July 2019 Monthly Running Challenge
Options
Replies
-
Today I ran 4.2 miles, bringing this week’s total to 6.75, exactly where I’d hoped to be at this point. The weather was much nicer - it was hot and muggy enough during the week that I decided to combine two runs this week. Hopefully I don’t regret it. My hamstrings are still sore this afternoon but otherwise I’m feeling pretty good. I had to stop and stretch my calves three times but didn’t need any walking breaks, so that felt good.
In other running news of the week, I registered for the Sioux Falls Half marathon a couple of days ago, so that is officially on the books!
In non-running fitness news, on Wednesday I did not one but TWO full pushups, my first ever! I was joking around with the instructor about not having done an unassisted pushup yet and thought I’d go for it. I was (and am still) pretty proud of that accomplishment.
I hit my strength and running goals this week, but was low on yoga and moderate cardio. I’m going to blame the weather, the holiday, and having my mother-in-law in town this weekend. So it goes.
July Total: 6.75 miles
July Goals: Run 40 miles, lift 2-3x/week, 30 minutes/day of moderate cardio, 30 minutes/day of mobility.
2019 Races! (bold registered)
January 26: Securian 10K, St. Paul, MN Chip time: 1:05:07
February 16: Half Fast 10K DNS - weather
March 23: Hot Dash 5K, Mpls, MN Chip time: 0:28:39 (*PR!)
May 19: Women Run the Cities 5K, Mpls, MN Chip time: 0:33:02
June 8: PHRC Pensieve 10K (virtual)
June 12: ESTRS French 5K, Plymouth, MN DNS - injury
June 29 Lift Bridge 5K, Bayport MN Chip time: 0:32:51
August 3: Beat the Blerch 10K, Carnation, WA
September 2: MDRA Victory Labor Day 5K, Mpls, MN
September 8: Sioux Falls Half Marathon, Sioux Falls, SD
October 5: TCM 10K, St. Paul, MN
October 6: TCM 10Mi, Minneapolis to St. Paul, MN
October 12: Bemidji Blue Ox 26K, Bemidji, MN
November 28: Turkey Trot St. Paul 10K, St. Paul, MN
December 14: Reindeer Run 10K, Mpls, MN
9 -
Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
07/01/19 :::: 3.0 :::: 3.0
07/02/19 :::: 4.4 :::: 7.5
07/03/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 7.5
07/04/19 :::: 10.1 :::: 17.5
07/05/19 :::: 3.1 :::: 20.6
07/06/19 :::: 4.5 :::: 25.2
07/07/19 :::: 4.5 :::: 29.7
I wanted to try out my new Altra King MT trail shoes today, and the weather was a bit cooler (though still humid) so it was a good opportunity. I asked for some recommendations of a good place to try them out, that would include some mud/water, and I ended up at a place called Great Bear Recreational Area, about 40 minutes from me. This a multi-use trail system and the website says it's a "mix of forests, fields and wetlands with almost eight miles of marked trails. Hikers, bicyclists, equestrians and more find an opportunity for healthful outdoor activity." So that sounded like a great place to test out the shoes for Spartan-like conditions.
And it was pretty perfect. Some hills, but not a majorly strenuous elevation challenge. The foresty trails were nice and covered with pine needles, and then there were more standard dirt-packed trails with rocky and tree-root filled sections. Lots of opportunities for ankle-twisting and good reminders to lift your feet up (and practice catching yourself when you trip). And then there was mud. The parts of the trails used by BMX bikers had a lot of good mudholes, especially as we had thunderstorms and rain the last couple of days. The wetland part was downright swampy sucking mud, to the point where I was sure I was off trail. But no, there were boards here and there for the most swampy crossings and then it was back to normal clearly-marked trail.
I did a 4.5 mile loop, which involved a bit of wandering and not necessarily the route I planned or thought I was on, but I think it's basically hard to get too lost in the confined space of the park. You eventually end up heading out the way you came in. As for the shoes, I really liked them. The drainage was fantastic, and that's the big issue I had with my Salomon Speedcross shoes (goretex version, which was great in snow this winter, not great in mud/water). I loved the wide toebox and my feet felt comfortable. The grip seemed excellent. I would have liked to test out more rocky/steeper climbs but that will have to wait. As of right now, I would say the zero drop was fine but we'll see how my calves and hamstrings feel later. I may have pushed this run longer than I should have for an initial transition. But I'm optimistic!
Pics of shoes before and after the mud and some trail pics under spoilers:
9 -
katharmonic wrote: »Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
07/01/19 :::: 3.0 :::: 3.0
07/02/19 :::: 4.4 :::: 7.5
07/03/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 7.5
07/04/19 :::: 10.1 :::: 17.5
07/05/19 :::: 3.1 :::: 20.6
07/06/19 :::: 4.5 :::: 25.2
07/07/19 :::: 4.5 :::: 29.7
I wanted to try out my new Altra King MT trail shoes today, and the weather was a bit cooler (though still humid) so it was a good opportunity. I asked for some recommendations of a good place to try them out, that would include some mud/water, and I ended up at a place called Great Bear Recreational Area, about 40 minutes from me. This a multi-use trail system and the website says it's a "mix of forests, fields and wetlands with almost eight miles of marked trails. Hikers, bicyclists, equestrians and more find an opportunity for healthful outdoor activity." So that sounded like a great place to test out the shoes for Spartan-like conditions.
And it was pretty perfect. Some hills, but not a majorly strenuous elevation challenge. The foresty trails were nice and covered with pine needles, and then there were more standard dirt-packed trails with rocky and tree-root filled sections. Lots of opportunities for ankle-twisting and good reminders to lift your feet up (and practice catching yourself when you trip). And then there was mud. The parts of the trails used by BMX bikers had a lot of good mudholes, especially as we had thunderstorms and rain the last couple of days. The wetland part was downright swampy sucking mud, to the point where I was sure I was off trail. But no, there were boards here and there for the most swampy crossings and then it was back to normal clearly-marked trail.
I did a 4.5 mile loop, which involved a bit of wandering and not necessarily the route I planned or thought I was on, but I think it's basically hard to get too lost in the confined space of the park. You eventually end up heading out the way you came in. As for the shoes, I really liked them. The drainage was fantastic, and that's the big issue I had with my Salomon Speedcross shoes (goretex version, which was great in snow this winter, not great in mud/water). I loved the wide toebox and my feet felt comfortable. The grip seemed excellent. I would have liked to test out more rocky/steeper climbs but that will have to wait. As of right now, I would say the zero drop was fine but we'll see how my calves and hamstrings feel later. I may have pushed this run longer than I should have for an initial transition. But I'm optimistic!
Pics of shoes before and after the mud and some trail pics under spoilers:
Nice job breaking in those new shoes!!!2 -
My goal is 60 miles this month. I think that I ran 57 miles last month... so not an unreachable goal.
July 1....4.26 miles (Monon trail)
July 2....4.66 miles (Monon trail)
July 5...4.17 miles (Monon trail). Same route as July 1st. My pace must have been faster than that day. Still pretty hot at 80 degrees with dew point at 71.
July 6....2.03 miles (treadmill). I picked up an overtime shift at work. They were offering incentives plus bonus pay and I couldn't pass it up. I got a short workout on the treadmill this a.m.
Total: 15.12 miles
Goal: 60 miles.
Getting ready for work now. I can't wait to get some sleep after all of this. Happy running, all of you!
6 -
July goal: 100 miles
7/2: 6.26 miles
7/3: 5.51 miles
7/4: 6.25 miles
7/7: 9.11 miles
27.13/100 miles completed
Today's long run was 9.11 miles. My pace was 11:19 which is a little slower than I like, but I usually try to run my long run a little slower. It was 73°F with 91% humidity and the dew point was 71° at 6:50 this morning, but it didn't feel too awful. It was a pretty morning with just enough breeze to feel nice but not difficult to run into. I saw 3 bunnies, a roadrunner, and a deer. I almost didn't even see the first rabbit until I was right on top of him. He was well camouflaged in the grass by the side of the road. I saw the roadrunner crossing the road but he was fast and there was no way to get a picture and I saw the second rabbit right after that. I never have luck getting pictures of rabbits so I didn't even try. I did take a picture of the deer. He stopped and looked right at me for a few minutes and I took a picture before he ran off. Then I noticed the third rabbit. When I got home and zoomed in on the picture of the deer I noticed that the 3rd bunny was also in the picture.
@quilteryoyo It looks like you found your perfect virtual race. That sounds really cool!
2019 races:
2/2/19: Catch the Groundhog Half Marathon - PR 2:15:17
5/18/19: Run for 57th AHC Half Marathon - Cancelled due to weather9 -
Yeah, unfortunately for me, I am a hardened night owl who is most active at 3 am. I work long distance with people in Europe which gives me an excuse, but unless I work very hard to stay on a daytime schedule, I flip to being nocturnal. My husband is even worse, and since the weather now is so unpleasant during the day, we just basically have given up. Binging Stranger Things over the past two days means that we are on an even more nocturnal schedule than usual.July 1 – 5.18 miles + 9 miles cycling
July 2 – 30 min kickboxing + 30 min Pilates
July 3 – 5 miles + 45 min Yoga + 11 miles cycling
July 4 – 4.09 miles – Red, White and Boom race
July 5 – 22 miles cycling
July 6 – 10 miles + SUP
Total – 24.27 running miles (Goal 110 miles)
Yesterday I ran 10 miles. We started at 6:00 am to try to beat the heat but it was still pretty hot and humid. It’s definitely July here in Virginia! A couple of my friends and I then went to a local lake and I tried stand-up paddle boarding for the first time. It was so much fun! After paddling around a while on my knees, I finally garnered the courage to stand. It wasn’t as hard as thought it would be and I didn’t fall in! I’ve been wanting to try this for a while now and I’m glad I did.
@rheddmobile – Two things stuck out from your post. (1) the fact that you ran at midnight. I don’t know how you have any energy left at that time of night for a run. I am definitely a morning person! (2) the fact that you know how your indoor cats react to gun fire. I’ve seen you mention before that your town is not the safest place in the world but how often do you hear shots fired? The only time I ever hear any shots where I live is in the fall during deer season.
As for gunfire. We live in a moderate crime area of a very violent city. We have been shot at a handful of times while walking in our neighborhood, and we hear gunshots almost every night - most are people being fools but I’ve also heard... five? That were murders, on two different occasions. One years ago where a man shot his wife and wife’s boyfriend then their host at a party, and one last year where two people were killed in a break-in on our street. And I was eyewitness to a murder in Frayser where the shooter literally bumped into me walking into a convenience store on his way to shoot the clerk dead. I jumped in my car and didn’t stop driving for two miles, just drove away in a random direction, finally my brain started working and it occurred to me I should maybe call someone, so I pulled over and called the police. Guy was sitting on the body waiting to confess when the police arrived. Turns out it wasn’t a robbery, which had been my assumption, it was a family quarrel where the clerk had beaten his wife and was shot and killed by his wife’s brother. I know two people who had family members murdered last year. My mom’s cleaner had her son shot outside a nightclub, and a member of her writing group’s son was stabbed to death inside his business. Although I guess those shouldn’t count towards this discussion since neither was in Memphis, the shooting was Florida and the stabbing was in Nashville. Still. A lot of violence out there.
8 -
Wow @rheddmobile ! I knew parts of Memphis were bad, but didn't realize how bad. Sorry you have to live with that!
@katharmonic Love the shoes. The trail sounds like it was a great place to try them out.
@kgirlhart It's nice to see wildlife on a run. I love how deer will often stand still and look at you, trying to see if you see them or if you are a threat before they take off.1 -
I feel like you guys need to know about this:
Meet Tomatan, a wearable robot that feeds you tomatoes as you run4 -
@rheddmobile - I wish I were more of a night person. I blame my parents. Growing up on a farm my sister and I always had to get up early even in the summer months when we didn’t have school so that we could get our work in the fields finished before it got too hot. But I also think some people are born with a predisposition to being either a night person or a morning person. It’s all good. We all have 24 hours in each “day” no matter when we are awake.
Sorry for all the violence you have witnessed.4 -
I would love to join. About a month ago I started to incorporate running into my exercise routine and I would like to continue this as a form of cardio. I run anywhere from 12.5-19 miles a week. My goal for this month is 60 miles lets see if I can do it. 😬13
-
I had 17 miles in the plan for today. In the last week, I've had 2 runs where I struggled a whole lot to keep BG from being low. So I planned ahead today. I planned ahead too much, and was skyrocketing nearly as soon as I started running. I topped out in the upper 200's mg/dl (yes, this is really high for me) and had what I thought was runner's stomach. Since it didn't go away and lingers even now that I've stopped running for hours, I'm wondering if I'm actually sick. Anyway, I had decided to cut my run short and am logging only 13.72 miles. I'm hoping I feel better soon because I don't have time to be sick.
9 -
T1DCarnivoreRunner wrote: »I had 17 miles in the plan for today. In the last week, I've had 2 runs where I struggled a whole lot to keep BG from being low. So I planned ahead today. I planned ahead too much, and was skyrocketing nearly as soon as I started running. I topped out in the upper 200's mg/dl (yes, this is really high for me) and had what I thought was runner's stomach. Since it didn't go away and lingers even now that I've stopped running for hours, I'm wondering if I'm actually sick. Anyway, I had decided to cut my run short and am logging only 13.72 miles. I'm hoping I feel better soon because I don't have time to be sick.
Sorry about your bad run, but I see you settled on a new name.
1 -
Had a lazy (and hot!) Friday and Saturday so here is where I'm at:
7/1 - 2 mi
7/2 - 1 mi
7/3 - 2 mi
7/4 - 1 mi
7/7 - 3 mi
Total: 9/25
Tonight, I decided to wait out the heat and ran around 8pm. I was so glad I did - it felt beautiful out, very dry and probably in the low 70s. I haven't done 3 straight miles at this kind of pace in probably 8 or 9 months so I was really happy with the run!
Ready to conquer week 2.8 -
PastorVincent wrote: »Yeah today is looking like a rest day...
Good call. We had very similar weather... was hoping to go for several 5k lake loops, but only barely made it through one, because my daughter was joining me on her bike for loop #1 and I could tell just by looking at her that this was a bad idea. It should've been an easy ride for her, and it definitely wasn't. So we went swimming instead. It was like muddy bath water. So after 5k run, 500m swim, I took a shower at the bath house and announced "I'm not running today". Today I feel like I'm coming down with something, so I'm going to take it easy
July goal 100 miles
5 -
I'm off to Italy for 2 weeks, then London for a week starting tomorrow so I will have to see how the running goes! I'm planning a few hikes during the trip too, so running will be what it will be. I'll see how it goes.
Today's run: 4km, 25:28
July Total: 12k
July Goal: 50k8 -
katharmonic wrote: »I feel like you guys need to know about this:
Meet Tomatan, a wearable robot that feeds you tomatoes as you run
Only the Japanese!
I'm a huge fan of tomatoes but it has never occurred to me nor have I had the urge to eat one while running. I wonder if you could make it dispense chocolate or ice cream or something that you'd actually want to eat while you're out pounding the streets.
But 8kg though.7 -
Contemplating my next long run today (and digesting my breakfast), here are a couple more NZ photos..
Waikato River run on 6/26 in Hamilton from Hamilton gardens:
Lake Karapiro run on 6/29:
Mountain biking in the Redwoods (my friend thought it pretty funny that she’d take someone from the US to the Redwoods!):
The 12+ hour workdays were a bit less scenic...
Are you enjoying your visit! Chilly but love the pics3 -
So. Tired.
Ran 5k this morning, then was on my own for the first time in Ed. I was absolutely flat out. Feet hurt.
LOVED IT!5 -
Thinking of everyone in SoCal. Earthquakes are scary0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.3K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.6K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 387 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.2K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 911 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions