August (2016) Running Challenge

Reached my goal this morning! Added about .3 miles to my last park (longer) Sunday run. Will try for about .27 (one lap) added every week on Sundays to reach my 10K goal in 12 weeks. I'll have to increase my other runs in order to keep up too. Felt good and kept my HR where I wanted it and still shaved about 20 seconds off my mile without really trying. I'm running 4 days a week but can't seem to do the 25%-35% rule you guys recommend although I am following a plan.

08/04 – 1 mile
08/05 – 1 mile
08/06 – 3 miles
08/09 – 1.3 miles – HR 135-140 HR running flat surface………154 running hills
08/10 – 80 min Strength Training + 20 min Xtraining – Stairmaster and Stationary Bike (140 HR)
08/11 – 3.05 miles – AVG HR 143, lower on flat (lowest 127) higher on hills (highest 153)
08/12 – 1 mile – AVG HR 144 + 90 min strength training
08/13 – Rest Day
08/14 – 3.3 miles, 12 laps at park, HR average 155 & took 35 seconds off my mile time
08/15 – 1 mile - 85 min Strength Training
08/16 – 2 miles – Easy Pace AVG HR 132
08/17 – 1 mile – 85 min Strength Training
08/18 – Rest Day – 35 min swim
08/19 – 2.1 miles - AVG HR 144
08/20 – Rest Day – 35 min swim
08/21 – 5K Tiki Run – 3.1 miles
08/22 – 1 mile slow recovery run – 85 min Strength Training
08/23 – 2 mile run – AVG HR 148 - .4 mile walk
08/24 – All strength training
08/25 – 2.46 miles – AVG HR 153 - .33 mile walk
08/25 – 90 minutes of strength training
08/26 – Rest day
08/27 – 3.63 miles – AVG HR 149

August

2Aug - 7m
4Aug - 8m
6Aug - 5m
7Aug - 6.4m
9Aug - 4.8m
11Aug - 7m
13Aug - 8m
14Aug - 6.2m
17Aug - 5m
18Aug - 6.2m
20Aug - 6.9m
21Aug - 6.4m
23Aug - 5.3m
25Aug - 7m
27Aug - 7m
28Aug - 6.3m

102.8/100miles - WOOHOO!

Well done to all on a great weekend of running.

For my run today, I drove over to the mountains. I finally wanted to make it to the top of one of those mountains, and since I had to trade my (admittedly less crazy) planned mountain run on Wednesday for a run around my neighbourhood due to car troubles, I figured this Sunday would be a good day to try it.

Yesterday evening I mapped out my route following the "heatmap" on Strava. Today it turned out some of those trails were not exactly suitable for running (i.e., the "lots of loose rocks and/or steep enough that you have to crawl up on your hands and feet" kind of trails). Kind of makes me wonder who the crazy people were that made those lines on the Strava heatmap?
Along the way, I took a wrong turn and ended up on one of those "not really a trail"-trails (that's a designation I reserve for trails where the grass and thistles are at least knee-high ). I figured I'd just keep following it rather than turning back - after all, I just had to keep heading uphill, hard to get lost. So still made it to the top. At least that's what I thought for long enough to stop and take a panorama picture. And then I realised there was no radio tower screwing up the photo, while there should be one on the mountain I had planned to visit. Sure enough, when I took out my phone and consulted the map, I found I was on Mont Chanais (1446m). I had to run down again a fair bit (110m elevation) before I could start climbing to the peak I actually was headed for, le Colomby de Gex (which is somewhat higher at 1686m - I should have knows I didn't struggle enough to have gotten that high yet ^^).

During my way up, I only met one herd of cows (sleeping in the middle of the trail, where else). When I reached the peak, I saw another runner standing there. But as soon as I got close enough to say 'Hi', he grabbed his backpack and took off, without so much as a nod in my direction. Rude guy! I took a five minute break to sit in the shadow of the radio tower - it might screw up panorama photos, but it was the only thing in a wide area that offered a bit of shade, so I didn't mind it's presence at all. Especially since it ment I had found the correct mountain

On the way down, I met a group of old ladies hiking up, all clearly having a great time and really nice. Once I was almost down the mountain again, I saw the next group of hikers - maybe half the age of the other group, and in much worse shape. They looked pretty wiped out already, and asked me the dreaded "is it still far" question. I didn't really have the heart to tell them they had about 80% of the climb still in front of them, so I just told them there was a signpost at the next crossroads.

In the end, my run was about 21km long; but took me twice as long as my HM PR. I stopped for photos a few times, and I think I only managed to run maybe 50% of the way up, and 75% of the way down, everything else was too "technical" for my trail skills. I'm still counting it all towards my running goal though.

Here are a few pictures:

This is where the hiking trail branched off the road


Some of the thistles that were out for my blood


View from Mont Chanais towards Mont Colomby


A bit of nice easy running as a reward after the toughest climb (during which I didn't take any pictures, because I needed both my hands to move forward/upward)


And finally, another nice bit of easy running at the start of the descent (after which my phone went back in the backpack for the rest of the way down)