last hill then ran a fast finish. Not too bad for not having done speedwork since May! My husband’s watch, which he got in August, says he did his fastest mile since getting the watch, 9:09, which probably includes that downhill we bombed. For comparison our fastest all-time mile PR is 7:56. So, we are definitely not at our best, but pleased with where we are, considering!

Afterwards we went for a walk and found most of where we wanted to walk was blocked off for the race. So we waited for a big gap in the runners then bandited the race for about 100m to get to the trail system! I got cheered on by a volunteer! “You’re doing great, you’re almost there!” Uh, no, I’m going this way, see ya! Took a nice 5k walk, watched the race for a while and saw a friend with cerebral palsy who races in a wheelchair go by.

Drove home and realized hey, when you race at 7 am you can’t order food afterwards! And nothing at all in the fridge, I mean nothing, we were overdue for a grocery delivery. My husband came to the rescue - kielbasa and leftover French fries tossed in a skillet with runny fried eggs and salsa on top. Delicious!

In response to this month’s question about special items for a race, I mentioned my lucky headband and race color fingernails. West Cancer Fight On colors are lime and sky blue!

Scott6255

@julieannegannon great news about your hip!
@rheddmobile nice 5K race!
@skippygirlsmom awesome job on your monthly HM!

quilteryoyo

@7lenny7 I was tempted. Great job on the yoga. I'd like to do that too, but not enough hours in the day.

@rheddmobile Great job on your race! Love the outfit and nails. It's interesting that there was another race scheduled at the same place on the same day. I'm sure it wasn't organized after the first one went virtual. How were they going to pull that one off?

Scott6255

***Low Battery*** That was the theme for this morning's run
My headlight showed it had 50% battery, and I had only used it twice since last charge, so should have at least 1 hour left. Nope, it died less than 1 mile out. Then at mile 3 my earbuds announced "low battery" and died about 3 minutes later. Those had been charging all night. And going with the theme, I felt slow and tired. But got in 7 miles.