October 2015 Running Challenge

Hill Day: 8 km run with the Local Running club. I am the turtle in the group so left the Java Café 20 mins ahead of everyone else - was passed by everyone just after peaking out and starting the Downhill part of the loop. They continued on to catch 2 more peaks and about 20km total for them. Enjoying every minute on the trails as very soon we will be winter bound/snow bound to the maintained trails around the town- better than the dreadmill - not as nice as a bush trail. This afternoon I am off to improve the marking on a few Bush Trails so will get about 10 km of Hiking/Brush clearing as a secondary workout.

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10/04 – 7.1 Km – 7.1 Km
10/05 – 7.0 Km –14.1 Km
10/07 – 12.5 Km –26.6 Km
10/10 – 16.8 Km –43.4 Km
10/15 – 9.96 Km – 53.36 Km
10/16 –11.5 Km – 64.86 Km
10/18 –10.0 Km – 74.86 Km
10/23 –10.0 Km – 84.86 Km
10/24 –12.0 Km – 96.86 Km
10/25 –8.0 Km –104.86 Km – Goal + 4.86 Km
10/27 –11.5 Km –116.36 Km – Goal + 16.36 Km
10/28 –7.5 Km –123.86 Km – Goal + 23.86 Km
10/30 –10 Km –133.86 Km – Goal + 33.86 Km
10/31 –8 Km –141.86 Km – Goal + 41.86 Km – YTD – 8 + 371.16 = 379.16Km

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@snha Enjoy the run with the group. Hope your group is as amazing as mine. You will find that most groups are made up of people with different paces so you should fit into one of the mini-groups within the group.
@skippygirlsmom Inspirational the way you sacrificed a bit of your Spooktacular 5K to encourage a new runner.
See everyone in November's Challenge. Happy Trails.

10/1, 3 miles
10/2, 5.2 miles
10/3, 14 miles
10/4, yoga for runners
10/5, Zumba
10/6, 4.75 miles
10/7, 5.2 miles
10/8, 8 miles
10/9, rest
10/10, local 5K here in Maine, finished in 25:31!!
10/11, 6 mile hike
10/12, 1 mile
10/13, Zumba and yoga for runners
10/14, 7.6 miles
10/15, 5.0 miles
10/16, 3.5 miles
10/17, 10 miles
10/18, 3.6 miles
10/19, 5.2 miles
10/20-21, rest (got some short walks in but that was it)
10/22, 2.5 hour Zumba challenge at work for breast cancer awareness - I know this has nothing to do with running but it was pretty awesome!
10/23, another walk/rest
10/24, 5.0 miles
10/25, 8.0 miles
10/26-27, walks
10/28, 4.2 very slow miles
10/29, Zumba and a walk
10/30, rest
10/31, 13.1 miles. The half was absolutely gorgeous. It was in the Northern Kingdom of Vermont. A chilly (25 degrees) but beautiful run through the rolling hills of Vermont. At least that's what they are called - it was a hilly course with 3000' feet in elevation change. 60% dirt roads; we went over 3 covered bridges, saw lots of cows, horses, pigs and goats! I went slow, my slowest time ever on a half but enjoyed the day! And the soup and chocolate milk at the end!

Goal: 100 miles. Total 109.45 miles!!!!

I don't have the official numbers yet, but my rough calculation puts me at 1:06:35 for 6.34 miles, or a 10:30 pace, which is a little faster than I planned to be/thought I would be (I was aiming at 11:00/mile). I had fun! Didn't have any @skippygirlsmom stories but it was a good day!

Of course, since it's my first, it's automagically a PB!

October goal 75 miles

10/1 big fat...REST day
10/2 3.15
10/3 4
10/4 7.55
10/5 rest
10/6 4
10/7 4.14
10/8 snorkel 3 hours
10/9 rest
10/10 6.17
10/11 lazy
10/12 3.25
10/13 5.68
10/14 3.33
10/15 rest
10/16 storm
10/17 3.26
10/18 deeply unmotivated....and too busy watching football..
10/19 7.15
10/20 snorkel 3 hours
10/21 3.35
10/22 life day
10/23 8.12
10/24 Halloween Party!
10/25 3.54
10/26 3.23
10/27 rest
10/28 5.58
10/29 heavy duty cleaning for our arriving snowbird guest house residents..
10/30 3.71
10/31 4.56

Upcoming races:
10/31 BIM Halloween Run 5k
11/7 Sunrise Athletics 10k
11/15 Las Vegas RocknRoll 1/2 marathon
3/20 Big Island International 1/2 marathon

Total 82.77

Ticker is my goal for 2015 and accumulation to date:

Stoshew71 wrote: »

LSD today, 22 miles in 3:09:11 at 8:35 avg pace. 10 miles at or below GMP, then 1 mile recovery, then 9 miles at or below 9:00 then 2 miles c/d. Took a lot out of me today. HUNTSVILLE HALF MARATHON in 2 weeks on Nov 14, then it's ROCKET CITY MARATHON: on December 12th. It's getting close.


My wife and daughter raced in today's Spooktacular 5K. Skip and @skippygirlsmom also raced. It was nice seeing them. Shall I share the pic @skippygirlsmom with the group that we took? Lot's of neat costumes. I should have took more pics. The one good thing about running in the fall is that I don't have to get up at 4:30 to run on Saturday morning. I could actually do my run after my wife and daughter's race. Although I did have to take a 2 hour nap after running for 3 hours. lol

@stoshew71 definitely post the picture. I don't have the one with you in it since you took that one on my phone.
Some people went all out that's for sure!

