January 2018 Running Challenge

2.25M on the treadmill tonight. Had hoped for 3 miles, but legs felt heavy and sluggish on the back half of the second mile and my lower back had been a bit achy earlier in the day, so I decided not to push it. Hoping some good rest tonight will have me feeling right as rain tomorrow.

On a happy note, I found out today that my two preferred March races are a week apart, not a day apart as I had thought. So I could (at least in theory) run them both!

MTD: 11.3/45
1/2 - 3.0
1/3 - 1.25
1/5 - 1.3
1/6 - 1.5 + 2.0
1/7 - 2.25

*****

Goals for 2018:
- Run 500 miles
- Run a nonstop (no walking) 5K
- Run/walk my first 10K
- Run 3+ trail races
- Run in 3+ states

Races to Consider:
1/27 - Mississippi Blues Marathon 5K (Registered)
2/18 - Q50 Trails Extravaganza 5M (Registered)
3/10 - Hammond Shamrock Run 5K (First race I ever ran, in 2017)
3/18 - Shamrockin Run 8K in NOLA
4/20 - Star Wars Dark Side 5K in WDW (Registered)
5/12 - Q50 Cinco de Mayo Trail Race 5K (First trail race I ever ran, in 2017)
6/21 - Summer Solstice 6.21M

*****

Why/How I got to where I am with running: http://teachertrailrunner.blogspot.com/2018/01/why-get-into-trail-why-ultra.html

No run today, but I knew that would happen. To many non-running events, including teaching my son how to bake cookies:

Well it wasn't a run so it must be Cross Training ?
A great day on the Local Ski Hill with my niece and her 3 son's. She was glad to see me as her oldest ( 6 yrs ) can ride the chair and t-bar by himself but gets nervous if no one is around to be on the hill with him. This way she could spend more time with the younger ones helping them learn. A fairly steep curve at times. Quite often on the little Roller Coaster Hills they would not have enough speed to get up and over so I would skate back to them and load them sideways across my skis and just double pole like a x-country skier to get them to the top of the little roller. It definitely slowed me down but was an enjoyable day with family and some friends.
Desperately need some snow as some areas are getting scrubbed down to the grass and mowed down tree stumps.



By the time I got home my legs told me that an evening run was not a good idea.

1/1 - Rest
1/2 - 2 miles
1/3 - Boxing
1/4 - 2.5 miles
1/6 - 2.4 miles
1/7 - 2 miles + 30-minute boxing session

8.9 miles so far / 50 miles goal

Today, I finally braved the Chicago cold and went downtown for a run on the lakefront. I think the amount of layers I had above the waist was perfect! The balaclava was really helpful with my breathing! But WOW, did my legs feel numb heading into the second mile, even though I was clipping along at a decent pace! Probably a stupid question, but is that normal? is my one layer of running tights not enough?

My plan was to run 5 miles today, but the frigid air psyched me out. As a newbie runner, running in the cold was a first for me so I guess I'm proud of what I could accomplish. Tomorrow will be better -- the temperatures are supposed to reach the mid 30s.

5k race is two weeks away!

January 1 — 4.15 miles
January 3 — 4.25 miles
January 5 — 4.12 miles
January 7 — 4.15 miles

January total — 16.67/75 miles

Overdressed for the weather today — after the last few runs, 22 degrees felt downright balmy. I guess the 18 mph winds made me think it would be colder than it was. But with the extra layer, I was warm enough that I actually had a bottle of water after this run instead of my usual glass of wine, lol.

@slimbyjune18 Abstain while training?? Noooooo. In fact our little group once accidentally participated in the Beer Olympics the night before a HM. May have affect our times the next day just a tad.

A picture of one of our Training Runs/ Bon Voyage Celebrations for a lady who was leaving town for a new job, note the medicinal - recovery beverages