January 2019 Monthly Running Challenge

So I am not running these days but I just have to comment on the weather and will leave it there... So California - 80F yesterday and 77 with clouds today.

So Hobbes the Vizsla gets a bit anxious for activity when we don't get to run. We also haven't had agility class since before Christmas. So yesterday I took him just to 'watch' a Lure Coursing trial hoping to try a practice run but they had a packed day. So I just went ahead and entered him today. All that pent up energy was evident in his run - he took off like a shot and ran so fast! Video at the link below. Look for the white moving plastic bags coming in from the top right side with Hobbes in fast pursuit. There are sheep in the field to the right and I was concerned they would distract him or he would run to my DH but no... he just ran and ran!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pdRE325W3uVsYjW19

@Scott6255 - big congratulations on your marathon and great time! Can't wait to hear more about it. So happy for you.

@shanaber Hobbes looks like a speeding bullet out there. Love to see his sheer joy of running.



Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
01/01/19 :::: 4.0 :::: 4.0
01/02/19 :::: 5.3 :::: 9.3
01/03/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 9.3
01/04/19 :::: 3.6 :::: 12.9
01/05/19 :::: 10.4 :::: 23.3
01/06/19 :::: 4.3 :::: 27.6
01/07/19 :::: 3.4 :::: 31.0
01/08/19 :::: 3.2 :::: 34.1
01/09/19 :::: 3.8 :::: 37.9
01/10/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 37.9
01/11/19 :::: 7.7 :::: 45.6
01/12/19 :::: 2.0 :::: 47.6
01/13/19 :::: 3.2 :::: 50.8
01/14/19 :::: 3.0 :::: 53.8
01/15/19 :::: 3.8 :::: 57.7
01/16/19 :::: 4.0 :::: 61.7
01/17/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 61.7
01/18/19 :::: 3.5 :::: 65.2
01/19/19 :::: 9.0 :::: 74.2
01/20/19 :::: 5.2 :::: 79.4

Only about 15 inches of snow so far, not the 2 feet I was hoping for but a good effort. I enjoyed sleeping in and lazing around this morning and just watching it continue to come down. The temperatures went down during the day instead of up and the wind was pretty strong. I went out with the dog around noon and the footing was horrible as the streets hadn't really been cleared for a few hours. It wasn't much of a contest for me but I decided that it was a good day for an indoor run. When I got to the gym it was pretty quiet in there. There was a set of outside emergency doors that were clearly not well sealed as there was some snow drifted on the inside. I chose a treadmill kind of near those because it provided a nice cool breeze Not a bad treadmill day, as far as they go.

Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder and I'm already thinking I'll bail on speedwork tomorrow night if it's not cancelled. I think the coach has a -12 degree cutoff and we will be right around that. There's no way footing will be good for any kind of speed anyway.

1/1 - 5.05km
1/2 - rest
1/3 - 3.00km
1/4 - rest
1/5 - 6.05km
1/6 - rest
1/7 - rest
1/8 - 3.56km
1/9 - rest
1/10 - 2.12km
1/11 - rest
1/12 - welched
1/13 - rest
1/14 - rest
1/15 - 3.24 km
1/16 - rest
1/17 - 3.33 km
1/18 - rest
1/19 - windy
1/20 - 6.24 km

32.59 / 62 km

Yesterday's wind intimidated me but that just meant I got to run today in a truly beautiful twilight. Also the route I ran is really exposed to the wind and would have been a whiteout yesterday and I'm glad I got to run it today.

2019 Races:
1/1/19 Resolution Run (51:54)
5/5/19 BMO Vancouver Marathon (Half)
8/17/19 Edmonton Marathon

Day January
1 2.3
2 0
3 2.6
4 2.85
5 3.1
6 3.1
7 11
8 2.5
9 1.9
10 2.5
11 4
12 8.15
13 0
14 4
15 4.5
16 0
17 0
18 2.75
19 3.15
20 13.18

Total: 71.58
Goal: 115

UGH. This was my worst half ever. (Although not my slowest despite feeling like it took forever). I got there with about 15 minutes before and passed on the porta potty line thinking I didn't really have to go. Then, of course, the start is delayed by about 10-15 minutes and the waves are even more spread out because they are letting the light rail through (I seriously don't remember them doing this in years past - corrals always rolled out quickly). When I get to the line she announces this is the final corral and I'm like what? No. I got in 13 and there were at least 15 corrals! I passed the 3 hour half pace group so clearly, everyone just ignored the last few corrals (unlike me who follows rules LOL)

So I start finally and suddenly have to pee. I keep watching for porta potties but the first two stops have 1-2 and looooong lines. Finally, around mile 3 I see about 10-15 porta potties and cut over and realized there's a 3ish foot wall I had to scramble over. I head to the far end where no one is waiting and grab one immediately. I will never understand why everyone stays to one side. Got right back into the run after my pit stop that probably felt much longer than it actually was.

