February 2018 Running Challenge

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  • DauntlessDiva
    DauntlessDiva Posts: 28 Member
    katharmonic wrote: »
    Yesterday I logged on to Facebook while out of town and found out that the coach for our running program for the YMCA (across all Y's in the metro area) has been let go effective immediately. Seems to be a financial decision, they are going to make the triathlon coach the head of both the running and tri programs. I feel devastated. He built the running program, it's his method of training, he inspired all of us. I know there are meetings happening, and protests, and letter writing. I hope somehow it gets reversed or some other position is found. I would not be a runner without this program, and there is no program without our coach as far as we the runners are concerned. Just shocked and sad and angry.

    Maybe he can go out on his own to continue coaching independently so you can still have his coaching! Hopefully this works out in your favor In the long run. ❤️
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    polskagirl01 wrote: »

    Question for y'all: Our health insurance has a benefit that either reimburses us for a gym membership OR the equivalent in "home fitness equipment". If you had $30/month (you can spend the whole year at one time so $360 total per person), what equipment would you buy?

    If I had space, I'd buy a squat rack and barbell set, maybe some dumbbells And maybe a Concept2 Rowing machine if I really had money to splash out. As a runner, you'd benefit from strength training but you already get your cardio from running. The rower is probably the best all-round fitness 'machine'
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    girlinahat wrote: »
    polskagirl01 wrote: »

    Question for y'all: Our health insurance has a benefit that either reimburses us for a gym membership OR the equivalent in "home fitness equipment". If you had $30/month (you can spend the whole year at one time so $360 total per person), what equipment would you buy?

    If I had space, I'd buy a squat rack and barbell set, maybe some dumbbells And maybe a Concept2 Rowing machine if I really had money to splash out. As a runner, you'd benefit from strength training but you already get your cardio from running. The rower is probably the best all-round fitness 'machine'

    Ask yourself what you will actually USE. I mean there are tons of great work out thingies you can buy that will help you in all kinds of great ways - but in most homes, they end up just collected laundry.

    Personally, for me, I would upgrade my dreadmill as it is probably the only thing I would actually use.

    If you keep up running, you probably need to target upper body. So equipment that targets your upper body is probably wisest - if you will actually use it.
  • dreamer12151
    dreamer12151 Posts: 1,031 Member
    Just caught up!

    To all the head phone posts: The 5 & 8K's I've been in say they are discouraged, but people use them, and I've also gone by people who don't use them, but their music is playing loud & clear to all around, if we want to hear it or not! In the duathalons I've done, they are absolutely forbidden, and any athlete using them will be disqualified. Personally, I will use them, but only 1 ear bud in. I CAN run without music, but I prefer to.

    Now I do have a question to pose to y'all here. Getting real. (If it's too real, then delete, I understand) "Runner's Trots" Gut Issues, Lower GI Issues...however you want to phrase it. I KNOW I'm not alone with this! For races, I'll take an Imodium, but I don't want to take one every time I run. I've changed my diet, limited my alcohol, I run on empty, get dressed while sitting on the toilet, then take another sit before I go out, yet there still times, like this morning, where I'm pausing my runs because I literally cannot go on. I have tried slowing a pace, walking, but nope, I have to stop. At 4:30, 5 in the morning, not too many options to ask to use the bathroom! How many else suffer through this, and what are your little tips & tricks for getting through it?
  • BruinsGal_91
    BruinsGal_91 Posts: 1,400 Member
    @lporter229 - Congratulations! And as you can probably guess from my user name, I'm a massive hockey fan and I am VERY envious of your bling.
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    dreamer12151 wrote: »
    Now I do have a question to pose to y'all here. Getting real. (If it's too real, then delete, I understand) "Runner's Trots" Gut Issues, Lower GI Issues...however you want to phrase it. I KNOW I'm not alone with this! For races, I'll take an Imodium, but I don't want to take one every time I run. I've changed my diet, limited my alcohol, I run on empty, get dressed while sitting on the toilet, then take another sit before I go out, yet there still times, like this morning, where I'm pausing my runs because I literally cannot go on. I have tried slowing a pace, walking, but nope, I have to stop. At 4:30, 5 in the morning, not too many options to ask to use the bathroom! How many else suffer through this, and what are your little tips & tricks for getting through it?

