August 2017 Running Challenge
Replies
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I'm in for 115 this month.
8/1 - Rest/sick day - feeling better, but not sure running would have been good. Hoping for tomorrow.
@PastorVincent - Right hot dog, wrong condiment! I had some Hebrew National All-Beef dogs last night myself.5 -
skippygirlsmom wrote: »PastorVincent wrote: »
Those are Hebrew National all beef ones. About as healthy as a hot dog can get. Which is not really saying much I know, but allow me my delusions.skippygirlsmom wrote: »@pastorvincent I'm so jealous!!! I love hot dogs. Skip is making me eat healthier since I gained some weight in the last year so it's salmon and veggies for us tonight.
@respectthekitty ha ha my grandmother used to say that all the time "Jesus, Mary and Joseph .... " ha ha BTW did you win the walk challenge?
Yes, yes I did. I had just over 169k steps for the week. Now I am turning it down a week bit this week because of the achilles niggle.
And the Jesus Mary and Joseph thing comes from my mom.
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spencerfiretn1322 wrote: »Hello, everyone. I am a beginner runner who has recently gotten back into the habit. Two years ago I was running about 3 miles every other day with about 5 miles as a long run. Due to many changes in my personal life, I was unable to commit time to exercise until recently when I quit a second job so now I am back at it. Only now I am 50 pounds heavier.
I started in earnest about a month ago and now can run/walk 2 miles easily and 3 miles with difficulty. I would like to commit to 35 miles this month.
Thinking of running a half marathon in late October. I have run many 5Ks before and I do have a training plan that would get me there by race day but wanted some opinions on whether that is too soon for that kind of a distance. This particular half marathon is special in that I would be running a route I am very familiar with because I have helped secure law enforcement for this race for years in my work for the police department and the race sponsor has offered to comp my race fee as a thank you.
Thanks for this group and I wish everyone very best luck in completing your goals for August!
@spencerfiretn1322 - How late in October is a factor. You have between 2 and 3 months to prepare. In 3 months, going from "3 miles with difficulty" to "13.1 miles with difficulty" seems plausible. In 2 months, it seems like a pretty big stretch.
I won't say it's impossible, even 50 pounds overweight, because I've seen it done. When I was training for my first half marathon, the slowest guy in the training group was morbidly obese. He was the only trainee in the 15 minute mile pace group for long runs. The coaches watched closely to see that he made it back from training runs. His goal was simply to finish before the cutoff and get an official time.
Over the 14-week training program, he lost enough weight to be visibly thinner. He made his goal, with about a minute to spare. And 3 years later, instead of being the only runner in the 15 minute per mile pace group, he's pacing 11:30 per mile. And he is no longer visibly overweight. It can be done.
That having been said, the guy I remember is probably the second toughest runner I've ever met. (Toughest award goes to the ex-marine who is now running half marathons on a prosthetic leg.) There is plenty of opportunity for someone who is less tough and less determined to wash out. There is a significant chance that someone who is determined enough to put the work in could work too hard and end up injured. But it's *possible*.
Factors in your favor include the course being familiar; no surprises is a Good Thing for the first half marathon. And the comped entry fee means no direct financial risk. If you're willing to accept finishing, even if finishing means more walking than running, it's low enough risk to try. I wouldn't expect a great time, given where you're coming from. And it looks more possible if "late October" means October 29 than if it means October 21. That's how close you're cutting the time to prepare.6 -
RespectTheKitty wrote: »skippygirlsmom wrote: »PastorVincent wrote: »
Those are Hebrew National all beef ones. About as healthy as a hot dog can get. Which is not really saying much I know, but allow me my delusions.skippygirlsmom wrote: »@pastorvincent I'm so jealous!!! I love hot dogs. Skip is making me eat healthier since I gained some weight in the last year so it's salmon and veggies for us tonight.
@respectthekitty ha ha my grandmother used to say that all the time "Jesus, Mary and Joseph .... " ha ha BTW did you win the walk challenge?
Yes, yes I did. I had just over 169k steps for the week. Now I am turning it down a week bit this week but cause of the achilles niggle.
And the Jesus Mary and Joseph thing comes from my mom.
I did one steps challenge, once. I observed that the challenge made me more aggressive than I should have been in getting the steps in, and passed on all step challenges after that. More is not always better.2 -
Hello all. I joined the July challenge late, so I'm jumping into August first thing! I'm training for a half marathon set for 11/4/17. That also happens to be my 50th birthday!
So I'm using Hal Higdon's novice plan #2 for training. Started Week 3 yesterday.
August goal: 74 miles
So far: 38 -
And I thought I was being aggressive when I went from being a non-runner to a half marathon in 6 months!
I love your motivation and enthusiasm for getting to that goal! Though I only know what you've posted, I think you could do this IF you can accept doing the HM in run/walk intervals and only concern yourself with finishing, not with any sort of time goal. If you try to push your training, or push yourself too hard during the race you run a big risk of injury which could really set you back. The hardest thing about running is not the running, it's respecting your body's limits and the recovery time needed between runs.
One thing in your favor is your past running experience. Even though it was two years ago, that helps.
I think you should go for it as long as you're willing to walk a fair portion of it, and go without any finish time goal. I'd also recommend that 98% of your miles be slow, easy miles. If you're huffin' and puffin', gasping for breath, you're going to fast. Take it slow. That will allow you to run farther with less chance of injury. I think too many beginners see experience runners doing tempo runs or track workouts and think that they need to do it too. No. Build the aerobic base first.
Once you get to within three or four weeks of your race, maybe throw some strides in at the end of your run (but before the cool down) to get your legs used to some faster turnover and to recruit some fast twitch muscles.
If you have a bike, do some biking for cross-training.
Losing weight will also help you, but don't lose any more than 1 pound/week. When I started running I was 40 pounds heavier than I am now (I used to be able to say 50 pounds, sigh....) and losing weight was huge in helping me run longer and with less pain.
Feel free to post your training plan if you want some of us to look it over.
Good luck!
Thanks so much! This is a great group. I am actively losing weight and I also bike once to twice a week for cross training. Based on everyone's good advice, I think I may postpone an HM and go with an easier training plan so that I can turn in a good time and prevent any kind of injury. I am a very competitive person and could easily end up hurting myself.
I am looking forward to participating in this group and learning a lot! Shout out to all my fellow slow(er) peeps - remember, we are faster than anyone sitting on a couch.8 -
RespectTheKitty wrote: »skippygirlsmom wrote: »PastorVincent wrote: »
Those are Hebrew National all beef ones. About as healthy as a hot dog can get. Which is not really saying much I know, but allow me my delusions.skippygirlsmom wrote: »@pastorvincent I'm so jealous!!! I love hot dogs. Skip is making me eat healthier since I gained some weight in the last year so it's salmon and veggies for us tonight.
@respectthekitty ha ha my grandmother used to say that all the time "Jesus, Mary and Joseph .... " ha ha BTW did you win the walk challenge?
Yes, yes I did. I had just over 169k steps for the week. Now I am turning it down a week bit this week but cause of the achilles niggle.
And the Jesus Mary and Joseph thing comes from my mom.
I did one steps challenge, once. I observed that the challenge made me more aggressive than I should have been in getting the steps in, and passed on all step challenges after that. More is not always better.
I totally agree. I feel like I may have overdid it a bit last week. 169k steps, if you go by the 1 mile = 2,000 steps formula, is 84.5 miles. I don't think I've ever done that much in a week,and I was absolutely exhausted by Sunday, the last day.
It was a fun challenge, mind you, but not something I want to do every week.1 -
Since I only ran twice last month, goal didn't change much:
Goal will be to complete C25K (12 sessions) and be more consistent.
W6D1 8/1 – 2.32 mi
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I'm in for a 25 mile goal this month! I'm only counting walks/runs on treadmills or outside, not my every day daily steps!
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spencerfiretn1322 wrote: »Hello, everyone. I am a beginner runner who has recently gotten back into the habit. Two years ago I was running about 3 miles every other day with about 5 miles as a long run. Due to many changes in my personal life, I was unable to commit time to exercise until recently when I quit a second job so now I am back at it. Only now I am 50 pounds heavier.
I started in earnest about a month ago and now can run/walk 2 miles easily and 3 miles with difficulty. I would like to commit to 35 miles this month.
Thinking of running a half marathon in late October. I have run many 5Ks before and I do have a training plan that would get me there by race day but wanted some opinions on whether that is too soon for that kind of a distance. This particular half marathon is special in that I would be running a route I am very familiar with because I have helped secure law enforcement for this race for years in my work for the police department and the race sponsor has offered to comp my race fee as a thank you.
Thanks for this group and I wish everyone very best luck in completing your goals for August!
I went from not running more that 1 to 2 miles at a time maybe twice a week in February, to running/walking a marathon in July. It's entirely possible. Make sure it's a race that you have plenty of time, and don't make any time goals. My goal for the marathon was to just finish in injured, I did it an hour longer than I expected because my hip was causing issues, and theirs an wicked hill at the half way mark, so it slowed me way down.
Now I'm now ever going to suggest to anyone to have such an aggressive timeline to run a marathon, I was not as trained for it as I should have been, and I was suppose to have an extra hour to do it, but they cut an hour off due to the heat, but you can do it, just do it safely, don't push too hard, do it slow and steady, and don't hurt yourself1 -
It is on like Donkey Kong!
My wife just registered for the Pittsburgh Marathon! Two years ago the docs wanted her on meds for cholesterol and all that. I finally convinced her to start running. She did the 1/2 this year and at the end of it was like "OMG NEVER AGAIN! TOO FAR"
Less than 24 hours later we were working out a Full Marathon plan for her. Oh, and her cholesterol and all that is great now - no meds!
She ran 18 miles this weekend at a 13 min pace. The Marathon is not until May, so she is well ahead of schedule for long runs but winters here are a huge wild card so I wanted her to hit the 26 mile distance once during good weather to build her confidence. Plus it will help to have a solid foundation going into the cold months.13 -
This is my first time doing a running challenge! I'm aiming for 80 miles; I have a 10k coming up at the end of August and have been seriously slacking on my training - it's just so stupidly humid outside. But I did my three miles this morning and didn't die, so, hooray!8
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spencerfiretn1322 wrote: »PastorVincent wrote: »
So what is that, about NINE WEEKS or so to go from "3 miles with difficulty" and 50 pounds over weight to a half marathon? I am no doctor and no expert but that sounds overly aggressive to me.
I suspect if you plan is to walk much of it and your goal is to just finish, that could be done, but run all 13 miles based on where you are at? I am not sure that is a realistic target. I think you would be risking injury and burn out. I would suggest you set your sites on a 10k first.
Again, I would not call myself an expert, but I that just sounds too aggressive based on your self-declared fitness level.
Thanks for the honest feedback; it was what I was looking for. I could walk a lot of it and finish but I don't think I want that as my first half marathon experience. Additional thoughts are welcome.
http://www.baa.org/races/half-marathon/participant-information/~/media/Files/BAA/Races/Half Marathon/2017/Training Plans/level1_2017.pdf
You could try to follow the baa plan, which is 12 weeks. Or maybe Hal Higdon's novice plan.
I think trying to follow the mileage plan would be ok as long as you took it really slow. And don't bother with any speed/tempo running, just focus on building up a base. If it feels too hard repeat a week. Just drill in your head that it's not about pace it's about getting the mileage in - the slower the better.1 -
PastorVincent wrote: »It is on like Donkey Kong!
My wife just registered for the Pittsburgh Marathon! Two years ago the docs wanted her on meds for cholesterol and all that. I finally convinced her to start running. She did the 1/2 this year and at the end of it was like "OMG NEVER AGAIN! TOO FAR" Less than 24 hours later we were working out a Full Marathon plan for her. Oh, and her cholesterol and all that is great now - no meds!
Tell your wife great job! My cholesterol numbers came down from running as well. Two years ago they were sky high. A 45 pounds loss, lots of running miles, and two years later they are normal. My triglycerides alone dropped 250 points with no meds - just running and a healthier diet. 7 -
@BruinsGal_91 That is the best thing to eat a Fenway.
