April 2018 Monthly Running Challenge

I'm a little short on the monthly goal, but just don't want to risk overdoing it with the sore throat (starting to improve) and a 5k I'm racing tomorrow. I had to get out for a run today, but kept it to 5k. I'm not sure what I was thinking starting out at around my mile pace, but fortunately it was just a training run and a good reminder to not go out too fast tomorrow

4/1-9 miles
4/2-chest/back/legs
4/3-2.5 miles
4/5-5.5 miles
4/6-2.5 miles
4/8-9 miles
4/9-2.5 miles + shoulders and arms
4/11-4 miles
4/12-4 miles
4/13-4/21-Nothing, Life happened
4/22-2 miles
4/24-2 miles
4/26-3.5 miles + P90X chest and back
4/27-2 miles + Legs
4/28-3 miles + Arms

51.5/75 miles

4/1 = rest day...sort of (moving day)
4/2 = 9.5 miles
4/3 = Vinyasa yoga class and 3.5 miles
4/4 = 3 dreadmill Miles and 20 minutes strength training
4/5 = travel for work
4/6 = travel for work
4/7 = 13 miles (Outlaw 1/2 Race)
4/8 = rest day
4/9 = 7 miles and strength training
4/10 = yoga class
4/11 = 10 miles
4/12 = 3.5 miles
4/13 = 14 miles
4/14 = running rest day - walked the pups instead
4/15 = 10 miles Run/Walk intervals with the running group
4/16 = 3 miles and 30 minutes strength training
4/17 = 6 miles
4/18 = 10 miles
4/19 = rest day (stupid work crap)
4/20 = 15 miles
4/21 = strength training
4/22 = 8 miles (Group Run)
4/23 = 5 miles & 30 minutes strength training
4/24 = Vinyasa yoga class
4/25 = 11.5 miles
4/26 = 3 miles & 30 minutes kettlebells
4/27 = 10 miles
4/28 = Rest Day
4/29 = 10 miles (walk/run intervals with the running group)
4/30 = 4 miles and 45 minutes strength training


April mileage goal = 125 miles / April miles complete = 159 miles

4/1-rest day (unscheduled)
4/2-rest day
4/3-5
4/4-3
4/5-4
4/6-rest day
4/7-9
4/8-3 (plus coach made me do weights)
4/9-coach made me do different weights
4/10-5
4/11-4
4/12-3 (plus coach made me do weights)
4/13-rest day
4/14-10 (probably 10.5 because my GPS things weren’t in agreement)
4/15-4 (plus coach made me do weights)
4/16-rest day
4/17-4
4/18-3 (plus coach made me do weights)
4/19-2 (plus coach made me do different weights)
4/20-rest day is the best day
4/21-7 plus yoga
4/22-3 (plus coach made me do weights)
4/23-rest day is the best day
4/24-6.3 - I don’t usually count the little extras but this seemed like more work than it needed to be so I’m counting these. I’m blaming it on all the stupid weights my coach makes me do.
4/25-3 (plus coach made me do weights)
4/26-4 (plus guess who made me do different weights)
4/27-rest day is the best day
4/28-12 plus yoga
4/29-4 plus coach made me do weights
4/30-rest day is the best day

MTD-97.3 (Garmin says 117 and change-I really think I should start counting the little extra bits)

29/30 Days according to plan.

My goal for the month was to stick to my plan. Since I started the month with an unscheduled (but badly needed) rest day, it was inevitable that I would not meet my goal. But I’m happy with my 29/30 days.

And I’ve really enjoyed my first month in this thread. You are all amazing people doing amazing things and I’m impressed and inspired every single day.

152 days until the marathon.

April Running Totals (miles)
4/1 – 6.21 easy
4/2 – rest day
4/3 – 6.35 easy to MP
4/4 – unscheduled rest day – wind storm
4/5 – 8.39 easy with snow showers
4/6 – 4.01 easy
4/7 – 12.01 paced run
4/8 – 7.84 easy 60 minutes
4/9 – rest day
4/10 – 5.34 easy with hills
4/11 – 5.61 group run
4/12 – 6.17 warmup + easy workout
4/13 – rest day
4/14 – travel day
4/15 – 2.14 shakedown run
4/16 – 26.45 Boston Marathon with bad tangents
4/17 – travel day
4/18 – rest day
4/19 – 2.39 recovery run
4/20 – 5.01 easy
4/21 – 5.20 group run
4/22 – 7.20 easy with hills
4/23 – rest day
4/24 – 6.06 warmup, easy miles, strides
4/25 – 6.08 group run
4/26 – 6.64 warmup, easy miles, cutbacks
4/27 – rest day
4/28 – 3.23 shakedown run
4/29 – 6.99 warmup + 10K race
4/30 – rest day

April running total – 139.31

Nominal April mileage goal: 130 miles

Real goals: Arrive at Hopkinton healthy. Get to Boyleston Street under my own power. Recover well.

Today's notes – Rest day today. Sunny right now, need to put gas in the car, hope to get the lawn mowed.

Oh, yeah. Yesterday there was a race.

The James Joyce Ramble is conceived as a road race honoring an author known for rambling sentences. I got a volunteer to show off the race shirt for a picture:



They have actors dressed in period costumes reading from Joyce's works at various points on the course. I didn't get any pictures of the actors, because I was running and it was raining.

We had a warm sunny day for packet pickup. The base location is Endicott Estate in Deham, Massachusetts:



The next day there were showers. As fate would have it, for a while a couple team mates and I sheltered in a Gazebo that had looked pretty the day before:



Race day was a dance with logistics. The forecast had showers, which were on and off. So we stayed at the hotel longer than last year, so as not to wait outside in the rain. Gun time was 11 AM. Hotel check out was 11 AM. So we had to check out, and pack dry clothes to change into later before driving home with no shower. Yes, it's better to change into dry clothes even if a shower is not available.

Between sheltering in the gazebo and waiting for the showers to let up, I only got about three quarters of a mile warm up. This would have to be good enough. When the rain was coming down, I was thinking maybe I want to run in a jacket; then it let up, and a singlet and shorts were clearly enough.

Last year I ran a PR 10K here, 13 days after Boston. This year, the goal was to run not to kill myself. I did that, and ended up finishing in 41:13, a minute and 37 seconds slower than last year. I survived the race well, at the cost of finishing 15th of 21 in my age group. If I had duplicated last year's time, that would have been good for 6th in the age group. I was slower than 4 guys in the 65-69 age group, and a couple of 70 year olds broke 40 minutes. One of them had run Boston in under 3 hours this year.

Have I mentioned that the USATF Masters events always draw a tough field?

In hindsight, I probably could have run a minute faster. That would have made my team 2nd or 3rd in the 60+ division, instead of 4th. It also would have carried a significant risk of putting myself on the couch. That wasn't a risk I was willing to take. This morning, as I did my 2 minute hallway jog while the eggs cooked, nothing hurt worse than it did 2 days ago. The little Achilles niggle is gone. The right tensor fasicia lata is muttering at about the same level it has been. Unlike last year, I don't feel like I set my Boston recover back a week.

And I did squeak by above an 80 age grade, at 80.42%:




So, final April goal report: Nominal mileage goal, check. Get to Hopkinton healthy, check. Get to Boyleston Street under my own power, check. Recover well from Boston, check. I fell pretty good about April.

Oh, yeah. When I got home last night, I got an email confirming my entry into the USATF Masters Half Marathon on June 3. That should be a lot of fun. Some of the fast guys in my age group don't run anything longer than a 10K; but I don't know how many guys my age there are that will only show up for the half or are better at the longer distance. It should be a fun experience.

On to May!

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) finished in 31:55
March 24, 2018 Spring Forward 15K (Mendon, NY) ran at MP, finished in 1:10:47
April 16, 2018 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA) finished in 3:28:43
April 29, 2018 USATF Masters 10K (James Joyce Ramble, Dedham, MA) finished in 41:33
May 20, 2018 Lilac 10K (Rochester, NY)
May 26, 2018 Sunset House 5K (Rochester, NY)
June 3, 2018 USATF Masters Half Marathon (Ann Arbor, MI)
June 9, 2018 Ontario Trail Summit Half Marathon (Naples, NY)