May 2022 Monthly Running Challenge
Replies
-
@martaindale That happens to me sometimes too. Fries sounds like a good solution.1
-
@kgirlhart wow, that looks like baseball size hail. It's a wonder you didn't have even more damage! Sorry for your sister's car tho, and your rosebushes.
@martaindale I usually just get hangry when I don't eat when I'm hungry 😤2 -
Hope you are going still strong in your race @polksagirl01!
@kgirlhart – Goodness that was a damaging hail storm. I bet your sister was scared being pelted by those hail balls. Glad she wasn’t injured.
Glad you are feeling better @marisap2010.
@Mari33a – I hate it when I forget to start my watch or pause and then forget to restart.
@Scott6255 – I’m so impressed with you keeping your HR under 120.
@AlphaHowls – Inspiring as always!
Hope you have cooler temps today @shanaber.
@martaindale – In the past when I’ve been training for a marathon in the summer, I’ve experienced the lack of appetite after a long run. Your body was probably channeling all its resources into keeping your cool and replenishing energy supplies. Usually the next day, the hungries hit me hard. Love your fry mantra!
Our hike yesterday took us from Iron Mountain Gap to Hughes Gap. The trail runs along the state line between Tennessee and North Carolina so we were back and forth all day. Two friends and I met at 5:30 and dropped one car off at the end spot and then backtracked a few miles with the other car to the start of our hike. We started hiking north bound around 7:00 am. The trail was in great shape. A chance of rain was in the forecast for around noon and the rest of the afternoon. We got lucky and avoided it and had temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. Oddly, we only saw two other day hikers which were hiking south bound. I think the “bubble” of hikers have passed through this area. Also, a nearby town is hosting Trail Days this weekend with free food, laundry, showers, vendors repairing hiking equipment, music, etc. so I’m guessing most of the hikers in the vicinity have been trying to get there and enjoy the amenities. We stopped for a quick lunch at one of the shelters and got back to the car around 12:30 pm. There was a man and woman set up doing trail magic at the parking area where we ended. They said they had only seen about 10 thru-hikers come through. Our total mileage for the day was 9.58 miles.
We saw lots of beautiful wildflowers. In addition to the trillium shown here, there were delphiniums, Solomon's plume and others whose names I can't remember.
Saw about 20 of these little newts. Even with being such a bright color, they are so small that you had to be careful not to step on them.
The view was totally worth the climb! This is me atop Little Rock Knob.7 -
@teresa502 That view is beautiful and I love the little orange newts!2
-
May Goal: 100 Miles
5/1: 12.03 miles
5/2: 2.02 miles
5/3: 5.05 miles
5/4: 5.51 miles
5/5: 5.16 miles
5/6: 1.51 miles
5/7: 1.06 miles
5/8: 8.06 miles
5/9: 2.03 miles
5/10: 5.15 miles
5/11: 6.02 miles
5/12: 5:51 miles
5/13: 2.05 miles
5/14: 1.20 miles
5/15: 10.12 miles
72.48/100 miles completed for May
Ten miles for me this morning. I tried to get up early to beat the heat, but it was still pretty warm. I get up early on the weekdays, but it is so much harder to get up early on Sunday. It was 75°F when I started out at 7:45 this morning and 88°F by the time I got home. It was a nice run though. I did run out of water at about mile 8, but I stopped at the bathroom at the park at mile 9 and splashed some water on my neck and face.
@Teresa502 Lovely views! And the newts are adorable.
4 -
I'm trying to keep up here, and it's not working LOL.
@7lenny7 crazy tornado run. Although I think you should've accepted the ride, I'm glad it all worked out ok.
@kgirlhart so sorry about the hail damage. Yikes!
@Scott6255 great news about your new super powers!
@martaindale sorry about your fall. At least it was caused by something interesting 😆
@Teresa502 great hike!
24-Hour Race Report:Disclaimer: I technically didn't do it "right", but nothing in the rules said I couldn't run Saturday into the night, then go home, shower, sleep, go to work for a few hours, then come back and run some more. So that's what I did.
This was my first time participating in a 24-hour race. My previous distance PR for one day was technically the 50k trail run/hike I did in Pennsylvania in 2019. Since I wasn't going to be there the whole time, my A goal was 25k (my long run distance on my training plan). B goal was something like 30+ and C goal was marathon, but I didn't think I'd get that far. My dream-in-the-clouds goal was to beat 50k and establish a 24-hr PR in an official race.
