November 2018 Monthly Running Challenge

katharmonic wrote: »

I've just sampled the pecan pie truffles that I made to bring to my friend's house tomorrow and I feel like I've opened the floodgates of my Thanksgiving binge a bit too early.

Have a good Thanksgiving tomorrow everyone! Stay warm, pace yourselves, and enjoy!

Yum. Pecan Pie Truffles sounds delicious. I do Oreo Truffles and had to sample both the Oreos and Truffles last night too. Let the binge begin. LOL

I missed lots of posts from the last couple of weeks. Hope you are all doing well. I am, once again, not going to meet my monthly goal for running - probably not even close since I haven't run at all for the last two weeks. Yes, I have excuses - working late, company for a few days, getting ready for said company, cleaning up after said company left, taking my dad to the doctor, yada, yada, yada. In the end, it is just excuses. I have to get my head back in the game and figure out how to get my runs/exercise in regardless of how my week is going. I think part of my problem is that I have no set schedule. I'm "retired, but do a lot of volunteer work and have some part time jobs. Subbing at a local daycare is the one I do the most. Most of the time I am scheduled to work for people who take off, but the shift could be anywhere from 6:30-3:30 to 8:45-5:45. I love it, but it does make it hard to get into any kind of a routine. If the weather is nice enough, I'll take a 30 min run or walk during my break. But, that doesn't always happen either. I know a lot of you have full time jobs, family, and other things going on and still manage to get in lots of running. How do you do it?

Another hotel treadmill morning. I decided to get my run in before going to family Thanksgiving because, let’s be honest, it wouldn’t happen after!

I learned a valuable lesson this morning. Before exercising in a hotel fitness room, find and check the thermostat. When I got there, it didn’t feel bad. Probably because I had just woken up and it was below freezing outside so even the lobby was a little chilly. Hopped on the treadmill and started warming up. I started sweating before my walking warmup was even done but it still didn’t register how warm it was in there. I had an easy 25 minute run planned for today - should be no big deal. About 1 mile in I am dripping sweat and feeling way too warm. Of course, I can’t see a thermostat or a fan anywhere so amidst my cursing I slow way down and try to finish. At about 20 minutes I am now feeling light headed and sweating like a pig so I call it. Went to lie down on the floor to keep from passing out and notice the thermostat tucked in a corner. It was set with the heater on and at 75F, so basically blowing hot air into a tiny room! No wonder I am dying!! Turned it onto AC and turned the temp down while I stretch and make sure I’m not going to pass out.

Ultimately only ran 1.9 miles. So, I will redo that training session to keep up with my 10K trainer and make sure the heater isn’t on if I have to do it in the hotel gym again.

Long run of 17.7k on my plan. Struggled to motivate myself to get out in the cold on my day off, but eventually got out at lunch time when had at least warmed up to about 4C.

Queued up a random running playlist from spotify and went off on a route Google Maps said was about 17.6km. I took a diversion mainly to avoid running next to loud main road for too long, which meant when I turned around I estimated the route would actually be about 19k. For some reason I then decided that I may as well just stretch it out to HM distance, so in the end I did 21.2km - the first 10k very easy then 10k at the fastest end of my easy range, (so a touch slower than MP), plus 1.2k cooldown. Overall not too much to report - run went fine and though legs were a bit jelly like when I stopped, they were fine after a stretch and long shower. For last few days middle toe on right foot feels bruised when I walk, but ironically don't feel it at all running so have ignored so far - if still like it after weekend I'll pay it a bit more attention.

I'm still a way short of what I wanted to do over this week/month and unlikely to do much over weekend either but definitely feel better about my training overall. Hopefully weather/illnesses/injuries will cooperate and allow me a full winter training programme,. With 20 weeks until my marathon and already running HM distance again I feel confident I should be able to go into the marathon in much better shape than I was for London this year, and have some slack time-wise if it's needed.

Lastly, happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the US (or elsewhere that celebrate).

5/11: 16k [Easy long run with hills]
6/11: 7k [Difficult - coming down with cold]
11/11: 16.7k [Long run, with last 7km at MP]
14/11: 12.6k [7km easy followed by 5k at MP]
15/11: 7.3k [Easy commute run (with backpack)]
16/11: 7.2k [10km planned but cut short as tired]
21/11: 3.5k + 3.4k [Run to/from work]
22/11: 21.2k (Long run)

Total: 94.9km (Target: 185km)

Recent Races
07-Oct: Southend 10k Classic [50:07 - PB]

Upcoming Races:
14-Apr-2019: Brighton Marathon

Happy Thanksgiving! I survived my parkrun turkey trot, but it was oh so cold. Temperature was 15 deg F which was brought even lower than that thanks to the wind-chill. Felt very sorry for the poor guy visiting from the UK who obviously didn't get the memo about how cold it gets in New England. Today was not the day to be wearing shorts.

Beka3695 wrote: »

Today my sister posted her 5K results on FB, with a comment that she did not marry into a family that runs 5Ks but her birth family has turned into one. Maybe a little; it's mostly just that one sister and me. Another sister has run as far as a half marathon before deciding she doesn't like races, and we have one sister who has never been a runner at all.

November Running Totals (miles)

11/1 – 7.58 warmup, speed work, cool down
11/2 – rest day
11/3 – 12.08 paced run
11/4 – 9.43 warmup, 6K XC race, cool down
11/5 – rest day
11/6 – 10.10 commute, warmup, speed work, cool down
11/7 – 6.30 easy
11/8 – 7.42 warmup, tempo intervals
11/9 – rest day
11/10 – 9.20 paced run
11/11 – 14.21 warmup/commute, Syracuse Half Marathon
11/12 – rest day
11/13 – extra rest day
11/14 – extra rest day
11/15 – 3.13 easy
11/16 – 5.03 MP
11/17 – 14.09 paced run
11/18 – 1.20 aborted pre-race warmup
11/19 – scheduled rest day
11/20 – extra rest day
11/21 – extra rest day
11/22 – 8.30 wamup + slow 10K race

November running total to date – 106.07

Nominal November mileage goal: 160 miles

Real Goals: Avoid injury. Run well in the Pete Glavin XC series. Have fun at the Syracuse Half and Race with Grace 10K. Build base toward the start of Boston training.

Today's notes – The doctor's instructions were to run the 10K easy, and be prepared to walk if the hamstring complained. The forecast was for temperature in the low teens with 10-13 mph NW wind. It was going to be a dance of run fast enough to stay warm, but not so hard as to irritate the hamstring.

Got out to run my warmup, not so much to actually warm up as to test my clothing in the actual weather. I've run in colder weather, but this morning it was 12º F (-11º C), which is a good 15 degrees F colder than I've run in so far this season. I was concerned about not being acclimated to the conditions.

Well, my hamstring didn't hurt; but it clearly wasn't right. I thought about scratching myself from the race. Got back to the parking lot at 1.85 miles, and ran OCD to fill out a 2 mile warmup; and the hamstring felt just a little better. I reasoned that 2 miles was right around where it was starting to warm up. Knowing that this might be a dumb decision, I decided to start the race. I resolved to keep it easy, and run the slowest 10K race of my life.

We stand around far too long in the cold for various pre-race speeches, then we start running. I see that initially, a pace of 8:15 per mile is about what I need for the hamstring. It's kind of interesting to see lots of runners pass me on a gentle downhill, then fall behind me on a gentle uphill. About a mile in, the hamstring warms up and I can run something closer to a true easy pace. Spend some time running 7:55 to 7:50, and making myself slow down when I see 7:30 pace.

Get to the turn a bit after 2 miles, and I'm no longer running directly into the north wind. My pace picks up naturally, gravitating toward marathon pace. I make myself slow down several more times before I give in to just running about 7:30 per mile. About 4.5 miles in, I pass my sports doc. I know I'm faster than him when I'm healthy, but I thought he was faster than my easy pace. Told him I'd been good for the first 4 miles, now now so compliant. At that point, I was running 7:24 per mile.

In the last mile, I see a tall guy that I'm gaining on. I know who that is, and he's in my age group. With less than a half mile to go, I start to put on a push to catch him; and the hamstring tells me that's a bad idea. So I let him go, and just finish at whatever pace the hamstring is happy with. I do a modest pickup to perhaps T level of effort for the finish chute, just because I don't want to be passed.

I end up finishing in 47:49, my slowest 10K ever. More importantly, my hamstring feels as good after the race as it did before the race. I was shocked to find I picked up second in my age group; first was the guy I didn't catch, 10 seconds faster than me. We were both behind, Charlie, who wasn't eligible for the age group because he took the 1st Senior (60+) award. But I would have been behind Charlie in any event; he ran a routine-for-him 10K that was more than a minute faster than my PR.

The medal, which will go into a box at the end of the year:

I'm out of space on my current year medal rack. I've doubled up on the last two spaces:

Miscellaneous observations: There aren't any truly major hills at RWG, but there are some that can be challenging if you push for a fast time. It was amazing how much easier the hills in the last half of the race are when running easy/MP instead of 10K race pace.

According to Garmin, my mile splits were 8:10, 7:52, 7:38, 7:31, 7:24, 7:26, and a 7:12 pace for the tag end after 6 miles. None of that is as fast as a threshold run for me. I'm familiar with passing people who are breathing hard because they went out too fast; it was kind of surreal to be breathing easy and passing people in the last half of the race who were breathing hard because they were running a 10K the way it's supposed to be run.

12º F feels a whole lot better when I'm running (even running easy) than when I'm walking or standing around.

I think I managed the race very well for the goal of keeping the hamstring from getting irritated. A couple years ago, I might not have been able to do this. Now, I am helped by the experience of managing the first half of a marathon to survive the second half well. It's not that different to manage a 10K to be slow.

Rest day tomorrow, both as a normally scheduled rest day and per doctor's order for the day after the race. Then I'll make a decision on whether I'll try to pace 11 or 12 miles on Saturday.

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) finished in 20:03
September 30, 2018 Wineglass Marathon (Bath, NY to Corning, NY) finished in 3:18:02, PR with negative splits
October 7, 2018 Pete Glavin XC #2 6K (Akron Falls, NY) finished in 24:41
October 13, 2018 Finish Strong 15K (Hilton, NY) finished in 1:03:27
October 21, 2018 Pete Glavin XC #3 6K (Mendon, NY) finished in 24:17
November 4, 2018 Pete Glavin XC #4 6K (Trumansburg, NY) finished in 22:48
November 11, 2018 Syracuse Half Marathon (Syracuse, NY) finished in 1:40:21
November 18, 2018 Pete Glavin XC #5 8K (Syracuse, NY) DNS - injury
November 22, 2018 Race with Grace 10K (Hilton, NY) finished in 47:49
December 15, 2018 Freezeroo #1 (Don Curran Memorial 5K) (Gates, NY)

2019 Races:
January 1, 2019 Freezeroo #2 (Resolution Run 7.5 mile) (Mendon, NY)
January 5, 2019 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Gates, NY)
January 12, 2019 Freezeroo #3 (Pineway Ponds 5 Mile) (Spencerport, NY)
January 26, 2019 Freezeroo #4 (Hearnish 5 mile) (Victory, NY)
February 9, 2019 Freezeroo #5 (Tom Brannon 8 mile) (Greece, NY)
February 23, 2019 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY)
April 15, 2019 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA to Boston, MA)

Elise4270 wrote: »

Avidkeo wrote: »

Elise4270 wrote: »

Whose streakin'?

I wanna do it. But think three days is where i falter. So. I declare that I'm streakin' and plan on making it past 3 days.

Its the perfect time to recommit to the" better me" goals.

How does a streak work. Simply run every day? What's the shortest distance you count, like 2k/1 mile?

Its a mile per day from Thanksgiving to new years. But i say set your own steak goal if you need to.

Set my own steak goal, ok then; I will. It is barbecue season here after all.

My goal is two eye fillet steaks a week for the months of December, January and February!!