December 2020 Monthly Running Challenge

I haven't updated in a while as I've been exhausted - have managed to read and 'like' and 'hug' though and am thinking of all of you that are struggling at the moment, especially @quilteryoyo.

My exhaustion is a combination of Christmas festivities (all child related), work booking me on a 6:30am flight to Wellington for a meeting (who does that? - that's a 4:30am wake up to get to the airport on time - and all for a meeting that could be done by Zoom), and lots of running - four events in the last six weeks and my coach has a different idea from me as to what taper and recovery look like!

On Saturday I ran my final event for the year - the Westcoaster. It is the most awesome day out. It's possibly one of the most gruelling marathon courses in New Zealand but we do it as a team of four. Last year I ran the first leg, which although the shortest at just under 9km, involves a lot of sand dunes and running downstream (ankle deep water) for over a kilometre.

This year, I ran leg 3. Only 10km, but with 600 metres of elevation. It is staggeringly beautiful. Perhaps the most stunning run I've ever done. Much of it is up on the cliff tops - it's actually quite frightening if you think too much about it. It's a very narrow track along the edge of the cliff. No room for passing in some places. Make one wrong footstep and you could fall several hundred metres. To enjoy the view you have to stop, impossible to run and gaze out to sea. In parts the track is deeply rutted - it's only about 30cm (is that two feet?) wide and often up to knee height, and in one place, up to my shoulders. I'm not quite sure how larger people manage it.

It was also an incredibly windy day. Took much of the heat out of things which was helpful, but in places I had to hold my hat and my race bib to ensure I didn't lose either. And at one point, I was literally blown off my feet and into a bush - fortunately a flax bush and not a gorse bush. Thankfully, with the nature of the geography, it was blowing onshore - so there was no risk of being blown over the edge.

So, while it was a marvellous day out, all that hill climbing, narrow track, and the wind made for a slow time - 1:30 for 10k. But as I said to my team mates, we're here for a good time, not a fast time.

Photo below of us at the finish (there was no course photographer on my leg - too hard for them to get to). We were the first, all-women team home! We also placed 13th out of 13 teams...

As for pies, as @Avidkeo said, they're more a savoury thing here. I do love a steak and cheese pie and my husband makes Gordon Ramsey's chicken and leek pie which is delicious. But that's winter food, so no pies here at the moment. Please don't ask how much ice cream I've eaten so far this month.

On the sweet side, I do make a killer lemon meringue pie. And I am partial to a homemade Christmas mince pie, as long as they don't have peel in them. But they're tiny and i don't think of them as pies, they're more like a tartlet.

But back to running. Today called for 60 minutes aerobic followed by 10 strides. Happy to say, my legs are largely recovered from Saturday's hills. I did remember telling my coach I wanted a lazy few weeks before race buildup begins again in January, so, naturally, he gave me an hour at aerobic pace today, 1:30 tomorrow and another hour on Thursday. I think he may be trying to kill me.

12-1 rest + yoga
12-2 7k treadmill + resistance bands
12-3 7k treadmill + yoga
12-4 7k slow + resistance bands
12-5 7k slow + yoga
12-6 7k slow
12-7 7k easy + resistance bands
12-8 rest + yoga
12-9 7k easy + resistance bands
12-10 7k easy-ish + yoga
12-11 7k moderate-ish + resistance bands
12-12 5k treadmill + yoga
12-13 7k slow
12-14 7k slow + resistance bands
12-15 rest + yoga

December Total: 82k
December Goal: 170k

January Total: 161k
February Total: 167k
March Total: 181k
April Total: 191k
May Total: 200k
June Total: 156k
July Total: 180k
August Total: 172k
September Total: 176k
October Total: 189k
November Total: 180k

2020 Total through November: 1953k

LIVE total toward 2020k in 2020: 2035k

Glorious rest day today, but don't tell @AlphaHowls !!

Great race, @ContraryMaryMary !

When you pop in here claiming your December 2020 mileage, what accomplishments will you have made?

Return to a good running weight of 175 lbs
Run at least 4 5k races
Get a 5k PR
Average at least 138k per month, to meet my Run the Year pledge of 1,020 miles - Completed 10-11
Stretch goal: If I can average 169k per month, I can run 2020k in 2020 - Completed 12-12
Run the Year Team: Pavement Pounders -- Completed 9-29

2020 races:

9-8 to 9-13 "Virtual Boston with Vincent" Time goal 5:15:00; actual time 4:47:01

first day of the 12 days of yetimas. it was a nice easy fast walk of a 5k. Speed Demon did not like this walking thing. however, i enjoyed it. with 11 more days to go, it was nice for an easy day.
tonight is another 5k, they want a progressive 5k. we'll see. the coach wasn't sure about that and would rather it be a constant pace. i might try a tiny bit progressive. like 10 or 15 seconds.