This race was pretty low-key. Donate whatever you felt was appropriate. I gave a gift in memory of my friends' son who had the same health problem as the girl this was benefiting. A sponsor was giving a matching gift based on total kilometers. They marked a 4.2k course in the forest with arrows and reflectors and told us to keep track of how many loops we did. My watch measured every loop about 100-150 meters shorter, but this time I'm blaming the GPS and going with their official distance. There was one decent hill at the beginning, then flat for a while, and back down. I really liked it. Which is good, since I'd end up doing it so many times, haha.
Start time was 18:00 Saturday, but I was at a meeting and got there later. Saturday night I did 6 loops. 1-2 were in daylight, it went dark halfway through lap 3, and totally dark for laps 4-6. Sometimes I was by myself and sometimes I could see lights from other runners a distance behind/ahead. Of course, when I tripped over who-knows-what during lap 4 *insert loud "umph" sound*, there were several guys pretty close behind me. The forest floor is softer than the sidewalk, so I was mainly scratched up, dirty & embarrassed, but the guys were encouraging. Later, it started hurting (knee/arm/shoulder) and that was actually my cue to wrap it up after lap 6. It was like my brain wanted to quit, but knew that I wouldn't listen to sore legs, so it got my attention via my knee instead. My "A" goal was met Saturday night. I put my time on the list and said I'd be back in the afternoon.
Today after church, I changed and went straight back to the race. The route conveniently went through the parking lot, so both days I parked trunk side out, and laid out my own aid station in the back of my car. An awesome feature of my new car is that it automatically unlocks when the keycard is near it, then relocks when you walk away, so I didn't even have to take the key out of my pack. I saw a lot of people had done the same with their cars. There was some food in the race office, and water outside by the start/finish flags, but I was afraid if I went in, I'd clock out and go home 😆 There were other family festivities, but I didn't pay much attention.
At some point when starting *another* loop, I realized that this really must be some form of insanity. The repetitive nature of seeing the same course, over and over again, and yet choosing to keep doing it... it's hard to explain what was happening in my head. But everyone had their own goals. Many participants did 1 or 2 loops and that was it. There were nordic walkers, and families walking together at their childrens' pace. And then there were the crazy people like me. I had no idea what I'd be able to do, after the night before, so started out at about the same easy pace as last night - walking up the hill and then mostly slow running the rest. My math told me that if I could manage to do that pace for 4 laps, I'd then have 3 hours left to walk 3 laps and would pass 50+k. But I wasn't sure I'd be able to run the 4, and just kept going to find out. After 4 (total 10) laps, I reached marathon distance and decided to slow down. Grabbed a sandwich from the car. Lots more walking, definitely running the downhill, but no pressure otherwise unless I felt like running. Before lap 13, I looked at the time and decided that if I finished it before 5pm, I'd do one more loop and make it 14 loops. I was kind of bummed when I finished at 4:55 and knew I needed to actually do it. Who wants to sit there for an hour regretting not doing one more when you had plenty of time? Not me. I could still power-hike, but by the time I started that last downhill run, my legs were doing it, but felt like they had no clue what they were even doing. Also hard to explain.
Alright, so 6 laps Saturday and 8 today = 14 laps = 59 KM!!! One lady put it on the chart, then I got a cupcake and drink and sat down. Asked another lady to fill out a certificate for me, and when she counted up my total, she came over and gave me a hug. I don't know yet where I placed, as the awards were only for top 3 overall (150, 150, 120 km 😲), but I might not have done too badly among the women. Definitely not 1st or 2nd, but I'll update whenever I do find out. I stayed for closing ceremonies, where they played "We are the Champions", then the winners and others had to dance to a song 😆, everyone said thank you - this was a charity race to help a girl with spina bifida get the equipment she needs to help her walk (which doctors said she wouldn't do, just like with my friends' son, haha), and we all ate cake.
I like this race format. Maybe next time, I can be there for more of it.
Recovery will be needed. But contrary to my expectations, leg soreness currently takes 3rd place, to knee/shoulder/arm pain from the fall in 2nd, and.... bra chaffing in 1st place for ouch, oww, I can't move, shower was painful. 2 different bras, front and back, it's worse than I've ever had. Now, what in my closet can I wear tomorrow that will allow me to not wear anything underneath? 🤔 Sorry if that's TMI; this is a running group, though. Chaffing happens. Ok, getting cream for next time.
T-shirt graciously took part of the fall.
