April 2018 Monthly Running Challenge

@juliet345: Thanks! Running outside is a lot of the appeal for me, and I just wasn't ready to run on icy city sidewalks in the dark in sub-zero temperatures this year, or add a bunch of time to my routine driving around looking for somewhere better to run. I workout first thing in the morning (basement gym!) and really hate driving that early, although there is something masochistically appealing about winter running. There are a couple of indoor tracks nearby I might try out this winter, we will see. I can't see myself getting into treadmill running (but never say never) - there are too many other fun things to do for cardio indoors. I've got at least a few months of outdoor weather to enjoy first!

4/23 Mo - 0:25:22 - 2.19 miles
4/24 Tu - rest
4/25 We - 0:21:38 - 1.89 miles
4/26 Th - rest
4/27 Fr - 2.2 miles
4/28 Sa - 3 miles
4/29 Su - rest
4/30 Mo - 2.2 miles

Not sure if I want to run on muddy trails tonight during soccer practice or if I'll hit the bike path in my new road shoes.

7lenny7 wrote: »

9.91 miles with Kody last night. I planned on going solo because I thought it was pretty warm out, but by the time I was able to run it was in the 50's. and Kody looked at me like he does when get read to run. I had to take him. I decided to skip my planned route and just wander. It turned out to be great, albeit slow, run. At two miles I decided to run through a small wooded park I always forget about. I HAVE to get to his park more often for Kody. It has a small river running through and one place is perfect for he and I to have some time cooling off in the water. He loved it! They also have dog water fountain. We'll definitely start incorporating this into our runs more often.

After playing in the water we rambled along some paved trail until we got the main park in town. It has four baseball fields in a circle, with a paved trail around the perimeter. I run the loop once, noticed it was about a half mile around and figured out how much further I wanted to go and how much distance it was to get home. I had enough distance left in the run to go 6 more times around, so that's what we did. Kody seem to be getting tired running in higher temps than we've been used to so I usually walked around one part of the loop next to some remaining snow piles so he could eat some snow and cool off.

I need to find some time to write my Zumbro report but work, our bathroom remodel, and looking for two cars is keeping me off the computer.

That sounds like the best run ever! And looks like a very happy dog.

Elise4270 wrote: »

PastorVincent wrote: »

04/24/18 - 7 miles @ 65. MPH @ 4.5% Grade

Hey, does that mean I can count my flight to San Antonio Monday? Lol! Am I reading that right? Is there a decimal error? 65 mph?

HAH! Ops. yeah - 6.5 MPH, otherwise I would try to qualify for Boston... err Nascar!

@Orphia - You have such great places to run and take pictures! Enough to make a poor boy jealous! Also, I wish I could do cartwheels.

noblsheep wrote: »

shanaber wrote: »

I have a question for those of you running in the heat and sweating... Now that we are getting warm here (80-90F) I sweat, a lot... I always wear a hat and it helps to keep the sweat off my face for a while until it becomes saturated (sorry TMI and gross!). Then it all just runs down my face and into my eyes. Does anyone have a solution for this? I was thinking of trying a headband under or next to the band of my hat or maybe a bandana... I don't know but I hate not being able to see and my eyes stinging...

Have you ever tried a Gutr? If you sweat like it's raining (like I do), normal sweatbands will last maybe an hour max before it stops doing anything. Gutr bands and the like are made of plastic and form a rain gutter above your eyebrows, channeling all the water to the sides of your head and away from face/glasses etc. I did need to play with the adjustment for a while before it stopped feeling like there's a strip of plastic on my forehead. And warning, it might leave a weird tan mark.

@noblsheep !! I have to try that. I have the same problem. I currently use a big thick Nike headband that looks like it belongs in an 80's hair band music video

girlinahat wrote: »

sarahthes wrote: »

@PastorVincent It was so muddy. So fun! Some people avoided the puddles... I just kinda charged right thru.

that's the sign of a TRUE trail runner...

For me, it depends on temperature. I struggle hugely with keeping fingers and toes warm in cold temps. So winter running I do all I can to keep my feet dry. If the temps are high enough, I am usually like "Bah taking a shower no matter what anyways," and go for it. Unless it is a race, then all bets are off and my competitive side plows through everything.

shanaber wrote: »

I have a question for those of you running in the heat and sweating... Now that we are getting warm here (80-90F) I sweat, a lot... I always wear a hat and it helps to keep the sweat off my face for a while until it becomes saturated (sorry TMI and gross!). Then it all just runs down my face and into my eyes. Does anyone have a solution for this? I was thinking of trying a headband under or next to the band of my hat or maybe a bandana... I don't know but I hate not being able to see and my eyes stinging...

I have big bushy eyebrows that do the trick nicely

I also use I hat in the summer that has a plastic in the brim for the visor part and it seems to do a really nice job of helping channel the sweat towards the edges. I got it off a vendor years ago so I can't recommend a brand but I would look for that component again when I need a new hat.

4/1-14.5 miles
4/2 Rest Day
4/3 5.7 miles (4 on dreadmill, 1.7 with Stella)
4/4-30 minute elliptical and 30 minute strength
4/5-8 miles
4/6-Yoga and rest
4/7-11.6 miles (10+1.6 with Stella)
4/8-16 miles
4/9-Rest day with yoga
4/10-5.8 miles+yoga
4/11-8 miles w/ 6 @ tempo
4/12-10 miles
4/13-P90X3 Dynamix
4/14-21 miles
4/15-10 miles
4/16-Rest Day
4/17-8 miles w/ 6 @ tempo
4/18-6.7 miles total including 1.7 with Stella
4-19-10.1 miles
4/20-Rest/travel day
4/21-9.7 miles
4/22-7.9 miles
4/23-Rest/travel day
4/24-4.3 miles

157.3/180

I had the most bizarre experience on my run yesterday evening and I am hoping someone can offer some insight. For me it was a very pleasant, easy run. However, my Garmin said otherwise. I got out of work late yesterday and had some errands to run, so I opted to do today's assigned easy taper run of 4 miles at an easy pace. No big deal. I headed out through the streets of my neighborhood as I have done hundreds of times before. I was cruising along at a slower than normal pace and enjoying the mid 50s temps along with the light rain that was falling. When I hit the first mile I glanced at my Garmin and noted the 9:05 pace. That's when I noticed my heart rate. 160 BPM! I'm thinking "Is this even possible?"

To give you some perspective, my estimated lactate threshold heart rate is about 160 BPM. When I ran my last 5K in March I had an average pace of 7:04 and an average HR of 152. My HR peaked at 160 for this race. When I normally do this route around my neighborhood at a pace of 8:45-9:00, my HR is usually in the low 130s, maybe climbing into the 140s when I run up a hill. But I was already running slower than normal and I did not feel any exertion at all. I started to slow down even more, but my HR continued to climb. I came to a long downhill and continued to take it slow to see if it would come down. No, it held stable at 170. When I used to run with my chest strap, I had to give it everything I had to get my HR in the 170s. I tried messing with my pace and no matter what I did, my HR stayed in the 160s for the remainder of the run, until I came to the last downhill run to my home, where my HR usually is about 115-120. Nope. 180. When I got to my driveway and stopped my Garmin, my HR finally started to fall, eventually leveling off in the 130s about 2 minutes later. Normally at this point my HR would be under 100 regardless of how hard I was running.

So I'm trying to figure out if this was a malfunction with my heart rate monitor or a malfunction with my heart. I thought maybe the rain had something to do with it (even though this it never had this effect before). I tried doing a google search and I found very little on the matter. I did see some forum notes where someone noticed small spikes in their HR while swimming or when it was wet out, but this was a constant uber high reading.

On the other hand, could this be my actual HR? I did just have a long weekend trip which included air travel. I am not sure if that can mess with things, but I guess it sounds logical. I was not feeling overly tired from the weekend though. Over the weekend, I also drank alcohol for the first time in several weeks, but not so much that I ever felt hung over or effected by it. Or could it be my body in taper mode catching up with the recovery process? I really can't figure it out, but I can't help but feel a little bit scared. Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this or have any insights? Any thoughts on whether I should trust this data or not?

@lporter229 It was probably a hardware malfunction - but if it happens again, maybe stop and check your HR manually to confirm? It would give you some peace of mind for sure if you checked and you were closer to what you expected.

@lporter229 - I agree sounds like Garmin messed up. Next time that happens - stop and take your HR manually and see what you get. If Garmin has 180 and you count like 140... then you know Garmin is wrong. IF you count like 175 or something then Garmin is correct.

But I have seen wrist monitors that are too loose read really high numbers. I think if they move around they double count beats.