The February 2016 Running Challenge

@9voice9 - Glad the surgery was a success! Feel better soon!
@Elise4270 - Yikes! Be careful!
@moyer566 and @kristinegift - I had that sleep/bed issue too. Was going to go to my Trek class, but rough night of sleep for both my wife and I combined with a greyhound who thought he needed to go out twice overnight and I begged off. Might run this evening.
@WhatMeRunning - Amen! February has been ugly all around...

Virkati wrote: »

@MorningGhost14 OMG that's beautiful! Looks like it would kill me though

I am fully anticipating that it will kill me as well. A 40 hour cut-off is incredibly intimidating.

moyer566 wrote: »

MorningGhost14 wrote: »

This is where my October race is being run...

@MorningGhost14 take me with you

Ok.... You can pick from 25k, 50k, 100k or 100 mile distances. I can guarantee you that it will not sell out...lol. It is ranked as the second or third most difficult course on the East Coast. My brother and his running partner have registered for the 100 mile distance (only 16 registrants so far). I wanted to shoot for the 100k distance, but they won't hear it.

I got so lost on my run today, it was more than twice the distance I set out to run I did at least run it very slowly, so hopefully it won't impact my 10km race time on Saturday. I'm so annoyed at myself!

@MorningGhost14 That looks beautiful! Should be plenty of gorgeous views to keep you entertained en route.
@9voice9 Glad your surgery went well, and I hope the healing process is trouble-free.
@Elise4270 Glad to hear it isn't as bad as first thought. Fingers crossed you recover quickly!

So many people sidelined at the moment! I feel your pain, that was me this time last year. Weirdly though, I've actually enjoyed the process of getting back to it after being out for so long. It's like being a new runner all over again and breaking new post-injury/surgery PBs every other run. I definitely enjoy running more this side of being ill/injured than I did before!

2nd February - 40 mins cross-train
4th February - 3.30 miles
5th February - 35 mins cross-train
8th February - 3.20 miles
10th February - 3.14 miles (dreadmill)
11th February - 3.26 miles
12-14th February - away
15th February - 7.04 miles
16th February - 30 mins cross-train
17th February - 2.18 miles (dreadmill) + 15 mins cross-train
20th February - 3.09 miles
21st February - 8.39 miles
23rd February - 3.07 miles
25th February - 5.74 miles

MTD - 42.41/50miles

Upcoming races:
27th Feb - Richmond Park 10km
19th Mar - Spring Riverside 10km
3rd Apr - Paddock Wood Half Marathon
8th May - Run Hackney Half Marathon

Feeling totally inadequate as I look at all y'all with your list of 10-15 races for this year...and I have to yet to book my first

@Ohhim, Thanks for the wise words. I need to remember that. Short term rests are much better than long term injuries. The marathon is my first so I'll be guaranteed a PR as long as I finish.
@9voice9 congrats to your son! We have, or used to have, someone on these threads who lives in Japan but I can't recall who it was.
@Elise4270 OUCH!
@Stoshew71 I should have explained my reasoning better for the biking followed by the running. I was thinking about two benefits...teaching your body to burn fat, and learning to run the late miles while fatigued, without having to run the whole time, hopefully reducing injury and recovery time since the load is spread to other muscle groups.
@MobyCarp on my longest run yet, 18 miles, I successfully ran the last 4 miles at my goal HM pace. I was friggin' thrilled that I was able to do it and it game me a huge confidence boost going into the race 3 weeks later.
@MorningGhost14, I think if I saw those hills I'd abandon society and live in a shack somewhere up there.
@virkati, YES!! Progress kicks *kitten*!

WhatMeRunning wrote: »

GBrady43068 wrote: »

Feeling totally inadequate as I look at all y'all with your list of 10-15 races for this year...and I have to yet to book my first

I may have a running disorder.

FIFY

Well I decided to skip the run tonight and work instead. I found out the project schedules for a few more projects and it's looking like I'll be buried until mid April at the earliest. grrrrr....Hopefully this will be the only week that my running is affected. I think, though, that if it weren't for my knee I'd go running anyway.

Saturday will be my next run, and with temps skyrocketing to the mid 50's, it will be my first run in shorts this year. Watch out drivers, these white legs will be BRIGHT!!

4leighbee wrote: »

Struggled a bit today with my 5 miles but learned a couple of things about myself. At the risk of being completely ostracized here for being "a little too ... weird," I'll share.

(1) This lesson was learned during one of my wandering-brain-and-feeling-philosophical moments ... I really like to sweat. I mean, If I'm not drenched at the end of a run, I'm not satisfied. I think it might be another example of my need to control [everything]. I can't stand being sweaty when it's summer - I have no control over the weather. However, I purposefully create my sweaty self by running. So that's weird thing #1.

@4leighbee, I have no idea where the "too weird" part of your post is, but I total agree with you on sweating. I sweat like a horse and don't much care for hot humid weather, but one thing I really missed in my fall and winter running was coming home completely drenched in sweat. Last summer I tried tried to time my run on cooler days or after sundown, but this summer, I'm takin' on that heat!

7lenny7 wrote: »

4leighbee wrote: »

Struggled a bit today with my 5 miles but learned a couple of things about myself. At the risk of being completely ostracized here for being "a little too ... weird," I'll share.

(1) This lesson was learned during one of my wandering-brain-and-feeling-philosophical moments ... I really like to sweat. I mean, If I'm not drenched at the end of a run, I'm not satisfied. I think it might be another example of my need to control [everything]. I can't stand being sweaty when it's summer - I have no control over the weather. However, I purposefully create my sweaty self by running. So that's weird thing #1.

@4leighbee, I have no idea where the "too weird" part of your post is, but I total agree with you on sweating. I sweat like a horse and don't much care for hot humid weather, but one thing I really missed in my fall and winter running was coming home completely drenched in sweat. Last summer I tried tried to time my run on cooler days or after sundown, but this summer, I'm takin' on that heat!

I agree on the sweating. I remember recess as a kid seeing sweat roll down the boys faces, the soaked ashy brown hair. I'd wipe my forehead and sides wondering where my sweat was.

Yesterday I changed out of my quick 3 mile run capris and was pleasantly pleased with the sweat soaked waist band.

Guess I've always had sweat envy. Your not weird. (I may be).

@4leighbee - I also agree on the sweating. In the awfully, humid days of Florida when I would come home from run, even at 5am, I would be drenched all the way to the tips of my braids (yeah, I run in braids). Since it's been cooler the past couple months, my hair stays dry and I wonder if I worked hard enough.

@MorningGhost14 - Beautiful picture. I can't imagine running that. I might as well run up the Alps. I look at a little slight incline and think "oh no, a mountain"!

@WhatMeRunning - IDK what separates the two, but I like to call myself a runner, even if I am slow. Still so excited to call myself a runner!

@7lenny7 - lol - bright legs! I have a permanent biking/running tan. Bathing suit looks weird.

February Running Totals (miles)
[1/31 – 14.01 easy with hills]
2/1 – 6.08 easy + 4 strides
2/2 – 9.73 warm up, speed work, cool down
2/3 – 6.30 group run
2/4 – 11.04 long speed work
2/5 – scheduled rest day
2/6 – 15.00 long speed work
Weekly total 62.16 vs. target 62

2/7 – 11.35 easy 1.5 hour
2/8 – 5.96 easy + 4 strides
2/9 – 11.08 warm up, speed work, cool down
2/10 – 6.01 easy
2/11 – 11.75 warm up, speed work, cool down
2/12 – scheduled rest day
2/13 – 22 on inside track
Weekly total 68.15 vs. target 68

2/14 – 12.64 easy 100 minutes
2/15 – 6.06 easy
2/16 – unplanned rest day – Winter Storm Olympia
2/17 – 9.53 long speed work
2/18 – 14 long speed work
2/19 – 4.03 easy instead of planned rest day
2/20 – 10.18 easy + 6 light workout
Weekly total 62.43 vs. target 62

2/21 – 9.83 warmup, 2 x 5K at MP, cooldown
2/22 – 6.10 easy + 4 strides
2/23 – 10.20 warm up, speed work, cool down
2/24 – rescheduled rest day
2/25 – 7.57 aborted speed work due to head cold
2/26 – extra rest day

February total to date – 212.43

Goal – 62 or 68 miles per week, per training plan
Expected February total - 262 to 265 miles

Today's notes – Today's less is in making adjustments for circumstances. Yesterday I was tired, it was raining all day, and I had errands to run to keep my household running with adequate food in the refrigerator. So I rescheduled my rest day from Friday to Wednesday, got my errands run, got to bed early, and soaked up almost 9 hours of sleep.

Today I woke up to day 2 of a head cold. As colds go, this one isn't a particularly big deal. I've had colds like this that were helped a lot by running 6 or 8 miles at near freezing temperatures with relatively dry air. But that's not the weather I got today. By the time I had time to run, it was beginning to snow. The forecast was for falling temperatures and accumulating snow, and the conditions looked favorable for black ice developing during the time I would run. Between the weather, and the cold, and the fact that today's assignment called for running a lot at MP and some at T, I decided to take it indoors and run in Lane 5 of the track, at 7 laps to the mile.

The assignment was 2 miles at E, 2 x (4 miles at MP, 1 mile at T), 1 mile at E. I have done the core of this workout once before outside, only starting with 3 miles E and ending with 2 miles E; so I pretty much knew it was a tough workout. Got started a bit early, because it was supposed to be a 13 mile continual run. The point is to hold as close as possible to the assigned paces, running neither too fast nor too slow.

Ran the 2 miles at E, toward the fast end of my E range. Okay. Ran the next 4 miles at MP, consistently near the fast end of my MP range. Okay, I'll run a bit faster on a track than on the road. Ran the next mile at T, and brought it in right about where I want T to be on the track. Started around again, and the first 3 laps of MP were right on where my MP pace had been for the first 4 mile interval.

Then half a mile into the second MP interval, things fell apart. I wasn't feeling so hot, and thought about quitting after a mile of MP. Then I felt my cold trying to move down into my chest, and I could tell if I kept up any significant distance at MP I was going to make myself sicker. So I quit after 4 laps, or 0.57 miles into the second MP interval.

Coach asked how it went. I asked him how to adjust for being sick. We talked about what I did and how I felt. He said, "You're done. You've done a tough workout, and extra rest is going to help you more than working harder right now." The adjusted plan is to take an extra rest day tomorrow and then see how I feel on Saturday.

I was reminded of the discussion here about training plans. I have a training plan. It's a good plan. But sometimes even good plans need to be adjusted for reality. This is scheduled to be a peak mileage week. I won't hit the target miles this week, which means I won't hit my estimated mileage for February. That's okay, because hitting the arbitrary mileage numbers isn't the most important thing right now. The most important thing is recovering from this cold without injuring myself, so I can get back to running the way I'd like to.

After I talked to Coach, I chatted with a few other club members. Bill asked me, "How are you doing on Goal 1?" Yes, I had told Bill that running Boston was my Number 2 goal for 2016. Number 1 is staying uninjured. I thought about it, and told Bill my running chain is fine, I just have a cold. "That's okay. Colds come and go, but injury is harder to recover from."

And there's the solution to most of the gripes @Stoshew71 has with canned running plans. You need to take them out of the can, and sometimes adjust for reality. As it turned out, I'd already figured out what I was going to do to adjust; but Coach's blessing eliminates a lot of second guessing on my part.

I paid for membership in the club. I paid for 3 months of access to the indoor track. Getting personalized advice from the coach who wrote the plan is Worth. Every. Penny. And conversations with other runners, some of whom have run a lot more marathons than I have, are an added bonus.

Upcoming races:
March 12, 2016 Johnny's Runnin' of the Green 5 mile (Rochester, NY)
March 26, 2016 Spring Forward Distance Run 15K (Mendon, NY)
April 18, 2016 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA)

WhatMeRunning wrote: »

Looks like an unplanned rest day. My oblique muscle is a LOT better but I still feel it on certain movements. After doing a little bit of Dr. Google and coming to the clear concensus that I am going to die, I am also going to keep my planned rest day tomorrow to heal for 2 days before attempting a run on Saturday. Saturday is supposed to be a long run but I will cut that down and skip the long run this week. Hopefully I will be able to run each day as scheduled next week without it feeling any worse.

This post is so full of sense and win. Good plan, @WhatMeRunning

LOL! Funny post, @Virkati

Funny you should say that. I've cancelled doing my Body Balance class today because in the past it's killed me, and I have my event tomorrow.

Having recovered from my recent painful hip tendon, back facet joint impingement, and, hopefully from my "Baker's cyst" on the back of my knee, I don't want any more drama!

ereck44 wrote: »

ereck44 wrote: »

ereck44 wrote: »

ereck44 wrote: »

ereck44 wrote: »

ereck44 wrote: »

ereck44 wrote: »

February goal 40 miles.
3.36 miles on February 3rd, 3.42 miles on February 4th. Trying to run 10 miles per week,unfortunately on the treadmill this month. Total is 6.78 miles so far.
HM on 5/7.

2/8 3.9 miles. Total is 10.68 miles

2/9 3.84 miles. Total is 14.52----1/3 of the way to goal.

2/11 4.39 miles. Total is 15.08. Getting more fit. 2.5 minutes to recover after pushing myself to 93% max heart rate.

2/15 4.52 miles. Total is 19.6. All on the treadmill with 1% incline.

2/20 8 miles, running outdoors on a local trail. 27.6 miles total.
Very sore hips, esp the right after the 4th miles.

2/22 4.1 miles on the treadmill, needed to work out the soreness after Saturday. 31.7 miles for the month; only need 8.3 miles for my goal of 40 miles.

2/24 3.98 miles on the treadmill. Noted that my fitness has improved in 3 weeks time. Improved to 13:02 miles/minute at 85% or less max heart rate, improved from 15:00 on February 3rd. Total for the month is 35.68 miles, goal is 40 miles. Need to run 4.32 miles tomorrow night to finish this out and reach goal.

Ultimate goal is the mini-marathon in Indy on May 7th, 100th anniversary of Indy 500. Going to try to run 4 HM this year and maybe a couple of 10 K's. Trying to fit them into my schedule.

2/25 6 miles. Ran outside in snow flurries, really a lot of fun but couldn't relax for some reason. Muscles behind both knees tightened in final mile. Pace was 14:38. Just tried to stay in 80-84% range on heart monitor. Afterward crashed.....so exhausted. Later hit the gym for 30 minutes of weight training and 35 minutes on stationary bike. The bike really helped with tight hamstrings.

Met February goal of 40 miles with grand total 41.68 miles. Hooray!!!!

@Stoshew71 @MobyCarp @WhatMeRunning @kristinegift @_nikkiwolf_ and everyone else who chimed in on the long run discussion. I am so fascinated with this topic, as this is the exact scenario I am struggling with at the moment. I am doing my first marathon in July, and I have one of those 18 week plans @Stoshew71 critiqued! I have extended the plan out to 27 weeks to give myself a bit more time to build mileage, but there is no way I will have time to build the mileage to support a 32km long run if I try to use the 25-30% of weekly mileage rule.

And I will also be violating the 2 1/2 hr to 3 hr rule almost every week until my marathon, because I am running slowly (7 1/2 to 8 mins/km), and hence covering the distances slowly. My issue is that if I only get to a total distance of 23-24 km for my long run because that represents 3 hrs of running, then that is nowhere near the time or distance I will require to run the marathon, and how on Earth will I be able to run for another 2 hours on race day! It does not add up for me. I guess I agree with @WhatMeRunning and others about the psychological benefit of doing that 32 km long run, even if it is 4 hours of running. And I also agree with @WhatMeRunning that you can probably go longer doing slow/easy running with less stress to the body. This is what I am hoping anyway.

My husband also says he would not run longer than 3 hrs in his longest run, but he runs sub-3 hr marathons, so that means his longest training run is actually a longer time than he will be out there running his marathon! I think the rules based on elite runners don't necessarily apply to your average first-timer who may be out there for 4 1/2 to 5+ hrs on race day. These are my thoughts as someone training for a first marathon. I want to cover as much distance as possible in training to see what it feels like to be on my feet for 4+ hours, so I will be prepared on race day.

2/01: 3 miles, easy, 8:36 pace + 45 min x-training + core
2/02: 5 miles, tempo, 8:22 pace + 40 min x-training
2/03: 5 miles, speedwork (4x800m at 5K pace) + 45 min strength training + core
2/04: Off, 45 min x-training
2/05: 4 miles, easy, 8:40 pace
2/06: 5 miles, 3 miles at race pace (averaged 7:43) with warm up/cool down + 55 min strength training + core
2/07: 8 miles, long and easy, 8:39 pace
2/08: 3 miles, easy, 8:40 pace + 45 min x-training + core
2/09: 5 miles, speedwork, (6x2 minutes at 5K pace with 2 minutes recovery jog between)
2/10: 4 miles, easy, 8:54 pace + 45 min strength training + core
2/11: 1 mile, quick, 6:52 pace + 45 min x-training
2/12: 5 miles, easy, 8:45 pace
2/13: 5 miles, speedwork (1 mile/800m/2x400m at 5K pace) + 55 min strength training
2/14: 9 miles, long and easy, 8:34 pace
2/15: 3.5 miles, easy, 8:46 pace + 25 min x-training
2/16: 5 miles, tempo, 8:11 pace
2/17: 6 miles, super easy, 8:57 pace + 45 min x-training + core
2/18: 5.5 miles, speedwork (5x800m at 5K pace) + 50 min strength training + core
2/19: Rest day - preparing for my 5K race tomorrow
2/20: 2.5 mile warm up + 5K race (22:05 - new PR!)
2/21: 11 miles, long and easy + core
2/22: 6 miles, easy + 50 min strength training + core
2/23: 5 miles, tempo (2 miles at LTP)
2/24: 6 miles, easy + 30 min x-training + core (am)
2/24: 3 miles, easy (pm)
2/25: 6 miles, speedwork (5x800m at 6:45 pace with 400m recovery) + 40 min strength training
2/26: Rest day - flying to LA for a scientific conference!!!
Total: 126.58 miles

Recap:
Got a lot of snow here yesterday so the track was (once again) unusable. Which means today’s run was interval training on the treadmill torture device. 1.5 mile warm up; 5x800m at 6:45 pace with 400m recovery between; 1 mile cool down. Followed of course by 40 minutes of strength training. By the end of this workout I was ready to die haha. Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow!

I'm going to be in LA the next 6 days for the Biophysical Society annual meeting, so it's going to be a challenge to get all my runs in! It seems like I'll be doing a lot of treadmill running while I'm there because the hotel/conference is in the heart of downtown and it doesn't look like there is anywhere good to run nearby (according to google maps). I'll scope it out better once I'm there though! By any chance, is anyone on here familiar with any good places to run in/near downtown LA??





Upcoming races:
3/12 - Leprechaun Leap (5K)
3/20 - Excalibur 10 Miler
3/26 - Chicago Quarter Marathon
4/09 - Chi Town Half Marathon
5/28 - Soldier Field Run (10 miles)