July 2018 Running Challenge

@polskagirl01 I am inspired to try to find a trail half in the spring (the earliest I'm going to be able to run a half, I'm afraid).

I am here right now to tell you all that I am going to go the gym and run on the dreadmill today even if it kills me. I don't want to. I hate it. But with highs near 100 for the week it is what I need to do if I'm going to run. So please yell at me if I don't come back here by tonight with some miles for July.

Group Question???

How long have you been running? Do you have a story to share?

I had bariatric surgery in August 2014. A couple months later, I started going to the gym to try to preserve muscle while I lost weight. My running started out as warm-up cardio for the weight lifting. I started challenging myself: just a little faster, just a little farther. Pretty soon, the running was the main part of my workout and the weight lifting was the sideshow. A year after my surgery, I ran my first 5K. Then I ran several 10Ks (including the MCM 10K, which I would love to do again this year). In February 2016, I ran my first half.

Then things got tough. My autistic son was diagnosed with diabetes (with a weeklong stay in the hospital for DKA), I had surgery myself, and then I started a new job. I ran another poorly-trained half in November that year, and then my running just stopped. 2017 was full of misery of various types that I won't go into here, but by this spring I realized that not only had I gained a lot of weight, I was sad and angry and just needed to kick myself in the *kitten* and get moving again. So that's why I'm here. I don't always love running, but I love the way I feel about myself and everyone else when I run. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that starting over again isn't the same thing as starting, and I'm comfortable running (slowly) three miles at a stretch now and I'm hoping to be at 10K for a long run by the end of the month.

7/1 2 hours kayaking
7/2 x/40 on the dreadmill

7/1 – 5
7/2 – rest day

5 of 60 miles

My legs were sore this morning so I decided to take a rest day.

@monkeygirl08 you want to be that teacher that tells them “come and get me” 
@polskagirl01 what a start to a race. Sounds like you had a great time – congrats!!
@BruinsGal_91 good thing they were handing out socks ha ha

Everyone’s running stories are so inspiring. @Scott6255 when Skip decided to run I was concerned because she has/had fairly bad asthma. The pulmonologist said sure do it, keep the inhaler nearby and let the coach know. Well she went from coughing after every single race for like 45 minutes to using the inhaler from time to time. She went to the doctor about a month ago and he said “this the best breathing test you have ever had, sure glad you decided to run” ha ha. Asthma is rough for a runner, congrats to you for keeping on with it.

Anyone who has been around this board a while knows my running story. My daughter, Skip, started to run on our local high school’s track team when she was in 7th grade. Five years ago she challenged me to run a 5K (it was June), I couldn’t run to the mailbox. She picked a race Labor Day weekend in West, Texas (we live in Alabama). So I started to train, I made a paint line on the street that was half mile from my house, my goal was to run a mile. I started out running from one light post to the next then walking 2 or 3 of them then running again. I remember when I finally ran that 1st mile non stop I just sat in the street crying I was so proud of myself.

A week before the race, she hurt her Achilles tendon and was in a boot for a month. She couldn’t run with me, but she was out on the course cheering me on. Did I mention it was 95 degrees at 7:00 am, no shade it was out and back with like a half mile that turned through town? I wanted to die, for the last mile I could just see the heat rising off the street in front of me. Well I did it, I ran the entire 5K in like 42 minutes I was never so proud of myself. Then I ate a bunch of kolaches and a beer and life was good. Since then I have run 3 half marathons, a handful of 10Ks, some 8Ks and a bunch of 5Ks. I might have never gotten past the 5K distance if it wasn’t for my friend @stoshew71 who kept telling me I could do a 10K, then he said you can do a HM, of course he went from there to full. I just haven’t gotten to that point yet….yet. Though I’m not nearly as fast as many here, I’m proud of 5K PR of about 27 mins, my 8K of 49, my 10K of 59 and my half of 2:11. Always be proud of your best efforts! By the way along the way I lost 70 lbs. I have gained some back, things got rough with my passing of my mom and the end of a 10 year relationship, but I’m working on getting it back off again. As far as where I am in the journey, I’m a bit sad on that, a few injury set backs and my pace has suffered because of it. I want to do more trail races, because they are fun, I want to honestly train for a full and just enjoy running.

Good night! I figured July would be a sloooow month with the heat and determination kinda tails off. Figured an early Monthly questions to get people better aquainted and relate their own personal progress would be ideal.... Y'all ran with it!

I do love everyone's story. Even the simplest motivation spills over into inspiration for the rest of us.

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Running in the heat has been kinda my thing. It may get replace with some early runs, if i can find my way out of my comfort zone. I'd have to run some pavement you see, to get to my trail. Then I'd wanna be out there forever and not go to work. Then I'd just fo to work stinky because I'm a rebel. Like slappin' everyone with my bo. I'm so wierd.

@Elise4270 wins the most awesome person on the running challenge thread. Thanks for the cookbooks!

I'm going out on a limb to set a mileage goal this month. I'm going to try to go back to what I did when I was 1st starting out running, to a 3 day on/1 day off schedule, see how that feels?

What throws a wrench into this possibly is my 8 days of bliss - err mini vacation next week, going back up to Wisconsin! So excited! We plan to take a little "side trip" down to Illinois to explore as well. Oh yes, I'm bringing my stuff, and oh yes, I'm running!

So with that, July goal: 20 miles

7/2 - 1.62 - 1.62 done - 18.38 remains

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8/25/2018 - Ft Desoto Bridge Run 5K

Iffiormana wrote: »

PastorVincent wrote: »

Iffiormana wrote: »

I walk minimum of 5miles daily so in a month I can do 150miles.I will try to do 150 may be a bit more or a bit less can’t say yet.

So, I do not know your level of fitness or training, but if you are newish or even intermediate to this you will want to make sure you are taking at least 1 rest day a week. It is way too easy to overdo it and burn out or get hurt. Just something to consider. Some of us (including me when schedule permits) do run every day for big stretches, but by far most runners only run 3 or 4 days a week.

I try to run 5miles but but obviously I can’t so I just take small breaks in between or start walking when gets really tired.
No I don’t take rest days and I’m really fine with doing this,it’s helping me loose weight.
I don’t over exert myself

Anyone else a bit worried about this?

@Iffiormana Are you saying you walk 5 miles every day and are now going to run every day? I hope not.

Rest days are when your muscles get stronger and faster. You can walk on rest days, but you shouldn't run, and if you're a beginner you should only run 3 days a week.

How long have you been running? Do you have a story to share?

TL/DR- I have been running for a long time. I trained and got faster, but I find myself longing for the days when I didn't give a crap about my speed.

22 years. Wow. I didn't realize it had been that long, but I started running in 1996 when I lived in Atlanta, so I guess it has been 22 years. Originally, like most people, I started running for fitness. When I moved from my apartment with a roommate to my own place, I could not afford an apartment with a gym or a gym membership, so I invested in some dumbbells and some running shoes. Racing was not a big thing back then like it is today, so for most of my first years of running, I just ran 3 or 4 miles three times a week as part of my regular fitness routine. I never did an organized race until I moved to Cincinnati in 2002. The community where I lived when I moved here was a section of town known for its young population and lots of runners. Seeing everyone out running on my way to and from work everyday really inspired me to up my game. I ran the local 4 mile race on July 4th of that year and then I was hooked. My next race was a 15K, the farthest distance I had ever run. Then I did my first half marathon in September of 2003. I started training for my first full the following year when I began experiencing serious stomach issues and was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2003 at age 31.

Running in my 30s is kind of a patchy blur. I continued to run when I was able. I have race t-shirts (5Ks and other short distances) from most of those years, so I don't think I ever took more than a year away from running between 2003 and 2010, but it wasn't always pretty or easy. I had 2 surgeries during that time, and I know for certain there were months on either side of those when running wasn't happening. Following my last surgery in 2010, I believe I was at the longest break I had taken from running since I started. I remember feeling as out of shape as I had ever been in my life, with my 40th birthday just around the corner. I distinctly remember heading out for a run and I could not make it for three miles and I felt so dejected. I made it a goal to do another half marathon for my 40th birthday. In 2012, at age 40, I ran the Flying Pig Half marathon, my third half, within seconds of the time I had run my first two halfs years before. I was on cloud 9.

And then my friend convinced me that we needed to run the Flying Pig full marathon the following year. We trained together and ran the whole thing together in just under 5 hours. I was so proud of my accomplishment, but I also could not help but wonder how I could have done on my own. The final miles of the marathon were tough for me because I wanted to keep running and finish strong, but my friend was struggling. When she suggested we do it again the following year, I could not find a way to tell her that I wanted to try and run it on my own, so I agreed to run it again with her and we started training. Only fate stepped in and I once again found myself very ill at the beginning of 2014. I could not keep weight on and running a marathon was out of the question. Furthermore, I ended up with a stress fracture in my foot due the high dose of prednisone I had been taking. I told my friend to go ahead and run the race with out me and she agreed. I really wanted her to and I was glad she was going through with it, but at the same time, my spirit had sunk to an all time low. I remember hobbling around with that stupid boot on, trying to keep my cardio fitness in tact by riding my bike and feeling so completely sorry for myself. I vowed that if I ever was able to run again, I was going to put all of my efforts in to training to qualify for Boston (at that time, I had run several more half marathons and had a HM PR at my BQ pace, so it wasn't too far of a stretch).

So I made it my goal and put every bit of effort I had into it and qualified for Boston in October of 2015. Since then, I have run Boston, as well as two more marathons and a whole slew of races from 5K to half marathon. I usually finish near the top of my age group and have found that this has really sparked a competitive streak within me that I was previously unaware of. Unless I have agreed in advance to run a race with somebody, I have a hard time running a race without giving it my best effort. At times, I feel like this has taken some of the joy out of running, the joy that I used to feel when I was just content with finishing a race. Recently I have started trail running in hopes of getting some of that back. So far, I am enjoying it immensely. I ran my first 10 mile trail race two weeks ago, finished in the middle of the pack, and loved every single minute of it!