January 2018 Running Challenge

Kody & I ran 5 miles last night. I had absolutely ZERO pain, discomfort, or niggles from my IT band so I'm very encouraged by that. Twice on this run I had dogs come up and join us. The first time the owner was outside, so I ran back to their yard so their dog would follow and they could retrieve it. The second time there was no owner in site so I kept running as the dog followed us. I had about a half mile before I'd pass the yard again and figured I could drop the dog off then if it continued to follow us. At some point the dog stopped and turned back. I assume it made it back to its home.

I'll run another 5 tonight. It will be the first time I've run two days in a row since Nov 30/Dec 1!

December Total: 70 miles

01/01 4.06 miles
03/01 3.80 miles Phew that was one stormy run!
05/01 3.61 miles - ate too close to running a bit sluggish
18/01 4.24 miles- found it hard to breath. probably a mix of it being very cold and 11 days since last run.
19/01 4.22 miles
24/01 3.61 miles
25/01 3.69 miles

01/02/2018: C25K W1D1
01/11/2018: C25K W1D2
01/15/2018: C25K W1D3
01/17/2018: C25K W2D1
01/19/2018: C25K W2D2
01/21/2018: C25K W2D3
01/23/2018: C25K W3D1
01/25/2018: C25K W3D2

I'm starting to wish everyday was run day, but I'm also smart enough to know if I increase too much, too soon, I'm setting myself up for injury. It's the same approach when conditioning my horse to ride 50+ mile endurance rides). After reading some posts here, I am going to spend some time looking at form and cadence to see how to best apply them.

I'm hoping I can try a Ride and Tie this summer, too!!

~ Link2Life

Way to go @AlphaHowls ! @7lenny7 the MFP phone app reply process peeves me off too -_-

The fog was wicked this morning and even though it was only -20 my lashes were freezing together something fierce. In the car on the way to my mom's house now. Will probably run at the provincial park near her house in the AM.

January 1- 18
January 2- 20
January 3- 19
January 4- Ran but I'm not counting it because slow
January 5- Off
January 6- 62
January 7- 21
January 8- 18
January 9- 5
January 10- 16
January 11- Off
January 12- 10
January 13- 61
January 14- 20
January 15- 17
January 16- 17
January 17- 15
January 18- 15
January 19- Off
January 20- 38
January 21- 17
January 22- Off
January 23- 17
January 24- 19

425/550

425/6000

2018 Races
*Gord's Frozen A** 50K, February 19
*JAJA Trail Marathon, April 1
*Red Deer Marathon, May 20
*Lone Wolf Last Man Standing Race, June 17
*Eddie's Half Marathon, TBA June
*Run in the Buff 120km TBA August
*Lost Souls 100 Miler, September 7

1/1/18-6 miles
1/4/18-3 miles
1/6/18-6 miles
1/7/18-3.25 miles
1/9/18-3miles
1/10/18-2.25 miles
1/13/18-1.5 miles
1/14/18-8 miles
1/15/18-3 miles
1/17/18-3 miles
1/21/18-6 miles
1/22/18-5 miles
1/24/18-2 miles

52/60 Miles


Upcoming Races:
5/12/18-Montana Womens Run-5 Miles
7/15/18-Missoula Marathon

Picked up my son after school today, and we went for a 4 miler on the trails in the local park. It was a total mudfest (and a slow slog at times), but a fun time nonetheless. Feeling a bit more optimistic about trying to do 16 miles this weekend. Definitely going to take the rest day tomorrow to prepare though.

Jan 1 Travel day
Jan 2 Ran 4 mi + strength and stretching
Jan 3 Ran 3.4 mi + strength and stretching
Jan 4 Fail
Jan 5 Walked 18000 steps at Universal Studios
Jan 6 Fail because flight was delayed
Jan 7 Ran 8.0 mi trail and snow + strength and stretching
Jan 8 Ran 12.4 mi in slush + strength and stretching
Jan 9 Water walking + strength
Jan 10 Ran 6.2 mi + strength + stretching
Jan 11 Ran 4.0 mi + stretching
Jan 12 Rest
Jan 13 Ran 10.1 mi + stretching
Jan 14 Ran 10.0 mi + stretching
Jan 15 Water walking + strength + stretching
Jan 16 Ran 4.0 mi on indoor track, last 1 mi fast
Jan 17 Ran 7.0 mi + yoga + foam rolling
Jan 18 Ran 4.0 mi + foam rolling + stretching
Jan 19 Water walking
Jan 20 Night Half Marathon + extra warm up (13.7 mi total) + foam rolling + stretching
Jan 21 Power hike on pavement (counted 2.5 mi because weight bearing at high HR)
Jan 22 Water walking + PT+ foam rolling
Jan 23 Ran 4.0 mi + stretching + foam rolling
Jan 24 Ran 6.0 mi+ Yoga + foam rolling
Jan 25 Ran 4.0 mi + stretching + PT strength + foam rolling

Jan goal: 120 mi
Done: 102.3 mi
To go: 17.7 mi

Upcoming races:
Bound the Mound Half Marathon Feb 24
OPSF 50/50 50K Mar 24

2018 Spring Plan:
Spring Fling 10K Mar 3
DINO Eagle Creek 15K Apr 7
April 28 Glacial Esker 20 mi Apr 28
DINO Muscatuck 15K May 5
DWD Gnawbone Marathon May 19
DINO Brown County 15K Jun 2
8 h @ Brown County Jun 16-17
DINO Griffin Park 15K Jun 23

Big goal for the fall: 50 miler before I turn 50

Did 10k on the treadmill after work tonight. I prefer running outside but it's cold and dark, and the gym is on my way home. I was getting changed after my run when a woman came into the changing room and said to me, "I've been watching you on the treadmill for a while now, and you are a total rock-star! And you look great!"

Man, I walked out of the gym feeling 6' tall.

2018 Races completed
1/21/18 - Dreamfar 10k - Sharon, MA

2018 Races coming up
2/10/18 - Cupid's Chase 5k - Wakefield, MA
3/10/18 - Shamrock Shuffle 5k - Medway, MA
5/13/18 - Strivers Mothers' Day 5k - Natick, MA
5/19/18 - Martha's Vineyard Half Marathon - Oak Bluffs, MA

January Running Totals (miles)
1/1 – rest/injury
1/2 – rest/injury
1/3 – rest/injury
1/4 – rest/injury
1/5 – rest/injury
1/6 – 1.59 test run
1/7 – rest day
1/8 – 2.01 easy
1/9 – rest day
1/10 – 3.00 easy
1/11 – rest day
1/12 – rest day
1/13 – unplanned rest day
1/14 – 3.04 easy
1/15 – rest day
1/16 – 4.68 easy
1/17 – rest day
1/18 – 5.17 easy
1/19 – rest day
1/20 – 3.01 group run
1/21 – 3.01 easy
1/22 – rest day
1/23 – 4.13 warm up, tempo run, cool down
1/24 – rest day
1/25 – 4.60 easy

January running total to date – 34.24

Nominal challenge goal: No specific distance

Real goals: Start January getting back to running regularly. Finish January in base building mode, giving myself a chance to start and complete Boston 2018.

Today's notes – Tuesday evening I ran in a winter thaw, maybe 38º F (3º C) with wind and showers sometimes mixed with snow. Yesterday it was cold-for-here, and today it was normal winter. Got out in the heat of the day, 29º F (-2º C) by my porch thermometer or 25º F (-4º C) by Garmin. Wind was from the north, but so weak it didn't even bring any lake effect snow.

The good news is, even with normal winter temperature I was able to warm up my quad to achieve what passes for comfortable running currently. The bad news is, I wanted 5 miles; but when I got to the decision point of adding a half mile loop, the quad wanted to go straight home for stretching and rolling. So I got 4.6 miles in, and that's it. If I pace 5 miles on Saturday, I'll finish this week with not quite a mile more than last week. If I pace 8 miles, I'll have not quite 4 miles more. It will have to be enough, wherever the quad tells me to stop on Saturday.

Miscellaneous replies to discussion:

Cadence: I've noticed that my cadence is higher and my stride is shorter on the Garmin stats than it was when I was healthy, for an average pace of about the same when running easy. I had been running easy with a cadence of 177-180; now it's more like 188-191. Other than the obvious implication that I'm adjusting how I run for how the quad aches, I don't know what it means.

Niagara Falls: When I ran the Buffalo Marathon in 2015, I picked up a brochure describing the Niagara Falls International Marathon. It starts in downtown Buffalo, and ends by the Horseshoe Falls. I kind of have in the back of my mind that I'd like to run that some day, just so I can say I've become an international marathon runner. There is an associated half marathon, but it's entirely on the Canadian side; so the marathon is more attractive for that "international" label. Last time I looked, it happened in October, which means the weather could be anything from great running weather to a winter storm. Coach tells me there is typically a prevailing north wind. He described a pack of 6 guys running the first 20 miles as a peloton, taking turns shielding each other from the wind until it was every man for himself to finish. Oh, well. Before I can think about that, I need to get healthy. And even if recovery from injury and recovery from Boston goes well, I won't try a fall marathon in 2018.

2018 races:
February 17, 2018 Freezeroo #5 (Valentines Run "In Memory of Tom Brannon" 8 Mile) (Greece, NY)
February 24, 2018 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY)
April 16, 2018 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA)