SEPTEMBER 2024 Monthly Running Challenge

emptydog

@JZ_50 Welcome. Sounds like a good plan.

@shubox1 Welcome to the group.

It was 3.06 miles for me today. Yesterday I ran a 5K race and wasn't as stiff as I thought I would be.

In my age group, 70+, I finished 7th of 7.
My friend P, in the ladies' 70+ age group, won.

It's good to have a brand new month.

SummerSkier

7.2 to start the month. Had not planned on it but then my apple watch challenged me to get 7 75 miles a day running/walking 14 times so there it was in my face! 🤷‍♀️😳🤷‍♀️🤪 I got a late start but we had a nice breeze from the north and it was not excessively hot so altho I was a little stiff at first my pace improved throughout.

This months' question for everyone. At what age did you first lace up some sneakers and try a run? And what was your inspiration?

I will say I was about 17 and altho I was fairly fit from playing collegiate tennis that first jog around a qtr mile track was a real eye opener. My inspiration was getting accepted into West Point USMA and they told us we needed to be able to run 2 mile in 18 minutes during "summer" camp. Ok - beast barracks. 😳😳😳 I had absolutely no training and no way except a manual stopwatch to see how fast I was NOT going.

quilteryoyo

@daria0919 Starting a streak is a great thing. You can do this.

Welcome to the group @shubox1 .

@Teresa502 Sounds like a lot of walking and site seeing. Love the pictures. I'm not sure what that lunch is either, but it looks good. Excellent discipline getting off the ship and running 2 miles when you had an "hour to spare."

@emptydog Congrats on your 5K and your friends age group win.

Great start to the month @SummerSkier . I really can't remember the first time I tried to run. I do remember "racing" my brother when we were young. He was thin and had long legs, and, well, was a guy. He'd give me a half lap head start and still beat me. So that was a bit deflating. I guess, like you, I really didn't start "running" until I had to when I went to Officer Training School for the AF. Fortunately, they were softer on us and we just had to make it two miles, with the first mile under 10 min, I think. Still hated it and just ran when I had to.

shubox1

Walked .5 miles, ran 1 mile. 1/30!

quilteryoyo

1 Sept - Walked 2.25 miles - Ran 0.00 miles - Treadmill

2.25/70 mile goal

I did a treadmill walk at 3.8 mph after church and before lunch.

JZ_50

No distance in mind just happy to be motivated to get out there. Nice easy runs, no speed or hill work, no pressure.

September 1-7

Monday- 5km, 7'03"
Tuesday-
Wednesday-
Thursday -
Friday-
Saturday-

kgirlhart

September Goal: 140 Miles

9/1: 11.02 miles

11.02/140 miles completed for September

I'm going to say 140 miles for September.

I started the month off with an 11 mile run. It was 74° and 100% humidity when I started out. So I just took it slow and easy. Today was the first day of dove season and I could hear lots of gunshots. I just made sure to stay in town. I'm not sure if I will run tomorrow or not. It's a holiday so I don't have to work but the forecast is calling for thunderstorms. I'll probably just take a rest day. I did register for the Half Marathon on November 9th. It is the Half Crazy Half Marathon and apparently there are some crazy hills.

@SummerSkier I was 48 when I first started running. I can't remember exactly what day, but it was around the middle of September, so I guess this month will be my 8 year runnerversary. I came on mfp in September 2015 because I was tired of being fat and tired all the time. My youngest had gone off to college so I started walking the dog and counting calories. I never thought I would ever want to run, but after I hit my weight goal I decided to give C25K a try. I was surprised by how much I ended up loving running.

Laurz9191

@Teresa502 I second @AlphaHowls about the dessert . Good job getting out for a run on land AND making sure not to miss the boat. I think I would get nervous as well about cutting it too close.

@SummerSkier We used to have to run a mile for P.E. class in school (I think 6-8th grade). I always walked the majority of it, until my neighbor was in my P.E. class with me. For some reason, with her there I was able to jog all the way till the end and that gave me a huge confidence boost. Then, when I found out the summer before high school that my friends were planning to be on the cross country team, I decided to go out on a run with them. They basically left me huffing and puffing in their dust, while they were casually chatting away. For some insane reason, I couldn't wait for more and joined the team. Although I was never one of the fastest on the team, after getting fit, I also wasn't one of the slowest and loved every minute of it. I am still friends with them to this day and I see them whenever I am in the US.

After my race on Saturday, I am so surprisingly sore! And not from the running but from all of the obstacles that I was completely unprepared for. I thought about ditching my run this morning, because my arms and abs hurt so bad, and my knee is still swollen, but after warming up I felt great and went on a very pleasant 15.1km run to start off the month.

My long run is planned for tomorrow. I am striving to run the last 8miles at marathon pace. As I have been having issues running at that pace, tomorrow should be a good test as to whether or not my marathon goal is realistic or not. If I can't sustain that pace, I need to readjust my expectations a bit so that I can have an obtainable goal.

15,1/270ish km for September.

AmunahSki

I think I will pick the same target as last month (40 miles/64.3k), as my Garmin Coach is likely to taper down before ‘race day’ (29th Sept). I wonder if I should actually go do a Park Run on the day, instead of a solo virtual race?

1 Sept: 3.14mi/5.05k

I decided to leave my son having a lie-in as he’d been to football and a 7.k night race last week, but I used his route alongside the canal. As it was all unfamiliar I managed to keep to a zone 2 for a very happy and easy run to start the month.

@SummerSkier, I took up running on 20th June 2024, prompted by reading this thread and wondering if I could ever run 5k without walking any of it. Turns out that I can - several times a week!

My PR’s:
1k: 6:39
1m: 11:06
2m: 23:22
5k: 36:04 (from 36:47)
Longest run/walk - 5.18mi/8.36k
Longest run - 3.37mi/5.4k

SummerSkier

WOW! I love reading all the stories about starting running and why. I also think I have to credit long term running with the ability to not be obese (even tho I gained and lost the same 20-30 pounds all my life until this last time in 2017) But what's different now is that I don't see running as a way to lose weight but rather as a way to keep from being immobilized, to keep my brain clear, and also to improve my tennis. And the best reason to run now? The cool new technologies we have - shoes, watches, etc... Even the rechargable running lights. Kids are so lucky these days and don't even know it. 😳🙃

I also don't know if the older folks among us took up running later because it was not something elementary or jr high school encouraged (at least for women). I grew up during the tennis revolution but except for field hockey or lacrosse there was not a high visibility for track or cross country. Heck even in college there was not any "training" for running that I can tell. And I was a slow and have always been a slow runner. When I was not able to keep up at school (imagine running in combat boots holding an M14 rifle and a pack on your back?) the "training" was just to assign a really good fast runner to me and have them make sure I ran every day. No program or way to improve.

It's sort of rainy out this morning but I think I am going to find an older pair of shoes and hit the road as it is not lightninging and I have a day off.

quilteryoyo

Great start to Sept @JZ_50 .

Great run @kgirlhart . Love your running story. If it's a Half crazy half, maybe only half of it is crazy hills...hopefully the first half.

@Laurz9191 Sounds like you love a challenge. Great run today. I'm not sure I would let tomorrow's run determine your HM goals since you are so sore from the obstacle course, but that is up to you, of course. Great start to Sept.

@AmunahSki Great start to Sept and so happy that you found this thread and challenged yourself. You never know what you can accomplish until you try.

@SummerSkier I hope you have a good rainy run today. I think you are correct in your assessment about running in school. There was no instruction. Just get out there and run. I had the same thing with tennis. No instruction. If you could hit the ball, you were on the team. I think I have related to you all that my current running is a result of wanting to lose weight, which is the only way I have found to stay at a decent BMI. I did run some before my husband passed away, in order to keep from being obese. But, I gave it up for a while...lost a lot of weight from not eating anything unless I was about to pass out. I finally let my doctor prescribe antidepressant's, but didn't want to have to stay on those forever, so started running to improve my mental health naturally. After about 6 months, I was able to get off of those. Now I am running for both my mental and physical health. After having such a good outcome from my heart surgery, in part due to being is such good shape from training for a HM, I am a big advocate for being as active as possible for as long as possible.

Teresa502

I ran 3 miles on the gym treadmill this evening after our day in Athens.

Changing of the Guards at Parliament
The Acropolis - Pantheon
Two small town girls in the big city.

Teresa502

Question of the month - I hated running in high school gym class. When I was 47 years old a coworker and I started C25k. A couple of weeks into the program she discovered she was pregnant so I continued on by myself. My first race was the YWCA Turkey Trot. I didn’t pre-register because I was afraid I would chicken out. When I registered that morning the lady at the registration table, in a very loud voice, yelled to the guy putting together the race packet that she had a runner registering (twice) and I remember feeling like such an imposter. I ran the race though and got the shirt. After that I signed up for a 10K training program with my local Fleet Feet to keep me motivated through the winter.And after that a HM program. I have made so many running friends from these beginning programs.

quilteryoyo

Great dedication @Teresa502 . Those guards have to be limber. You're looking good. It is interesting how one decision can change the rest of your life.

1 Sept - Walked 2.25 miles - Ran 0.00 miles - Treadmill
2 Sept - Walked 1.00 miles - Ran 2.00 miles - Driveway laps

5.25/70 mile goal

I wasn't feeling the best this morning and thought I was just being lazy. After I got myself up and out for the run, I was really expecting to maybe just walk a mile. Once I got started, it felt pretty good, so I walked 0.36 miles for warm up then ran/walked about 0.3/0.15 miles to 2.36 miles, and then walked the rest.

I did have tummy issues at the 2.15 mile mark. Fortunately, I was finishing up a lap, so made it to the bathroom in time. I guess I wasn't just being lazy after all.

Wish me luck with jury duty orientation tomorrow morning.

tarun_yadavA

Evening all
I forgot to post today!
6.24M at 10"04.

@Teresa502 loving the pics! And well done on getting in a treadmill sesh!
PS: are you really tall? Or is your friend short?

@SummerSkier voluntarily... 40.
2020 during Covid lockdowns when gyms had to close. Didn't want to get fat, so [re]Learned how to run!
But similar to @Laurz9191 - had to do it for PE as a teen. But that wasn't really voluntarily!

Scott6255

@SummerSkier I started running WAAAY back when I turned 50. I had always had asthma as a kid, so I didn't really run if I didn't have to. Did a little in P.E. and soccer, but as an adult I just did fast walking. One day I thought "Seems like it would be easier to run slow than walk fast". So I jogged a mile. It actually did seem easier. So I began doing that regularly and slowly increased miles and the speed increased naturally. I still have asthma attacks every now and then, but it's manageable with OTC meds.

Was planning to do my recovery run outside this morning, but as I was foam rolling my left calf hurt really bad, so I decided to just TM it. Didn't hurt at all. 🤷‍♂️

AlphaHowls

This months' question for everyone. At what age did you first lace up some sneakers and try a run? And what was your inspiration?

I was never considered an athlete all through childhood and high school. Football and cheerleading were the thing and if you did not do those, you would not even be considered. I was mostly normal weight until my 30's.

I joined MFP July 9, 2015. Age 44
223 lbs. Obese class II
I started walking as my exercise.

I reached 'normal' weight by December 2015 (150 lbs.)
By April 2016, I would walk for miles a day. One of the neighbors asked me one day as I went by, "Are you a runner?"
ME: "oh no, not me, I do not run." as all those thoughts of 'runners' and how great they looked and how much I admired running went through me. That day, it hit..."why not"
April 2016, I started walk/runs, slowly building. Once I started 'running' I would repeat over and over, "don't stop" very slow, all around the neighborhoods. One day a runner sidled up to me and said, "can I run with you?"
ME: "oh no! I am way too slow, I have seen you and your friend, I cannot keep up."
The runner: "it's fine, I will stay in step with you."
This runner had seen me walking and just started chatting, invited me to run with her and her friends on Saturdays. At first, I did not, knowing I could not keep up. When she was alone, I would try.

May 2016 - First race, 10K...1st place in my age group

To date: I have never signed up to run a 5 K
I have never done a running or training plan. I have not read how to rest or buy shoes. I get hurt, I have accidents. I get up and I run.

The runner who spoke to me that day....you know her as "Running Partner A."

I have always wanted to run long distance. Not much into racing although I will sign up for one at least once a year.

Today: I am 53 years old and 130 lbs. I run long distance daily.


9/1 16.16 miles, County Line and Around
9/2 16.33 miles, County Line and Around

martaindale

This months' question for everyone. At what age did you first lace up some sneakers and try a run? And what was your inspiration?

I started running for real in 2018. I had started losing weight and walking regularly. Eventually I needed a challenge and I thought I would love to be fit enough to just run a 5k a few times a week. I started with C25k and got hooked. I moved on to a 10k then HM and beyond. While running probably does help me manage my weight, that's not the reason I run. These days I run for my mental and physical well-being and to make sure I am doing all I can to age well.

Like some others I did forced running in school and a couple of failed starts with running where I was pushing too much and hated it. I found this group early in my latest start with running and I credit the folks here with keeping me going early on. All the advice and encouragement made it possible for me to stick with it long enough to actually get hooked.

quilteryoyo

@tarun_yadavA Great run. @Teresa502 is tall.

@Scott6255 Nice job on the TM run. I'm glad it didn't make your calf hurt. I hope a day off of the asphalt is all it needs.

Amazing background @AlphaHowls ! Very inspiring.

martaindale

Sept total: 6.6/115 miles
YTD: 681.4/1200 miles

9/2: 6.6 miles

I'm still working on transitioning back to continuous running. It was pretty hot this morning and I forgot to put my hydration pack in the freezer overnight, so it was a bit tougher today. But, I only took three very short walk breaks and managed to keep my heart rate pretty low. I don't think I needed the breaks from a cardiovascular perspective but rather it was more of a mental thing.

I have a HM later this month, but it's an experienced race, not a race race. I will be going to the New Jersey shore to tick off another state.

I chose a HM in March as my A race. It will be in South Carolina and the course looks like a good option to try for a new PR. I have several races planned before then, but for one reason or another they aren't great options for trying for a new PR. I'm going to Arkansas in November, which involves running up a mountain. I'm doing a Disneyland race weekend (CA) with my friend so we will be doing her walk-run intervals. Then I'm doing rock and roll Las Vegas in late Feb. The course is probably super flat, but every picture I have seen of that race is super crowded. I have a feeling my pace will be determined by the people around me. But, maybe they'll have pace groups and that could actually be a good race for a PR. By the end of February I should be in really good shape, so if it looks possible I'll likely try to race RnR too.