    I do not have it as bad as you I guess. I usually am fine if I just make sure I completely empty out before heading out. Once in a great while, I will have to ditch to find a bathroom, but that is maybe 2 or 3 times a year.
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    fitoverfortymom wrote: »
    Third, I'm thankful for all the people who ditched out on the race because of weather. Not saying the outcome wouldn't have been the same, but it was far less competitive.


    HAH!

    Congrats on your big win! :smiley:
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    @lporter229 Well done!
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    @lporter, that is great! I love the hockey puck!
  • AmyOutOfControl
    AmyOutOfControl Posts: 1,425 Member
    fitoverfortymom wrote: »
    02/01/18 - 3.8 miles
    02/02/18 - Cross train // Les Mills //
    02/03/18 - 8 miles
    02/04/18 - REST
    02/05/18 - 3 miles
    02/06/18 - 3.25 miles
    02/07/18 - 2.3 (5 x 400 + warmup and cooldown)
    02/08/18 - 2.5
    02/09/18 - REST
    02/10/18 - 6.2 (official time 58:59)
    02/11/18 - REST
    02/12/18 - 3

    MTD: 31 miles
    FEB GOAL: 80 miles

    YTD: 123 miles
    2018 GOAL: 1000 miles

    Upcoming (and hopeful) Races:
    02/10/18 - Mardi Crawl 10k (official time 58:59 // PR // 1st place AG finish)
    04/14/18 - Rattler Mad Moose 10k (Trail)
    06/02/18 - Gluten free Gallop 5k (hubby and daughter have Celiac so this one's personal)
    06/23/18 - Slacker Half Marathon
    07/xx/18 - Something on a trail TBD
    09/23/18 - Xterra Mountain 8k (Trail)
    10/28/18 - Kooky Spooky 10k
    11/xx/18 - A Turkey Trot 5k of some sort TBD

    I am ridiculously not photogenic, not one little bit, but hubby took this picture after I got my award (this was on the FB group, also). My balaclava was covering my mouth so I told him, "Wait! You can't see my smile." And he said, "Uhhh. Yeah I can." So that was kind of sweet.

    It was a great race and I am so thankful for any number of things. First, Hal Higdon's 10k Intermediate plan delivered SPOT ON. I shaved another 5 minutes off my 10k time. Second, also super happy I trudged through snow and cold on my training days, because that's exactly what I had to contend with on race day--and I was perfectly prepared. Third, I'm thankful for all the people who ditched out on the race because of weather. Not saying the outcome wouldn't have been the same, but it was far less competitive. Lastly, I'm thankful for this group who understand the obsessive need to talk about running all. the. time. and letting me gush on about how much I love cereal. nuef62qp5efc.jpg

    Anyway, I had a goal for this year to have a top 3 AG finish (YAY!), but also get my 10k under 1 hour, which I also did. Even though the weather might have "helped" my finish, my time was still exactly where I wanted it to be.

    Now, time to get busy getting really, really ready for that trail race in two months! We have a wellness incentive program at my job, so I earn real $$ by completing certain wellness activities. Any day now I'll receive my first reward which will ultimately become trail shoes and a hydration vest (suggestions welcome, bladder style preferred).

    @fitoverfortymom Fantastic job! Congrats!
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    fitoverfortymom wrote: »
    02/01/18 - 3.8 miles
    02/02/18 - Cross train // Les Mills //
    02/03/18 - 8 miles
    02/04/18 - REST
    02/05/18 - 3 miles
    02/06/18 - 3.25 miles
    02/07/18 - 2.3 (5 x 400 + warmup and cooldown)
    02/08/18 - 2.5
    02/09/18 - REST
    02/10/18 - 6.2 (official time 58:59)
    02/11/18 - REST
    02/12/18 - 3

    MTD: 31 miles
    FEB GOAL: 80 miles

    YTD: 123 miles
    2018 GOAL: 1000 miles

    Upcoming (and hopeful) Races:
    02/10/18 - Mardi Crawl 10k (official time 58:59 // PR // 1st place AG finish)
    04/14/18 - Rattler Mad Moose 10k (Trail)
    06/02/18 - Gluten free Gallop 5k (hubby and daughter have Celiac so this one's personal)
    06/23/18 - Slacker Half Marathon
    07/xx/18 - Something on a trail TBD
    09/23/18 - Xterra Mountain 8k (Trail)
    10/28/18 - Kooky Spooky 10k
    11/xx/18 - A Turkey Trot 5k of some sort TBD

    I am ridiculously not photogenic, not one little bit, but hubby took this picture after I got my award (this was on the FB group, also). My balaclava was covering my mouth so I told him, "Wait! You can't see my smile." And he said, "Uhhh. Yeah I can." So that was kind of sweet.

    It was a great race and I am so thankful for any number of things. First, Hal Higdon's 10k Intermediate plan delivered SPOT ON. I shaved another 5 minutes off my 10k time. Second, also super happy I trudged through snow and cold on my training days, because that's exactly what I had to contend with on race day--and I was perfectly prepared. Third, I'm thankful for all the people who ditched out on the race because of weather. Not saying the outcome wouldn't have been the same, but it was far less competitive. Lastly, I'm thankful for this group who understand the obsessive need to talk about running all. the. time. and letting me gush on about how much I love cereal. nuef62qp5efc.jpg

    Anyway, I had a goal for this year to have a top 3 AG finish (YAY!), but also get my 10k under 1 hour, which I also did. Even though the weather might have "helped" my finish, my time was still exactly where I wanted it to be.

    Now, time to get busy getting really, really ready for that trail race in two months! We have a wellness incentive program at my job, so I earn real $$ by completing certain wellness activities. Any day now I'll receive my first reward which will ultimately become trail shoes and a hydration vest (suggestions welcome, bladder style preferred).

    Congratulations!
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    polskagirl01 wrote: »
    MobyCarp wrote: »
    PastorVincent wrote: »
    polskagirl01 wrote: »
    Yesterday was this month's 5k race. I had a hard time with it, and was really struck with how completely "different hard" it was from the marathon. You would think that if you can run 27k comfortably at marathon pace, plus another 15k uncomfortably but determined, that you should be able to speed that up and knock out a fast 5k no problem.

    Once you become a distance runner, you need to approach the "shorter" races WAY differently. In all likelihood, you were not even really fully warmed up by the end of the race. To run a 5k, you really should consider a couple miles of warm up before the race starts. It makes a big difference. Some people even say run the entire 5k course as a warm-up. It really does help.

    I'm one of the people who like to run a preview of the 5K course as a warmup. The idea is to run it easy, but on race day I might end up running it almost as fast as marathon pace, just because I'm worked up and it's almost a race environment and sometimes I worry foolishly about getting back to the start line in time.

    Then I typically think of the 5K as an interval workout: 4800m at interval pace, plus 200m at rep pace. I find myself passing some fading runners in mile 3, because I'm trained to go much further than 5K and I only have to hold a fast pace for a little while. And yes, it's hard; but it's not really that much harder than, say, 2 x 2 miles at threshold with 2 minutes recovery. Which is one of the speed workouts I've done in marathon training.

    At least, that's how it went when I was healthy. I hope to get back to that again.

    Thank you both for the great advice! Gives me some things to think about.