@RespectTheKitty and @skippygirlsmom I don't know why but my mother's phrase was "Jesus, Mary and Sweet Joseph" couldn't tell you why Joseph was sweet but she always added the adjective.
@WandaVaughn I will also celebrate my 50th this year in November. 1967 was a great year.
@PastorVincent congrats to your wife.3 -
Hi, all. I can't believe I'm already late to the party. Thanks @stoshew71 for setting us up for another month. Hope August treats you more kindly.
Ha @PastorVincent I also like ketchup on my hot dogs along with relish or a pickle slice. I don't eat them often, but especially love them when camping.
Speaking of pickle . . . I got talked in to signing up for pickleball lessons in September/October. I'd never heard of it before and had to consult Google. Hope I'm not the worst at it!
I'll try for 75 again.
August 1: 3.4 km
MTD: 3.4 / 75 km2 -
@cburke8909 I'm sure we could have a nice conversation about Joseph and speculate why he's sweet.
I'd like to propose that it originally was Saint Joseph and because many christians don't do the saints, it was changed to sweet. I'm sure we all can see that Joseph went above and beyond as a father and husband.
I bet he also never ate a hot dog
Google/Wikipedia "(idiomatic) Expletive, used to add emphasis, particularly by Catholics."4 -
PastorVincent wrote: »MNLittleFinn wrote: »@kevaasen There's a group on Strava for this challenge group, you might want to look it up.
He is already a member
But for everyone else here is the group: https://www.strava.com/clubs/mfpmnthlychlng
thanks just requestsed to join0 -
Hi everyone! After lurking/stalking the July Running Challenge, I decide to join ya’ll for August.
I am normally a run for time, not distance runner. However, I will be following a training plan for my half marathon in December that is a distance plan. The coach for this half marathon actually has a six week Pretraining plan for the half marathon, then a 12 week training plan. So, this week starts Pretraining Week 1.
My training plan is 71 miles for August, so that will be my goal.
A little about me: I am a wife, mother of 3 and I work full time for a state agency that teaches high school students about college access. I love to run outside first thing in the morning but occasionally have to run in the evenings and when traveling usually on a treadmill.
As for hotdogs, I tend to avoid them but my family loves them. My daughter only eats them with ketchup.7 -
Goal: 50 miles
8/1: 1.5 miles
Remaining: 48.5 miles0 -
8/1- 7.1
Total: 6.1
August Goal: Not die while ramping up running mileage and technicality during 100K training
Nominal mileage goal: 250 miles
Today's notes: Went to my PT appointment, dry needling again, with some strength exercises and stretching. PT told me to schedule a follow up next week but to cancel it, if my calf is feeling great because, he said, it's maid huge improvements in just the last week. He also said something that made me feel good, and it was just a relatively normal comment. He made the point that when you are a training at "a higher level" small tune ups like this are more necessary than for "normal" people.... I never thought about that really, I see myself as a normal person, just a little slow.
After my appointment, since I was in the area, I went for a short run/power hike from the start of my October race to the first Aid station. There was a LOT of hiking, but it felt GOOD. I ended up averaging 13:39 pace, which isn't bad, considering I got 925 feet of elevation on the run, which was basically uphill, a little flat/downhill, then turn around and come back the way I came...
Sorry about the long post,
2017 Races Scheduled
6/16- William A Irvin 5k
6/17- Grandma's Marathon 4:24:06
7/15- Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon 7:22:23
8/12- UMTR FatAss "Not Quite" 50k
8/19- Rampage at the Ridge 5k OCR
9/23- Ely Marathon (full)
10/21 Wild Duluth 100k
11/23- TBD 5k Turkey5 -
Does anyone know if Garmin is down? Since they upgraded my computer at work I lost my Garmin programs so I had to reinstall now it doesn't recognize my password, okay no biggie I'll reset it, well gives me an "unexpected error" when I try that.
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As per the hot dog conversation: I rarely do them at all any more since I am gluten free, but if I do, it's bunless (because GF bread is pretty gross) with spicy brown mustard only. Sauteed onions or sauerkraut if available, or, on rare occasion, a messy chili slaw dog is okay. If I happen to have a craving for gluten free mac n cheese, then I like little hot dog buttons to go in it (why not go all out?). Ketchup? Never. Only good for french fries, tater tots and scrambled eggs.
