March 2019 Monthly Running Challenge

March Running Totals (miles)
3/1 – rest day
3/2 – 20.05 paced run + solo miles
3/3 – 8.28 easy
3/4 – rest day
3/5 – 10.27 warmup, speed work, cool down
3/6 – 8.75 easy

March running total to date – 47.35

Nominal March mileage goal: 200 miles

Real Goals: Train well toward Boston. Cut back before St. Patrick’s Day weekend, run the 8K hard, use the half as a training race. Remain uninjured, even if it means cutting back on planned mileage.

Today's notes – We continue to have beautiful weather, for January. I got out to run about 11 AM in the heat of the day: 18° F (-8° C) with 17 mph WSW wind and very light snow falling. The roads seemed okay, so I wore road shoes and planned to finish the run before enough snow accumulated to make that an issue.

Ran a familiar route, with 1.4 miles into the teeth of the wind early on, then a residential section that was fairly sheltered, then back on major roads with a crosswind or tailwind. Late in the run, the snow picked up. That sent me out of the residential area where I wanted to finish, back into the teeth of the wind for about 500m. Then crosswind for another 400m to my driveway, and the footing was getting iffy enough that it was time to stop.

Later, the sun came back out. The snow on my driveway is melting where the sun hits it, and I don't think I'll bother with the rest. It's March. It will go away soon enough, right? Right?

For those with an interest in meteorology, light snow with a strong WSW wind means this is lake effect snow off Lake Erie. A northwest wind would mean lake effect snow off Lake Ontario. This is an important distinction, as lake effect from Ontario can be substantial, but I'm far enough from Lake Erie that any of its snow that gets this far won't accumulate much.

In related news, my daughter had told me that if I took used hand warmers, put them in a baggie and squeezed all the air out, I could get a second use out of them. I tried it today, with hand warmers that I had used Sunday. It worked, and my hands stayed warm enough that I was willing to pull out the phone for a post-run selfie. You wouldn't think this was a picture from March 6, but it is:
No issues with cold hands post-run, so either the hand warmers and 3 days off caffeine worked, or today's run wasn't long enough to create a problem. I think I'll stay off the caffeine anyway; perhaps today's run would have been long enough to create a problem, absent the other stuff I did.

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) finished in 28:34
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)
April 28, 2019 USATF Masters 10K (James Joyce Ramble) (Dedham, MA)
May 19, 2019 Lilac Run 5K (Rochester, NY)
May 19, 2019 Lilac Run 10K (Rochester, NY)
May 25, 2019 Sunset House 5K (Rochester, NY)
November 3, 2019 TCS New York City Marathon (New York, NY)

Avidkeo wrote: »

Morning all.
5k run this morning. Leg feels the same, no better no worse. The massage and stretches are definitely helping short term, and its less sore than a week ago, but about the same as a few days ago. Its doing my head in deciding whats up.

the strange thing, or maybe this is normal, is it feels way better AFTER my run than before. From what I've read, if it were shoes, it would feel worse after a run? I really honestly think its tight calf muscles from ramping up too fast. Or am I just trying to convince myself that? And the ache is the same no matter what shoes I wear - regular walking shoes for work, or bare feet on the beach. Actually I went for a walk last night on the beach in bare feet and that really caused it to hurt.

I think one of the reasons I'm frustrated is I really want to buy myself a new stand mixer. I do cakes as a side business from home. My current stand mixer was a cheap k-mart one that doesn't keep its speed. I currently have enough money from a couple of commissions to afford a really good, near top of the range stand mixer that should last me the rest of my life, and has good features without being over the top (basically all the things I would use, and nothing I wouldn't). BUT if my shoes are the cause, then I'll need to use some of the money toward the shoes, and get the next model down. Which is a great basic model, but doesn't have a couple of things I would really like. I don't NEED those features, I can do what I do without them, but they really make life a lot easier (scraper paddle being one of them). So because I'm an adult, I have to try and decide, more expensive mixer and wait a couple of months till I've saved enough again for new shoes and persevere with current pain levels when it may or may not be shoes causing the issues. Or be a sensible person, get the more basic model and get new shoes. I have till Tuesday to make up my mind, because the sale on the mixers ($200 off each one - best price ever on these mixers, I've checked) ends then...

Basically internet, help me adult please!

Get the better mixer that will last. The shoes are a question mark, but if you are investing in one-in-a-lifetime professional equipment, don't go for the lesser model if you don't have to. You said the nicer model has all the things you would use and nothing you wouldn't. I say that's the sensible option, not the step-down that you might end up wanting to upgrade the next time you have the cash.

ETA: I missed the bit about the mixers being on sale. Not even a question for me - buy the mixer!

Tramboman wrote: »

I third this.
You'll go through plenty of pairs of shoes.
Your top of the line mixer will last you a lifetime.

I ...ummmm 6th this? 7th? Err. I agree!

3/1 = 10.5 miles
3/2 = 12 miles
3/3 = rest day
3/4 = 4 miles
3/5 = rest day
3/6 = 7.5 miles


March Goal Miles 150 / Miles to Date = 34 miles

Upcoming Races:
3/9 = Zooma Texas Half
4/6 = Wanderlust Half
5/4 = Wisconsin Marathon (Mittens Challenge Part 1)
5/5 = Kalamazoo Marathon (Mittens Challenge Part 2)
6/15 = Fit Foodie 5k

Today I got to run 1.66 miles home from the gym. There was even more sidewalk clear after another couple of days of sun, and it felt downright tropical at 20 degrees F. There was about a half a block near my house where it was clear enough to really let go and open up my stride and it felt like I was flying.

Another big snow this weekend followed by temps in the 30s is going to mean a big sloshy mess, but at least it's not February! I'm hoping to get in a run around the lake before the snow really starts dumping, but I'll play it by ear.

3/1 Fr - Strength class
3/2 Sa - Shoveled
3/3 Su - Rest
3/4 Mo - Strength class, ran/walked 1.86 miles
3/5 Tu - Rest
3/6 We - Strength class, ran/walked 1.66 miles

March Mileage: 3/52/10

2019 Races! (italics under consideration)
January 26: Securian 10K Chip time: 1:05:07
February 16: Half Fast 10K DNS
March 23: Hot Dash 5K (downgraded from 10Mi to fit training plan)
April 27: Get In Gear 10K
May 19: Women Run the Cities 10K
June 12: ESTRS French 5K
June 29 Lift Bridge 10M or 10K
July 4: Red, White, and Boom Half Marathon
July 10: ESTRS Lebanon 7Mi OR
July 17: Torchlight 5K
July 27: St. Croix Crossing Half OR
August 3-4: Beat the Blerch Half Marathon, Carnation, WA
August 7: ESTRS SLP 5Mi OR
August 10: Gopher to Badger 10K
September 2: MDRA Victory Labor Day 10K (if Dad is in town?)
September 8: Sioux Falls Half Marathon
September 21: Surly Trail Loppet 7Mi
October 5: TCM 10K or 10Mi (REGISTERED!)
October 19: Hot Cider Hustle OR Bemidji Blue Ox Half Marathon OR 26K
November 28: Turkey Trot St. Paul 10K
December: Undecided 10K

Total newbie here coming in a little late. Since I sit for most of the day, I'm trying to be realistic with my goals. If I can walk/jog at least 15 miles, I'll consider that a success.

Tips/encouragement (especially from those with sedentary jobs) would be greatly appreciated!

shanaber wrote: »

@avidkeo - I want cake too!!
Is there any chance your new shoes have a return policy so that if in fact is does end up being the shoes could you return or exchange them rather than write them off entirely?

I also want to give a shout out to our @elise4270 who is having her (3rd I think) surgery today! Pleas keep her in your thoughts and prayers (if you are so inclined). I know she would appreciate it. Also @Avidkeo, you know she would be rooting for cake too

Thanks for the well wishes all! Yes, @shanaber it is my 3rd. @Avidkeo I haven’t seen the doc yet, so no xrays. And of course I totally forgot to mention it presurgry. I did meet an older black lady that makes cakes. Bet they are awesome. She wants to go to Hawaii with us, told her it cost her a cake 😛

polskagirl01 wrote: »

Yesterday I was questioning if I even wanted to continue marathon training. I got some encouragement from a friend, and today got up, had some coffee (I'm NOT a coffee drinker) and good breakfast, loaded up my hydration pack with snacks & drink and took off, slowly. One or more of those things worked, as it went fine... overall a steady pace, even though it was slow and included walk breaks if I noticed my HR had crossed into the watch's "red zone". Mostly I was observing to make sure I didn't get out of breath or feel like I was pushing the pace at any time, but rather aimed for a pace I felt I could maintain for hours - and I did. I guess I'll keep going.

But I'm readjusting my plan because I underestimated the route and ended up with 20 miles instead of 19. Next week will be a shorter long run, then I'll give myself leeway to shorten either the 1st or 2nd of the three 20-milers that the plan actually calls for. I don't want to overdo it and am probably very close to that line. And 4 hours is a long time for me for a training run - some would actually advise against going past certain time periods during training as there may be a rule of diminishing returns when you go too long. So I really need to take recovery seriously!

@polskagirl01 glad you had a pretty good run after questioning whether you wanted to continue training - I would imagine that's a pretty common thing to happen during marathon training. I know I certainly had those moments. I think it is a tough line between feeling like you've done enough miles and overdoing it. I got a lot of different advice but ended up throwing in a couple of cutback weeks and think it was the right choice for me.

Thinking of @Elise4270 - didn't know you were having another surgery and hope everything goes very well.

---

Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
03/01/19 :::: 2.9 :::: 2.9
03/02/19 :::: 5.5 :::: 8.4
03/03/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 8.4
03/04/19 :::: 3.1 :::: 11.4
03/05/19 :::: 2.0 :::: 13.5
03/06/19 :::: 3.3 :::: 16.8

Well, I'm just wiped out. Today was an intense one at work so I was tired and a bit frazzled toward the end of the day. I left a bit early and did my treadmill run before circuit training. Because of this weekend's Spartan race I squeezed in my training days in earlier in the week, ending up with two days in a row. And this one was a particularly tough workout for the legs - lots of jump squats and burpees. My legs were wobbly at the end.

Now to mostly rest for the next couple of days, maybe just easy short runs. Tomorrow is a scheduling challenge so we'll see how that pans out. I do want to feel rested going into the Spartan race because above all I think it's going to be exhausting. The running part, which is the least of my worries, is promising to be tough with quite a bit of snow on the ground - and it's uphill for the most part (at a ski resort). My trainer keeps saying how much fun this is going to be and I'm trying to go with that mindset

zeesparrow wrote: »

Avidkeo wrote: »

I should investigate a way of shipping cake internationally... Fedex anyone? lol

@zeesparrow its frustrating isn't it! foam rolling is so good, when we remember to do it.
@Elise4270 thinking of you! never fun having surgery.
@shanaber sadly I've just gone past the return policy. of course lol

International same day delivery might be a tad expensive. Although perhaps we can share the cost between us. Just have to get everyone in one spot. lol

30 minutes cross training on the bike is done! A little higher level and slower but over 7 miles completed. Time for lasagna!

LOL you send it frozen in dry ice - once thawed they still taste amazing, it's the trick to baking, freezing things is actually your friend! Never actually done it but heard of it done. Fedex actually have info on their page haha and even have cold packages! 48hr cooling time for $46 USD. However the shipping rate is around $150usd lol thats an expensive piece of cake.though I'd argue my cakes are worth it I know within the states its cheap as. So I'd send it to one person, who can cut it up and send it on. A decorated cake will stay moist and tasty for about a week.


I should add while Ive been baking for over 20 years, I have only started decorating in earnest the last few months. so still learning. They taste amazing even if the decorations aren't perfect (yet)