September 2018 Running Challenge

RunRachelleRun wrote: »

Welcome back @rusgolden!

Those are amazing @PastorVincent, but they look a little heavy. I'd need something more like a parasail tied to an elite to do the trick for me!

Wow @garygse you got me with the ticket lol Wouldn't that have been a kick in the teeth?

3:45 a.m. is dedication. I am sometimes awake at that hour, but I can't imagine being out of bed and/or running. And I'm a little jealous at how you feel comfortable outside at that time of day. My husband is the same. He actually prefers running in the dark. I prefer light and want people to be out and about.

Are any of you ladies running outside in the wee morning hours? Do you carry anything to make yourself feel safer? We have a pretty large homeless and drug-addicted population; a few have issues that make them unpredictable in an encounter. Not to mention the wild creatures: cougers, bears, coyotes, raccoons. . . . I have stuff for hiking: a whistle, a knife, first-aid stuff, and I keep meaning to get some bear spray, but I don't carry anything other than my phone on road runs.

I run at 5am but I live in suburbia land. It’s pretty safe. I have to watch out for soccer moms in SUVs on their phones and the occasional creepy perv who trolls the trails. I also run with others twice a week. I am mostly worried about loose dogs and inattentive drivers. There is a LOT of inattentive drivers in the berbs....

September Running Totals (miles)

9/1 – rest day
9/2 – 15.80 warmup + Oak Tree Half
9/3 – rest day
9/4 – 7.23 warmup + XC workout
9/5 – 6.02 group run
9/6 – 6.05 warmup + XC workout
9/7 – rest day
9/8 – 14.23 paced run + solo run
9/9 – 6.29 warmup + PG XC #1
9/10 – rest day
9/11 – 9.24 warmup + XC workout + cool down
9/12 – 6.55 group run
9/13 – 5.18 warmup + XC workout
9/14 – rest day
9/15 – 13.25 partly paced run
9/16 – 6.28 easy
9/17 – rest day
9/18 – 5.91 warmup + XC workout
9/19 – 7.03 group run

September running total to date – 109.06

Nominal September mileage goal: 165 miles

Real Goals: Run Oak Tree well, winning my age group and finishing healthy. Build base/train toward Wineglass, running PG XC #1 so as not to be injured, and running the USATF Masters XC Championship so as not to be injured. Run Wineglass easy, finishing healthy for a good recovery in October.

Today's notes – Went over for the group run tonight. Really nice weather, 66º F (19º C) and much lower humidity than we've had. I even went so far as to wear a tech tee instead of a singlet, and that worked out fine.

No one showed up. The normal leader wasn't going to show, there was a run with beer across town, and the guy who said he'd run with the slow group decided he wasn't going to run because he couldn't keep up with me. So I was about to set out early when one other guy showed up. He's slower than me, but not so slow that I can't make an adjustment. He wanted 4 to 5 miles, I wanted 6 to 7, I got to pick the route. So I picked a route with a lot of trail, one long stop light, and a place to tell him "turn here to finish with about 4.5 miles."

One other guy caught up to us about a half mile out. He wanted about 5.5 miles, and I had a place for him to turn, too.

The first guy is pointing at Wineglass Half, I'm pointing at Wineglass Marathon. We had a bit of a chat. His PR half was 1:52, and he wants to improve. But he doesn't much care for 10 mile runs, and has been running mostly 4-5 miles. Said he wanted to go out fast, then slow down for the 1:45 finish / 8:00 per mile pacers. Many readers here will see the issues with this. I advised him to start out slow.

By 3 miles, he was feeling like he had a good workout. I told him he was breathing way too hard for 3 miles into a half marathon. Our average pace was 8:13 at that point. This is not someone who is going to run a 1:45 half a week from Sunday. So I gave him the best advice I could about weather, lactic threshold pace, and the last 4 miles being he!! if he goes out too fast. Now it's out of my hands. He will do whatever he does. I won't even see him at the start, because it's a point to point and the half starts 13.1 miles closer to the finish than the full marathon does.

The other guy ran a competent easy run, turned right on schedule, and presumably had a nice run. I made the rest of the route on the run, and brought it in right around 7 miles. It felt great. It felt like I could have run 10 miles and enjoyed it. And I stopped at 7 because that's where I needed to stop to run the appropriate number of miles the first week of taper.

Part of marathon training is about discipline. This week and next week, the discipline part will mean not running too much. So far, so 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) 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) finished in 42:21
May 26, 2018 Sunset House 5K (Rochester, NY) finished in 20:12
June 3, 2018 USATF Masters Half Marathon (Ann Arbor, MI) finished in 1:34:42
June 9, 2018 Ontario Summit Trail Half Marathon (Naples, NY) DNS - injury
June 17, 2018 Medved 5K to Cure ALS (Rochester, NY) short course, 18:04 for ~2.9 miles
June 30, 2018 Charlie's Old Goat Trail Run 5 mile (Victor, NY) 4.89 miles by Garmin, 43:15
July 14, 2018 Shoreline Half Marathon (Hamlin, NY) finished in 1:45:54
July 28, 2018 Battle at Bristol 10K (Naples, NY) survived in 1:28:33
August 1, 2018 IEXC 5K #1 (Rochester, NY) finished in 22:17
August 8, 2018 IEXC 5K #2 (Rochester, NY) finished in 22:10
August 15, 2018 Pound the Ground 10K (Mendon, NY) finished in 43:11
August 22, 2018 IEXC 5K #3 (Rochester, NY) finished in 21:59
August 29, 2018 IEXC 5K #4 (Rochester NY) finished in 22:00
August 29, 2018 IEXC TDP 1 mile (Rochester, NY) finished in 6:07
August 29, 2018 IEXC TDP 400m (Rochester, NY) finished in 1:14
September 2, 2018 Oak Tree Half Marathon (Geneseo, NY) finished in 1:36:41
September 9, 2018 Pete Glavin XC #1 5K (Newark, NY) 2.9 miles finished in 20:50.9
September 23, 2018 USATF Masters XC 5K (Buffalo, NY)
September 30, 2018 Wineglass Marathon (Bath, NY to Corning, NY)
October 7, 2018 Pete Glavin XC #2 6K (Akron Falls, NY, probable DNS)
October 21, 2018 Pete Glavin XC #3 6K (Mendon, NY)
November 4, 2018 Pete Glavin XC #4 6K (Trumansburg, NY)
November 11, 2018 Syracuse Half Marathon (Syracuse, NY)
November 18, 2018 Pete Glavin XC #5 6K (Syracuse, NY)

2019 Races:
April 15, 2019 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA to Boston, MA)

September Goal: 25 miles

9/1 3m
9/2 rest/hot
9/3 rest/hotter
9/4 rest/this is getting old
9/5 2.5m
9/6 rest
9/7 rest/rain
9/8 rest/rain
9/9 rest/rain
9/10 2m
9/11 2m
9/12 rest
9/13 2.5m
9/14 rest
9/15 rest/first aerial yoga class bday treat to me!
9/16 rest/sick
9/17 rest/sick
9/18 2.5m
9/19 3m



17.5/25

Whew!!! September is flying by!!!

Upcoming Races:
10/28 Fitzy's 5k
12/6 West Reading Run Santa Run

September, she'll remember (to run)

9/1 2.85
9/2 4.15
9/3 2.00
9/4 3.5
9/5 rest
9/6 rest
9/7 4.00
9/8 3.10
9/9 rest
9/10 snorkel 2 hours
9/11 3.20
9/12 3.52
9/13 rest
9/14 3.68
9/15 2.20
9/16 rest
9/17 3.35
9/18 rest
9/19 3.45


Total 38.00

Upcoming races:
Nov. 11, 2018 Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll 10k
January 4, 2019 Hilo to Volcano Ultra 50k Relay. In memory of @keeprunningfatboy

Ticker is my goal for 2018 and progress to date:

RunRachelleRun wrote: »

Are any of you ladies running outside in the wee morning hours? Do you carry anything to make yourself feel safer? We have a pretty large homeless and drug-addicted population; a few have issues that make them unpredictable in an encounter. Not to mention the wild creatures: cougers, bears, coyotes, raccoons. . . . I have stuff for hiking: a whistle, a knife, first-aid stuff, and I keep meaning to get some bear spray, but I don't carry anything other than my phone on road runs.

I like running in the dark in the morning, mostly because I don’t really want to communicate with people in the morning, and I get to have my thoughts to myself as I wake up. I run around 6am, which is later than many others, and I see people getting their daily newspapers, the old guy who feeds the pigeons, and the odd runner and those waiting for a bus to work. Plenty of homeless, but one of the reasons I prefer early morning running to late night running is that the drunks are sleeping it off, and not lairy at that time. There’s often someone in a tent on my usual trail (I run an out-and-back on a towpath).

I don’t bother with high-vis as the only roads I’m on are lit. I usually have a head-torch, and carry my phone. I don’t duck into the woods like I would in the daytime, mostly because if I did, and had an accident, I’d be unlikely to be found for several hours. Having said that, running early morning has an advantage, in that if you DO have an accident, the sun is rising and searching for you will be easier. Get injured at the end of the day and dark makes things all that harder.

It’s relatively safe where I live. It’s still a city, and normal safety rules apply. We still have rapes, murders etc. but shootings are uncommon across the whole of the British Isles (might be something to do with the ban on hand-guns….). You won’t have problems with drug users/dealers unless you get in their way, and there’s pretty much no point in mugging me as I’ll be carrying little more than my phone and keys. The phone is to call for help when I fall into the river mud.

The worst time I find to run is between 7-8.30am. Because that’s commuting time, and mother’s dropping off Little Johnny to school time. I’ve said my piece about Johnny’s Mother before, but I don’t like running along the road when there are people far too focussed on something else other than their surroundings. And that’s exactly what people going to work or taking the kids to school are like. MUST GET THERE… oh, did I squish something? Can’t have been important, only Little Johnny is important.

girlinahat wrote: »

RunRachelleRun wrote: »

Are any of you ladies running outside in the wee morning hours? Do you carry anything to make yourself feel safer? We have a pretty large homeless and drug-addicted population; a few have issues that make them unpredictable in an encounter. Not to mention the wild creatures: cougers, bears, coyotes, raccoons. . . . I have stuff for hiking: a whistle, a knife, first-aid stuff, and I keep meaning to get some bear spray, but I don't carry anything other than my phone on road runs.

I like running in the dark in the morning, mostly because I don’t really want to communicate with people in the morning, and I get to have my thoughts to myself as I wake up. I run around 6am, which is later than many others, and I see people getting their daily newspapers, the old guy who feeds the pigeons, and the odd runner and those waiting for a bus to work. Plenty of homeless, but one of the reasons I prefer early morning running to late night running is that the drunks are sleeping it off, and not lairy at that time. There’s often someone in a tent on my usual trail (I run an out-and-back on a towpath).

I don’t bother with high-vis as the only roads I’m on are lit. I usually have a head-torch, and carry my phone. I don’t duck into the woods like I would in the daytime, mostly because if I did, and had an accident, I’d be unlikely to be found for several hours. Having said that, running early morning has an advantage, in that if you DO have an accident, the sun is rising and searching for you will be easier. Get injured at the end of the day and dark makes things all that harder.

It’s relatively safe where I live. It’s still a city, and normal safety rules apply. We still have rapes, murders etc. but shootings are uncommon across the whole of the British Isles (might be something to do with the ban on hand-guns….). You won’t have problems with drug users/dealers unless you get in their way, and there’s pretty much no point in mugging me as I’ll be carrying little more than my phone and keys. The phone is to call for help when I fall into the river mud.

The worst time I find to run is between 7-8.30am. Because that’s commuting time, and mother’s dropping off Little Johnny to school time. I’ve said my piece about Johnny’s Mother before, but I don’t like running along the road when there are people far too focussed on something else other than their surroundings. And that’s exactly what people going to work or taking the kids to school are like. MUST GET THERE… oh, did I squish something? Can’t have been important, only Little Johnny is important.

Other than using the word "lairy", which I had to look up, and the guns bit (because USA, although shootings aren't all that common in my area either) I could have written all of this about my part of Minneapolis. With, as @RunsOnEspresso noted, the addition of cell phones. There's been a substantial increase in traffic deaths involving pedestrians across the United States over the last decade, and while there isn't enough data to link it to cell phone use, I'd be willing to bet that's a huge part of it. Our state legislature tried to get a law through this past session banning cell phone use while driving (or requiring a hands-free device, I can't recall the wording exactly) and somehow it didn't pass. That really ticked me off.

When it comes to crime rather than obliviousness, it's important to remember that most violent crime is committed by someone who knows the victim, and most property crime is based on opportunity. Obviously there are places that are more dangerous than others, but the general principles still hold. Out-of-the-blue horrible things can happen to anyone no matter what you do, so at a certain point it's best just to focus on the things you can control.

girlinahat wrote: »

so I'm still here.....but my mojo isn't.

Struggling to get up in the morning to run, can't be bothered to exercise in the evening. Keep cancelling the gym.

Something needs to shift. All suggestions welcome. I think this is still post-marathon blues, but it's gone on for long enough.

*hugs* I'd suggest re-evaluating your goals. If you struggle to get up in the morning and can't be bothered in the evening, can you do something at lunchtime? Even if it's a walk instead of a run? How about a shorter run a little later in the morning to let you sleep in a bit more? Why are you canceling the gym? Is there something easier/more fun you can do instead? Could you find a friend to make a weekly gym/running/walking date? Tell your sibling/parent/spouse to give you a hard time if you don't get at least __ workouts a week? If you skip the gym, could you turn on a short you-tube workout instead?

After a few years hanging out on the MFP forums, I think that the main reason people fail is that they try to rely on "willpower" (or whatever you want to call it) to meet their goals instead of setting goals that are achievable. "I'll do better next time" isn't a plan. Any exercise is better than no exercise, so make your goals as easy as humanly possible. If you set a goal and don't meet it after a couple of tries, you're not a failure, you just need a better goal. You can totally do it!

rheddmobile wrote: »

What we prefer is to drive to a better neighborhood and run there. But we sometimes do run and walk here, we're just very alert.

@rheddmobile Read your post about the challenges of your area and -- wow.
I really appreciate my small town where I know 55% of the people by first name and recognize another 30% by mutual contacts. I can run anywhere at any time and it's not a worry about Human interactions ( exception = distracted drivers ) but wildlife and the occasional dog who needs a little more Guidance/Training/Attitude Adjustment. Haven't had a dog issue since early spring when they start to roam a bit more in the nice weather. Bears - Pretty much end up talking to a bear every week right now as the fall berries are heavy on the wild trees and the bears are in pre-hibernation mode - eat everything to put on winter fat stores. Was about 40ft away from one last week - he/she was standing up in a Choke Cherry Tree feasting and paid no attention to me.

PastorVincent wrote: »

@MobyCarp I hope he listens to you but in a way, I also hope he does not. Failure is a better teacher than success many times.

Those words are so true for everything in life. Parents try to lead their children by example but the kids still have to get a lot of the lessons by failure learning. Heck adults still get a lot of our lessons that way.

@girlinahat feeling your frustration at mojo fight. My fight started last winter when we had Freezing Rain that covered everything in a layer of ice that we had to deal with all most all year. Just haven't been able to get back in the groove. Some weeks it seems to be getting there and then an off week. Patience - it will come around. Right now I am just running on bush trails - with a goal of seeing whats over the next hill, around the bend in the trees.
My last run was sunday so have been waylaid by long work days this week.

@RunRachelleRun your best defense is being aware. I've had cops tell me to make eye contact and let them know you see them. They don't want someone aware and that can identify them. They also said go for soft areas. Balls are goodif its a man. Stomp on the top of their foot. Elbow to the face and/or ribs.

The key is good if you will use it and will jam it in those soft areas, eyes, neck etc. They make rings that have silicon over them but when you hit someone it's like a serrated knife. Not sure how to describe it. Make sure its legal before using something like that. They make them for running.

Pepperspray and such can blow back in your face so you need to be careful when you use it.

Most often weapons can and will be used on you. If you are worried about people I'd suggest a self defense class. Or a martial arts.