9 -
@polskagirl01 wrote: »
At some point when starting *another* loop, I realized that this really must be some form of insanity. The repetitive nature of seeing the same course, over and over again, and yet choosing to keep doing it...
*dew claws up*
All I could do was smile when I read that...
6 -
Way to go @polskagirl01! You're a beast!2
-
Way to go @polskagirl01!!!!
1 -
I got out this morning in time to see the beautiful moon. I ran 5.07 very slow miles. My watch suggested that I take a rest day today which always psychs me out. I think it sets me up with a mindset of I can't do this, but I showed it! Lol! I'm sure it's looking at my data from my run and saying I told you so.
Question of the month: How do you run up a hill? I have one friend who advises to just sit back with weight in your rear with knees bent and another friend who runs pitched forward on her tippy toes up hill. Do you start up the hill with a mindset to run as far as you can and then walk, save your energy by power walking the hill, or try to slow you pace enough to run up the entire hill?2 -
@polskagirl01 fantastic and beastly performance. Wow. I relate to your race report of your thoughts during the 24 hrs and get inspired by your commitment and wanting to just see if you can do it. And of course you can and did! Awesome.4
-
Yup @polskagirl01 you were in beast mode! Great job!
@Teresa502 yes, that moon was beautiful this morning. I thought it was the sun at first because it was a reddish orange, then I realized it was in the wrong horizon
As far as running up hills, I just drop it in a lower gear and try to run up without exhausting myself for the rest of the run.
7 miles for me this morning. Nothing notable, other than the moon.
3 -
@polskagirl01 Hooray for crushing your Dream-in-the-clouds goal!! You did such an amazing job!2
-
Question of the month: How do you run up a hill? I have one friend who advises to just sit back with weight in your rear with knees bent and another friend who runs pitched forward on her tippy toes up hill. Do you start up the hill with a mindset to run as far as you can and then walk, save your energy by power walking the hill, or try to slow you pace enough to run up the entire hill?
I think I fall somewhere between your 2 friends. I focus on keeping my posture upright and core engaged. If the hill is really steep I will end up more on my toes than my normal gait, but on more gentle hills, my foot falls in about the same way. I focus on lifting my knees more to keep my stride short. As far as run v walk - it depends. In the hill country I encounter several hills that are 8-9% grade and even a couple up to 12%. On a shorter run, I adjust my effort and try to run them. I have seen huge gains in controlling my HR because of these hills. On a longer run I find myself making some judgement calls. If my run is the same speed as my power walk, I just walk. I’m exerting more energy and not going any faster by trying to run those steep hills. If I am moving faster than a walk, I’ll keep running.4 -
May totals: 55.5/100 miles
5/2: 3.2 miles
5/3: 6.6 miles
5/4: 3.2 miles
5/5: 3 miles
5/7: 5.4 miles
5/9: 3.1 miles
5/10: 5.4 miles
5/11: 6.5 miles
5/13: 6.1 miles
5/14: 10 miles
5/16: 3 miles
Recovery run followed by PT exercises this morning. I think my watch short changed me this morning. I do this particular loop regularly and it’s always 3.1 miles. Map looks normal so I guess I just need to see if it’s a one off or if it’s time to do a map recalibrate and restart. Being short a tenth did give me a really pleasing 55.5 miles total on the month. Love that!5 -
Question of the month: How do you run up a hill? I have one friend who advises to just sit back with weight in your rear with knees bent and another friend who runs pitched forward on her tippy toes up hill. Do you start up the hill with a mindset to run as far as you can and then walk, save your energy by power walking the hill, or try to slow you pace enough to run up the entire hill?
I read a while ago that you should run a hill at the 'same effort' you are running on the flat and it has nothing to do with pace. You may be quite a bit slower to keep the effort the same depending on your conditioning and the steepness/grade of the hill. I also try to keep my head and especially my eyes up in the direction I am going up the hill. This helps keep my posture/form in line. I do try to run as much of a hill as possible, especially in training runs to build my conditioning. In a race though it depends on the hill, where in the race it is and how many hills there are. I usually try to come up with a strategy and an alternate before a race.
6 -
I logged 17.7 miles over the weekend. 9.5 on Saturday, 8.2 on Sunday, both at the same state park, and both after a day of getting our boat ready for the summer...it's finally ready and it goes in the water Friday. I can't wait!
Both runs were both hard runs after full days of being on my feet working, and drinking beer. Both runs ended at sunset though, providing for beautiful scenery and less crowds.
Saturday's run was notable for a couple of reason. First, I was able to call in a rose-breasted grosbeak to within 10 yards of me. I had never seen one of those before. Cool bird.
Second, on the prairie portion of the run with the sun at the perfect angle for golden light I came across a photographer shooting a near full term pregnant woman and, presumably, the father. She had her beautiful full belly bared for the portraits and as I came around the bend in the trail she just laughed at the situation while the guy was looking uncomfortable. I bid them congratulations, excused my presence, kept moving on, and for the next few minutes recalled fondly those years when my wife and I were at that stage. It goes by so quickly.
Sunday's run was the real slog. I had 15 miles penciled in but decided to quit at 8. Even cutting it short I've had four full weeks in a row and while my pain in the balls of my feet seems to be fully resolved, a mild heel pain in my left foot is nagging. I'm confident cutting it short was the right decision.
From Saturday's run:
From Sunday's run:
7 -
@Scott6255 your focus on keeping your HR that low sounds like the Phil Maffetone method. Are you familiar with that?
@kgirlhart sorry for all your plants and vehicles! It must have been scary for your sister. Glad you weren't out running in it though.
@Teresa502 cute newt! Amazing view. Running up hills - well, it depends. In a trail race I'd never run up big hills because it's more efficient to power hike them so in training I want to make sure I get plenty of training power hiking them. Running up hills is also great training so I often I'll run up the hill then hike when I get to the top until my HR settles back down. In the middle I'll run up as far as my momentum will let me, particularly when the up hill immediately follows the downhill, then switch to power hiking. Some time I'll use a bounding technique where I run very slow and focus on each stride as a powerful bounding motion until I get up the hill, often combining that bounding with a side to side motion. For a normal run up the hill, I think proper technique is the same as it is for any other running stride...try to land with your head, hips, and feet in a vertical line, which feels like leaning forward when going up hill.
@polskagirl01 great job on your 24hr race and great race report! It looks like a nice loop to run. A 24-hour race is on my "to do" list.
4 -
@7lenny7 really great pictures! And great running too! Yes, am aware of the Maffetone method, and after listening to several different podcasts that all just happened to emphasize the need for easy running, I've finally got it in my head that is a good thing to do (only took me 10 years and umpteen 1000 times to hear it before it really sunk in) 😁4
-
-
I've read and hugged/liked as appropriate. My internet has been on and off - mostly off when I have the time to sit down and do things I need to do. I'm getting so tired of it, but no real alternatives. Anyway, you all are doing great!
@polskagirl01 Awesome race! You did fantastic!
@7lenny7 Great pictures and great running.
@Scott6255 Keeping your HR below 120 bpm is awesome. I'm lucky if mine stays under 120 when walking fast, esp. uphill.
Love the pictures from your hike @Teresa502 ! Your runs are great too. As for hills...I normally run up as far as I feel I can/want to and then power walk to the top. I mostly run up the entire hill only when doing hill repeats. LOL
I've been running/walking, just not reporting in...again, internet issues and time constraints. Today, I did a fast finish run on the driveway after work. It is shady in the evenings and today it was around 75°F when I started out with a slight breeze, so it wasn't too bad. I ran a total of 2.75 miles and walked .70 mile. It was a fast finish run, 25 min easy and 10 min moderate. Easy run pace was around 13:49 min/mile. The faster 10 min at the end were at 12:21 min/mile. Not horrible considering it was on my hilly driveway.8 -
May totals: 58.6/100 miles
5/2: 3.2 miles
5/3: 6.6 miles
5/4: 3.2 miles
5/5: 3 miles
5/7: 5.4 miles
5/9: 3.1 miles
5/10: 5.4 miles
5/11: 6.5 miles
5/13: 6.1 miles
5/14: 10 miles
5/16: 3 miles
5/17: 3.1 miles
30 minute progression run this morning. In the predawn hours I can usually summon a little speed, so managed to get a decent progression in. The target pace toward the end of mile 2 was supposed to be 10k pace. Not sure if I quite got there but my mile 2 average was HM pace so maybe. Either way, did what I could with the conditions and felt good afterwards.5 -
AlphaHowls wrote: »@polskagirl01 wrote: »
At some point when starting *another* loop, I realized that this really must be some form of insanity. The repetitive nature of seeing the same course, over and over again, and yet choosing to keep doing it...
*dew claws up*
All I could do was smile when I read that...
You can probably explain it better. You're the Master of crazy laps.
