October 2019 Monthly Running Challenge

I have set up the November (November already!! Yikes!!) Challenge and it can be found here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10770461/november-2019-monthly-running-challenge/p1?new=1

October goal: 100 miles

10/1: 5.75 miles
10/2: 6.27 miles
10/5: 1.01 miles - warm up
3.14 miles - Old Rip 5k
10/8: 6.27 miles
10/9: 5.63 miles
10/10: 6.24 miles
10/13: 10.26 miles
10/15: 5.56 miles
10/16: 6.05 miles
10/17: 6.06 miles
10/20: 10.02 miles
10/22: 6.41 miles
10/23: 6.76 miles
10/24: 7.05 miles
10/27: 9.03 miles
10/29: 6.51 miles
10/30: 4.55 miles

112.57/100 miles completed

I ran 4.55 miles this morning. It was a pretty good run despite the drizzle and 38°F feels like 30°F temperature and 11 mph North winds. I debated with myself whether I would run today or not. I wasn't sure when I went to bed last night. This morning I woke up before my alarm and I still wasn't sure. I checked the weather and decided that it wasn't too bad and since I have a 5K coming up and it might be cold and rainy that day I decided to just go out and do it. I ran my usual route, but stuck to running West, then running East with as little North and South as possible. And it really wasn't too bad. I wore long pants and a t-shirt with sleeves and a jacket. I ended up taking the sleeves off about half way through. I would have been ok without the jacket if it hadn't been rainy, but I was glad to have it. I also would have been ok in capri length tights especially since my long pants are a little big and I felt like I needed to pull them up a lot during the run. I'll probably wear capris on race day unless it is a lot colder than it was today. We are supposed to have a hrd freeze tonight so who knows what I'll do tomorrow.

Thanks for setting up the November thread @shanaber. I need to think about my goal for next month. Between the weather and the holidays it may be a lighter month than the last few have been.







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 weather
10/5/19: Old Rip 5K - PR 27:27, 1st AG
11/9/19: Wags and Whiskers 5K

2020 races:
5/16/20: Run for 57th AHC Half Marathon

Thank you folks who have made such kind comments on my race and the report. I don't intend to make them so long but the words come and I keep typing. I do go back and try to find superfluous text to delete, so I can make it more concise but you can see how well that works. I always loved reading @MobyCarp 's detailed race reports and perhaps I aspire to provide something approaching his level of detail and thought processes, which I learned so much from.

Camaramandy648 wrote: »

oh my gosh! I LOVE ALL OF THIS SO MUCH! YOU ARE MY HERO! YOU'RE AN INSPIRATION! YOU'RE AMAZING!

@Camaramandy648 if I can inspire someone, that's awesome, but I'm in no way, shape or form a hero for any of my running. I think most able bodied people can do this, if they have the passion and desire to put the time in training for it.

And you know what...I gain inspiration from all you folks here. A beginning runner who struggles and completes a 5K accomplishes no less of a task than someone who struggles and completes their first half marathon, marathon, 50K or whatever. It's not the distance of the race that makes any one of us someone to be admired, it's the amount of effort and determination, whatever the race might be.

Just looking at my own efforts and accomplishments, completing my first 5K brought me as much joy and sense of accomplishment as finishing my first half, my first full, and my first ultra. Maybe even more in some respect. Even my DNF's bring me pride because I know I did my absolute best in those races, though that pride only came in retrospect...DNF's do suck in the moment.

We are all an inspiration and we are all amazing.

rheddmobile wrote: »

@7lenny7 Great race report! As usual you are the boss. You also have my admiration for finishing your race report, after my recent 50k I set out to do mine and was so tired it never did get done! I love the spread, all our 24 hr race had was an unmanned water cooler with paper cups and a bowl with a label saying “free fruit”. For real! And we had like 300 racers, compared to 41 at your race, we need to get some of your volunteers down this way!

@rheddmobile sometimes it seems it takes more endurance to write the RR than it does to run the race, LOL! If you do get a moment some time, I would like to hear about your race, even if it's just a couple of paragraphs. The spread we had at the Glacier Hills Ultra aid station, other than the pizza and beer afterwards, was typical of a good ultra aid station. The pizza and beer went above and beyond, particularly the pizza!

girlinahat wrote: »

Great race report @7lenny7 - love to see other people living trails like I do.

Question - have you worn the PEK before, and if not, do you credit it with your PB? Do you think the positioning of it could improve your occasional leg pain too?

@girlinahat now that you mention it, all three three times I recall sporting a PEK I've had successful races. First was my first major trail race, a 17 mile in April 2017 where I finished 112th out of 425, with less than 2 years of running under my belt. The second time was my first 50K, also in April 2017 where I set my previous PR and finished 76th out of 174, again with less than 2 years of running behind me.

I know I didn't wear one for my two DNF's or my two slow-*kitten* runs after that. On the other hand, I did not wear one for my 47 mile Loopet Loppet and that was a very successful race. Hmm... I won't credit the PEK absolutely, but I will say it contributes to success. Hopefully this one will still be on my calf on Saturday for that race.

I have to put the PEK on my right side, or he'd be running backwards and that's no good, and I like him on my leg since that's where the action is, and he can see the trail in front of me.

shanaber wrote: »

@7lenny7 - if you want to save the gloves try soaking them in an oxiclean solution. I have had pretty good luck with it.

