October 2019 Monthly Running Challenge

ContraryMaryMary wrote: »

So if my geography is right we now have athletic 3 New Zealand ladies in the group. @ContraryMaryMary , @Avidkeo and @kirstymn. So when will there be a HM Meet-up and pictures? Hawkes Bay ??

Yes! I'm keen. Where in NZ are you @kirstymn?

Awesome!! I'm in Tauranga, so it looks like we're all pretty evenly spread out over the North Island I was hoping to make it up to Auckland for the half this month, but sadly couldn't make the timing work. It would be great if we could do a NZ meet up sometime!

@Avidkeo I was also supposed to be in Melbourne for a conference the weekend of the Hawke's Bay marathon! - I completely forgot about it before I registered. I decided to stick with the race and so I'm going to Sydney a couple of weeks later to meet with some suppliers instead... win/win

7lenny7 wrote: »

Is the marathon distance in decline? Interesting read from the local paper ahead of Sunday's Twin Cities Marathon. Some of the comments are really idiotic.

http://www.startribune.com/twin-cities-marathon-has-a-defining-distance-of-road-racing-hit-the-wall/562099202/

Does this mean I might have a chance at placing in my AG if I just keep going?
Marathons are hard. The commitment and training required really don't compare to preparing for a half. And yet, a half marathon is still a huge accomplishment! So I don't blame people for choosing shorter distances, and it's also my favorite race distance.

girlinahat wrote: »

rheddmobile wrote: »

girlinahat wrote: »

polskagirl01 wrote: »

7lenny7 wrote: »

Is the marathon distance in decline? Interesting read from the local paper ahead of Sunday's Twin Cities Marathon. Some of the comments are really idiotic.

http://www.startribune.com/twin-cities-marathon-has-a-defining-distance-of-road-racing-hit-the-wall/562099202/

Does this mean I might have a chance at placing in my AG if I just keep going?
Marathons are hard. The commitment and training required really don't compare to preparing for a half. And yet, a half marathon is still a huge accomplishment! So I don't blame people for choosing shorter distances, and it's also my favorite race distance.

I dearly want to run an Ultra, but my recent marathon experience showed me that I need to go right back to basics, get some speed and consistency up, and focus on 10k races next year. I have a mental hurdle with that, as it almost doesn't seem worth getting out of bed for a 10k race. BUT marathon training takes so much time. I really want to be able to just run 20miles whenever I feel like it, but for me that's a day out of my weekend.

I'm trying to change my mindset that 10k is fine. I have a new challenger on the block - my sister, who took up running recently, who only finished chemo/radiotherapy back in June, has just done a 5k in under 30 minutes. And she's seven years older than me. this is war.

Interesting conversation. For me, my major focus on running is health and fitness, and for me running a marathon simply isn’t a path to that goal - it’s much more likely to harm me than help me. It’s sometimes difficult to put my fingers in my ears and ignore the running community which says, “Run more! Run marathons! Run ultras! You’re just a dabbler unless you do!” and stay focused on my true goal, which is staying healthy.

In fact running even as long as a half isn’t that great for me - when I did it I ended up with an overuse injury. I’m older and my tendons are fragile and I’ve got plenty to do staying sound enough to run 5 and 10k, which benefit my cardio and blood sugar plenty, while more distance means more stress, which I don’t physically need.

it's an interesting perspective - running is certainly about health and fitness for me, but it's also about exploring the countryside. I want to run further so I can explore more. The only reason I want to run faster is to be able to join in social runs and to get to the end point before it gets dark!!!!

yes on all points here.

A few thoughts on that StarTrib article from @7lenny7 : first, this quote really spoke to me as a “younger person” - “Twenty years ago, you ran a marathon. But [baby] boomers are aging out and younger people have so many choices — not only shorter, more manageable races, but they’re going to the gym, they’re doing CrossFit and yoga and biking.”

I love running, but I would personally rather be a well-rounded active person than dedicate all of my time and energy to excelling at one activity (not that there's anything wrong with that option!). There are things I get from weight lifting that I don’t get from running, same for yoga and biking. And while I know that cross training can make you a stronger runner, it also takes time, and ultimately, there are only so many hours in the day.

It seems like there's been a lot more awareness over the last 5 years of the importance of strength training in particular, especially for women, along with a larger cultural shift towards focusing on health and wellness over just being skinny. Not that that doesn't have its own pitfalls, but it does seem like cardio generally isn't seen as the end-all-be-all of exercise the way it was in the 80s and 90s.

Also, the article mentions trail running and ultras but doesn’t include any participation trends for those activities. I’m sure it doesn’t make up all of the difference, but I do wonder how many people are switching from road to trail as that becomes more popular and available. I’d also wonder what triathlon and obstacle course participation numbers look like. I guess that kind of falls into the “more options” mentioned above.

I guess I find these numbers interesting but not especially concerning. There are still loads of races available at all sorts of distances, and still millions more people running now than 30 years ago. You don’t need to run a marathon to be a runner, you just have to run.

girlinahat wrote: »

rheddmobile wrote: »

girlinahat wrote: »

polskagirl01 wrote: »

7lenny7 wrote: »

Is the marathon distance in decline? Interesting read from the local paper ahead of Sunday's Twin Cities Marathon. Some of the comments are really idiotic.

http://www.startribune.com/twin-cities-marathon-has-a-defining-distance-of-road-racing-hit-the-wall/562099202/

Does this mean I might have a chance at placing in my AG if I just keep going?
Marathons are hard. The commitment and training required really don't compare to preparing for a half. And yet, a half marathon is still a huge accomplishment! So I don't blame people for choosing shorter distances, and it's also my favorite race distance.

I dearly want to run an Ultra, but my recent marathon experience showed me that I need to go right back to basics, get some speed and consistency up, and focus on 10k races next year. I have a mental hurdle with that, as it almost doesn't seem worth getting out of bed for a 10k race. BUT marathon training takes so much time. I really want to be able to just run 20miles whenever I feel like it, but for me that's a day out of my weekend.

I'm trying to change my mindset that 10k is fine. I have a new challenger on the block - my sister, who took up running recently, who only finished chemo/radiotherapy back in June, has just done a 5k in under 30 minutes. And she's seven years older than me. this is war.

Interesting conversation. For me, my major focus on running is health and fitness, and for me running a marathon simply isn’t a path to that goal - it’s much more likely to harm me than help me. It’s sometimes difficult to put my fingers in my ears and ignore the running community which says, “Run more! Run marathons! Run ultras! You’re just a dabbler unless you do!” and stay focused on my true goal, which is staying healthy.

In fact running even as long as a half isn’t that great for me - when I did it I ended up with an overuse injury. I’m older and my tendons are fragile and I’ve got plenty to do staying sound enough to run 5 and 10k, which benefit my cardio and blood sugar plenty, while more distance means more stress, which I don’t physically need.

it's an interesting perspective - running is certainly about health and fitness for me, but it's also about exploring the countryside. I want to run further so I can explore more. The only reason I want to run faster is to be able to join in social runs and to get to the end point before it gets dark!!!!

This is why I originally got into running. I was doing a lot of hiking and backpacking, seeing beautiful places like Glacier National Park, Zion National Park, and many others. Then I realized I see more in my limited time if I move faster. After starting to run, I got drawn into the social aspect of races and the goals of doing more marathons and more states. Most of my runs and races are now road, and I do really enjoy road marathons and the social aspect.

However, I really would like to get back to running more trails. I just wish there were longer trails closer. I have been known to frequently drive 2 hrs. one-way for a better place to run on weekends. I am thinking about going 3 hrs. one-way this weekend for another trail, but 6 hrs. in the car on Sat. and 5 hrs. on the trails cuts into time that I would like to spend planning and packing for Chicago next weekend. I may have to visit those trails another time and run roads around home for my longer runs this weekend.

Before I moved in June, in Iowa, I lived less than 30 miles from 2 different state parks (different directions) with 6-8 miles of trails each looping around lakes. Those are not particularly long, but they are long enough to have a good run in the woods on a weeknight without driving for long.