February 2019 Monthly Running Challenge
Replies
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PastorVincent wrote: »Honestly, that does not look very bad.in and of itself it's not that bad, but the hills never start. up down up down. so that does get a bit wearing. i run in that area and in the area of the second one. similar terrain (moraines)
@PastorVincent I was all set to agree with you but this is actually a deceiving elevation. On one hand, the elevation gain is only 62 feet per mile which doesn't seem bad for trails. It's not uncommon to see higher numbers in trail races. My April race will be 174 ft per mile.
The thing is though, as @mbaker566 mentions, sure, the overall number isn't bad, but because the hills never stop, and because you don't get as severe grade, you'll be running a far greater percentage of the distance than you would for something like the Superior Fall Marathon with much higher elevation gain. It will wear you down. This is similar to what I experienced with the Chippewa 50K two years ago. That was 2050 feet of gain over 31 miles and it was nearly all runnable and because of that, it wore you down hard.
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so do any of the three get any one excited? like if you lived in my area, you would totally race it.
i've done big races, i've done small races.
the swag is nice for the big one but that's a lot of people and traffic. but something small might be nice. running holy hill might be a nice first but that one will be hard. the second, you climb a lookout tower and involves the stupid steep inclines of the state park.
i'm really torn
i wish i had long distance running friends nearby. someone to cheer me on...2 -
so do any of the three get any one excited? like if you lived in my area, you would totally race it.
i've done big races, i've done small races.
the swag is nice for the big one but that's a lot of people and traffic. but something small might be nice. running holy hill might be a nice first but that one will be hard. the second, you climb a lookout tower and involves the stupid steep inclines of the state park.
i'm really torn
i wish i had long distance running friends nearby. someone to cheer me on...
@mbaker566 I suggest doing the bigger (more participants) race. My first marathon had 17 runners and it was very lonely. A bigger crowd - participants, spectators, and support - makes for a much better experience, especially since it is your first.6 -
Just my two cents, I would do the big one for a first marathon. I would rule out the hilly ones straight off personally. I picked a big marathon as my first because I wanted the crowd support and not to feel like I was running alone for hours on the course. I was glad I did that and would make the same choice again, I felt like the energy of a big race was something I needed. (Also, when you said big I had a much bigger number in mind than the 587 finishers for Milwaukee in 2017 - that seems like a really nice size race).
Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
02/01/19 :::: 2.3 :::: 2.3
02/02/19 :::: 10.0 :::: 12.3
02/03/19 :::: 4.0 :::: 16.3
02/04/19 :::: 3.8 :::: 20.1
02/05/19 :::: 3.6 :::: 23.7
02/06/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 23.7
02/07/19 :::: 3.3 :::: 27.0
02/08/19 :::: 4.2 :::: 31.2
02/09/19 :::: 10.1 :::: 41.3
02/10/19 :::: 5.5 :::: 46.8
02/11/19 :::: 3.8 :::: 50.6
02/12/19 :::: 4.0 :::: 54.6
02/13/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 54.6
02/14/19 :::: 3.0 :::: 57.7
Same deal as Tuesday - treadmill before and after strength training. Whoever mentioned pistol squats, I'm also very impressed - we did those today, having to get up from a bench on one leg. I'm terrible at this, especially when trying to stand up on my right leg, left leg extended. Which seems like it should be the opposite as my right side is usually stronger. I need to practice this.
Pull-up work - not a ton of upper body today but there were some push-ups, planks, wall balls, squats with a mace like a kayak row thing, goblet squats, and the dreaded box jumps.
The sun is out and I need to take my fur overlord out for a walk. Will try to catch up better later.6 -
@midwesterner85 very good point about the crowd. especially since i won't have anyone waiting for me at the finish line
@kartharmonic for us it's biggish. our marathons aren't very popular. 5ks are king. MKE-the biggest small town
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PastorVincent wrote: »@Elise4270 What a little sweetie! He reminds me of a "Smokey" we used to have.
We're at an impasse on the name. All the cats have food names, no idea how that happened... Bean, noodles, goober... This guy is beary to me. See hes Russian blue, bear- russia has iconic bears and berry cuz its food and hes so dang tiny. Dh wants to call him Sergei. So.. serbear-y?
I like Smokey myself.
Bacon.3 -
so do any of the three get any one excited? like if you lived in my area, you would totally race it.
i've done big races, i've done small races.
the swag is nice for the big one but that's a lot of people and traffic. but something small might be nice. running holy hill might be a nice first but that one will be hard. the second, you climb a lookout tower and involves the stupid steep inclines of the state park.
i'm really torn
i wish i had long distance running friends nearby. someone to cheer me on...
@mbaker566 my love of trails is no secret, but for a first marathon, I put all my chips in for the Milwaukee Marathon. There's just no substitute for the experience of a traditional marathon through a big city. With 500 to 600 runners, that's really not a lot for a marathon, but enough that you should be with or near other runners the entire time.
The Via Dolorosa only had 75 runners last year, it's first year in existence. Being on trail with no spectators, you'll be alone for much of it unless you happen to find someone running at your pace. This would be my second choice.
The Trailbreaker is 6 miles of city streets and sidewalks(?!?!), 15 miles of paved trails, and 5 miles of the IAT. You could probably get by with road shoes but it might also be pretty slushy/muddy on the unpaved trail that time of year. Shoe selection might be tricky. I've run that section of the IAT a few times and it's nice, but because of the mix of surfaces and the inclusion of sidewalks, this is my last choice. I couldn't find any results to tell me how big this race is.
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@midwesterner85 very good point about the crowd. especially since i won't have anyone waiting for me at the finish line
@kartharmonic for us it's biggish. our marathons aren't very popular. 5ks are king. MKE-the biggest small town
Lakefront Marathon has something like 3000+ I think, but it's in October. I've got that one on my list to do some day. After I do the Twin Cities Marathon though.4 -
Milwaukee marathon has had issues with execution and distance.
Idk if they had it last year. But new management or something along those lines. Yay. I think I will try to sign up tomorrow.
Lakefront is on my list but i want to be looking more at a 50k around that time. If it fits, i might run it.
Via has a new 10k this year. Maybe I'll try that.
Thanks all for the input. (I didn't even think about the shoes @7lenny7 )3 -
@mbaker566 I would come out and cheer for you!
I don't know much about those three races, the only Milwaukee area marathon I've ever really looked into was Lakefront last year and then I got hurt training for it. Personally I think I would want a bigger crowd so if it was me I would probably pick Milwaukee Marathon.3 -
Debated going running tonight, being Valentine's day and all. Asked the wife if it would be ok. She said to spend time with the one you love....
So 6.4 miles tonight 😁 It was flipping HOT (80F in the middle of February)! But was nice and relaxing. Felt good. Now to go face the music 🤐
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@midwesterner85 very good point about the crowd. especially since i won't have anyone waiting for me at the finish line
@kartharmonic for us it's biggish. our marathons aren't very popular. 5ks are king. MKE-the biggest small town
Definitely do the biggest one as your first Marathon.3 -
so do any of the three get any one excited? like if you lived in my area, you would totally race it.
i've done big races, i've done small races.
the swag is nice for the big one but that's a lot of people and traffic. but something small might be nice. running holy hill might be a nice first but that one will be hard. the second, you climb a lookout tower and involves the stupid steep inclines of the state park.
i'm really torn
i wish i had long distance running friends nearby. someone to cheer me on...
@mbaker566 my love of trails is no secret, but for a first marathon, I put all my chips in for the Milwaukee Marathon. There's just no substitute for the experience of a traditional marathon through a big city. With 500 to 600 runners, that's really not a lot for a marathon, but enough that you should be with or near other runners the entire time.
The Via Dolorosa only had 75 runners last year, it's first year in existence. Being on trail with no spectators, you'll be alone for much of it unless you happen to find someone running at your pace. This would be my second choice.
The Trailbreaker is 6 miles of city streets and sidewalks(?!?!), 15 miles of paved trails, and 5 miles of the IAT. You could probably get by with road shoes but it might also be pretty slushy/muddy on the unpaved trail that time of year. Shoe selection might be tricky. I've run that section of the IAT a few times and it's nice, but because of the mix of surfaces and the inclusion of sidewalks, this is my last choice. I couldn't find any results to tell me how big this race is.
Well said.0 -
Got a very comfortable 3.5 treadmill miles in this morning. I think I've finally recovered from last weekend's race. Tomorrow will be a strength training day, and I'll be glad to give my legs a little break. I may have missed it in the recent posts, but is anyone racing this upcoming weekend? If so, good luck!
19.0/55.0 miles for February so far5 -
Debated going running tonight, being Valentine's day and all. Asked the wife if it would be ok. She said to spend time with the one you love....
So 6.4 miles tonight 😁 It was flipping HOT (80F in the middle of February)! But was nice and relaxing. Felt good. Now to go face the music 🤐
I've always been told "Don't ask the question if you can't stand the answer." It probably would have been better to ask for forgiveness than permission...especially if you aren't going to do what she says! Good luck with that one! LOL
I had planned on a run today, but wound up working later than planned. I didn't get home until 5:30 and hadn't eaten anything since 9:30 this morning. So, I opted for dinner and a 40 minute walk on the treadmill. (I can walk soon after eating a fairly big meal, but not run.) Hoping to get a run in tomorrow.
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Date...........Run.......Walk
02/01........11M.......0.0M
02/02........20M.......0.0M
02/03........00M.......0.0M
02/04........13M.......3.8M
02/05........00M.......3.5M
02/06........09M.......1.0M
02/07........00M.......3.5M
02/08........00M.......0.0M
02/09........11M.......0.0M
02/10........00M.......0.0M
02/11........07M.......3.5M
02/12........00M.......2.2M
02/13........00M.......3.4M
02/14........11M.......3.4M
---MTD: 24.6 miles walking, 82 miles running, and 0KM resting
Upcoming Races
Steel Challange 5k - May 2019
Pittsburgh Marathon - May 2019
Glacier Ridge 50k Trail Race - May 2019
2021 - Disney World Dopey! (if can raise funds)
2019 GOAL: Knock a full hour off my 50k time at Glacier Ridge.5 -
greyparks206 wrote: »Got a very comfortable 3.5 treadmill miles in this morning. I think I've finally recovered from last weekend's race. Tomorrow will be a strength training day, and I'll be glad to give my legs a little break. I may have missed it in the recent posts, but is anyone racing this upcoming weekend? If so, good luck!
19.0/55.0 miles for February so far
I've got a 10K-ish (6.55 miles) on Saturday! It's looking like 5 degrees at gun time, so a little warmer than last month's race! I'll be breaking the cardinal rule of racing and wearing new gear - the balaclava I picked up at REI yesterday. I'm curious to see how this goes. On the organizational side, the company that put on the race went out of business (or out of the racing business, at least) a few weeks ago but all of their races were picked up by another company who insist they are maintaining continuity and everything will go off as planned. We will find out!
According to the email sent a couple of days ago there will be only 32 people in the 10K, which will be my smallest race by far (we're sharing the route with 27 half-marathoners, so that's a few more people). Alas, I still do not hold much hope for an age group placement (awards go to top two) - there will be five other women in the 30-39 group and from past experience I'm closer to the bottom half of my age group for speed than not. That said, I've got a better chance than usual! I might have to actually show up to the post-race party...8 -
@mbaker566 - For a first marathon, I'd pick the one with the least elevation loss. As a local race director here said, "The uphills may break the spirits of a few newbies, but it's the downhills that turn your legs into ground beef. Or ground tofu, if you're a vegetarian."