@shanaber I'm just going to toss them in the washer with my other running clothes. It won't bother me a bit if I can't get the stain out. I always felt they looked like Mickey Mouse gloves when they were clean.

@katharmonic thank's for my medal!

@7lenny7 reading about the ultras is amazing, i know i was flippant before but reading the race reports is really cool.

I'm annoyed because I didn't run this morning because I had a padel lesson after school, so that was going to be my exercise for the day. But then that was cancelled due to rain (Romanians are allergic to rain) so instead I ate pizza and lay on the sofa. I could have gone for a run, but as it was raining I wimped out. Booooo!

Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
10/01/19 :::: 4.8 :::: 4.8
10/02/19 :::: 3.0 :::: 7.8
10/03/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 7.8
10/04/19 :::: 3.1 :::: 10.8
10/05/19 :::: 10.1 :::: 21.0
10/06/19 :::: 1.0 :::: 22.0
10/07/19 :::: 2.7 :::: 24.7
10/08/19 :::: 3.4 :::: 28.1
10/09/19 :::: 3.2 :::: 31.2
10/10/19 :::: 2.2 :::: 33.4
10/11/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 33.4
10/12/19 :::: 5.1 :::: 38.5
10/13/19 :::: 3.2 :::: 41.7
10/14/19 :::: 3.4 :::: 45.1
10/15/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 45.1
10/16/19 :::: 3.0 :::: 48.1
10/17/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 48.1
10/18/19 :::: 1.2 :::: 49.3
10/19/19 :::: 13.2 :::: 62.5
10/20/19 :::: 13.3 :::: 75.8
10/21/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 75.8
10/22/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 75.8
10/23/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 75.8
10/24/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 75.8
10/25/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 75.8
10/26/19 :::: 3.6 :::: 79.4
10/27/19 :::: 2.5 :::: 82.0
10/28/19 :::: 1.7 :::: 83.6
10/29/19 :::: 2.7 :::: 86.3
10/30/19 :::: 5.0 :::: 91.4

I unexpectedly got out of work a little early so I had time to get in more of a run than I expected before my mace class. This was the first run since my HM races that felt decent, I was finally not sore and heavy-feeling. I ended up doing a bit of a progression run because I realized I could probably get 5 miles in if I hustled a little, so I kept pushing the pace a bit more. It was getting dark and I didn't have any lights or anything reflective so the last mile was mostly looping parking lots near the gym to stay off the road. Overall this was a good run!

Mace class was challenging and now I think my upper arms and shoulders are going to be sore. We learned some new sequences that were pretty mentally challenging. I like that about it, you have to think through the steps and it becomes sort of meditative. But also exhausting.

My goal for the month was 97 miles (for vague reasons based on my past miles per month data over the last 4 years) and I'm going to be short of that. I'm not too disappointed in not meeting it as I thought it was a stretch when I set it. Getting over 90 is good.

I'll head over to the November thread as soon as I come up with some kind of goal.

15 miles in the rain and low 60s. Probably my last run until the race Saturday. We will see.

5 miles at Shelby Farms. Rained all morning but we were supposed to get about a three hour break in the middle of the day, so that’s when we went out. It wasn’t raining but very misty and foggy, despite a stiff breeze which, combined with the damp, felt like it was going right through you. Not really cold, about mid fifties, but felt colder, and I’m not used to the cooler temperatures yet, so I wore my windbreaker and was glad I did. This windbreaker is my favorite piece of running gear; it’s covered in zippable vents so it stays comfortable through a whole range of temperatures. Meanwhile the few other people we saw were wearing puffer coats. It’s funny living in Memphis where anything under 70 is like, “Oh no, winter coat weather!” and then reading run reports from others on the thread wearing shorts down to freezing.

We tried a new route to get to the Greenline, since the rain collects across the path on the trail we usually take, and my husband didn’t want to get his shoes wet. Instead of going out past the buffalo, we did our warm up walk up the trail to Pine Lake, then ran past the playground, then out Chickasaw trail to the road. As it turns out this means we started our run up the steep hill next to the playground, which felt just laughably impossible. I’ve been avoiding hills lately due to my Achilles’ tendon and I need to start adding them back in, before I become a total wuss. Also, Chickasaw trail had several streams rushing across it so our shoes got wet anyway. But it was lovely back in there, the trees are turning and bright golden leaves kept flying past us.

Our cool down walk around the lake was cut short after a mile due to extreme clamminess. But we did see four herons frolicking. At least that’s what I assume they were up to - I had never seen herons act this way. They were great blue herons, and there were four of them, and they kept circling and chasing each other and skimming the surface of the water with their wings. One of them even landed and took off from the water, like a big old swan. There’s a cold front coming through with the first freeze warning of the year, and it seemed like it had them excited.

Awww. I like this..I always say I'm not a real runner lol...missed October but may join the November thread. Good job everyone!

It was rainy, cold, and windy last night (25F feels-like temp). So I opted for 8 miles of "crazy laps". When @AlphaHowls mentioned this way back when, I thought there was no way I would every resort to doing that. But my mamma always told me "never say never". I resigned myself to being OK with not making goal this month after my leg pain got bad enough, but the slow, short strides of running indoors allowed me to just make it. On to November. Happy Halloween everybody!