August 2019 Monthly Running Challenge

A lovely run this morning to start August off. 5km which I quite enjoyed, which I wasn't expecting as a) it was hot, about 28C at 8am, b) my headphones weren't working so I had no entertainment and c) we were running into a strong wind which made the going difficult. However, not having headphones made me concentrate on other things for a while, mainly the sound of my breathing - wow I sound like I'm dying when I run!

I have added a few photos of my beautiful run, it's where my Grandad lives in Spain, a lovely spot for running!
@MegaMooseEsq your cats are beautiful! I love seeing the various cats and dogs on this board.

I've also been thinking about the questions of the month but don't have time to attempt the long ones just now... So I'll just say that my shoe size is 5.5UK, my new trainers (adidas boosts) are a US8 though, confusingly. And the best meal I ever had was an Italian in Cluj, Romania, where I had really simple homemade pasta cooked in butter and sage, and it was beautiful, to-die-for! And then I has ice-cream, which I am a fiend for, and a great coffee, and great wine. Everything you need in a meal!

Hmm - tried to edit my ticker and it didn't work. Oh well! I did do 5k, honest!

Elise4270 wrote: »

Ohhh I have a very bias monthly question .

Compare yourself now to 10, 20 and 30 years ago. What improvements do you love? What do you look forward too? What do you miss and how do you deal with that? Follow up with what would your 15 year old self think of you today.

ETA I think @MobyCarp would have loved this topic.

Let’s see, I’m 51 now, so I would have been 41, 31, and 21.

When I was 21 I was still in college. I was very slim - underweight even - and had a side job doing local modeling. I looked pretty good on the outside. But on the inside I was very sick with undiagnosed lupus. It would take me more than ten years to get a diagnosis, and in the meantime I went through various forms of misery. It’s much better knowing what the illness is and being able to receive proper treatment than feeling bad and having doctors claim there was nothing wrong.

One thing I prefer about myself today is that sometime when I was in my mid-twenties I learned not to put up with people who like drama. My husband and I - who were part of the same crowd back then, even before we were dating - call this “running up and down stairs” because my roommate and I lived in a townhouse where someone was always running upstairs and locking themselves in a bathroom in a snit. Then everyone would come stand outside the bathroom door and talk through the door trying to calm the person down. One day I just snapped and got in my car and drove away, leaving the door locked and the drama queen inside. And that was the end of running up and down stairs.

When I was 31 I had recently moved to the house where I live now with my husband and both our careers had started to take off. This was a younger and better period in our industry (video games) when developers had tons of money to throw around and schedules were informal. I remember spending long days at the park and taking walks at midnight while discussing work. I definitely miss the freedom and joy of working for creatives instead of suits. Physically I was starting to get a little heavy, but my focus was elsewhere, and I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to my body or diet.

When I was 41 I had just finished the second of my major dieting phases, during which I lost 50 lbs, from 250 to just under 200. Then just when I was starting to feel fitter and better about myself, I had a lupus flare which knocked me completely off my feet. I was nearly bedridden for months, gained all the weight back and then some, and was left with a fear that any time I started to get healthy it would cause another flare. I still deal with that fear.

Today I am physically stronger than I ever have been. I have diabetes which I regret - if I could send a message back in time, it would be to do something about my weight and health before getting an incurable disease. But so far I manage the diabetes pretty well. I would also tell my 20 year old self to go to the ER after snapping a thing in my knee - although acl repairs weren’t really a thing back then, so it might not have helped. But if I had been able to get my acl repaired in a timely fashion my life today would be much better.

My 15 year old self wanted to be an Olympic level 3 day event rider. She wouldn’t think much of me, I’m afraid. But it was her decisions that led away from that career - I had a close family friend who was an excellent nationally-ranked rider before taking a fall which left her with crippling fear and spinal injuries, and I saw how good she was, and how hard she had worked, and how she wasn’t even close to the top of her profession and now had to find a new one, and it seemed to me that it wasn’t worth missing out on all the normal parts of teenage life to risk everything for a dream with such a low rate of pay. Fortunately I had a dream to fall back on - my 7 year old self had wanted to create worlds for other people to explore. And I get to do that today.

@LindsayLou66 When is your mom's birthday? I'm turning 60 on Sunday. That is why I chose to set my goal at 60 miles this month too!

8/1 - 0 work ugh!

0 of 80 miles

Thanks for the welcome back! Work has been insane, hopefully it will calm down in the next week. Have a 10 mile trail race on Saturday that I'm not sure I'm ready for but looking forward to it.

Got out for my first run in at least a week. I did not have time but did a HM anyways. The pace was a bit slow for me, but with the temps, it probably was about right. Was a lot hotter than the weather report suggests, and humidity was higher.

Have not had time to reply to anyone, but have read all the posts. Y'all are amazing keep it up! Probably be spotty for a while to get runs and replies in... Another interview tomorrow! And turned down another interview that low balled the salary range. To early in the game to take a pay cut I think. I mean it has only been a week.

Date...........Run..........Walk
08/01........13.1M.......0.0M


---MTD: 0.0 miles walking, 13.1 miles running, and 0KM resting

Upcoming Races
Fleet Feet Liberty Mile - August 9th
Two Face - 10k Road Race - August 10
Two Face - 10k Trail Race - August 10
Howl at the Moon - Nighttime 5k - August 10
EQT Pittsburgh 10 Miler - November 2nd

202? - Disney World Dopey! (if can raise funds)

GOAL: Find a job!

First 4 miles of 80 for August done yesterday 1st August 🏃‍♀️

First run done!

Number of runs: 1
Number of miles: 2.2

So I've got this idea...

Earlier this year I had considered, and then scrapped plans to do a 50k trail race in June. The route isn't too far from where I'm spending the summer, and after a grueling uphill over the first 10k, it looks pretty flat. I'm currently in "half marathon anytime" shape and have been training regularly, but haven't run farther than that since doing a marathon in May. The idea? To HIKE the 50k route in a day, with maybe a little easy running mixed in after I get up into the highlands, roughly aiming for 10 hours (which happens to be the cutoff were I doing the race). I feel like it's a reasonable thing given the shape I'm in... BUT I've never gone that far before. I kinda expect this group to enable, uh, I mean encourage me to go for it, but please speak up if you have advice or thoughts about it!

Haven't some of you done some all-day hiking? How did it go, compared to your running fitness?

August goal 100 miles



I cycled today. My cycling fitness comes and goes so quickly... after all the traveling I've been doing, it's currently missing in action. So I didn't push it. 6k of hills felt just about right.

A little late on the Goal, my training has me at 60 miles. It sounds daunting The training is getting real!!!

Aug Goal-60 miles

8/2/19- 4.4

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A short 2.5km run this morning as I got up late (too much wine last night!) And it was already very hot. Enjoyed it though,
Running through the orange groves is very calming.

@polskagirl01 that sounds great! I have done a lot of hiking and 50km in 10 hours is hard work with not many stops, but very doable if you're in HM shape. Especially if its relatively flat, as you say. Just makes sure you have super comfy shoes...

@rheddmobile I think I asked this same question about 2 years ago. I raced a 5k that went through the cemetery. The responses I received were that most people think it is ok to run in the cemetery. They are parks after all. I do sometimes run through the cemetery which is about .5 miles from my house. I try to be respectful. If there is a funeral going on I do not go in there. If I see someone visiting a grave then I will usually alter my path so as not to disturb them. Our cemetery is pretty old and there are some really interesting headstones in there. I often think about my loved ones who are buried there when I run past their plots. I always stick to the roads and one of the things I like about running there is that there are nice roads and there is usually no traffic and if a car does come through the speed limit is 10 mph. I also see jackrabbits in there which I like. I only see cottontails on my other routes. I felt a little conflicted about it the first time when I saw that the 5k race was going to cut through the cemetery. But honestly the cemetery is a really peaceful place to run.

I didn't quite bump up against my 120 mile limit last month, so I'm leaving it right there for another month. I guess that means I will need to back off on trying to run 8 miles every time I hop on the treadmill, and run a few shorter runs to stay under the limit. A sure way to run fewer miles? Do them too fast! There is a serious difference between 11 minute miles and 11:15.