May 2017 Running Challenge

katharmonic · May 2017

@HRKinchen - great recap! Sounds like a lot of fun - but that's a lot of water to run through! Glad you avoided gators.

@angmarie28 - Great job! Sounds like you're primed to smash your PR next time!

I know some people have asked about Virtual races in the past. I just signed up for a virtual 5k to benefit cat rescue (just saw it today - which is the last day to sign up. They have all kinds of virtual charity runs at different times though).
https://runsignup.com/Race/TX/YourTrackTrailorTreadmillItsVirtual/TheLuckyCatVirtualCharityRun

I lost a dear friend and colleague, Lu Feng, to cancer a few months ago, and one of his passions was cats. His partner had asked in his memory that people donate to cat rescue or otherwise help cats. I hadn't done it yet, and when I saw this virtual 5k called the Lucky Cat with a Chinese fortune cat medal, I thought it was perfect to honor his wishes and have a little memorial token to remember him by as well.

louubelle16 · May 2017

My first 10km race in over a year today, so a PB wasn't exactly a surprise. Still happy with my time though 51:35, so almost a minute and a half faster than my previous PB

I'm creeping closer to something beginning with a "4x.xx", my new nemesis. It wasn't a flat course either, so my super flat course in July will hopefully be that sub-50.

I'm behind on posts again, so I flicked back a couple of pages.

@skippygirlsmom Skip looks beautiful. Such a shame she had a bad night.

@angmarie28 and @HRKinchen Congrats on your races!

May Running Challenge

1st - 3.55 miles
2nd - 1.1 miles +Spin
3rd - 6.19 miles
6th - 3.1 miles
8th - 1 mile +Spin
9th - 3.66 miles
10th - 3.12 miles
14th - 0.61 miles (WU) + 6.2miles (race)

MTD - 28.53/60 miles

Upcoming Races
25th June - Greenwich Park 10km
22nd July - Richmond Riverside 10km
15th October - Manchester HM

kimlight2 · May 2017

@kgirlhart - It looks like you are handling the distance well. Why not sign up? If the heat is to bad then it becomes a training run and you take your time and meet new people.

T1DCarnivoreRunner · May 2017

Went out for a trail run today. It was hot and I struggled to keep my HR from jumping higher than it should for the effort. So my time was terrible, but did 6.14 miles.

RespectTheKitty · May 2017

katharmonic wrote: »

I know some people have asked about Virtual races in the past. I just signed up for a virtual 5k to benefit cat rescue (just saw it today - which is the last day to sign up. They have all kinds of virtual charity runs at different times though).
https://runsignup.com/Race/TX/YourTrackTrailorTreadmillItsVirtual/TheLuckyCatVirtualCharityRun

I lost a dear friend and colleague, Lu Feng, to cancer a few months ago, and one of his passions was cats. His partner had asked in his memory that people donate to cat rescue or otherwise help cats. I hadn't done it yet, and when I saw this virtual 5k called the Lucky Cat with a Chinese fortune cat medal, I thought it was perfect to honor his wishes and have a little memorial token to remember him by as well.

This looks right up my alley.

skippygirlsmom · May 2017

@kimlight and @louubelle16 you know how it is, I think she built the prom up too much her in mind and it wasn't the evening she expected. Thank you

kgirlhart · May 2017

Thanks @kimlight2. I think I will do it.

ctlaws44 · May 2017

@ Orphia That’s some serious air you got there! Love the Lenny tribute pic!

@ girlinahat I think it’s a sign that those should be your new running shoes.

@ cburke8909 Congrats on signing up for your first HM and for joining the short list of crazy people who pay to be tortured. It’s a form of S&M really. LOL!

@ HRKinchen Great race! And excellent job of beating your previous time! No thank you to Alligator Marsh.

@ zdyb23456 12 miles alone is hard any which way you try but, continually running! That’s awesome!

@ skippygirlsmom Great running both of you!! Congrats on the AG placement and awards!! Oh no! Sorry skip had a bad prom experience.

@ WhatMeRunning I know that took a lot of determination not to just ignore your HR and go for it. Congrats on gutting it through to the finish in sucky conditions!

@ MNLittleFinn 20 miles! I’m still envious. One day, hopefully by October I can do that.

@MsHarryWinston Welcome to this great group of runners! Enjoy your new shoes and break them in slow.

@ddmom0811 Hope the Dr. can give you something different. My mom swears Cipro gave her RA in her hands. She gets kidney infections a lot and she has had better results on Keflex (cephalexin).

@angmarie28 You did a great job considering all the conditions.

@louubelle16 Nice work on PRing 10K!!

I had a 5K race yesterday. It was fun! They had games and bounce houses and a DJ. My daughter ran it too. Although she didn't want me to run it with her. What 13 yo girl wants their goofy dad around. She found some friends from school and ran/walked with them.

The weather wasn’t bad it rained that morning but the race start time was 5:30p. The temp was 63F cloudy and a little humid. I started further back from the start line than I wanted to (it was not a chip timed race). It was a charity event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and there were a lot of kids in the race so of course they all wanted to be right up on the start line. I wasn't about to jockey for position with a bunch of kids. Don’t be that guy LOL! I was about 40 feet from the start. The horn sounds and the kids bolt out the gate. They were fast for the first 200 yards, but slowed pretty quickly. Some even turned back around looking to meet up with their friends, so it became a slalom. After about 1/2 a mile of dodging all the kids, I could see one other person in front of me about 20 yards. I didn't think that was first place. So I eased into my pace. At about mile 1.5, I started feeling something smacking my right shin. It was my laces! I was thinking at first maybe I could make it, but after another 200 yards my right shoe was turning into a flip flop. I was gripping my toes so it wouldn't fall off so I had to stop and tie it. I glanced back and while I did and there was a pack of people 40 yards back. I have never ever had this happen when running. I don't even think about it at all. I will from now on. So I get back to it and the rest of the race goes with no other mishaps. No one ended up passing me so I was thinking I finished in the top 10 or so. My official time hasn't posted, but I think it's 20:25. Dang! still not there (under 20:00). Oh well I'll try again June 3rd. It is a PB for the 5k for me though! I ended up getting 2nd overall to my surprise! The fast runners didn't come out although there was no other races going on yesterday. Anyways, I was happy about that. I did run back to find my daughter and run/walk the rest of the race (1 mile) with her. She was happy to finish. Her time was around 41:00. My son was then disappointed he didn’t sign up even though I asked him several times. All and all it was a good family friendly race.

MNLittleFinn · May 2017

@ctlaws44 great race! You beat my PR by about 3 minutes.

KeepRunningFatboy · May 2017

34.7 miles for the week. Work trip really got in the way of exercise routine. But thats done, and I did run 22 miles combined Saturday and Sunday.

Is anyone running the Cleveland Marathon or Half Marathon next weekend? I'm pacing the 4:55 marathon and will have on one of the bright yellow pacer shirts. Come up and say Hi if you will be there!

MobyCarp · May 2017

May Running Totals (miles)
5/1 – 5.16 easy
5/2 – 6.67 easy
5/3 – rest day
5/4 – 8.08 easy
5/5 – rest day
5/6 – 11.23 loosely paced run
5/7 – 11.08 easy with fast finish
5/8 – 5.23 easy
5/9 – 8.16 warm up, speed work, cool down
5/10 – 5.66 group run
5/11 – 7.25 easy plus 5 strides
5/12 – rest day
5/13 – 15.07 paced run
5/14 – 7.20 easy

May total to date – 90.79

Nominal Challenge Goal – 200 miles
Real Goals: Stay healthy. Build base. 5/28, start training plan toward MVP Rochester Marathon.

Today's notes – What with one thing and another, I didn't get out to run until 4:30 PM today. By then it was nice running weather, with most of the run featuring overcast skies or hazy sunshine. Set out on a familiar 7 mile route with a few hills, and enjoyed the day.

I happen to live in suburbia, close to where it thins out to what passes as rural in Monroe County, New York. Someone from Iowa or Illinois wouldn't regard where I run as rural, but at least it isn't city running. Today turned into an outing where I enjoyed the scenery more than I paid attention to the run.

Just before mile 2, I noticed that a pond was kind of pretty. What the heck, pace isn't particularly important today. I stopped to take a picture.

Then just after mile 2, it was too good an opportunity to pass up on a picture of some people that I was lapping:

I discovered that in nice weather, with my phone in a case on a belt clip, I could get the phone out and turn the camera on while running. I only had to stop to take a steady picture. Here's the view from the top of the second hill, looking at the third hill. It looks more impressive in person than in the picture.

It's more picturesque to the left, from a few meters down the road:

The cornfield at about 3.5 miles didn't show up as well:

I thought I was done with pictures, as the rest of the route isn't as scenic. But at the last corner before home, there's a nice looking Coptic Orthodox Church. I used to try to give people directions by the gold dome, but tree growth has made it hard to see before you're right at the intersection.

So what started out as just another easy run became an exercise in looking at things I don't usually look at while running, and appreciating some of the scenery I have run past many times. My thanks to others who have posted pictures here; without your example, I likely would have remained oblivious to the beauty around me.

Oh, yeah, the run. It was a classic easy run, heart rate where it belonged and pace not particularly impacted by several brief stops to take pictures. Next time I run that route I may be more focused on the actual running, but today was almost like a walk in the park.

2017 races:
January 1, 2017 Freezeroo #2 (Resolution Run 7.5 mile) (Mendon, NY) Finished in 50:45
January 7, 2017 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Gates, NY) Finished in 1:32:40
January 14, 2017 Freezeroo #3 (Pineway Ponds Park 5 mile) (Spencerport, NY) Finished in 33:42
January 28, 2017 Freezeroo #4 (Hearnish 5 mile) (Victor, NY) short course, finished 4.88 miles in 32:50
February 4, 2017 USATF Cross Country National Championship Masters 8K (Bend, OR) Finished in 35:39, team won the 60+ Men's cross country championship
February 11, 2017 Freezeroo #5 (Valentines Run "In Memory of Tom Brannon" 8 Mile) (Greece, NY) sat out due to training schedule
February 25, 2017 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY) short course, finished 4.34 miles in 27:51
March 11, 2017 Johnny's Runnin' of the Green 5 mile (Rochester, NY) finished in 33:25
March 18, 2017 USATF Masters 8K Championship (Shamrock 8K, Virginia Beach, VA) finished in 30:59, PR for 8K
April 17, 2017 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA) finished in 3:49:42
April 30, 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship (James Joyce Ramble, Dedham, MA) finished in 39:54, PR for 10K
May 21, 2017 Lilac Run 10K (Rochester, NY)
June 9, 2017 Charlie McMullen Mile (Rochester, NY)
June 18, 2017 Medved 5K to Cure ALS (Rochester, NY)
July 28, 2017 Karknocker 5K (East Rochester, NY)
September 17, 2017 MVP Rochester Marathon (Rochester, NY)
November 23, 2017 Race with Grace 10K (Hilton, NY)

T1DCarnivoreRunner · May 2017

@MobyCarp I live in Iowa and those pictures look rural to me.

9voice9 · May 2017

I think yesterday was the first time I'd completely forgotten about registering for a race, and finding out that I *had* registered when I showed up to volunteer (it's run by one of my running clubs), and Caryl said, "You aren't running? There's a packet for you over there...." She tried briefly to convince me to run it in my jeans. Uhh, nah. Pretty sure I've forgotten a race or two until the day before (or morning of!), but this was a first. Prob not a last.

Ran the Back the Blue 10K last night (9 PM start time). Last year, I got 2nd in my "old fart" AG (50-54). I had decided that I wanted to actually race it, and see what I could do - haven't REALLY raced any events for a little while. Mainly just did 'em as my longish run for the week (or just counted it for mileage, if it wasn't long enough, and added some more for the long run).

I had previously set my watch for run/walk intervals (3:00/0:45), but I mainly use it as an reminder - if I start to walk during a run interval, I try to get back into it ASAFP. The course is a 2-loop 5K, very flat, and it was a nice night for a run. I tried really hard not to get too caught up by the racers/runners around me, and keep to what I could keep as steady as possible. Apparently I ran the tangents too well, 'cause it came out as 6.18 miles in 1:02:56, good enough for a first in my AG. It was ~10 minutes under my time for the same race last year, but it's not a PR - my 10K PR is 57:52. Still, not a bad evening!

MobyCarp · May 2017

midwesterner85 wrote: »

@MobyCarp I live in Iowa and those pictures look rural to me.

To be fair, the reason it doesn't look *really* rural to me isn't in the pictures. People go hunting here; but to me, everywhere looks too dang close to somebody's house to be discharging firearms. And it's really hard to find a road that isn't paved. I grew up in Nebraska, where something like 88 of 93 counties have more cattle than humans, and rural implies lots of gravel roads.

It looks more rural to me in the counties further south; but even there, it can be hard to find a gravel road.

snowyne · May 2017

5/1 - 3.5 mi.
5/2 - rest
5/3 - 6.2 mi
5/4 - 4.5 mi.
5/5 - 3.8 mi.
5/6 - 3.1 (5K race)
5/7 - rest
5/8 - 5.2 mi.
5/9 - 3.7 mi.
5/10 - 3.8 mi.
5/11 - rest (legs needed it)
5/12 - 5.2 mi.
5/13 - 3.2mi.
5/14 - rest

May goal: 42.2/100mi.

Treadmill vs. Road Running: A Case Study & Cautionary Tale

I wanted to share my experience transitioning from treadmill to road running in the hope that it may be helpful for other beginning runners reading this thread. I started running in Nov. of this past year. I live in Maine and Nov. is a pretty crappy time of year to start running, but that's what I did. My husband & I own a treadmill and I thought I would start there and see how it went (and it went really well!)

I committed myself to running 5-6 days a week and built up my stamina & distance, slowly but surely. It was extremely difficult at first, but I just plugged away and stayed consistent. A few things to note: I always ran at a steady pace (no intervals) and set the incline to 1%. I also made sure to stretch after each run. I experienced some very mild & expected muscle pain in my legs from time to time, but it was no big deal.

I ran exclusively on my treadmill from Nov-April. The worst of our winter came in Feb & March and I kept putting off trasitioning to the outdoors until it wasn't dark, windy & cold. Then, in late April, my treadmill broke (wah!) and I had no choice but to begin running outside exclusively. I could tell the first time out that it was a very different experience for my legs - asphalt is obviously less forgiving than a treadmill.

I managed to get about a week of running in before a 5K race on May 6. Everything was going fine. In fact, I was able to run faster outside than on my treadmill with less perceived effort and the time went by so much quicker - awesome!! That is until this past week...when the muscle/ligament/joint pain in my legs set in. Suddenly, I'm hobbling up & down the stairs in my house. My quads & calves are achy and my hip joints are sore. Ugh! I'm falling apart!!! Seriously though...I had no idea running surface would make such huge difference from a bio-mechanical standpoint. Of course, if I could do it all over again, I would take a much more gradual approach to transitioning from one to the other.

I've thought about other possible factors - Shoes? No, they still have plenty of miles left in them. Hills? Some, but nothing crazy. Mileage? Only a modest increase. I really think it's just my legs having to adapt to the new running surface. I'm no spring chicken (45), so I guess I should acknowledge that fact too.

Anyway...all this to say that I'm taking a few much needed rest days & hoping once the soreness subsides I'll be in better shape for my outdoor runs. I share this story to spare others from making the same (painful) mistake I did!

Elise4270 · May 2017

2---3.11
4---5.16
6---6.62
7---2.4 walk
9---4.64

10th-15th in Georgia- lots of walking and ghost tours. Boo mother fer!

14---5.23 beach run

27.16/50+

UPCOMING RACES

May 27- XTERRA Rock Dallas Trail Run. 5k.
July 8- XTERRA Jurassic Trail Run, 5K. Glen Rose,TX
Dec 2- POOP trail run, Hoping for a half! Norman OK.

HonuNui · May 2017

May goal: wear sunblock

5/1: sat on my okole. All. Day. Long.
5/2: 3.13
5/3: 6.06
5/4: 4.08
5/5 rest
5/6: 4.15
5/7 3.56
5/8 snorkel 3.5 hours
5/9 4.58
5/10 3.38
5/11 rest
5/12 3.25
5/13 life
5/14 6.40

Total: 38.59

Ticker is my goal for 2017 and progress to date:

upcoming races:
Volcano Rainforest Runs 10k 8/19
BlockThe Sun Run 5k Oct 14 (https://walk.aimatmelanoma.org/Hilo2017) (physical and virtual options available)

juliet3455 · May 2017

10km Brian Harms Memorial Road Race in Grande Prairie. Mothers Day run. On a new route (for me) due to bridge construction blocking the River bottom trails, Also one area was probably under water. Original forecast was basically 110% heavy rain, on the 2 hr drive to the race the sun started to poke through the clouds. By gun time it was broken cloud and 3-7C depending on sun/windchill. Glad I was packed for 3 temp conditions. Dumped the coat and gloves, stripped off the tights and long sleeve top, went with shorts and short sleeve tech shirt. A little chilly standing around waiting for the start but perfect once I got a k behind me.
There were more runners in the 5k and 15k than in the 10k.

The 3k kids race (13 and under) had 3 runners come in under 16 mins = 5:10>5:20/km was impressive to see the future runners ripping it up like that.

Technically gives me a new 10k PB by 20 seconds. Chip Time of 54:29.46. It was a 5k loop - so twice around. The nice part is once you completed the 1st loop you could pick out spots where you could pick up some time Better tangents, highside or lowside to get away from the slope of the road, better corner planning ( one tight 95 degree corner ) etc.

Unfortunately looking back I know that I didn't leave it all on the course, there was still gas in the tank which means I could have/should have been a little faster. Hindsight 100%, Foresight 75%.

It usually takes me close to 2 km to get into the rhythm of the race, that's seems to be when everything syncs up ( cadence, breathing ) probably because that is when the crowds tend to spread out and everything free's up. Was pacing with a lady that I " chased all of last year " ( she was/is just a smidge faster ) and after the 5k turn she dropped back and I was all by myself. Tried to stay close to 5:30/km on the first loop and then bump it up on the 2nd loop to sub 5:30/km. Really pushed on the last 2 km and somehow managed to get down to 4:52/km on my last km, with a 300m finish sprint. Even managed 4:15/km for a brief time.
AG 3rd and 16/36 in the 10k.

05/01 0 km – 160 km - 0 km – YTD 420.15
05/01 11.5 km – 148.5 km - 11.5km
05/02 5.5 km – 143.0 km - 17.0km
05/03 10.0 km – 133.0 km - 27.0km
05/04 7.5 km – 125.5 km - 34.50km
05/07 7.0 km – 118.5 km - 41.50km
05/08 11.5 km – 107.0 km - 53.0km
05/09 6.0 km – 101.0 km - 59.0km
05/08 7.7 km – 93.3 km - 66.7km
05/14 9.9 km – 83.4 km - 76.6km – YTD 496.75 Brian Harms 10k Race GP

amc2509 · May 2017

Need to get my skates on to make my target!!!

3/5/17 4.7K
6/5/17 5K
9/5/17 2.7K
10/5/17 5.1K
13/5/17 5K (TOTAL for May 22.5K)

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girlinahat · May 2017

@Mobycarp – most of the reason I took up running was to be able to enjoy more of the countryside than walking gave me. Good you stopped to look around – do it more often!!! I’m always amazed at how people say they HAVE to listen to music to run, when there is such a fantastic world around to listen to (although I suppose it does depend where you are running!!).

@snowyne – sorry you learnt the hard way about the perils of TM running. It’s always good to vary the terrain. This is why I advocate running on trails, sometimes the rockier the better. It strengthens the core and helps with balancing muscles in ways running on a standard surface will never do. I think my ankles and outer edges of my legs are greatly strengthened by choosing to run off-road. I did a run at the beginning of the year in deep iced up muddy ruts and BOY did my legs aches after!!

May 2017 Running Challenge

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