March 2016 Running Challenge

3/1.....3.0 @ 10:40 on the TM, plus strength training
3/3....3.5 @ 11:25 on the TM
3/5....4.5 @ 10:33 on the TM ( .5 walking and 4 @ 10:00, which I think is my farthest distance at that speed)
3/8....4.5 @ 11:53 on the park trail
3/9...2.5 @ 15:00ish walking the world's fattest, most slothful dog
3/10...4.25 @ 11:37 on the rail trail near my house. It was so nice to be outside--and warm!--at 6 am!
3/11...3.00 @ 10:39 on the rail trail.

I'm happy with today's pace, but disappointed in my performance. My legs were fine, but my lungs were burning. I can't say I haven't put in the long, slow miles...so why is it still so hard to run fast? I have got to lose these last 20 lbs! Also, maybe the ladies will understand...for good support, the band of my sports bra has to be snug--but I feel like I can't expand my ribcage all the way to breathe properly. It's frustrating.

01-Mar: 0.00 miles but 6.14 miles (walk)
02-Mar: 0.00 miles but 5.73 miles (walk)
03-Mar: 2.10 miles plus 2.50 miles (walk)
04-Mar: 0.00 miles but 5.96 miles (walk)
05-Mar: 3.16 miles
06-Mar: <Life Day> but 6.87 miles
07-Mar: 3.87 miles
08-Mar: 4.93 miles
09-Mar: 4.30 miles
10-Mar: 3.28 miles plus 2.35 miles (walk)
11-Mar: 4.66 miles
12-Mar:
13-Mar: <Life Day>
14-Mar:
15-Mar:
16-Mar:
17-Mar:
18-Mar:
19-Mar:
20-Mar: <Life Day>
21-Mar:
22-Mar:
23-Mar:
24-Mar:
25-Mar:
26-Mar:
27-Mar: <Life Day>
28-Mar:
29-Mar:
30-Mar:
31-Mar:



Thinking of doing the Cherry Blossom (a week from tomorrow) as a 5K instead of the 10K. I'm not bouncing back, energy-wise, from the surgery like last year - I'd rather feel confident of finishing well than struggling to complete (tho I know I'd finish - no question there).

Any thoughts from my fellow addicts?

Upcoming Races:
19-Mar: Cherry Blossom 10K, Macon, GA
02-Apr: Run 2 End Alzheimer's 10.5K, Bonaire, GA
16-Apr: Running for Ronald 10K or 15K, Macon, GA
04-Jul: Peachtree Road Race 10K, Atlanta, GA

Mathsrunner wrote: »

11/3: 3.2 Miles

Love the ticker - is the finger pointing to where you are in the snake? LOL

Another 4 miles down. It took me a good 2.5 miles to get into my running groove. Right leg felt a little tight (less so than on Wednesday, and I didn't have to walk or stop to stretch this time around). Of course, as I neared the end of my run, everything finally limbered up and felt normal again.

Went straight for the foam roller as soon as I got back, focusing on quads and right calf area. I need to get better about remembering to actually use the stupid foam roller. I bought one (and the gym provides them) for a reason!

35.8 of 100 miles completed for the month.

Upcoming races:

3/20 - A2A Marathon (Ardmore, OK)
5/14 - Fleet Feet Half Marathon - Four Seasons Challenge #1 (Tulsa, OK)
7/4 - Firecracker 5K - Four Seasons Challenge #2 (Tulsa, OK)
9/17 - The Q Doubler - Quarter Marathon + 5K - Four Seasons Challenge #3 (Tulsa, OK)
11/5 - Jenks Half Marathon (Jenks, OK)
12/17 - Rudolph Run 5K - Four Seasons Challenge #4 (Tulsa, OK)

ceciliaslater wrote: »

@5BeautifulDays - I don't know what kind of sports bra you use, but I really like the ones that have individual formed cups, rather than just being the all-one-piece/seamless/tight all over kind. I have some like this that I love: Click me!

I feel like the individual support allows you to go a tad looser on the band. Plus, the fabric on those is super comfy... If you do decide to try that one, I'd recommend going up a band size if you're not on the smaller end of your size normally. I would normally wear a 34 band on the tightest setting, but these are pretty snug even on the loosest notch.

I do own one of those--I'm not sure if I've thought about it being better than the others I own since I normally wear it for yoga/strength training days, which are also lower mileage days. I normally wear the other Champion high-support ones, but you're right, they are sort of that "tube" shape. So are my Moving Comfort ones. I may need to trade the racerback (which I love) for a somewhat more generous band. I'm nervous about going looser, though, since the looser the bra the worse the chafing!

Thanks @Stoshew71 Decided not to go for it. Already ran, Sun, Mon, Wed this week, only because I ran Sun. Normal plan is starting to look like this:

M 3, T 3, Th,3, S,4

I really didn't need the run today, it's more that it got up to 50 and is perfectly sunny out. Settled on a quick walk instead.

Tomorrow will be an out of the ordinary run for me, I'm only going the distance I will be, to help me gauge where I am right now, as far as going in the 10K+ distances, then it's back to the slow build up. Does that make sense? Still trying to get a handle on what I can do without going overboard.

Stoshew71 wrote: »

MNLittleFinn wrote: »

Thanks @Stoshew71 Decided not to go for it. Already ran, Sun, Mon, Wed this week, only because I ran Sun. Normal plan is starting to look like this:

M 3, T 3, Th,3, S,4

I really didn't need the run today, it's more that it got up to 50 and is perfectly sunny out. Settled on a quick walk instead.

Tomorrow will be an out of the ordinary run for me, I'm only going the distance I will be, to help me gauge where I am right now, as far as going in the 10K+ distances, then it's back to the slow build up. Does that make sense? Still trying to get a handle on what I can do without going overboard.

The bolded part did not make sense to me. I didn't quite catch exactly how far you are planning to run. I just know you mentioned that it will be your long run.

Oops. tomorrow is 6.6 I've been stretching out my longer runs, just to get a gauge of how the distance feels, for myself. Basically, I have it stuck in my head that I want to see if I can do the half the distance of a half marathon for some reason, before deciding on training for an actual half marathon.....my brain is a crazy jumbled mess...I can't explain......Next week I'll be going back to 4 runs a week, and just doing 3-4 miles a run on week days and 5 on Sat.

I am STILL plagued by cramps.Today it's my ribs to back, hammys and toes. I've upped my carbs, eliminated gluten, soy, and only eating "real" food. I may splurge on a massage, but I really think I need the PT to work out spasticity.

Anyone else had problems with persistent cramps?

9voice9 wrote: »

Thinking of doing the Cherry Blossom (a week from tomorrow) as a 5K instead of the 10K. I'm not bouncing back, energy-wise, from the surgery like last year - I'd rather feel confident of finishing well than struggling to complete (tho I know I'd finish - no question there).

Any thoughts from my fellow addicts?

I'm reminded of some advice someone in one of these threads gave me last year...

It sounds like you already know what you need to do.

@5BeautifulDays I totally understand the support issue. I have the same problem. I still have a significant amount of weight to lose to get to goal and the bra thing just really grates on my nerves sometimes. Trying to take a deep(er) breath when your chest is wrapped and bound is just grrrrrrrr!! On the plus side, it's a great place to stuff my phone while I run!!

Rest day today, no miles to report.

Random thoughts on the foam rolling discussion:

I've never used a foam roller, and never particularly felt the need. But enough runners say they're anywhere from beneficial to vital that I can't discount the possibility that they might be useful for me. I've just been too cheap and/or lazy to experiment with them to date.

I have observed that beginners and females tend to be louder and more frequent in their praise of foam rollers. But that doesn't mean they're only useful for people who are still developing a their running chains. One of the most experienced male endurance athletes I know mentions foam rollers as a good part of recovery; he typically mentions them in the context of use after a challenging workout. "Challenging" here could mean intensity with moderate to long distance, or simply extreme long distance.

I imagine the idea behind a foam roller is much the same as the idea behind a massage. I did take a free massage after the Buffalo Marathon. It hurt while in progress, but felt much better afterward. Conceptually, if I were to use a foam roller I'd have the disadvantage of not knowing what I'm doing as well as a trained massage therapist does; but the advantage of being able to feel the effects as I roll and make adjustments. Over time, I suspect I could learn to use a roller effectively . . . but first I have to see a need to try one.

I also suspect that foam rollers are much more useful for some runners than for others. One size does not fit all. I am struck by the comment that someone was told to use a roller by their PT. I was in PT in 2013, and mine never mentioned foam rollers. That doesn't mean the PT didn't think they're useful, just that she didn't think they were useful enough for *me*. There's a lot of stuff I could do that wouldn't hurt, but might not do enough good to be worth putting a lot of time into. Foam rolling might just fall into that category, for me. It certainly does not fall into that category for everyone.

@kristinegift Good luck with the race tomorrow

Let's beat this March into a

• 03 - 7.5mi Commute run to work
• 07 - 7.5mi Commute
• 11 - 6.4mi Fisherman's Wharf Run - Embarccadero: Tourist dodge 'em
• 18 -
• 22 -
• 24 -
• 29 -
• 31 -

Year Totals - 2016 (Goal:600miles)

juliet3455 wrote: »

@whatang I can relate to this. My shoes must be wondering if I am hurt. I have been on the road for work all week so getting home very late and no energy. My last run was on sunday so I am getting antsy-stir crazy.

whatang wrote: »

So I totally bailed on last night's run... worked about 2 hours later than planned, then when I got home around 8pm just sat on the bed to read mfp for 5 minutes before going out to run... and totally passed out asleep . I decided to "listen to my body" and postpone it until today instead

.

Yes, isn't it annoying if work sabotages your running?
I had this nice long run planned for tomorrow, route all mapped out. It should take me about 2:40 to run it. Today I found out I'll have to guide some visitors around at work tomorrow - one group from 10-12, one from 15-17. I might get paid a little bit extra for that, but there's no way to squeeze my run in! At least, not without rushing like crazy and spending all the time worrying I'm going to be late.
The weather forecast for tomorrow (mostly sun, only a little cloudy, 8°C) is much better than for Sunday (rain, rain, rain). Maybe I'll try talking really fast for the second tour to finish early! Sunset is at 18:35, twilight until 19:08, so I might still get a large part of the run done before it's completely dark. Not that I'm scared of running in the dark, but at the moment I do that all the time during the week. Sunshine for a run would be a welcome change...

1---3.57 walk
2---7.06
3---3.55
4---7.47 walk
5---5.75
6---3.03
7--- work late, DOMS, rain
8---work late, headache, rain
9---6.61cramps
10---5.05 cramps
11---5.41

Changed shoes, had a GU. Better.
 
47.52 miles/150


Upcoming races:
03/19/16 Rock N Roll 5K Dallas
03/20/16 Rock N Roll Half Dallas
04/24/16 OKC Memorial undecided distance
10/16/16 THAT dam half, Lewisville TX
11/05/16 Jenks Half Jenks OK
Run the year 2016  374.43 / 2016 (Did you notice many more miles added to RTY? I got desperate and added my walking miles at work. Hey, the challenge is "run, walk, crawl" work is a crawl .)