I also got a deeper appreciation for the saying, "run the mile you're in". You can definitely learn from & prepare for previous and future miles, but you can only actually run the step that's in front of you. Good life application there.
My legs are strangely feeling fine today. I went for a flat, slow bike ride and ended up going further in the forest than I realized, but it was... fine. I'm intrigued. Was it the long break between runs? Or the extended walking at the end? The softer forest trail rather than road? Just Sunday's run by itself was a good bit (7+km) longer than any of my recent long runs. I'm not complaining; would just like to harness whatever power I unlocked so I can use it again 😆
Monthly question: I try to stay tall, rather than leaning back or bending forward (reduces lung capacity, I think), and whether I'm running or walking it depends on a lot of factors - type/purpose of run (hill repeats vs long trail run), incline, terrain, etc.6 -
Great run @martaindale .
Glad you're legs are good today @polskagirl01 . It could be a combination of all of those things. I do take walk breaks when I run. That's supposed to help reduce the stress on your legs and I'm rarely sore.... not even after my horrible half last year.2 -
02.05: 3.20km in 26min 10 stride repeats
04.05: 6.45km in 57min
06.05: 3.11km in 24min
08.05: 4.00km in 31min
10.05: 3.00km in 22min
11.05: 4.13km in 35min
17.05: 4.23km in 35min progression run
28.2/60km
Was away for a few days, and it shows. Run never really got easy, but I managed to run 10 faster minutes, and keep it up. I blame it on not running for a few days, spending a whole Sunday sitting in a train with most of body swollen from allergic reaction to .. likely insect bites, and being on steroids to get it under control. Sigh. But I still had a fab long weekend away. Longer run tomorrow. Maybe. It's supposed to be very warm. I'm still mostly on track to getting my km goal.7 -
May Goal: 100 Miles
5/1: 12.03 miles
5/2: 2.02 miles
5/3: 5.05 miles
5/4: 5.51 miles
5/5: 5.16 miles
5/6: 1.51 miles
5/7: 1.06 miles
5/8: 8.06 miles
5/9: 2.03 miles
5/10: 5.15 miles
5/11: 6.02 miles
5/12: 5:51 miles
5/13: 2.05 miles
5/14: 1.20 miles
5/15: 10.12 miles
5/16: 2.05 miles
5/17: 5.60 miles
80.13/100 miles completed for May
I forgot to update last night but I ran two miles for the streak. It was a slow easy run and mostly uneventful, but I did see two jackrabbits which I always think is cool.
Today it was 80°F according to my weather app when I got up at 4:15. So it was another hot, slow run, but not bad and Iran 5 5 miles. I didn't see any critters and Sunny was still inside the house, but I did see some lightning bugs.
7 -
I'm still alive!8 -
@yirara Oh no about the allergic reaction. I'm glad steroids got it under control. You're doing great with your running.
I'm glad @mmckee1189 !
I worked until 3:15 today. When I got home I did my Foundation Run on the treadmill. I ran 30 minutes with the plan of keeping my HR under 143. I ran 5 min at 4.2 mph, intervals of 4/1 minutes at 4.4,4.5, 4.6, 4.5 mph/4.2 mph, than ended with 4.2 mph. My max HR was 140, so success. Ran 2.25 miles at an average 13:47 min/mile and walked a total of 0.7 miles at 3.8 mph for warm up and cool down.
I ate a bite, got ready, and went to mom's to help mow her lawn. I did the riding portion, so didn't count it as exercise, but it did take time and I didn't get home until after 8 pm.6 -
6.2 miles this morning. Felt a little cooler than past days, but was still 75F at 4am. 6
-
May totals: 62.3/100 miles
5/2: 3.2 miles
5/3: 6.6 miles
5/4: 3.2 miles
5/5: 3 miles
5/7: 5.4 miles
5/9: 3.1 miles
5/10: 5.4 miles
5/11: 6.5 miles
5/13: 6.1 miles
5/14: 10 miles
5/16: 3 miles
5/17: 3.1 miles
5/18: 3.7 miles
Baby speed work session today since it’s the last week of this training plan. Only 6 x 400m repeats at mile pace. I felt like that was a number I could probably manage, especially in the morning. It has been 2 weeks since I last did repeats and it took a couple to find the pace. 2:06, 2:03, 2:03, 1:59, 2:00, 2:01. Happy with the workout but not sure how many more I could have done. I am glad to be leaving this 10k plan and the speed work behind.5
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 424 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions