August 2017 Running Challenge

MobyCarp wrote: »

All you ladies bemoaning your large calves: Stop that right now! Large calves are attractive. They mean you have a well-developed gastrocnemius, and you can run. This is a survival trait. You don't need to out-run the bear, you only need to out-run the fashion model with skinny calves.

Yes, surviving the zombie apocalypse is basically going to ride on calves and quads people- there's a reason Rick is always running

August Running Totals (miles)
8/1 – 9.06 warm up + speed work
8/2 – unplanned rest day
8/3 – 15.02 easy

August total to date – 24.08

Nominal challenge goal: 260 miles

Real goals: Stay healthy. Train well toward the Rochester Marathon. Win my age group at Pound the Ground 10K on August 9. Run a respectable sub-20 5K at Bergen on August 12. Run the USATF Masters Mile (road) in under 6 minutes on August 25.

Today's notes – Coach is out of town, so I expected that club practice wouldn't be very organized this evening. I planned to go there anyway, because today's assignment was 15 miles at E, and I can run some non-technical trails with soft surfaces out of that venue. Many of the trails have shade, and the weather forecast was more of the same not terribly hot but humid, with scattered thundershowers. Chance of rain was low, 10% or so.

Then I got into a text conversation with Coach. He asked me to communicate a recommended workout to the club, 3-4 x 1000m at I pace, with same time recovery. Thought about that, and made a sign to post at the track so I could go out for the warmup and just keep running to 15 miles. For the off chance of rain, I put the printed sign in a gallon ziplock bag, and posted it on the chain link fence with 4 clothespins.

Ran the first mile with a slightly slower club member, which was good. It won't hurt me to slow down a bit. Right now, it's more about muscles and tendons than about heart and lungs. Parted ways with the other guy at about a mile, and it began to get cooler. Passed him on the way back. "I hope you don't get caught in a thunderstorm," he says. I reply, "God casteth the rain on the just and the unjust." Yeah.

The showers started at about 3.2 miles. At first they were pleasant. The serious rain started about 3.75 miles, and lasted past the 5 mile mark before gradually backing off. Not to worry, I'm wearing Darn Tough socks. I will have to step in some puddles, and my feet will get wet, but I won't get blisters. And I was going to get wet anyway, either hot sweat or clean rain. The cooler temperature actually felt pretty good, I was on the Erie Canal path where I don't have to worry about automotive traffic, and the rain kept the walking pedestrians away. That much was quite pleasant. And what the heck, if it rains on September 17 there will still be a Rochester Marathon to run.

The more annoying thing was, once the rain got hard I had trouble reading my watch. I ran mostly by feel. I was wearing the Vivofit on my other wrist; most times I looked at it, my heart rate was in the low to mid 130s. Oh, well. I can sustain that by feel on a mostly flat route. Saw a flash of lightning. There was a noticeable pause, then the corresponding rumble of thunder. I remember my mother telling me to count seconds between the lightning and thunder, and that's how many miles away the lightning is. As an adult, I realize that implies that the speed of sound is one mile per second; I think it's actually slower than that. In any case, the perceptible lag between flash and sound gave me some comfort that it wasn't close.

Ran around a downed tree right at 6 miles. Found a downed tree totally blocking the path at 6.38 miles, so that was my turnaround instead of the planned turnaround of 7.5 or 8 miles. Made up for it with an out and back past where I needed to leave the canal path, and ended up very close to 15 miles when I got back to base. No one was there, which was pretty much expected. 4 x 1000 at I is a short workout compared to 15 miles at E. Retrieved my sign and clothespins, and came home.

The Achilles niggle from yesterday was still there this morning, but not nearly as bad. I felt good about trying the 15 miles, and particularly good that I could put some of them on soft trails. On the way back, I added some distance with a trail detour that ended up running a lot on grass beside the trail puddle. This type of running has been good for my Achilles niggle in the past, and it seems to have been good for it today as well.

So the plan of just taking an extra rest day yesterday seems to be workout out well. This week will be more of a cutback week than the marathon training plan calls for, because that's what I need right now. Next week will be a bit lower mileage than the plan, as well. Lower volume weeks when I traveled to races worked out well last training cycle, so I'm inclined to do that deliberately for local races this time around.

Have to remember that the most important goal is stay healthy. I don't need to crush the finish time at Rochester; I need to finish healthy and would like to have a decent time that improves my corral at Boston 2018. To achieve that, avoiding injury is far more important than working to get faster than I already am.

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) finished in 40:04
May 27, 2017 Canandaigua Classic Half Marathon (Canandaigua, NY) finished in 1:33:06
June 9, 2017 Charlie McMullen Mile (Fairport, NY) finished in 5:44.90, PR for mile
June 18, 2017 Medved 5K to Cure ALS (Rochester, NY) finished in 19:32
July 4, 2017 Firecracker Four Mile (Fairport, NY) finished in 25:42
July 15, 2017 Shoreline Half Marathon [1:40 pacer] (Hamlin, NY) finished in 1:39:05
July 28, 2017 Karknocker 5K (East Rochester, NY) finished in 19:28
August 9, 2017 Pound the Ground 10K (Mendon, NY)
August 12, 2017 Bergen Road Race 5K (Bergen, NY)
August 25, 2017 USATF Masters Mile (Hap Crim Michigan Mile, Flint, MI)
September 3, 2017 Oak Tree Half Marathon (Geneseo, NY)
September 17, 2017 MVP Rochester Marathon (Rochester, NY)
November 23, 2017 Race with Grace 10K (Hilton, NY)

It was a dark and stormy night, the rain was coming down in grey sheets.
Picture a Grumpy Runner staring out the window looking for a break in the weather for about 2 hours.

I kept an eye on the weather channel watching the Radar and Satellite updates.
It looked like there was going to be a break in the storm between two different weather systems.
As the back of the first system passed through it quit pouring, it looked like about a 1 - 2 hr window before the next system would hit. I was planning on Pats Creek Trail and 12 ft Davis Hill, but they are dirt so I thought they would be an ugly mess - A quick Drive past the bottom of them proved that Pat's Creek was a Creek and 12 ft Davis was an absolute Mud Bowl with water rivulets running down the middle of it. Normally I would relish the challenge - but I am one week out from my major event for the year and injury phobia is heavy - So I changed plan and went over to Judah Hill ( paved ) so It would be passible.

14 km Judah Hill Climb. Managed to get a quick run in between Storms.
Set 2 new PB's ; 1/2 mile Best estimated effort (3:37) ; 400m Best estimated effort (1:43)
and 1 mile 2nd best estimated effort (7:45) ; 1k 2nd best estimated effort (4:39).
On the downhill I was concentrating on Short - Quick Stride's yet when I reviewed the data it says that's where my longest strides occurred ??? but my Cadence was higher - which is what I was concentrating on. Very confused.
As I peaked out a small squall passed through - just big enough to get me soaked to the skin and make for a clammy wet return run back home.

08/01 0.0 km – 150 km - 0 km – YTD 862.57 km
08/01 7.5 km – 142.5 km - 7.5 km – YTD 870.07 km
08/03 14.0 km – 128.5 km - 21.5 km – YTD 884.07 km

@PastorVincent you're totally rocking the memes.

@ Everybody: I've just speed-read the last 6 pages. You totally inspire me to do awesome things. This group has been so special to me since I started running nearly 2 years ago.

Today I did my longest run ever. 34 km in 3:48:09 moving time.

ETA: My PT friend recommended only doing 32 km, but I'd already done 32 km, plus I wanted to only have an extra 8 km to find on the big day (fear of double digits ), plus I did the Fibonacci number!

It was my last long, long run before my first marathon on August 27. I think I'm ready!

Hoping the 3 week taper and race-day energy will propel me towards sub 5 hours.

Orphia wrote: »

@PastorVincent you're totally rocking the memes.