November 2020 Monthly Running Challenge

Teresa502 wrote: »

quilteryoyo wrote: »

@Teresa502 and @skippygirlsmom Where is the girl from in TN? I haven't been listening to the news lately, so missed it if it was on there. That's awesome. So glad it was sanctioned, so holds up.

She goes to Science Hill High School in Johnson City. The article in Sunday's paper states she ran it in 15:58:42 - still impressive either way!

https://timesnews.net/sports/hutchins-runs-into-the-history-books-in-alabama/article_bfa448cc-2c40-11eb-ba53-2b908935a456.html

@quilteryoyo wrote: »

@AlphaHowls You are amazing. How long do you plan on keeping up the HM streak?

ContraryMaryMary wrote: »

Well, I finally did it. I finally ran a 1:45 half marathon. It was the Kerikeri Half on Saturday, a course with a reputation for giving PBs. It's a point-to-point event through the countryside, beautifully bovine and sunshiny and lovely. What makes it fast is that it's predominantly downhill.

In a bid to get over myself and to prevent overthinking, and at my coach's recommendation, I changed the settings on my watch to only give me 7km intervals - the course divides pretty nicely into three parts. The first 7km is uphill - steadily up with two distinct 'hills', for the second 7km you're descending pretty quickly, then the final 7km is a gentle downhill with a few small ups to the finish line in town.

My plan was to start at a steady clip and focus on getting through the uphills, then to run fast on the steep downhills, maximising the use of gravity without actually having to work too hard, then for the final third, to keep pushing until I reached the end.

I woke feeling great. The body was completely niggle-free and feeling loose and relaxed. I enjoyed a gentle 2km jog to the shuttle bus in the early morning cool, arriving at the start line with time for a coffee and to enjoy the atmosphere.

The weather was mostly helpful - fairly cool at the start (about 15 degrees Celsius), but with high humidity. When the sun came out it got quite hot quite quickly but fortunately the humidity burned off so the heat wasn't too much of a hinderance. I did have a drink at every water stop (every 3km) when normally during a half I'd only take on water with my gels (twice).

I executed my plan as intended, managing to ignore my watch for most of it - my coach actually suggested I run without one but, as you know, if it doesn't go on Strava, did it even happen? I'm glad I did have it though, as I only managed to pass the 1:50 pacer at the 12km mark but was reassured by my watch that he was running too fast rather than me going too slow.

It also took about 12km to shake the utter knob who was running while wearing a speaker so we alllll could enjoy his taste in music. I had a strong urge to push him into a ditch but though it might add a few seconds to my time so restrained myself. What kind of a tool does something that selfish though? I was lucky that I wasn't trying to listen to music of my own as his was very loud, and I found it took away from the rural remoteness and quiet beauty of the run.

The downhills were tougher than I remembered - it's hard running fast downhill while staying in control, maintaining a good technique and resisting the urge to brake. When I did hit the few small climbs later in the race, my quads quickly told me how hard they'd been working.

The final few kilometres were a real mental challenge, fortunately, I had my eye on the prize so kept pushing. I knew that my husband and children would be at the 19km mark (outside the house we were staying in) to cheer me on, and then it was just a quick trot through town to the finish line. Just to make things interesting the last 200 metres were on spongy grass (how could they do that to beaten up legs?) but with the finish line in sight, this was no time to slow down.

I came in at 1:45:04 and was stoked. The course was a smidge long too, so my Garmin recorded a new half marathon PB of 1:44:10, which I am over the moon about. I actually got new PBs for 5km and 10kms, 1 mile, 5 miles and 10 miles too.

I also managed second in my age group, which was an unexpected bonus - however, the woman who beat me ran a very impressive 1:30!

Today, the body feels great, although the quads keep reminding me about the brutal downhill running every time I go up or down stairs.

Pics:

Coffee at the start line.


For some unknown reason, the photographer positioned himself at the top of the hill at 7km - hard to look fast or composed at that point!


The final 200m were on lush green grass - an absolute killer on the legs.


Finisher's bling. One very happy runner.

quilteryoyo wrote: »

You are a beast @katharmonic . So, is the trainer going to repeat the class tonight, since the gym didn't close?

Scott6255 wrote: »

Really beautiful pictures @RunsOnEspresso!
Geez @katharmonic that sounds like a brutal workout! I don't think I could have handled all that. Your really are a beast!!!!

Looked at the weather on my phone when I got up, and saw 55F and 13mph wind. Wasn't thrilled with that, but decided I could tough it out. So got all ready and stepped outside. Either I failed to notice or the little rain icon wasn't displayed on the screen, but it was raining lightly when I got outside. Thought for a few minutes about just going back in and running on the treadmill, but in the end I just sucked it up and ran in the rain. It got harder as I kept getting further away from the house, so my pace increased. Only did 4 miles, but each mile was about :30/mi faster than the last.

Avidkeo wrote: »

Guh this morning was WET! like soaked to the bone as soon as you step outside wet. Still managed 3.2k. Woo hoo.

My FB memories reminded me that it was this day 3 years ago I officially lost 20kg (45lb). So I have now officially kept it off for 3 years! Statistics show if you manage 3 years, it becomes your new normal apparently. Woo hoo!