Thanks everyone, it was actually good to have him to talk to because it took my mind off what I was doing. At the end I hugged him and Skip said "Momma did you kiss that man" LOL I guess from her angle it looked like it. Then I saw a picture that the race photographer posted and it does looked like we kissed ha ha

@snha Have fun with the running group! Let me know how you go.. I've been thinking of joining the local 5k park run group each Saturday too!

@5BeautifulDays The fact that you don't let your dog too far from you on a leash is really good! You are being responsible and honestly, I don't hold anything against the animals.. They act on instinct and I imagine anyone running towards them that they don't know would be confronting. I wish the other runners around here who run with dogs would do the same, re holding the leash in a way that the dog can't stray far from them, like you do!

I love dogs.. lol I just think they see me as a chew toy!

I'm finally settling down after a fantastic, whirlwind day. First a race, then getting ready for my son's Halloween party, then spending time at a neighbor's party. I'm tired! But, first a lengthy race report. Jump to the end if you just want to hear the results.

The race was the Monster Dash Half Marathon in St. Paul. It was my first HM and the online race time predictors estimated that I'd finish in 2:02 based on a 26:32 time in a 5K in September. With another month of training my goal was 2:00 in spite of nearly two weeks of downtime for a camping trip and a hunting trip.

While I didn't get as much sleep as I wanted, I did get more sleep than I normally do. I woke up at 5:45am for a 8:30am race. I took the dog out and "oh *kitten*!". It was raining pretty hard and temp was in the low 40's. I love running in the rain, but I wasn't looking forward to an hour in the rain prior. I add a trash bag to my pile of stuff to bring.

Because of the rain I decide to leave 15 minutes later, figuring I won't be wandering around like I wanted to. I time it so we get there about 45 minutes early. My wife was dropping me off so I didn't have to deal with parking.

I head to the pace markers, surprised that my pace was so close to the start, only 60 yards or so from the start. Soon the pacers show up and I find the 1:55 gal. My strategy was to start at the back of that pace and let them get away from me. I figured if I planned to let them go, I wouldn't get caught up in the rush. Yeah right. I tossed my bag and extra clothes and found a spot to wait. The rain turned into a fine mist as the race started.

To take into account running over 13.1, I planned on a 9:00 pace, even splits, except for a two mile downhill section where I'd make up some time. My first mile was 8:44. Too fast! I tried to slow down. I set my pace based on effort, but in doing so, I kept up that pace. After a second mile at 8:52 and still feeling in control, I decided to go with it and run how I felt. I kept up that pace for the most part.

Around the 6 mile mark I was still a bit concerned about my fast pace and for about a half mile, I took a running rest and kicked it down to about 9:30-9:45, wanting to avoid hitting the wall. While I felt pretty good, my HR was in the low 160's whereas my goal was upper 150's. I got back to my earlier pace and kept that up until a long hill at 12 slowed me down just a bit.

Coming into the final half mile I still felt great and started increasing my pace until I was running a 7:10 pace as I crossed the finish line. I kept looking for my wife as I got close but she was not to be seen.

Final time...1:56:08!!!

My Garmin told me I finished at 1:55:38, so I was a bit confused. It wasn't until I got home that figured out I had set it or a 13.1 mile workout thinking it would keep ticking after I passed that but it must have stopped on it's own, 30 seconds short. The good news is that I calculated that I ran 13.16 miles, which means I did a great job running the line. I was pretty surprised and the number of runners staying in their "lane" There weren't a lot of turns, but when there was, I was on the tightest line I could, except when I'd move over to the side to high-five the kids.

It was a great day! Great weather, beautiful route, and lot of fun people. There was one disappointing part though. I mentioned that I didn't see my wife at the finish line. I had told her that the earliest I would cross would be 10:30am, thinking that it would take me at least 10 minutes to reach the start line and 1:50:00 would definitely be faster than I could run. I ended up crossing the finish at 10:28 and she was just getting there, so she missed me. I'm not sure who was more disappointed, me or her.

One thing that really surprises me is how hard I was able to run. My average HR was 162. If I use Daniel's training tables I get a Lactic Threshold range of 160-167. Either my estimate of max HR (182) is too low, or my training has greatly increased it. I'll have to do some research on that. In any case. I'm a bit shocked I could hold that for so long.

Here are my splits:

1 - 8:44
2 - 8:52
3 - 8:54
4 - 8:32 <-- downhill
5 - 8:43
6 - 8:58 <-- half mile running rest this mile into next
7 - 9:04
8 - 8:52
9 - 8:51
10 - 8:48
11 - 8:43
12 - 9:18 <-- two big hills
12 - 8:35

Final time: 1:56:08

October progress and goal: 121 out of 150 miles.

I almost forgot...I went the bag drop to drop off a string bag before the race. The volunteer wouldn't accept it. He said my stuff had to be in a clear bag but I could get one at a nearby tent. I said he could go through and inspect it but nope, he couldn't take it, mentioning something about the Boston Marathon and security measures.

So I go get the clear bag, take my bag and it put it into the clear bag, and somehow this was more secure?!?! It makes no sense to me, but I got my bag(s) taken care of.

@kareF, that's terrible about those dog owners! I must admit, I usually run with my lab off leash unless I"m in a busy area but I know that other runners and bikers have no idea how he'll react so if we cross paths I usually move well off the path or stop and have Kody heel tight to me.
@skippygirlsmom, congrats to you and Skip (and the guy your ran with!) Racking up more Fleet Feet gift cards...nice!!
@HealthyFocused715, sounds like a fantastic course. Congrats!!
@9voice9, way to go!!
@elise4270, great race!! I would definitely run for pancakes.
@ImpracticalGirl, great job on your half!!