October 2017 Running Challenge

5.1 easy??? Probably too fast. 8:11 pace half zone 2 half zone 3. Rainy and muggy. Legs feel good, ready for Saturday. A good friend of mine who used to run marathons is coming to the race with my dad and I. He had to stop running after knee surgery a few years ago. So at my first marathon watching me will Be the two people I was most likely to be watching if I went to a marathon in the past.

10/1 - REST
10/2 - 4m
10/3 - CROSS // 20 mins mat pilates + walk
10/4 - 4m
10/5 - REST
10/6 - CROSS // 60 mins Bodypump + 5 minute treadmill run
10/7 - REST
10/8 - 3.2
10/9 - REST

Goal: 50
MTD: 08.2

Upcoming Races
10/08 - (5k) Run the Rocks
10/28 - (10k) Kooky Spooky
11/18 - (10k) Turkey Trek
12/09 - (HM) Fa La La Half Marathon


I managed a respectable finish in the race on Sunday. I finished 12th in my age group. The stairs weren't the worst. It was the last entire mile being up hill, so by the time you go to the stairs, you were totally spent. I did walk about .5 miles, but finished strong up the stairs. The finish line was actually at the top of the stairs, so there was no 'runway' to sprint to the finish.

It was the weirdest race. Almost entirely downhill until the last mile. To give you a sense of how nuts this was, my typical pace is around 11.5 mpm. On Sunday, my first mile was 9:45, my second was 8:53, and my third was *GASP* 16:45.

I definitely want to try another 5k in a flatter setting, just to see how I'd do, but I'll save that for after the HM training.

10/1- 6 miles+ doggie walking
10/2-P90X3 Total Synergystics+ doggie walking
10/3-P90X3 Agility +7.1 hilly miles
10/4- P90X3 yoga + hour of walking the pup
10/5-45 minute weight training+5 miles+15 min doggie walk
10/6- P90X3 Dynamix + 50 minutes of doggie walking
10/7-10 miles + 25 minutes doggie walking with some little jogs thrown in
10/8-P90X3 Challenge (push up/pull up marathon) + 1.4 miles with Stella in the rain

Yesterday was one of those days that brought us nothing but steady rain all day long. I was fine with it since I had a lot of house cleaning to do. But my high energy pup was not too happy. I spent most of the day cleaning while she spent the majority of the day pestering me to throw her squeaky ball for her and running up and down the stairs like a lunatic. I did my P90X3 Challenge video in the morning (this video is ALL push ups and pull ups, for which I use resistance bands, but it's still a killer). I figured I might try and sneak a nighttime run in if I felt like it, but wasn't feeling obligated. However, around 8:30 or so the rain finally slowed to a drizzle and I decided to clip a light on the dog and head out to help her get rid of some of the extra energy, as she was still going at it with full steam.

About a quarter of a mile into our run the rain decided to start back up again and was coming down pretty good, but Stella seemed to be having fun, so we just kept going. It was actually a ton of fun to run with her in the dark and rain. Although I am sure that now, to all the people in my neighborhood that passed us in their cars, I am probably that crazy lady that runs in the rain with her poor dog.

On a side note, although I have been doing more strength training than running these days, I have done nothing to rein in my eating. In fact, I have found the lifting seems to make me even hungrier than running. I don't usually obsess about my weight, as I have stayed within a three pound range for several years now, but I think I am going to have to start watching a little more carefully if I continue to run this limited mileage. This morning I weighed myself and I felt like I was carb loading for a marathon.

Way late, way behind on everyone's activities. Spent >2 weeks in China and only ran 5 times on hotel treadmills. Beat my September goal of 80 miles, but barely. October goal 100? Have a half marathon this Sunday, not sure I am really ready, but should be able to at least finish.

26.26 miles of 100.