March 2018 Running Challenge

3/1 Run 10.22 Miles
3/2 Run 10.22 Miles
3/3 Run 26.25 Miles

Windy out there, but at least there was sunlight!

3/3: 4 miles - was supposed to be Love Well 5k but postponed to June 23rd on account of flooding.



So yeah, my 5k didn't happen - got a great night's sleep, ate well yesterday, took an extra rest day, weather cool but not cold, sun shining, stars were aligned - the only thing wrong was that half of the course is currently part of the Wolf River. My husband and I were down there running on the same course just a couple of days ago and it was fine, and the flood warnings for the Wolf have been cancelled, so we didn't think to check the race website before heading out this morning. Since we weren't preregistered we didn't get an email or anything warning about the cancellation, but apparently there was no email anyway - we weren't the only runners to show up. No sign, no staff member on hand to apologize, no nothin, just forlorn runners and a flooded course.

We took a video of the sound of the rushing water across the course, if I can figure out how to upload I'll share it. There were Canada geese swimming in the parking lot.

Part of the course was still runnable if you stepped over the barriers so we ran an easy 4 miles or thereabouts, detouring around the flooded zones, and walked two more. It really was pretty, and the camaraderie of being out there trying to get miles in with the other noodniks who didn't notice the race was cancelled was kinda fun. We passed one guy who seems to have been some sort of elite runner, he had a bicycle following him to carry his water and pick up his arm sleeves when he ditched them and had zero visible body fat.

Run-wise it's probably just as well because my bad knee was being terrible and running hard puts more stress on it. So an easy run was better than a race pace would have been anyway.

Oh - I almost forgot something funny! We went across one of the bridges - it's a big arched concrete bridge which is usually about ten to twenty feet above the water - and the water was almost level with the bridge, so we were a little nervous. Halfway across, a fish the size of my leg leaped into the air right next to us. I didn't get a good enough look to see what kind of fish it was, but the sound was like someone cannonballing into a swimming pool! I know there are really big catfish around here, but do catfish jump?

@PastorVincent I missed the whole conversation about the Star Trek watch face! My son is so jealous because it won't work on his Forerunner 15. I think I am going to have to download it for my Fenix 3 though!

I've been a slacker on my running this week--letting my sore hamstring recover a bit before my 10K race this weekend, but I did get in a couple of good cross training sessions (including circuit training, yoga, a P90X class, and water walking) and a 5 mile mid week run. The rest paid off for my race though!

I did the race today with my 9 year old son Quinn. He and I did one 10K together back in 2010--he rode in a backpack and I power hiked the distance and we finished near the back of the pack. The second time around he was blazing fast and finished in 52:18! He not only finished first in the under 10 age group and 25th overall, but beat the top finishers in the next two age groups ahead of his. I also managed to set a PR with a 48:22 and kept a pretty constant 7:50/mile pace (faster than my recent 5K paces!) for the last 4 miles after going out a bit too fast at the beginning. Good day all around and perfect conditions for a race!

Elise4270 wrote: »

@rheddmobile I don't know that car fish jump. But I know garr do, and they are big fish. Sounds exciting!

Maybe a carp? They jump?

Nope. Plyometrics are too risky for an old fart like me.

March Running Totals (miles)
3/1 – 5.57 easy
3/2 – rest day
3/3 – 16.09 paced run

March running total to date – 21.66

Nominal challenge goal: 180 miles

Real goals: Build base. Work toward being able to run 26.2 miles by Patriots' Day.

Today's notes – Three days, two seasons. Thursday it was shorts and tee weather for running, and I held the mileage a bit short because I'd gone over a bit on Wednesday and I wanted to have a chance to run the full route today.

Friday we had a winter storm. It dumped a foot of wet, heavy snow in my driveway. This is the typical frustrating March snowstorm; you know it will warm up enough so the snow won't last all that long, but there's just too much snow to ignore. So . . . my volunteer gig closed for the day. No time pressure. Went out at 10:30 AM to clear the driveway, and by 3 PM the roads were quite passable. It's great being retired; the poor working slobs had it really bad yesterday morning.

This morning was pacing with the training program, for 9, 12, 14, or 16 miles. With the accumulated snow from yesterday, there was no question of road shoes; trail shoes all the way. Turned out some sidewalks were awful right where I expected them to be. (The town plows the sidewalks, then street plowing throws more snow into the ditch the sidewalk plowing created.) But running in the streets was fine, and we were able to do that for most of the route.

Had a stack of pace leaders, nominally responsible for 7:30, 8:00, and 8:30 paces; and one guy showing up to join one or another of these groups. We set out to target between 8:00 and 8:30, and it came in at 8:11 average by my watch, paused for a water stop and a rest room break but not paused for stoplights. By the time we hit 13 miles, I knew I'd be good for 16. This is the longest distance I've run in a day since coming back from injury, and the first time I've run over 2 hours since coming back.

Got done, and the regular 7:30 guy asked if anyone was up for another 4. I felt like I could run another 4 miles, but given where I've come from trying that would have been stupid. So I passed on it.

Still, it feels very good to have done a true long run, even if it isn't a 20 mile run. I'm becoming optimistic about being able to finish Boston in April. It won't be a year to push for a great time, but just being able to run 26.2 miles would be good.

2018 races:
February 17, 2018 Freezeroo #5 (Valentines Run "In Memory of Tom Brannon" 8 Mile) (Greece, NY) finished in 54:48
February 24, 2018 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY) finished in 28:46
March 17, 2018 USATF Masters 8K (Shamrock 8K, Virginia Beach, VA)
March 24, 2018 Spring Forward 15K (Mendon, NY)
April 16, 2018 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA)

Hello. Just saw this challenge on MPF. I'm totally in for 80 Run/Walk miles for March. Running in Memphis, TN..