May 2021 Monthly Running Challenge

when I was a child my dad caught a field mouse in my bedroom (Baltimore Md) which my cat was chasing but not catching. He put it in a cardboard box and took it out to the fields. It did NOT return which was a good thing because I had heard they tend to come back (or their babies do). The snake thing. That's just creepy.

May 1 8.1 miles/8.1 cum goal 200
May 2 9.12 miles/ 17.22 cum
May 3 3.1 miles/ 20.32 cum
May 4 9.06 mils/29.38 cum of 200 goal
May 5

It's always interesting to me how my body can be SO different on different days. Yesterday my legs were weak as kittens and I turtled out a 5K but it never got better. Today I was back to strong. 8 of the 9 miles were under 10 pace and I managed an under 9 on the last one.

And I totally resisted trying to cut my cals yesterday which when you are eating to TDEE and have some miles would be stupid. Just hard seeing my watch tell me I overate yesterday and was a lazy *kitten*.... Hahahahaha. I really need to look at the big picture rolling weekly so I eat to run versus worry about rest days.

@eleanorhawkins I am enjoying following your trail club journey!

Yesterday was a holiday here and I got up early to go with 4 other girls from running club to run/hike up a "little" mountain along the Polish-Czech border - 10 miles round trip with about 700 meters of elevation. The plan was hike up, jog flat & down. Their jog tends to be my 5k pace, but it's all a matter of perspective, because one of the girls typically trains in the mountains with the guys, and was out of our sight within a few kilometers. She waited for us at the lodge at the top, and it was a recovery run for her.
The scenery was beautiful. The trip down was actually more challenging for me as I'm taller and apparently don't have good downhill running technique on rocky trail. "Controlled falling" is hard to do when there's mud and loose rocks everywhere - but the rest of the group was somehow doing it with only 2 falls. Then we got to road for the last 2 kilometers and they were going faster than my 5k pace and I just physically could not go any faster. So it was a very challenging trip, but totally worth it.

I've got major DOMS today. But it's a good hurt, like I did something, and not like the "something's wrong" pain I have been having. The stuff that was hurting before is not currently bothering me, other than a little bit in my lower back. My legs are evenly sore, and I can do the "stand on one leg" test on both legs. Honestly that sitting on a lacrosse ball torture seems to have done the most to help, and the ouchy spots are getting harder to find and a little less painful every day. I signed up for a strength challenge on Strava to try to keep me doing it at least 4x/wk.

Here's the problem. I feel like this after 16.5 km/700m elevation gain, and my August race will be double the elevation and 9 more kilometers. I can probably do a lot of uphill power hiking in the race, but my downhill trail form is also weak. I need to actually train in the mountains.

Went for a short bike ride today and did my PT stretches & rolling.

Hi @polskagirl01, trail/mountain runner here.

You've got a while until your race in August, so plenty of time to get used to the hills. I used to find downhill trail running quite difficult, because I always feared falling over flat on my face. Which, I have done a few times, but it's all part of learning I guess!

I still much prefer running uphill though, but unfortunately we've got to come back down to go up again lol.

I completely change my running style when going downhill. I lean slightly forward (this seems daunting at first, but does work) and I take much shorter quicker strides/steps. At first I used to lean back too much and gosh, this absolutely kills my thighs and quads!

So now, shorter and faster steps, concentrating on footfall. If you can do a hilly session each week in the mountain, that will do wonders for your confidence and your speed will improve in time.

I'm terms of exercises to build strength, I find that isometric squat holds and static lunges really help to strengthen your legs.

Also have walked 5.0 miles.

Today's scheduled called for a 25 minute foundation run - easy pace. I have felt like I was going to have some tummy issues and my HR has been lower than normal, so was tempted to just walk today. I did give myself permission to quit if I needed to. It turned out to be fine, but I went really slowly. Avg pace was 4.4 mph. Avg HR was 130. I ran on the treadmill because it has been stormy all day, and it was the safe thing to do with my tummy acting up.

@polskagirl01that looks like a lovely place to run. I hear you about downhill trail running, I'm super slow and cautious. Downhill running in general my coach has told me to not put the brakes on, but to lean into it and let gravity help you. Which seems much scarier on a trail of course. But I found this set of tips which agrees and maybe there are some other helpful suggestions for you and the rest of us. Main thing of course is to do it more I guess.
https://www.rei.com/blog/run/simple-tips-help-master-technical-downhills

Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
05/01/21 :::: 11.1 :::: 11.1
05/02/21 :::: 0.0 :::: 11.1
05/03/21 :::: 3.3 :::: 14.4
05/04/21 :::: 4.7 :::: 19.1

I had a short treadmill run of 1.5 miles this morning after yoga class. I had a little time to kill before going to PT so I took advantage just in case I didn't get out later. But I texted a friend and we met after work for our usual 5k of talk therapy. We nicely split airing our problems, she got the way out and I got the way back

I was dismissed from PT today, my back was declared good and I was sent off with instructions to behave and not return. I'm supposed to keep working on glute strength and I asked about whether massage would also help - because they are so very tight all the time - and she said yes, sports massage, and she does that! So she gave me her card for that and now I'm excited to schedule that occasionally because that was the best part of PT, the heating pad and massage work.

@polskagirl01 just to really confuse things, my coaches are teaching me the opposite of what the rest of the world says and making me learn to throw my weight back on downhills. Probably because I'm likely to just go head over heels down them otherwise, the very first day one of them thought I wasn't going to be able to stop and tried to stand in my way and have me crash into him (yeah, like that was going to happen, I would have thrown myself on the floor to avoid that, lol!) We are talking pretty technical trail downhills with steep inclines and loose stones and stuff though.
Also, we're in exactly the same boat re: speeds, these guys fly along at my race pace just to warm up! Considering I've been run-walk-running for over a year, trying to do an hour at race pace without stopping is.... interesting. Either I'll come out super fit, or totally broken. Still not sure which.
My legs are so tight, not even the evil physio managed to sort them out on Friday. I'm stretching and foam rolling religiously every day and praying they get used to this and don't go on strike.
My husband is still calling them 'my other men' in a jealous tone of voice. One of the guys he works with has just been left by his wife, and another caught his girlfriend in their bed with another guy, so he's going through a jealous phase and doesn't find it funny when I try to reassure him that even if I did want to replace him with any of these guys they're too fast for me to catch!

@eleanorhawkins hubby could always join the group and start running too
But then he might get more jealous because they'll be fitter and faster than him, and it could mess up your "you time".

Thanks @katharmonic and @sweetdaisy13 for the advice and link. I'm going to work on it! The forest near us at least has small steep hills that I can practice on when I can't drive to the mountains. But yeah, this was rocky and muddy and I'm going to have to practice. But not today. Day 2 of DOMS tends to be worse and yep, it hurts to move and I'm planning carefully to avoid unnecessary trips up or down the stairs. Did my PT exercises, slowly. It seemed to help, momentarily. Started to walk to the school and barely got out the gate before coming back to tell my hubby to go get the kiddo with the car (our youngest is back to in-person school as of yesterday!). So I'm making lasagne and doing desk work today

5-1 7k moderate
5-2 5k tempo
5-3 5k treadmill
5-4 4k moderate
5-5 5k treadmill

May Total: 26k
May Goal: 150k

Rainy and upper 40s F today. Enjoyed the treadmill.

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)

2021 Races:

6/26 Direction Up 5k, Solon, OH
9/18 5k Run and Roll, Aurora, OH