I was running along and around mile 6 I can feel my right hip tightening. And it kept tightening. I had to walk a bit here. I ran about another 2 miles then took another walk break to eat my chews knowing what lies ahead. My nemesis. The part of the course that makes me realize all us runners are masochists. It doesn't look like much. Doesn't seem bad when driving but running it? AWFUL. I was determined to conquer the hill this year but at one point I had to walk because so many people were walking and it was the only way to weave through the crowd. Once out I started running and did the awful crest the hill, run a bit and then have to turn around and go back up. Then finally it was all downhill! (That's what someone yelled, but it's a lie - they also yelled we only had 3 miles left when it was more like 3.4 - totally not the same thing). Usually, the cities clean up the potholes a bit but this year it seems they just taped or coned the bad ones. I was worried about twisting my ankle running down the hill because it kept getting caught on ruts in the road.

Mile 10-11 ish is a slight uphill on a banked road. It's not fun and my ankle decided it wanted to die. I walked off an on for miles 10-12.5. Then I ran it in, got my medal, and thought I was going to die. I almost thought I was going to pass out waiting for my lunch. I was so dead tired.

Today was not my day. My energy level was just non-existent. But I finished.

January goal: 75 miles

1/1: 3.11 miles
1/4: 4.6 miles
1/5: 4.21 miles
1/6: 8.02 miles
1/8: 3.11 miles
1/9: 3.15 miles
1/10: 3.15 miles
1/13: 9.01 miles
1/15: 3.15 miles
1/16: 3.11 miles
1/17: 5.03 miles
11/20: 10.02 miles

59.67/75 miles completed

I ran 10.02 miles today. It was an awesome run. Yesterday was cold and ridiculously windy, but today was much nicer. It was really cold when I got up, and it seemed a little chilly starting out, but there was some sunshine and it warmed up enough that I was really comfortable most of the run. I wore sleeves and gloves but by 3 miles I had taken off the gloves and by 4 I had taken off the sleeves. It was really good running weather. It was about 50F for most of the run and partly cloudy but enough sun and some blue skies. I really enjoyed it. I felt like I could run forever. I made it almost to a spot where I could see the lake. Maybe next time I will make it there. I just knew that I needed to turn back towards home when I got to 5 miles. I am going to run to the lake soon though. I need to alter my route so that I am running on the main highway instead of taking the back roads and I prefer to run the back roads. But if I want to run to the lake I need to take the main road and plan for a 12-13 mile run, or just plan to have someone come and pick me up after I get there.

Yay, we survived our cold-*kitten* 5k trail race at WC Johnson, the second race in the Memphis Winter Off-Road series!

Holding my breath all last night watching the front roll through - at 4 pm it was 60 degrees and raining, a couple of hours later everything was coated in ice, 28 degrees, light dusting of snow. Went outside to see if I could scrape enough snow off my car to make a snowball to sneakily throw at my husband, and the car was entirely encased in a sheet of ice. Not auspicious. Went to bed, woke up to bright sunlight, even colder, and for some reason no ice anywhere! Yay!

By race time it had warmed up to just about freezing. I almost never run in weather this cold, but I pulled out my oiselle long tights, merino blend base layer, coldgear heat reflecting hoodie, and my heat reflecting ear headband thingy. Apart from my face which was freezing in the wind (16 degrees windchill) I was comfortable, and since most of the race would be in the woods with no wind I decided against wearing a buff. Merino glove warmers and my hands tucked up in my long sleeves to start with.

WC Johnson is our home stomping ground, we run basically the same path as the posted race course twice every week, with the exception of about 500 m start and finish through what we call "the goose field," a broad expanse of grass which turns into a morass at the slightest sign of rain. We noticed on arriving at the site that the starting gate was not set up where the posted course had indicated it would be - it was off to the side of the goose field, on the paved access road. So we wandered over to the staging area, saw the race director, and asked about the course change. "Our original plan was to eliminate all non-swimmers, but we decided at the last minute that seemed too harsh," he said. So, yeah. This is the first year the series has run this particular set of trails, and apparently whoever planned the course originally did it on a dry, summer day, not realizing that he was starting and ending the race in two feet of standing water. We also learned that they had thought better of sending the race through what's known as "Johnson's canyon," a deep embankment leading down to a creek. "I've never seen it with water in it!" the race director said. "Today, there's three feet of water down there!" Well... theoretically someone might have noticed the BRIDGE over the creek. I've seen it with enough water that it was over the top of the bridge. The park is a wetland preserve, after all!

We had come prepared to stomp through the ford at Johnson's canyon and were honestly a little disappointed that they changed the course to an out-and-back. But not at all sad to start and finish on nice, dry land.

WC Johnson has a beautiful concrete building with heated bathrooms with flush toilets, about half a mile from where the race started. I love heated bathrooms and in sub freezing temperatures they are like a little slice of paradise. There were also portajohns near the start line. I was apparently the only person at the race who knew the heated ones existed, I had a whole bathroom with two stalls all to myself. I guess that's what you call a Home Court advantage. After using the facilities we jogged to the start to warm up, very necessary in the weather.

Once again we lined up about halfway back in corral 2, the 8 - 10 minute corral. We knew from experience we could beat ten on these particular trails but not by how much. Corral 1 was a sea of high schoolers and college kids in matching track jackets - several cross country teams train at WC Johnson. Corral 2 was mostly people who looked like me - reasonably fit but a little long in the tooth.

My husband and I decided, since it had worked so well at our last race, that we would try the same tactic this race - since it's much harder to pass on the single track in the woods than on the broader path at the beginning, we would go out as hard as possible and then relax and catch our breath in the woods. The first bit of the route paralleled the access road, so it was a choice whether to run on the paved part or the grass beside it. My husband chose grass, but I ran on pavement wherever possible thank you! In the woods we found that after yesterday's downpour the dirt trails were completely soggy, and the runners had churned them up into a nice sloshy mud. So far so good. Then we passed a race official who yelled, "Keep to the right! Fast runners coming back!" Eek. While these are comparatively nice, broad, flat trails they are not wide enough for two people to comfortably run side by side, and ordinarily when we pass someone going the other direction, everyone is very polite and gets as far over as possible. Suddenly there was a solid stream of traffic going both directions, in the mud. I actually started laughing at how much mud the oncoming runners were kicking on to my front. It was impossible to pick a good line or choose where to put your feet to avoid tree roots, there was only about a foot of room to run in.

Passing was treacherous. I didn't see it (he was behind me) but my husband had a little girl cut in front of him and then stop, setting her foot down onto the top of his foot coming forwards, which catapulted her into the air and caused him to go down full length in a desperate attempt not to flatten her. He was up in an instant asking if she was okay, while her dad berated her for cutting in front of people - which wasn't quite fair as she was only doing it trying to keep up with dad. She was one several kids of that age where they can just run like crazy but don't have any stamina, so they suddenly stop but don't know to pull over to the side properly. Not that it would have helped much as there really wasn't any side to pull to!

By mile 3 I was all in - could hear my husband behind me breathing even harder than I was - hit the access road going back and knew it was time to turn on a finishing kick, but had nothing left in the tank. For some reason running always feels twice as exhausting when I'm cold, I know other people set PRs in the cold, but if it's below 40 my lungs are not used to it. Paradoxically I was also getting overheated in my outfit. Poured it on to the best of my ability, and... ended up with my second best 5k time, period, almost as fast as my PR on roads. 27:47, 8:47 mile pace.

That was good for 4th in AG, which also puts me 4th in AG in the series so far. I beat the lady who was right ahead of me last race, which means I was 5th when she was 4th and vice versa, giving us the same number of points, and the tie breaker is who placed first in the longer race. I was also 5th grandmaster which puts me on the leaderboard for GM points. The ladies who were 1, 2, 3 in the last race took the first three places in this race as well, but swapped around. There's no real chance I will beat any of them unless something untoward happens, since they all run at least a minute faster than my best mile pace, but I'm surprised as heck to have beaten lady #4, who is an experienced trail runner who does trail ultras.

My husband who ran with me was 16 out of 30 in his AG, so pretty respectable despite having to stay with his wife! Especially considering only the most hardcore guys come out on the coldest day of the year to run in the mud.

Face planting to avoid that little girl means he won the mud contest - we have a photo:
This is me and my red nose trying to stay warm before the race: