March 2021 Monthly Running Challenge

pfeiferlindsey wrote: »

pfeiferlindsey wrote: »

pfeiferlindsey wrote: »

3/1 - No running - Spin and strength training
3/2 - 4 early morning miles that felt really awesome

Total for March - 4 miles
Goal for March - 70 miles
Miles to go - 66 miles

I have to say, even though I don't respond a lot, I do read and you all are such a positive, upbeat bunch and I love it. I love the motivation. I did the challenges 2 years ago, but then "The Year That Will Be Forgotten" happened.

So:

March 3 - 3.11 miles
March 4 - 3.11 miles
March 5 - Today will be some spin and strength

Total for March - 10.22 miles
Goal for March - 70 miles
Miles to go - 59.78 miles

My huge goal this year is to get my base back that I lost last year. Before 2020, I was averaging 1000+ mile years and last year, I barely got to 600. So, my base is shot.

I ran 5 miles today without walking and felt totally amazing the entire time. Super happy with how it went and I have no doubt that I'll get to my goals this year. March goal is to get up to 6 miles comfortably and I'm sure I can do it.

March 6 - 5 miles

Total for March - 15.22 miles
Goal for March - 70 miles
Miles to go - 54.78 miles

Donated blood on Saturday morning, so I kind of expected my Sunday run to be a bit rough. Ended up being a beautiful day and I was actually 20 seconds faster per mile than what I normally run. Perhaps the slight weight loss helped .

March 7 - 3.19 miles
March 8 - Spinning after work - No running today

Total for March - 18.41 miles
Goal for March - 70 miles
Miles to go - 51.59 miles

Already 131 posts behind!

Here is my race report from Saturday. Today and tomorrow are rest days thank God. It was close to 5000 feet of vert ALL day. Lots of DNFs, lots of people puking, lots of people laying on the ground... but I finished. And I never got sick or stopped moving.

By FAR the most difficult ultra I have done. When I asked for a course map and specs on vert, I was told no. I checked with others and they got the same answer.

I also checked with other runners regarding their feelings on the race as well as their prior experience.

We all said the same thing: this was BY FAR the most difficult ultra. The first portion was all vert. My first couple of miles were awesome, probably because i had no idea what was waiting for me.

It wasn’t just regular vert. It was a mixed bag of sand, mud, wet leaves, crazy rocks where steady footing wasn’t even an option - we just had to scramble around and up.

There was NO keeping the feet dry. Every time they’d get close to dry, there was another section of river to run through.

Around mile 26 is when I started to really want that DNF badge of “i got my *kitten* handed to me.” Then I realized, I was getting my *kitten* handed to me either way so FINISH IT.

Met some cool people. Iowa, Dallas, and I got some bonus miles where the course was like a fork x 5. Somebody said up to that point I was like 3rd but what happens when they don’t give you info and@the course is poorly marked is that you get lost.

My legs are absolute trash. I was covered in mud until a few minutes ago. I also found out that i am NOT allergic to bee stings @chadnoelle so we got that going for us too 😂 Also, thorns. Lots of scrapes from those *kitten*.

The way back wasn’t the same as the way out. So the idea of getting any redemption on time by hammering the last half was quickly removed once I realized.... MORE vert. ALL. DAY. Thank God for inhalers. Seriously.

I would rather run 277 miles in ten days or 100 miles in 23 hours four million more times than ever go through this again.

But i didn’t die. And i didn’t give in. Not one time.

Soooo ....... let’s do it again soon?

23.4/45 miles

3/2: 4 miles
3/3: 4 miles
3/5: 2.2 miles
3/6: 13.2 miles

Little late on the race report, but here we go. The Woodlands marathon/HM is a pretty big event. Besides the elites that have a shot at prize money, there is a big Ironman community here that uses this race as training.
The organizers did a good job this year altering the race to fit with COVID protocols. They had staging areas spread across 2 multi-level parking garages with a rolling start. I really like the rolling starts and I would love to see them stick around, even though I know they're probably not practical for these large-scale races in a normal year. It's so nice being able to hit the start line at an actual run and not doing the tippytoe dodging people thing for the first quarter mile or so.
Even though this race was close to my house, I was still up at about 5 a.m. to get a little bit of coffee and breakfast and give plenty of time for parking. It was cool, in the upper 40s around start time, but was going to warm up to the mid-50s, so I stuck with shorts and a tank top and brought an old throwaway windbreaker.
When we got going, I was feeling really strong. I came out a little on the fast side, but not too bad. Mostly, I just needed to warm up a little bit. Once I settled into my pace, I was good for several miles. The course is not particularly hilly, but there are some long slow inclines and some rolling hills that feel extreme to those of us who run at zero elevation gain normally. At the first long sustained climb, I could definitely feel my legs tiring a bit, but I slowed down just a touch and enjoyed the downhill coast on the other side and didn't feel like I had wasted too much energy.
When I reached mile 8, I realized I was on pace to PR if I just maintained my pace, which at the time seemed completely attainable. By about Mile 10, I was starting to tire a little but was still holding on okay. Then somewhere in mile 12 I completely bonked. I don't think it was fueling as I had eaten appropriately and stuck to my fueling plan during the race and it didn't have the same feeling as when my blood sugar drops normally. This was more of a extreme stomach cramping and nausea to the point that I really thought I was about to vomit. I walked most of mile 13, but was able to pull off a slow run across the finish line. I ended up finishing about 6 minutes slower than my current PR.
On a positive note, even with the horrible finish, this is my second fastest HM time. I know that my training was not completely t'ed up and that may have had something to do with how I felt. So, that's the end of my HM for this season. I have one more 10K planned as a race with my family. I haven't decided if maybe I'll find one or two short races just to give me something to work towards in the slightly warmer months.