And @Elise4270 -If Joseph never ate a hot dog, then I would suggest he could do a lot better at being a good father.2 -
The best hot dog in my opinion is from the Costco food court. Tastes great, is filling (usually can't even finish one unless I'm really hungry), and this is the clincher - can't be beat at $1.50 including a fountain drink. I eat it with mustard, relish, and lots of onion.1
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@lporter229 Lol! I just wonder, did they have hot dogs back then??? I guess they'd have to have.
I found some really good turkey brats by honeysuckle farms. No nitrates. MSG though.0 -
skippygirlsmom wrote: »Does anyone know if Garmin is down? Since they upgraded my computer at work I lost my Garmin programs so I had to reinstall now it doesn't recognize my password, okay no biggie I'll reset it, well gives me an "unexpected error" when I try that.
I've been having issues with Garmin on and off all day1 -
@orphia - love the earrings! Awesome!
@elise4270 and @_nikkiwolf_ - I had a feeling Pi was going to make it into this conversation because Elise loves Pi especially the kind she can eat! 
I may have to rethink my goals - I thought I would go with 144KMs but that is the same as 89 miles! It must be a sign that I need to do 89 miles with an out of reach goal of 144 miles
@Irontri7 - Welcome! You will have to meet @Ohhim when he returns to the group. He also does Ironmans.
@7lenny7 - love the picture of Kody! Hobbes the Vizsla is jealous. The closest thing he has is our pool and he will only go in under duress and then only onto the steps... yes he is supposed to be a 'water dog'
@RespectTheKitty - take care of that niggle! Mine still bothers me off and on but doing calf stretches seem to help. Congratulations on the steps challenge. My work is going to have one starting soon too.. not sure I want to join it but we are all being 'encouraged' to do so.
@PastorVincent - congratulations to your wife! I had a similar experience when I started running and lost weight - my husband was on nothing and I was on everything (cholesterol, BP, etc...) and he is 9 years older. Now I am off everything and he is on. Wish I could get him to run a bit too.
@zdyb23456 - Trader Joes has a great all beef, uncured hot dog that tastes just like the Costco ones!
Welcome to all the newbies! if you didn't see the post by @girlinahat on page 3 it is a really good one although I am mostly a road runner and not a trail runner. Also our fearless leader @Stoshew71 has compiled some great information here - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/21182-monthly-running-challange. It is really a great resource for additional information.4 -
I ran 8 miles this morning.
wow! 5 pages already?8 -
Nominal goal: 44 miles, calculated as 3 miles x 3 runs a week for the first 2 weeks, then adding a 4th day starting at 1 mile for the second 2 weeks.
Actual goals:
- Figure out how to run 3-4 days a week while also getting my teenager to and from school and activities and myself to work on time, while complying with my preferred running path's dusk-to-dawn curfew.
- Do at least 30 minutes of yoga for every mile run.
- Do at least 30 minutes of additional non-running physical activity for every mile run.
- Keep my acute-to-chronic ratio below 1.2. (This basically means "learn how to not run as far as I want to.")
- Keep a more consistent pace from mile to mile. (This basically means "learn how not to run as fast as I want to.")
I have a dumb question, because I am dumb. What the heck is conversational pace? I am generally a hard grader, and there is an *enormous* gap between "can speak entire sentences with relative ease" and "gasping between words." This guy on YouTube ( 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLQ5mU952f0 ) thinks he's running at a conversational pace, and that amount of out-of-breath-ness is gaspier than I am on a flat, but less gaspy than I am on an incline.
In additional to what @MobyCarp said....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veAQ73OJdwY
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skippygirlsmom wrote: »Does anyone know if Garmin is down? Since they upgraded my computer at work I lost my Garmin programs so I had to reinstall now it doesn't recognize my password, okay no biggie I'll reset it, well gives me an "unexpected error" when I try that.
Yep, it's having issues. The login module appears to be down.
ETA: it now seems to be working1
This discussion has been closed.
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