    Winter break is over, so got kids dropped off, went to the store with hubby, and then changed shoes in the parking lot and ran home from there. It worked out to be a good 6.5k interval workout, pushing the pace on clear sidewalks, then running at the same effort level (but slower pace) on the snowy parts and walking the icy parts. Felt pretty good, enough to fit in 20 minutes on the weight machine afterwards.

    Question for y'all: Our health insurance has a benefit that either reimburses us for a gym membership OR the equivalent in "home fitness equipment". If you had $30/month (you can spend the whole year at one time so $360 total per person), what equipment would you buy?


    exercise.png

    For $360 I would take the gym membership, which is $15 a month at my gym.

    Equipment wise, I have a squat rack, bench, barbell and free weights, and an adjustable dumbbell, plus a stationary bike I use when it's absolutely terrible weather outside. The thing is my weights are the cheap sand filled kind and only go up to 120 lbs and I could very quickly lift more than that once I started working out regularly - and good weights cost about a dollar a pound even used. So $360 does not go very far for good weights. See what you can get used in your area and maybe save some money. It's almost always possible to find machines which people don't use - I got my bike for free in exchange for moving it out of an older person's house.
  • AmyOutOfControl
    AmyOutOfControl Posts: 1,425 Member
    dreamer12151 wrote: »
    Just caught up!

    To all the head phone posts: The 5 & 8K's I've been in say they are discouraged, but people use them, and I've also gone by people who don't use them, but their music is playing loud & clear to all around, if we want to hear it or not! In the duathalons I've done, they are absolutely forbidden, and any athlete using them will be disqualified. Personally, I will use them, but only 1 ear bud in. I CAN run without music, but I prefer to.

    Now I do have a question to pose to y'all here. Getting real. (If it's too real, then delete, I understand) "Runner's Trots" Gut Issues, Lower GI Issues...however you want to phrase it. I KNOW I'm not alone with this! For races, I'll take an Imodium, but I don't want to take one every time I run. I've changed my diet, limited my alcohol, I run on empty, get dressed while sitting on the toilet, then take another sit before I go out, yet there still times, like this morning, where I'm pausing my runs because I literally cannot go on. I have tried slowing a pace, walking, but nope, I have to stop. At 4:30, 5 in the morning, not too many options to ask to use the bathroom! How many else suffer through this, and what are your little tips & tricks for getting through it?

    @dreamer12151 Trust me - You are not the only one who deals with this. Do not take Imodium before every run! That is just asking for trouble. I usually use it before a race but not for training.

    Can you run in the evening after work? It might help to change the time of your run. Everyone is different and you have to play around with your diet/routine to find what works for you.

    Here is what helps me -- I usually wake up at least an hour before my run. It sucks during the summer when I am starting at 4:30-5 am, but it helps. Drinking a small cup of coffee first thing helps get thing moving (in more ways than one) before I head out the door. I try to plan my long runs next to, or through, parks. They usually have bathrooms. Neighborhoods with new construction going on will also have porta-potties. I can NOT use runner gels or sugary supplements (including sports drinks - I had a nightmare experience with NUUN tablets...). They are my doom every time! I typically eat a banana before a long run. Bananas are mild on the stomach and have enough sugar to sustain me during a longish run. I used to have difficulty with energy on long runs (over 13-14 miles) because of not being able to fuel mid-run. I think my body is becoming adapted to running on empty as time goes on. It is a lot easier now.
  • skippygirlsmom
    skippygirlsmom Posts: 4,433 Member
    edited February 2018
    @lporter229 being a hockey fan I love the puck. My favorite ag award was a kitchen tile. Makes for a great coaster. Fantastic congratulations

    @dreamer12151 I do all the things you said but sometimes I still need to go. On the trail I just step off 15' or so and go. At home early in the morning I've gone into the one and only vacant lot or walked back between fences in the right of way used for drainage. I don't think my friends like me enough for a 5:30 am knock on the door. Skip just did the right of way this weekend when we were a couple miles from home.
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