Particularly if you've never run the distance, or never run 26 miles as hard as you plan to run the marathon, more downhill than you're accustomed to running will beat you up.11 -
February Running Totals (miles)
2/1 –5.16 course preview
2/2 – 7.29 warmup, commute, 8K XC race
2/3 – 10.81 easy
2/4 – rest day
2/5 – 10.52 warmup, speed work, cool down
2/6 – 8.78 easy
2/7 – 7.59 warmup, speed work, cool down
2/8 – rest day
2/9 – 11.50 warmup, 8 mile race
2/10 – 13.33 MP with hills
2/11 – rest day
2/12 – 8.21 warmup, speed work, cool down
2/13 – 6.31 easy
2/14 – 8.33 easy to MP
February running total to date – 97.83
Nominal February mileage goal: 190 miles
Real Goals: Train well toward Boston. Work the February races into the training plan smoothly. Remain uninjured, even if it means cutting back on planned mileage or races.
Today's notes – Today's assignment was a long interval run: 3 miles easy, 4 miles MP, 2 miles easy, 4 miles MP, 1 mile easy. Total, 14 miles. Two issues: 14 miles is too many if I want to get 20 in on Saturday, and I've hit the speed work pretty hard lately. Both physically and mentally I wanted to back away from hitting a pace for an interval.
The weather was favorable. I got out at quarter till 4 this afternoon, with 39° F (4°C) temperature and maybe 10 mph ENE wind. At that temperature, I'm not terribly worried about that much wind or the wind direction. Wore light tights, which were okay; and a long sleeve tech shirt with a light jacket over it, which may have been a bit overdressed. Planned to run 8 to 9 miles, going easy or MP as I felt like it. Ended up a bit over 8, with only a couple of the mile splits as fast as I'd like MP to be this cycle but all of them faster than the fast end of easy last training cycle.
Came home, put the miles in my spreadsheet, and I see that running 20 miles on Saturday will put me right at my weekly target mileage. The miles were a lot easier today with clear asphalt than they were yesterday with snow cover; just have to see what the weather throws at me Saturday. It could be a pleasant 20, a really tough 20, or something in between.
2019 Races:
January 1, 2019 Freezeroo #2 (Resolution Run 7.5 mile) (Mendon, NY) finished in 50:55
January 5, 2019 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Gates, NY) finished in 1:30:48
January 12, 2019 Freezeroo #3 (Pineway Ponds 5 Mile) (Spencerport, NY) finished in 33:10
January 26, 2019 Freezeroo #4 (Hearnish 5 mile) (Victor, NY) 4.9 miles, finished in 32:28
February 2, 2019 USATF XC Championship, Masters 8K (Tallahassee, FL) finished in 32:53
February 9, 2019 Freezeroo #5 (Tom Brannon 8 mile) (Greece, NY) finished in 55:55
February 23, 2019 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY)
March 16, 2019 USATF Masters 8K Championship (Shamrock 8K) (Virginia Beach, VA)
March 17, 2019 Shamrock Half Marathon (Virginia Beach, VA)
April 13, 2019 BAA 5K (Boston, MA)
April 15, 2019 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA to Boston, MA)
November 3, 2019 TCS New York City Marathon (New York, NY)9 -
Got to the gym and all the treadmills were taken again. So I started on the bike to warm up. Was eventually able to switch to the treadmill.
4.0 miles
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Hey all, thanks for the tips on the bladder - Ill give vinegar a go tonight.
I never really thought about this much till now but tomorrow i'm doing a half marathon (well its actually something like 22 and a bit km). without training for it. when did I think that was a good idea... So my plan is to try run the first 12km or so (that will really depend how well I do the hills) and see how I go. I am going to go slow, like turtle pace. Anything less than 3hrs and I'll be happy - though I expect my competitive streak to come out. I will also be wearing new shoes, and trying a new hydration pack. This is for charity, the local fire stations are doing it to raise funds for blood cancer, its ahead of their annual stair climb - climb the tallest tower in the country in full equipment, so several of the participants will be in full gear. in the middle of summer. I will be wearing as little as is decent. far too hot for that.
You know the advice never try new things on a race. well I'm ignoring all that. wish me luck. Crap have to go buy some lollies (sweets) like jelly beans or something. I am so unprepared for this! Should be a hell of a lot of fun!14 -
Hey all, thanks for the tips on the bladder - Ill give vinegar a go tonight.
I never really thought about this much till now but tomorrow i'm doing a half marathon (well its actually something like 22 and a bit km). without training for it. when did I think that was a good idea... So my plan is to try run the first 12km or so (that will really depend how well I do the hills) and see how I go. I am going to go slow, like turtle pace. Anything less than 3hrs and I'll be happy - though I expect my competitive streak to come out. I will also be wearing new shoes, and trying a new hydration pack. This is for charity, the local fire stations are doing it to raise funds for blood cancer, its ahead of their annual stair climb - climb the tallest tower in the country in full equipment, so several of the participants will be in full gear. in the middle of summer. I will be wearing as little as is decent. far too hot for that.
You know the advice never try new things on a race. well I'm ignoring all that. wish me luck. Crap have to go buy some lollies (sweets) like jelly beans or something. I am so unprepared for this! Should be a hell of a lot of fun!
I try all kinds of new things on race day. Sometimes they even turn out to be good things!
You got this! You have the right idea, take it slow and see how you feel. If you get to like the last 5k or so and are feeling good you can try picking up the pace a little bit. Be dynamic and relax and enjoy yourself! 8 -
Hey all, thanks for the tips on the bladder - Ill give vinegar a go tonight.
I never really thought about this much till now but tomorrow i'm doing a half marathon (well its actually something like 22 and a bit km). without training for it. when did I think that was a good idea... So my plan is to try run the first 12km or so (that will really depend how well I do the hills) and see how I go. I am going to go slow, like turtle pace. Anything less than 3hrs and I'll be happy - though I expect my competitive streak to come out. I will also be wearing new shoes, and trying a new hydration pack. This is for charity, the local fire stations are doing it to raise funds for blood cancer, its ahead of their annual stair climb - climb the tallest tower in the country in full equipment, so several of the participants will be in full gear. in the middle of summer. I will be wearing as little as is decent. far too hot for that.
You know the advice never try new things on a race. well I'm ignoring all that. wish me luck. Crap have to go buy some lollies (sweets) like jelly beans or something. I am so unprepared for this! Should be a hell of a lot of fun!
Just try not to melt... and don't get sunburnt!3 -
Hey all, thanks for the tips on the bladder - Ill give vinegar a go tonight.
I never really thought about this much till now but tomorrow i'm doing a half marathon (well its actually something like 22 and a bit km). without training for it. when did I think that was a good idea... So my plan is to try run the first 12km or so (that will really depend how well I do the hills) and see how I go. I am going to go slow, like turtle pace. Anything less than 3hrs and I'll be happy - though I expect my competitive streak to come out. I will also be wearing new shoes, and trying a new hydration pack. This is for charity, the local fire stations are doing it to raise funds for blood cancer, its ahead of their annual stair climb - climb the tallest tower in the country in full equipment, so several of the participants will be in full gear. in the middle of summer. I will be wearing as little as is decent. far too hot for that.
You know the advice never try new things on a race. well I'm ignoring all that. wish me luck. Crap have to go buy some lollies (sweets) like jelly beans or something. I am so unprepared for this! Should be a hell of a lot of fun!
Just do what your body tells you you're capable of doing.0 -
My thingy for placing 2nd in AG at the St Jude Marathon Weekend 5k in December finally arrived in the mail today! I never won a thingy before!
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girlinahat wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »quilteryoyo wrote: »@PastorVincent I had to google it too! @girlinahat I too am very impressed that you can do those at all. Doing them while brushing your teeth is very impressive, indeed!
Ever since I learned what those were I developed a new appreciation for the athleticism of figure skaters - there's a figure skating move called a "sit spin" that's basically a pistol squat on figure skates. Ouch!
er....I should adjust that.
I 'TRY' to do pistol squats. I'm not there yet in depth. not yet. It'll happen......
I do "sit back and fall over squats" mostly if I'm not careful. I've been doing one legged squats over a chair so when I lose balance I don't go very far. I'm actually improving very slowly, I can do five per leg now, going down far enough to touch the seat.5 -
2/1 - rest
2/2 - 8.05 km
2/3 - rest
2/4 - rest
2/5 - 3.35 km
2/6 - rest
2/7 - 3.57 km
2/8 - rest
2/9 - 8.05 km
2/10 - rest
2/11 - rest
2/12 - cake (husband's birthday)
2/13 - resting from cake
2/14 - 4.33 km
27.35/68 km
I am so sick of the treadmill. Supposed to warm up a bit next week. But I went anyway. I got all excited earlier today because at 2pm it sucked, but it sucked less. By the time I got home from work the temp had dropped and wind picked up though.
Wound up not running yesterday due to not being in the mood after a mid-afternoon appointment (let's just say by the end of it I felt like the tech owed me dinner at least). So I didn't.
2019 Races:
1/1/19 Resolution Run (51:54)
5/5/19 BMO Vancouver Marathon (Half)
8/17/19 Edmonton Marathon10 -
Milwaukee marathon has had issues with execution and distance.
Idk if they had it last year. But new management or something along those lines. Yay. I think I will try to sign up tomorrow.
Lakefront is on my list but i want to be looking more at a 50k around that time. If it fits, i might run it.
Via has a new 10k this year. Maybe I'll try that.
Thanks all for the input. (I didn't even think about the shoes @7lenny7 )
Hi. I don’t often contribute but for a first I agree with the philosophy on going with a bigger attended race and this likely relatively flat.
I too am running this marathon (my second) among with others in my run club running the HM and the marathon - about 60 in total. They will have a cheer station at mile 24.5 which i believe is also mile 11 for HM course - so they will be there for us but for you as well!
Finally, I saw a tip today a runner shared for marathon runs. They hand out $5 coffee/restaurant gift cards along the way to thank a volunteer, child or person cheering. Comment was it provides a bit of motivation and energy uplift as you give thanks as well as shifting focus to the next “winner” vs on any challenges as you knock down 26.2. Good luck on your race!!8 -
Hey all, thanks for the tips on the bladder - Ill give vinegar a go tonight.
I never really thought about this much till now but tomorrow i'm doing a half marathon (well its actually something like 22 and a bit km). without training for it. when did I think that was a good idea... So my plan is to try run the first 12km or so (that will really depend how well I do the hills) and see how I go. I am going to go slow, like turtle pace. Anything less than 3hrs and I'll be happy - though I expect my competitive streak to come out. I will also be wearing new shoes, and trying a new hydration pack. This is for charity, the local fire stations are doing it to raise funds for blood cancer, its ahead of their annual stair climb - climb the tallest tower in the country in full equipment, so several of the participants will be in full gear. in the middle of summer. I will be wearing as little as is decent. far too hot for that.
You know the advice never try new things on a race. well I'm ignoring all that. wish me luck. Crap have to go buy some lollies (sweets) like jelly beans or something. I am so unprepared for this! Should be a hell of a lot of fun!
I had my marathon PB with new shoes! Just to show anything's possible. Good luck on your race and have fun!5 -
@PastorVincent thanks, I'm really looking forward to it. A real no-pressure situation and a course I've been wanting to do. Also, the start line is literally 400m from my front door! Makes me very happy lol and like you I see it as a great chance to see what works.
@ContraryMaryMary LOL yeah got the sunscreen ready. We start at 7 but given I fully expect to still be out around 10...
@Tramboman thanks, excellent advice.
I rinced out the bladder with vinegar and much better. I've also added a small bottle of gatorade and some lollies. Happy runner.5
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