May 2016 Running Challenge

Elise4270 wrote: »

Round out the month with "what did you learn" as the last few miles come in?

I learned that I actually can run, and that I really like it. I learned how to be able to run outside without feeling self-conscious. I learned there's no shame in taking a walk break or two. Most of all, I learned that running is a fantastic tool for combatting my depression and anxiety. On to June!

I learned that, once you get into it, 100 miles in a month can feel easier than 80 miles in a month. I learned thaat I can actually run without music (headphones became possessed) and that Running really is my favorite cure for stress and anxiety.

Oh, one other thing I learned: WEAR SUNSCREEN.

i learned i get irritable when i don't run

I learned that I could and should add more hills on what I had previously treated as hilly routes. I also learned that I need to stop buying shoes. I learned that I need to get on the freaking trails soon (rain has closed them) and that I should think long and hard before hand as opposed to just impulsively signing up for a 50k that is supposed to be awesome and stuff (as in awesomely brutal). I also learned a whole lot about *kitten*.

DATE...............MILES.............TOTAL
5/1....................REST................00.00
5/2....................REST................00.00
5/3.......................5.00.................5.00
5/4.....................10.00...............15.00
5/5.......................3.00...............18.00
5/6....................REST................18.00
5/7.....................12.00...............30.00
5/8.......................6.00...............36.00
5/9....................REST................36.00
5/10..................REST................36.00
5/11.....................5.00...............41.00
5/12.....................4.00...............45.00
5/13..................REST................45.00
5/14...................31.50...............76.50 (GRT 50k Ultra)
5/15..................REST................76.50
5/16..................REST................76.50
5/17.....................5.50...............82.00
5/18.....................5.00...............87.00
5/19..................REST................87.00
5/20.....................2.00...............89.00
5/21.....................8.50...............97.50
5/22..................REST................97.50
5/23.....................7.00.............104.50
5/24.....................5.00.............109.50
5/25.....................7.50.............117.00
5/26..................REST...............117.50
5/27.....................3.75..............120.75
5/28.....................9.00..............129.75
5/29...................14.00..............143.75
5/30..................REST...............143.75
5/31.....................6.25..............150.00








2016 Races
5/14: Glacier Ridge Ultra -- 50k (Portersville, PA)
7/9: Buckeye Trail 50k -- 50k (Brecksville, OH)
7/16: ColorRun --5k (with my 15 year old)(Pittsburgh, PA)
9/10: 1st Annual Possum Glory Endurance Race -- 50k (Northern Cambria, PA)
10/1: Cloudsplitter 100 -- 100 Miles (Pine Mountain, KY)
10/15: Buffalo Creek Half Marathon (Sarver, PA)

My final run of the month yesterday was 8.7 miles along the Mississippi River. That brings me to a total of 104.4, ahead of my soft goal of 100 miles.

The final May run came the morning after my first overnight stay in in our new-to-us sailboat. I planned ahead and got everything ready as much as I could the night before so I'd make as little noise as possible while getting ready the next morning...laid out my clothes, ground my coffee and got the coffee maker ready to go, put my shoes and all my gear (GPS, hat, water bottle) in a bag to put on while outside the cabin. Everything was set so that when I got up I quickly dressed, put water on to heat on the stove for coffee and brushed my teeth. I sat in the cockpit enjoying the cool morning air in marina, drinking my coffee and loving the start of the day.

My plan for the day was 6 miles but the 6 mile mark found me south of town on Highway 61 and it took nearly 3 miles of running to get back to the marina.

The run started out just awful, even awfuller than usual, but as usually happens, all was well after a mile and it ended up being a beautiful run! Limestone bluffs towering above, the river steadily flowing below me, trains rumbling by from time to time, bald eagle soaring overhead, and a few fishermen out on the lake trying their luck.

The run started on lake-side trails, transitioned to lake-side roads, then finished on the aforementioned Highway 61. On the way south, the shoulder was wide and with very little camber. I should have looked to the other side. On the return run, the should was narrower and with greater camber. i think I can blame that camber on the pain in the outside of my left foot. That lasted a couple hours before moving up to my left calf..kind of felt like it was in between my calf muscles and bone. Could that be shin splints? I don't know what shin splints feel like. This feels like it's more in the inner muscle than anything else. The pain is off and on now, but I don't expect it to be anything major.

Running on Highway 61, the Bob Dylan album, "Highway 61 Revisited" kept coming into mind so we listened to that on the way back home later in the day.

Made my second goal, the Strava elevation challenge in addition to the distance goal! I managed to come up with two free hours yesterday. So I drove over to the mountains in torrential rain that turned the cute little forest path into a muddy mess. I was really tired when I started, but that rain and the slippery ground were enough to wake me up again. Lots of fun! Although I think the interior of my car is in dire need of cleaning now, which sounds like less fun...

9voice9 wrote: »

Also - thinking while running is a dangerous thing (right @mnlittlefinn? @7lenny7? @whatmerunning?). I'm considering planning on doing the Museum of Aviation HM in January again, and then keep up with the conditioning (??!!) to be able to run the Snickers Half (http://albanymarathon.com/) in March.

Yes, yes, YES! This is the cycle!

That 5k at the end of C25k turns into the start of 10k training, during which you decide you want to do a half so you set up your HM training to have the 10k you already signed up for as a training run for your HM. That HM in turn becomes a training run for the other HM you decided you wanted to add to your calendar, which then turns into a training run for that marathon you finally decided you would give a shot at. After your near death experience from that first marathon you decide to stick to 5k's only and wind up running half marathons every weekend until you also sprinkle in some full marathons on the schedule, and that's when you add in that 50k because, you know, it's less than 5 extra little miles. And of course with a 50k being such a pathetic tiny entry level distance among ultramarathons you schedule your training so that the first 50k plus another one set up your 50 miler training plan....repeating through 100k and 100m perhaps...

Only 4 more long runs until my HM