January 2021 Monthly Running Challenge

1-1 5k treadmill + resistance bands
1-2 5k treadmill + yoga
1-3 6k easy
1-4 7k slow + resistance bands
1-5 5k treadmill + yoga
1-6 7k slow + resistance bands
1-7 6k slow + yoga
1-8 5k treadmill + resistance bands
1-9 6k slow + yoga
1-10 6k slow
1-11 6k slower
1-12 5k treadmill + yoga
1-13 7k slow
1-14 6k slow + yoga
1-15 6k slow
1-16 6k slow + yoga
1-17 5k treadmill
1-18 5k treadmill
1-19 6k treadmill + yoga
1-20 5k treadmill
1-21 5k treadmill + yoga
1-22 6k slow
1-23 5k treadmill + yoga

January Total: 131k
January Goal: 140k

Cloudy and low 20s F today. Snowed a little overnight, and rather than take a chance on the footing and the cars, just did treadmill.

Ahhhhhhhhh...shoe porn!!!

@shanaber The only birds that generally circle over me are vultures.


When you pop in here claiming your December 2021 mileage, what accomplishments will you have made?

PUT THE FUN BACK IN THE RUN!
Return to a good running weight of 175 lbs (second attempt)

@Tramboman - oh there were vultures, California Turkey Vultures. I just didn't get any pictures of them. On Thursday I had one flying right over me looking down like he was trying to figure out if he could take me. I couldn't get my phone out to take a picture of him. Yesterday they were mostly high up and fighting to soar against the wind. They also sit in the deadwood trees along the trail and watch all the people and dogs.
@quilteryoyo - I do have pretty small feet. A size 6-6.5 in most shoes but in running a 7.5 usually.
@marisap2010 - so glad Daisy is doing well. It is important that they take enough to get good margins if they suspect cancer. They don't want to have to go back and do it again. Hobbes first one on his side was pretty small but the incision was large to get enough margin.

I forgot to mention that I wouldn't normally get such bright shoes but they were half price. When I was running if I glanced down they kept startling me 😂 I guess no one could say they didn't see me coming!

Rainy cross training day today so far so good with the hamstring. It is tight but not hurting!

Hi everyone. I need to go back and do some reading and catch up. I hope everyone is doing great.

I had my follow up on Thursday and she said everything is perfect exactly as she was hoping. 2 weeks until the stitches come out and then 3 more weeks of cast. No real pain, just uncomfortable at times. She said when she got in there piece of ligament with bone attached was floating around. Gross I have lots of stitches especially on the outside where the break was. She had to input screws, rods and a plate. On the inside the ligaments came off the bone so she put screws in the ankle bone to sew them back on.

@quilteryoyo I’m sure there’s an update I’ll read from you in all the posts I missed. I hope you are recovering well.

I’ll have to get X-rays from the doctors office but here my after surgery pictures. She’s the best she worked hard to line up the Dad on my tattoo. She thinks she will be almost as good as new.

Wow, @skippygirlsmom that's some major stitching and hardware. Glad everything looks like it's healing so well. You are a tough one! Keep up the good recovery.

@dreamer12151 that's a good story. Glad the vultures didn't get you and you didn't drown. Scary though - I really don't like those mud/water obstacles and I don't really have any water fears. But they are cold and gross and I'd rather not put my head in there, thanks.

@quilteryoyo I wear a 10.5 too. Not wide but plenty long. I always think how much cuter the shoes are for those with more petite feet. But we have a nice stable base I guess

@Scott6255 and @RunsOnEspresso sorry for the rough weeks. You are doing great, hang in there.

Sounds lovely @martaindale, enjoy your down time. I was supposed to hike this weekend too but we postponed due to extreme wind chill. My long run yesterday was like that too, and I passed on running this morning, I just couldn't do it. Great work towards your goal this month.

@shanaber I love the bright shoes. I've had that where new shoes were bright and would catch my eye all the time. Love the pics - I totally see The Birds reference and think of that all the time when a big flock of birds swarms by. Glad your hamstring is finally doing better!

@TheMrWobbly we're even +37 ahead of pace right now! Good running this weekend everyone!

Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
01/01/21 :::: 0.0 :::: 0.0
01/02/21 :::: 0.0 :::: 0.0
01/03/21 :::: 3.3 :::: 3.3
01/04/21 :::: 3.4 :::: 6.7
01/05/21 :::: 3.0 :::: 9.8
01/06/21 :::: 5.9 :::: 15.6
01/07/21 :::: 3.2 :::: 18.8
01/08/21 :::: 1.5 :::: 20.3
01/09/21 :::: 13.2 :::: 33.4
01/10/21 :::: 3.3 :::: 36.8
01/11/21 :::: 2.1 :::: 38.9
01/12/21 :::: 3.2 :::: 42.0
01/13/21 :::: 0.0 :::: 42.0
01/14/21 :::: 3.3 :::: 45.4
01/15/21 :::: 3.0 :::: 48.4
01/16/21 :::: 5.0 :::: 53.4
01/17/21 :::: 4.4 :::: 57.8
01/18/21 :::: 5.3 :::: 63.1
01/19/21 :::: 3.1 :::: 66.3
01/20/21 :::: 3.1 :::: 69.4
01/21/21 :::: 4.1 :::: 73.5
01/22/21 :::: 9.1 :::: 82.5
01/23/21 :::: 3.1 :::: 85.6

As I mentioned above, I didn't have it in me to get up to meet the group for a run this morning after yesterday's long run slog. Plus it was REALLY cold and had snowed several inches overnight so the roads were terrible. I very much enjoyed staying in bed an extra hour or so. I did go to the gym for a class at 9:15 and then I got home and took Stella out with me for a snowshoe hike in the woods. It was gorgeous! The sun came out and the sky was blue. It was only 18 degrees but in the woods out of the wind it wasn't too bad.

I was thinking about taking the day off completely but about 4 pm I met up with a friend who had been quarantining for 10 days and was so happy to be out of the house. Neither of us had a lot of energy so we did a slowish 5k jog around the neighborhood. It was still cold but the wind had died down and we were so busy catching up it went by pretty quickly.

Last night I had my second ski lesson and that was really fun - I felt so much better and pretty much conquered my fear of getting off the chair lift. I went up and skied down about a dozen times so I really felt comfortable by the end. I even did the little bit steeper part of the hill this time. Tomorrow I'm going to a "real" ski place with some friends so we'll see how I fare stepping it up a bit.

Went for a run around a couple of islands in the harbour today. Caught the ferry with four friends expecting a rather long and hot day.

Rangitoto is a dormant volcano so running was on very uneven and sharp scoria (stuff you truly don’t want to fall over on). It was pretty slow going until we crossed the causeway to Motutapu. This is farmland so lots of grass. Fortunately, trails had been mown through a lot of it but it was still rather uneven underfoot. After a couple of hours my ankles were quite sore from having to work so hard.

The other complication was our leader (who is Swiss). She told me Motutapu was flat. It is patently obvious Rangitoto is not but she said we’d do 20km around Motutapu and then those with the will and the energy could go up Rangitoto, about another 10km. Anyway, she lied. Apparently the Swiss have a different idea of what constitutes a hill.

When we got to the fork in the trail saying 45mins to the summit or 45 mins to the wharf and the ferry home my legs were shot. We’d done 22km incorporating 500m-plus of elevation. That’s some serious climbing. I could not handle another 6km (the best guess as to the distance to the top then back down). Consequently I and another woman headed to the wharf while the other three headed to the summit.

By the time we got to the wharf we were close on 25km. About 15 minutes later our friends arrived. Turns out the route to the summit then back down was only 850 metres longer than the flattish route we took home. I was gutted. I really wanted to go up the volcano but had no way of knowing it was such a short detour! Next time. Although I don’t think that will come too soon. It was a hard day.

Fortunately the weather was on our side. It can be blistering out there - they say it’s usually 5 degrees hotter than the mainland. The black rock absorbs the heat and you can feel it coming up under you. Also, there are very few trees so you’re at the mercy of the sun. We had heavy cloud and drizzle for much of the day - still very warm and super humid - but not unbearable. We had to carry a lot of water plus had more supplies stashed at the wharf for after (no drinkable water on either island).

Great day. Lots of laughs (mostly at the expense of the Swiss friend who confidently pronounced at the end that anything under 1000 metres elevation is flattish).

Incidentally, her Strava shows less than 100 metres extra climbing to ascend Rangitoto!

A few pics below: