December 2021 Monthly Running Challenge

SummerSkier

@mshawski be careful with the quad. Smart to reduce your run but you might need to reschedule your training session. Of course if it is your first one normally all they do is talk and show you some exercises to do versus a workout. The polar strap is good. Syncs pretty easily to the Apple Watch.

Today I experimented with running a few 10ths before I turned on my watch for the run. It was interesting. Evidently my data always skews low because of that first qtr or less where I am "warming up" or even the GPS is not quite ready for a run. I always assumed the GPS was wonky but maybe it just needs a warm up too. LOL.

Anyway, I was able to sustain a 180 SPM and with taking the junk off the beginning my run today was actually probably a new 4 mile record for me at an 8:53 avg mile pace. It was fun to fly but also a little bit of a let down because I realized that I may never get below an 8 min mile.... Well I will continue to work on the speed stuff. When I look back to Oct for my slowest run 7 miles at about 10:40 pace my SPM were 169. So my limited data says I can get under 10 min pace with a 175 avg and under 9 with a 180....

My heart is quite happy with the shorter runs. I know I have overtrained in the past doing 2 per days and lots of miles and my resting heart rate with those over training days never gets where it should. So even though I am putting in a LOT more effort, the shorter 4 mile runs seem to be a good distance where my resting heart rate returns quickly.

12.17 miles so far for the month out of 100 planned. 82.12 left for run the year completion. If I do this right it might be exactly Xmas morning that I complete the challenge.

I don't freak out anymore when my HR goes over 190 during effort.

emptydog

mshawski wrote: »

It seems like today might be one of those days when everyone needs a little extra coffee in their mug.

Yes! That is exactly how it was for me today.

I dithered and puttered the morning away and realized that the day was getting away from me. About noon I went to the field house of the local college and ran 2 miles.

Being indoors masks are required which makes it tough. I was the only one on the track and so I "adjusted" my mask so that I could breathe better.

12-1: 5.32 Miles.
12-2: 5.20 Miles.
12-3: 2.00 Miles.
Mtd: 12.52 Miles.

Hoping everyone has a great day.

polskagirl01

shanaber wrote: »

@SummerSkier - the original runner who started this challenge years ago had talked about cadence and how it should basically be the same regardless of pace. I was always curious how that could be even if you shortened or lengthened your stride to accommodate, but when I monitored mine it was in fact very close to the same whether I was running slow and easy or pushing my pace. I will see if I can find any of the articles he referenced and post later.

I have also heard this school of thought being discussed, and it does seem to work. I don't usually pay attention to cadence though, and have very little variability when I look at past runs. Maybe slightly higher turnover on some faster runs.

For 3 days now I've been feeling actually normal. Got great news from the doctor last night (no more stones YAY!). So I celebrated by going with hubby to the next town and running the 8 km home today. It didn't feel awesome or anything, but also wasn't miserable or nearly as hard as I expected either, so I'm definitely calling it a win.

marisap2010

I worked from home today because I had a repairman coming, so I was able to pick up my race packet this morning (I’m always so happy to get a card for free Chick-fil-a in my swag bag!), and I got in a nice afternoon run, even though it was 77 out. It isn’t supposed to be this warm in December! My new Brooks jacket came today, but it doesn’t look like it will be cool enough anytime soon to wear it.

Today’s training run was 20 min at 11:13-12:13 pace, followed by 10 min at 9:13-9:43 pace. I ended up with 3.38 miles.

December total: 6.21 miles

shanaber

@SummerSkier and anyone else interested in running form, cadence and pace, here is a link to some videos and additional links to articles on those topics. Scroll down to find the ones specific to cadence but there is lots of good information here.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10228828/good-running-form-overstriding

Additionally there is a group for this challenge that includes a 'vault' of articles and information on various running topics that I go back to on occasion to reference. Some of it may be old and you might find more current info doing a google search but it isn't a bad place to start...
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1269023/running-related-sites-and-references#latest

WhatMeRunning

Thank you for sharing those links @shanaber I miss the array of expertise that seemed so readily available back then sometimes. Not that there is not an array of expertise available now, or anything like that. It's just... different. I suspect it's just site changes over time and people's willingness to freely share that has changed somehow. Could be as simple as not being able to share links on the newsfeed as one example, but I just don't know. I do recall something of an exodus of users when UA took ownership but that did not seem to affect the running groups so much. I guess I'll never know!

rheddmobile

Beautiful weather yesterday so my husband and I got out to Chuckalissa for a hike. Honestly some of the slopes are steep enough that he was concerned about my heart rate shooting up even walking it, but I kept my eye on it and it stayed reasonable. Afterwards walked the flat paved trails and ran about half a mile just as a test, all good.

SummerSkier

@rheddmobile great report. It gives me hope your symptoms were just delays lupus/vaccine reactions and perhaps things will settle down.

@shanaber thank you for the links also. I watched the first one and the skipping and butt kicks are definitely something I might incorporate into my runs. They haven't really discussed BPM yet. Probably because I am pretty old I won't be able to do much change to my stride without possible causing knee or hip anger but I know I an a shuffler which is why I don't trail run. No ACLs so I tend not to pick up my knees very much. I wanted to respond to tag but the link is so old I didn't want to resurrect a zombie.

@WhatMeRunning I actually find a LOT more array of expertise. So much so that it's often difficult to weed out the chaff from the wheat.

good morning everyone! It's WARM and humid here again.

Tramboman

12-1 7k slow
12-2 7k slow
12-3 7k slow
12-4 7k sleasy


Don't Rest December Total: 28k
Don't Rest December Goal: 180k

Clear and frosty, low 30s F, and no wind. Even got to see a deer this morning, but since I run without my glasses, I couldn't tell if it was a buck or a doe. It was a big bodied deer all alone, so I suspect it was a small antlered buck.

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)

2021 Races:

6/26 Direction Up 5k, Solon, OH 31:48 chip; 31:59 Garmin; 53d overall; 2d male 65 and over
7/17 Run of the Ox 5k, Mantua, OH 32:19 Garmin; 44th overall; 3d place male 60 and over

quilteryoyo

I got my computer back. It's working better and they were able to get things installed that I couldn't. It's still slow as Christmas, but I'm glad to have it back.

@polskagirl01 I'm so happy that the stone has gone and I would definitely call the run a win.

Nice run @marisap2010 ! Yeah for the new jacket.

Glad your heart behaved yesterday @rheddmobile . I hope you can get to the doctor soon to get properly checked out and treated.

@Tramboman I don't run with my glasses either, so I can totally relate.

SummerSkier

@quilteryoyo so GLAD you got your computer back and it's working even if slowly! Must be a relief you were able to get your files back. whew!

Today's run I carried my phone for a 10K and it says my stride is a whopping 26 in. seriously. I don't even stride 3 feet. wow. No wonder I am slow. Or my phone is confused? Is that normal for a short woman I wonder... off to google. Also found some songs with 180 bpm tempo to add to my running playlist for fun. Gypsy's Tramps and Thieves, Running Down a dream, Dancing with Myself, the Boys of Summer, Breakaway, Love is a BattlefieldTusk, Jack and Diane....

Added 6.2 to total 18.37 out of 100 for the month goal. 75.9 to go to complete run the year. Streak of 66 miles all under 10 min pace. Goal to finish up RuntheYear with that streak.

quilteryoyo

Nice run @SummerSkier ! Interestingly, I can open my files now, but when I look at my running spreadsheet, my computer doesn't have any updates on it since Feb! I really don't want to re-enter all of that data - yes, I have a paper copy too. The repairman said that if I was missing any files to let them know and they may be able to find them on a backup they did. I'll call them on Monday and see if they can do that for me. Technology doesn't like me.

katharmonic

Good morning, everyone. Or whatever time of day you are .

Finally posting in this month's thread. It was a crazy week and I got very behind. I read through and liked and hugged.

Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
12/01/21 :::: 0.00 :::: 0.0
12/02/21 :::: 2.24 :::: 2.2
12/03/21 :::: 3.05 :::: 5.3
12/04/21 :::: 10.05:::: 15.3

I started out the month with a 0, which I didn't want to do but the day got away from me. Lots of end of the semester drama to deal with. Thursday was also bad but I got a short treadmill run in before strength training. And then yesterday I wanted nothing more than to skip my run and go home and drink wine and go to bed. But I promised I was going to do better this month so I made myself go to the gym and run on the treadmill (I didn't have the right clothes packed for outdoor running or I would have because the temp wasn't too bad). Today I met up with friends for our long run. I was cranky that they wanted to start at 7, but I did it and it was actually a pretty nice morning for running. The crazy winds we've been having were gone, and the sun made the low 30s temp seem not so bad. My friends talked me into the big hill - but the good part is, the way back is all coasting downhill. I was happy to get 10 miles done.

marisap2010

@quilteryoyo Glad you got your computer back! I hope you can recover your files.

@SummerSkier Nice music choices!

@katharmonic Great job on today’s run!

I ran our local Reindeer Run 5K this morning to benefit the children’s hospital. This followed part of the route I ran a few weeks ago at the homecoming 5K. It was in the low 50s and sunny, so nice weather. The beginning of the course had two large hills, but after you get past those, it wasn’t too bad. I finished in 28:45.

polskagirl01

Great job @marisap2010 !!!

RunsOnEspresso

WhatMeRunning wrote: »

Thank you for sharing those links @shanaber I miss the array of expertise that seemed so readily available back then sometimes. Not that there is not an array of expertise available now, or anything like that. It's just... different. I suspect it's just site changes over time and people's willingness to freely share that has changed somehow. Could be as simple as not being able to share links on the newsfeed as one example, but I just don't know. I do recall something of an exodus of users when UA took ownership but that did not seem to affect the running groups so much. I guess I'll never know!

I know what you mean. I feel like we all shared more articles and such back in the day. I think the loss of two of our "main" (for lack of a better word) posters has had an effect. And with the originator of the thread no longer an active participant.

Personally, I use my phone a lot in here and it's harder to go and search for a supporting article or previous post etc. And a lot of the resources I used to share are now behind paywalls. Runners World, Women's Running, Trail Runner etc either have paywalls or memberships now.

WhatMeRunning

SummerSkier wrote: »

...I actually find a LOT more array of expertise. So much so that it's often difficult to weed out the chaff from the wheat...

That could very well be it. I see lots of people eager to help. Makes a lot of sense that in the past there were just fewer knowledgeable sources.

Tramboman

Great race, @marisap2010 !!!

Teresa502

Congrats on your race @marisap2010 - great finish time!

polskagirl01

WhatMeRunning wrote: »

SummerSkier wrote: »

...I actually find a LOT more array of expertise. So much so that it's often difficult to weed out the chaff from the wheat...

That could very well be it. I see lots of people eager to help. Makes a lot of sense that in the past there were just fewer knowledgeable sources.

Most of us are just sharing our experiences; we're not experts or anything. Some of the earlier informal leaders, though, just had a lot more experience and not only in the sense that they'd been running for years, but had also learned a lot along the way. And they were more competitive runners than most of the rest of us. There aren't as many speedy people lately. So for example, I can tell you what I wear in the snow, but on the other hand I can only offer theories I've heard about how to get fast or what your cadence should be. (Although even coaches disagree on those things, so I don't see why us average runners can't discuss and have opinions on how to level up from where we are too.)

More what I see here is a group of people who all are into running and want to support each other in our journeys. Many of our non-running friends and family can only listen to so much running talk, and they don't get it anyway, so this can be a safe place to share about how your running is going, and give every detail of your race - and people actually look forward to it and want to read it and cheer you on.