May 2015 Running Challenge

6 easy miles this morning to see what getting a few miles in the day after a long run is like. Felt fine the whole way and still feel good. I may have been able to do 8 or 10 easy but I'm resisting such temptations to add too many miles too quickly. The 18.9 miles from this weekend seems pretty big compared to my previous longest runs bein 13.1 miles.

5/2 - 6.07 miles
5/4 - 3 miles
5/5 - 3.01 miles
5/6 - 3.02 miles
5/9 - 13.1 miles 2:37:20.4 new PR
5/11 - 3.04 miles
5/16 - 13.1 miles 2:53:02
5/19 - 3.06 miles
5/20 - 3.01 miles
5/21 - 3.1 miles
5/23 - 12.8 miles
5/24 - 6.1 miles

@isulo_kura - Still can't believe you ran in a week almost what I have run for the entire month! Blows me away!!
@skippygirlsmom - that hill looks brutal and in a 5k wow! I hope you, @Stoshew71 and @CodeMonkey78 conquer that hill and do awesome tomorrow!
@SBRRepeat - Awesome race and so great to have your dad waiting for you at the finish! Love the picture - he looks so proud!
@WhatMeRunning - Great idea to run to your dad's and really nice that he lives so close by that you can do that!
@jtarmom - Have a great time with your half!
@_nikkiwolf_ - I don't buy different brands of running socks anymore. I wear smartwool, they work for me. I have learned the hard way and spent to much money trying different ones that look interesting or promise no blisters, etc., etc.. Nope...

The pup did better yesterday at agility, not sure if he was tired from our 7 mile run in the morning or what - he ran amok his first event again and the second event he took off after the 2nd obstacle, amazingly came back to me and finished a flawless run. All the while I was thinking 'holy crap he is doing this' as I was running to keep up with him! He qualified and took 3rd in his height category. Needless to say I was SO excited! Today is a well earned rest day for both of us!

Date.......Miles......Total
05/01.....9.20.......9.20
05/02.....0.00.......9.20 - Rest
05/03.....4.33.....13.53
05/04.....6.42.....19.95 - Running with a friend
05/05.....0.00.....19.95 - Strength Training
05/06.....5.13.....25.08
05/07.....0.00.....25.08 - Travel day (flight cancellations, etc...)
05/08.....0.00.....25.08 - Extended travel day
05/09.....4.13.....29.21 - Treadmill
05/10.....0.00.....29.21
05/11.....5.25.....34.46 - Treadmill
05/12.....3.76.....38.22 - Treadmill
05/13.....0.00.....38.22 - Travel day
05/14.....7.51.....45.73 - + Strength Training
05/15.....0.00.....45.73 - unplanned rest for my tight hip
05/16.....8.17.....53.90
05/17.....2.74.....56.64 - Dog beach run
05/18.....7.10.....63.74 - Timed run + Strength Training
05/19.....6.55.....70.29
05/20.....0.00.....70.29
05/21.....5.57.....75.86 - + Strength Training
05/22.....4.63.....80.49 - + Agility Trial
05/23.....7.23.....87.72 - + Agility Trial
05/24.....0.00.....87.72 - Rest

5/7 - 2.25
5/12 - 3.25
5/16 - 3.75
5/17 - 1.5
5/20 - 3.0
5/22 - 2.25
5/24 - 3.0

6.0 to go

I was catching up reading blog posts today since our plans were canceled by problems at my husband's work. This is a great post from a runner I know and admire but had no idea what she had been through to get to where/what she is running today! She is pretty amazing, like several of my friends here who run through considerable pain and adversity!
https://thwisp.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/physical-shortcomings-dont-take-no-for-an-answer/

DATE...............MILES............TOTAL
5/1...................6.25.................6.25
5/2...................6.50...............12.75
5/3...................6.00...............18.75
5/4...................Weight training
5/5...................5.25...............24.00
5/6...................5.00...............29.00
5/7...................5.75...............34.75
5/8...................Weight training
5/9..................19.00..............53.75 (30k trail race)
5/10..................7.75..............61.50
5/11.................Weight training
5/12..................7.00..............68.50
5/14..................8.00..............76.50
5/16................14.50..............91.00
5/17..................7.00..............98.00
5/19..................7.00............105.00
5/20................13.00............118.00
5/23................10.00............128.00
5/24................10.00............138.00

5.50 today. I think it's time for me to focus on walking less...

50.73/75

Wow! @shanaber, that is an amazing story! Thanks for sharing it.

May goal 65 miles

5/1 3.32
5/2 3.34
5/3 3.18
5/4 rest
5/5 4.21
5/6 4.00
5/7 3.15
5/8 rest
5/9 6.16
5/10 4.01
5/11 strength training
5/12 snorkeling 3 hours
5/13 3.37
5/14 rest
5/15 3.47
5/16 3.8
5/17 3.0
5/18 snorkeling 3 hours
5/19 snorkeling 3 hours
5/20 5 miles on dreadmill (cause my legs are sore from all that snorkeling!)
5/21 3.07
5/22 lazy
5/23 2.57
5/24 3.79


Total 59.44


@shanaber : Give that pup a cookie!

(Ticker is my goal for 2015 and accumulation to date)

@shanaber - yay Hobbes!!!! Love that picture! The blog was really amazing. What people have done to prove their doctors wrong and overcome injuries is amazing -- @codemonkey78 is another amazing example.

Good luck to @skippygirlsmom, @CodeMonkey78, and @Stoshew71 with the hill and race!

@LoneWolfRunner -- looks like you are going past your goal this month! Wtg

Flying back home tomorrow so it will be a rest day.

74.38 as of 5/25. 75 was my goal for the month.

I have to say, I'm incredibly impressed by some of the miles people are logging. I don't know if I could ever be able to something like that. Well done everyone!

Good luck @7lenny7 - have fun even though it is cold and rainy!
@glossberg - hang around here long enough and you will catch the running bug and become addicted too! Many of us have not been running all that long and never thought we could accomplish what we have running, yet here we are!

Glossberg wrote: »

74.38 as of 5/25. 75 was my goal for the month.

I have to say, I'm incredibly impressed by some of the miles people are logging. I don't know if I could ever be able to something like that. Well done everyone!

@Glossberg It all adds up just before you know it you'll amaze yourself.

5/02/15 - 4.35 miles
5/03/15 - 9.38 miles
5/05/15 - 5 miles
5/07/15 - 3.16 miles
5/08/15 - 5.46 miles
5/09/15 - 5 miles
5/10/15 - 10 miles
5/12/15 - 5.02 miles
5/14/15 - 5 miles
5/16/15 - 5 miles
5/17/15 - 8.25 miles
5/19/15 - 4 miles
5/21/15 - 4.4 miles
5/23/15 - 11 miles
5/24/15 -4 miles

I'm a few pages late to respond to the 180 BPM music thing, but here's my suggestion: Adjust the tempo of your tunes with Audacity. It's a free mp3 editing program. I've been trying to work my way up to 180 BPM, but I seem stuck at 170. I could probably nudge that up a little, but I'm lazy about editing all my music. But it's SO much easier to edit than to find more than 2 songs that I like in the appropriate tempo range. Until you get used to it, your music may sound ...frenetic. I find that adds to the adrenaline and helps pump me up a bit more, if it doesn't just make me laugh. Some songs don't take well to being sped up that much.

SonicDeathMonkey80 wrote: »

Elise4270 wrote: »

@skippygirlsmom wow! Hill? Or mountain running! Way to build endurance!


Question for the community- do you ache when you rest a few days? I haven't run since Monday and I'm so achy. It just gets worse until I swim, walk or run.

If I rest for more than 3 days it means I am either injured or just raced a marathon. But yeah, creakiness is normal even after 1 day of rest. That's why shakeout runs are popular.

Thanks all. Shakeout runs sound like the way to go. Sounds cool, will keep me motivated. Shake it shake it aw aw... Its a song ya know. I can't sing.

I'm a bit envious of all the runs today! My husband is still injured (medial glute strain-that he won't accept). So he's not up for races... I may have to go it alone.. There is a sprint tri I wanted to do that's girls only.. I may take advantage of the opportunity and sign up.

Anxious to hear all the days results...

WhatMeRunning wrote: »

@7lenny7 - Good luck and let us know your results!

Number one, I had a GREAT time and I learned a few things in the process. It was second 5k, but my first timed 5k, and it's only been 16 days since I even started running. There was light rain but it quit just as we pulled up into the parking lot.

The short version: I ran the course in 31:23.55, a new PR compared my training time by a full minute. A bit short of my goal of 31:00, but I'm happy.

The long version: I had great support. My wife got out of bed so she could be there with me and my daughter left me a sweet note of encouragement which I carried in my pocket.

My first mistake was drinking too much water the night before and that morning. I woke up twice to go to the bathoom, went twice just before the race, and felt like I had to go about 30 seconds after the race started. I also ate too much before the race. I got up 2 hours before race time and had a slice of toast, 1 tbsp of peanut butter, and a banana. I would have been better off with just a banana. Between my bladder and my stomach, I wasn't feeling at my peak.

The race had a quiet start. I'm there chatting with another racer and all of a sudden the pack starts to move. No shotgun start, no "Ready Set GO", no anything that we heard and with only 286 entrants, it was not a big crowd. I had put myself about 60% of the way back because in just about every 5k results list I've seen, my time would put me in the middle. As we start going, it seemed like everyone is surging past me and I'm taken up in the rush for 30 seconds or so. I remember that I need to run my race and kicked it back down to an 11' pace. Runners continued to stream by, but I didn't take the bait. I ended up passing many of those folks later on.

My total times at the 1 and 2 mile marks were 10:40 and 21:00. It sure didn't feel like I was running that fast. I thought about stepping up my pace at 2.75 miles, but I just didn't have it in me. Around 2.9 I felt like I could give it a final kick and hit a really nice stride. Damn that felt good! I passed several folks in that stretch and was regretting not starting the final sprint earlier. Not that I cared about how I placed, I just wanted to push myself and do my best.

The race coordinators screwed up and it cost some runners, particularly one who may have taken first otherwise. The course they showed online was not the course that we ran. Part of the path was washed out and they had to extend another part by making it an out and back. The first running missed that (NO indication at all that I could see) and turned early. He "finished" in 14 minutes and was pissed. When I reached that point I misunderstood what was going on and took the early turn, but quickly realized my mistake and went back. It added no more than 5 or 6 seconds to my time. I heard several others grumbling about it later. They really did need to have it better defined.

Next time I'll eat and drink less ahead of the race, and pay more attention at the start. Other than that, I'm happy with the way things went. Now I just want to run, run and run some more. Would it be bad to run a couple of miles tonight?

I should have smiled as I crossed: