May 2017 Running Challenge

02/05 - 3.2mile Recovery run, followed with Interval, Lower Back stretches & Core



Completed
• 11/03 - 10K Run The Solar System (thanks for the tip) - 52:01
• 12/03 - TM Half Marathon (plugged in the MK HM route - attempt 1  ) - 1:54:02
• 25/03 - TM Half Marathon (plugged in the MK HM route - attempt 2  ) - 1:53:53
• 15/04 - TM Easter Bunny support run (plugged in the MK HM route - attempt 2  ) - 1:59:03
• 01/05 - Milton Keynes HM - 1:55:30
Coming up:
• 18/06 - Run-Bedford-Run - 10K
• 02/09 - Bedford HM
• 24/09 - Windsor HM

5/1: 3 miles
5/2: 4 miles

Sore sore sore. Legs are sore from my race Sunday (half marathon; muscles that start off dehydrated and only get more dehydrated over 13 miles don't recover well) and my back is still tight from tweaking it a week and a half ago. Getting a massage tonight and hopefully that will work out a lot of the back-->heel tightness. Keeping the runs relatively short in the mean time.



Upcoming Races
5/14: Delaware Marathon Running Festival HM
7/1: Finger Lake Fifties 50k (trail)
10/8: Steamtown Marathon (BQ Attempt #3)

5/1- 8.1
5/2- 4.6

Total: 12.7

May Goal: Get through most of the last 5 weeks before taper healthy
Nominal mileage goal: 220 Miles.

Today's notes: Today's assignment was 4 miles at easy pace plus 4 strides.

The 4 miles felt good while I was running it, I kept my breath at a 6 in, 6 out count, using footfalls to count. I ended up running the distance in 38:35, for an average pace of 9:38, which while not "fast" also isn't "slow" for me. My run cadence (according to my Forerunner) was 190, which is on the high side for me, but my biggest surprise was average HR. at 148, this was the most solidly z2 run I've had in a while, as most of my runs, my average HR is ~152 or so.

The 4 strides went well too, though I did have one little hiccup while running them. On the second stride, I started to take a corner too wide, and a car was coming, so there had to be some quick, fancy footwork and some bouncing/hopping, to get me on the sidewalk and out of the way. Other than that, the strides were pure vanilla, working on posture and form.

Have a great day all!

2017 Races
6/16- William A Irvin 5k
6/17- Grandma's Marathon (Full!)
8/19- Rampage at the Ridge 5k OCR
9/23- Ely Marathon (full)
10/21 Wild Duluth 50k<- yeah, I'm crazy enough to go for it
11/23- TBD 5k Turkey Trot

Oh geez, and of course this thread is already 6 pages in!

Hi everyone! I'm back! Just posted my final mileage for April over on that thread. I had a wonderful week in Punta Cana, and despite good intentions, did not run a single day of the trip, lol. And then I just had some trouble returning to the real world, and so am finally trying to get caught up here.

So, this month has my next half marathon, the Tinkerbell Half on 5/14. Next 2 weeks are taper weeks. While my official mileage goal for the month is 152, this will actually be my highest mileage month ever if I achieve it, since I fell a bit short on last month's planned mileage. Oh well. C'est la vie.

I shall set my goal at 150.

3/11 - Bill Fortune 10k (dnr - sick)
4/9 - JFK Runway 5k - 26:21.74
4/29 - Run for the Wild 5k (through the Bronx Zoo) - 25:29 (not chip-timed)
5/14 - Tinkerbell HM (Disneyland)
6/4 - GW Bridge Challenge 10k
6/10 - NYRR New York Mini 10k
6/25 - Bay of Fundy HM
7/ 8 - Women’s Distance Festival 5k
9/10 - S. Nyack 10 Miler (registration not open yet)
9/24 - Bronx 10 Mile
11/9 - Philadelphia Marathon (registered, eeeeek! My first full marathon)

Getting a little tired of all the rain. It was raining again this morning and I briefly considered going back to bed, but I figured I'd just have a short hike and bring the umbrella. Well, that was probably a bad idea because I spent the entire hike fighting the wind with the umbrella. OK, maybe that's some good strength training, LOL. Speaking of strength training, I tried a little bit last night... some core work, squats/lunges and hip exercises like clam shells and donkey kicks. And then this morning I wondered why my legs felt weaker than usual. It took me almost the entire hike to realize, duh, it was from doing strength exercises for the first time in months.

5/1 - 4.6 run + 4.8 walk
5/2 - 3.55 walk + whatever I do at lunch (assuming it's not still raining)

I'm in for at least 100 this May. Glad to see this group in here!
14 miles so far for May.
Let's do this!

@KatieJane83 - Welcome back! Glad you had a great vacation and a much needed break!

@Skippygirlsmom -Great running!

I started the P90X3 program yesterday. First video was Total Synergistics, which is mostly light weight squats, lunges, pushups, etc. It was a good way to ease back into things. I have been easing back into lifting, but not in the "circuit training" type of style that the P90X programs kind of mimic, so an easy workout was a good way to start. This morning's workout was Agility. I loved this workout, but it was a little tougher for me to gauge my intensity regarding my hamstring. I tried to take it easy on the plyo moves that required a lot of jumping and would put added stress on them. That made the workout a little easier than it probably was intended to be, but I am trying to error on the side of caution with these videos since some of the moves may not be any better for me than running. To make up for it, I plan to go do a cycling class tonight.

I have to say that it feels good to be on a regular routine of strength training again. For most of the many years that I had been running, I always did some type of strengthening and yoga along with it. It wasn't until recently that I got caught up in thinking in terms of the number of miles I had to run, that I let the strength training fall to the way side. So here I am, trying to nurse myself back from an injury. I know I will not make that mistake again. I see that there are a lot of new runners here this month, so I just want to stress that point in hopes that it may save at least one of you from falling into the trap of getting too caught up in mileage numbers. Add your miles slowly and don't forget about strengthening and stretching and you will stay injury free!

Tracking my monthly "non-running" progress for accountability:

May 1 - P90X3 Total Synergistics + 20 minutes stretching and foam rolling
May 2- P90X3 Agility