January 2017 Running Challenge

I meant to say 30 miles in previous post! Only had a short lunch break today so did 1.75 miles so 28.25 to go...

Jan 1-5.3 miles
Jan 2- Rest day- P90X3 yoga
Jan 3- 6 miles w/ 3 @ tempo
Jan 4-5.1 miles (1 with crazy Stella)
Jan 5-5 miles treadmill fartlek run

Yesterday we got snow. I postponed my run until evening in the interest of getting to work before things got too nasty. I got home a little early and played with Stella in the snow. She was having a blast. I decided that I would try and take her for a run in the snow before I set out to do my run. This turned out to be a horrible idea. The roads were slick and it was getting pretty dark. She was pulling like a champ with all of the excitement and almost dragged me on my butt several times. That's when I decided that our run would turn into a walk. It was still a bit of a disaster as she was so excited and was trying to run and it was all I could do to hold her back and avoid sliding all over the place. When we finally made it home, my hands, feet, face and just about every part of me were freezing because I had dressed for a run. That's when I decided I did not want to go back out in the cold with icy roads, so I begrudgingly hit the treadmill. The run was supposed to be 40 minutes at easy (zone 1-2) pace, but I have a hard time doing anything steady pace on the treadmill. I played around a bit with speed and made it a bit of a fartlek run. I don't think I ever made it into a true zone 3 though, so it was still a pretty easy run.

Today's run is supposed to be 10 X 30 second hill sprints. I am hoping the hills by my work are clear enough to do this. Temps are only going up to 9F, so I am just hoping that the road crews might come by one more time and clear enough of a shoulder. For me, doing hill sprints on the dreadmill would be truly dreadful (I HATE the treadmill incline). If that ends up being the case, it may just become an interval run.

@beerrunner-I think an upper body P90X and some yoga sounds like a fabulous alternative. Hope the knee feels better soon.

@shanaber- I have to agree with @skippygirlsmom . Atlanta has no clue how to handle snow. I lived there for 6 years and being from Pittsbugh, I was like "What the ???". In their defense, though, they are not very well equiped to deal with it and it usually starts out as an ice storm. Good luck!

@MNLittleFinn - If it's your calf muscle that is hurting, I would suggest some yoga/stretching and foam rolling. Maybe give it a day off or just run easy. I have found that muscle soreness usually fixes itself pretty quickly if you just give it rest. If you try to push it, that's when it could lead to something worse, especially if your running form ends up being compromised as a result. Fortunately you are not in the heart of your training plan, so do what you can now to get that off to a good start.

lporter229 wrote: »

@MNLittleFinn - If it's your calf muscle that is hurting, I would suggest some yoga/stretching and foam rolling. Maybe give it a day off or just run easy. I have found that muscle soreness usually fixes itself pretty quickly if you just give it rest. If you try to push it, that's when it could lead to something worse, especially if your running form ends up being compromised as a result. Fortunately you are not in the heart of your training plan, so do what you can now to get that off to a good start.

Thanks for the advice! Rest is exactly my plan. I hate to skip my long run, but I was just thinking that taking an extra rest day tomorrow, so I have 2 days off in a row, and starting back up on Monday would be better. I've been stretching it periodically since I got to work, 30 second static calf stretch every 45 minutes-1hour.

Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty darn cold, like -11 when I would be running, so I was feeling pretty wimpy anyway, I think resting my calf on one of the coldest run days is better than trying to get my 9-11 miles in and freezing my *kitten* off while hindering recovery from this calf issue.

Thanks again!

1/1 - Still wasn't feeling up to it.
1/2 - Bodypump, the 2.25 miles on the 'mill
1/3 - 4.5 miles on the treadmill (Trek class). That'll clean your lungs out.
1/4 - Stayed in bed. Lingering cold + a bratty greyhound = not enough sleep.
1/5 - Bodypump, then 2.25 treadmill miles.
1/6 - 4.2 'mill miles. -3° F is way below my comfort level to run outside.

@greenolivetree my oldest son went to school in short year round, and rarely wore a jacket in the winter. Once they get to high school I let our kids wear whatever they want, even if I think it's not near enough. If we go out of town I'll make them bring warmer clothes along, but they don't have to wear it. If they want to trade comfort for fashion, go for it. My one rule, though, is that the heat in my truck is set to MY comfort, not theirs. About your windchill of 2F...if that's because the wind is blowing hard, that sucks, but if the wind is calm, that's not bad at all. For running comfort, it's not just the temp or the windchill, but the wind speed as well. 2F windchill on a calm day is great running weather. 2F windchill with 25 mph winds sucks.

@dkabambe I'd look for a used GPS. I've seen the Garmin Forerunner 305 as low as $40, including heart rate strap. It's a really old model but it's actually quite feature packed. The biggest missing feature is that it doesn't sync to your phone. You have to connect it to a PC. Or you can check out the Epson Runsense series. I'm hearing good things about them. The SF-510 goes for US$120 on Amazon though that doesn't include the optional heartrate strap. I'm considering getting the SF-710 for running ultras since my Forerunner 220 battery life may not be long enough.

@nats2508 I hope your injury is behind you and January is much better!

@MNLittleFinn do you have any compression type running socks? I've had been battling a sore calf/Achilles which had been slowly getting better. When I went on my long run last weekend I used a new pair of SmartWool compression running socks and for the first time in quite a while I had no discomfort in my calf. It hadn't been THAT bad recently anyway so maybe it was just coincidence, but for the time being, I'm using my compression socks for long runs. Foam rolling as @lporter229 suggested is also a great idea. That helped me quite a bit when I remembered to do it. Also think about eccentric calf raises. I'm not a big fan of static stretches of cold muscles though. As far as recovery, I'd say do whatever you need to to make sure you're healed up by the time your "official" training plan starts. You may stress out if you fall behind the plan because of injury.

@acorsaut89 fantastic job sticking with the run even though it wasn't the best! Those are the tough ones but they make you appreciate the good ones even more.

@melaniefay82 !!!!!!!

@MNLittleFinn - I agree with @7lenny7 about not doing static stretches on cold muscles. That is why I always suggest yoga. Most yoga routines begin with dynamic stretches to warm up your muscles first. Sorry for not being more clear on that.

@MNLittleFinn you could also get calf compression sleeves as an option. Then you can wear those with any of your socks. I got a pair of both. At least in the winter your running pants or tights will cover them up when you run outside.
@lporter229, I've been thinking about doing some yoga with my wife. It sounds like something I'd really benefit from, particularly since I can't seem to get in the habit of any core work on my own.

January goal: 100 miles
1/1: 3.6 miles (m)
1/2: Downpour Day
1/3: 4.5 miles (m)
1/4: 4 miles (m)
1/5: 5 miles (m)
1/6: 4.5 miles (m)

My Total/January: 21.6 miles
Mike's Total: 21.7 miles

There was what looked like snow falling from the sky this morning. It could have been sleet...something between rain and snow, I guess. It was above freezing, at least, at around 36F. Even though the weather was kind of dismal, I enjoyed our run and Mike seemed to be having a decent time. He hates the cold way more than I do so it was a pretty big deal for him to come out with me this morning. Fergus always loves his morning run; he doesn't care what the weather is doing. He actually got loose when we got home and I ended up getting another 3/4 mile of walking in going to track him down. Man, that dog is fast! Honestly, I traipsed around the neighborhood looking for him, but I doubt I would have caught him. He ended up back in our yard of his own accord. I get so scared for him when he gets loose. He has no street sense and just runs like a maniac. I worry he will get hit by a car. Fortunately, we've got the yard pretty well secured and he doesn't get free very often.

@midwesterner85 I can't tell you what to do and I've only been running for a few months so I don't really have the experience to give advice. But, I can tell you what I would do in your situation and that would probably be to run the 10K on 2/11 and the 12K on 4/1. I'd use my time to train for the trail run which would be quite a challenge for me.

@BeeerRunner I hope your knee is ok!


Have a fabulous rest of the day!

Completed Races:
12/3 Snowball Run 5K, Kingwood TX (35:34.2) *PR

Upcoming Races:
1/22 Choco Loco 10K, Houston, TX

I'm still catching up on this thread. I realized yesterday that this was what I was missing last year. I had lost all motivation after my knee injury. Thanks @Stoshew71 for keeping this going! It's been snowing so I'm working from home. Hopefully, I can get a couple of miles in tomorrow.

1/4-2.48
1/5-2.39 miles & Pilates
1/6-Pilates

@instantmartian that half looks pretty cool. I'd be tempted to run it too,

1/1-1/3 - sick
1/4 - 3.1 miles and yoga
1/5 - circuit training and yoga
1/6 - 3.5 miles

6.6 miles / 40 miles (16% of goal)

MNLittleFinn wrote: »

Edit: @7lenny7 which calf sleeves do you have?

@MNLittleFinn I bought the Smartwool PhD Compression Calf Sleeves. ETA: You may want to rethink taking Advil for your calf. Not only could it be hindering your body's healing process, the reduction in pain may make you run more than your should, making the situation worse. For more info: https://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/ibuprofen-and-running/

@BeeerRunner thanks for the link! Are these poses something one could do with no prior yoga experience?

@7lenny7 thsnks for that. I had been reading on runnersworld, and thr article mentioned taking NSAID mess for a calf strain. Thr pain isn't bad, jut annoying so I'm just going to stop taking thr Advil for now. Here's hoping I don't get a headache....lol Advil is thr only thing that works on those for me.

Here's the link to what I had read on Runner's World: http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/calf-strains just a blip.

It's 17 and snowing here. Which is fine, my one running outting without allergy medicine set me up for some crappy sinus congestion. Yuck. I suppose I could brave it... Idk. Y'all make me wanna do crazy things, ie run in the snow.

By Tuesday it's supposed to be 70 again.