October 2021 Monthly Running Challenge
Replies
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@katharmonic, thanks, and no need to apologise for your rant. Rant warranted.
@WhatMeRunning Thanks. Running maths is a theme that might deserve more discussion.
@kgirlhart Well done for doing the 7 miles easy. 7 miles when tired is still good HM practice.4 -
Running math is definitely a thing - I am SO bad at it. And then I try to focus all of my concentration on it and rework the problem repeatedly in my head, same process @WhatMeRunning described, and I still don't always get it right.
@quilteryoyo great swag!
@katharmonic I agree they should offer women's cut shirts. I also prefer technical fabrics that I would actually run in, rather than the dreaded standard t-shirt. Most races here get both items right. I think they like having women in the race, as there are typically fewer of us, and many people want to change that. One cost-saving option could be to make registration a set lower price, and those who want the shirt can pay for it separately. Some races offer lots of extra gear options and you pick and pay for what you want. A couple of races I did made the medal optional as well. Not everyone wants it. Those who paid for the medal, had a special symbol on their bib, so the folks at the finish line knew who to give one to. You got all of your extra add-ons at packet pickup.
I'm in the "getting anxious and almost excited" phase of pre-race emotions. The course looks tough - a lot of elevation for a road race - but I'm making jokes about it at this point 😆
October Goal 100 miles (200k stretch goal)
Upcoming races:
October 10 - Żywiec lake Half Marathon
October 17 - Gliwicki Half Marathon8 -
I'm hopeless at maths when running.
Today's Couch to 5K session was supposed to be two 8-minute intervals with a walk in between.
I failed to hear the app tell me to stop running at the end and ran right through the cooldown walk section.
I kept looking at my watch and trying to add up the walk/run intervals, and wondering wtf was going on, while continuing to run.
This means my second interval was 13 minutes of running.
Hahahaha, oh well, go me!
Ha. Sounds like something I’d do!2 -
Don’t get me started on race tees.
Too late.
I am a fan of a women’s cut and hate unisex - too baggy and flaps about. However, my bigger bugbear with the Auckland marathon is the women’s colours. It’s a huge event and official t-shirts aren’t free - they’re excellent quality though so I don’t mind buying one.
Both men’s and women’s come in about five colours, both will have black and a grey, then the men’s range will have a couple of blues and maybe a red, the women’s range will have a lighter pink, a bright pink, and a coral pink or a lilac. Every bleeping year.
I complain every year to no effect. The tell me to buy from the men’s range or a singlet (won’t because sunburn). Its not just that I hate pink, but everyone who goes red in the face while running doesn’t want a pink shirt. So annoying. So easy to fix - they make five colours already!
I’ll get off my soapbox now.6 -
ContraryMaryMary wrote: »Don’t get me started on race tees.
Too late.
I am a fan of a women’s cut and hate unisex - too baggy and flaps about. However, my bigger bugbear with the Auckland marathon is the women’s colours. It’s a huge event and official t-shirts aren’t free - they’re excellent quality though so I don’t mind buying one.
Both men’s and women’s come in about five colours, both will have black and a grey, then the men’s range will have a couple of blues and maybe a red, the women’s range will have a lighter pink, a bright pink, and a coral pink or a lilac. Every bleeping year.
I complain every year to no effect. The tell me to buy from the men’s range or a singlet (won’t because sunburn). Its not just that I hate pink, but everyone who goes red in the face while running doesn’t want a pink shirt. So annoying. So easy to fix - they make five colours already!
I’ll get off my soapbox now.
Haha, so basically, they're giving you three colors to choose from - and they're all pink! Of course women want pink shirts (NOT!)2 -
Distance Log:
10/2 6.46
10/4 5.84
10/6 5.42
10/8 6.38
Total: 24.1/75 miles
@katharmonic I definitely prefer a women's shirt too; I think it's a good idea to bring attention to it!
@polskagirl01 I would definitely prefer a t-shirt over a medal! A lot of races here have opted into a shirt purchase but you still get the medal and I'd rather it be the other way around! All my race medals rattle around in my kids' dress-up bin and they use them to play Olympics.
@ContraryMaryMary that's annoying! I like pink and wouldn't mind *one* pink shirt, but I like other colors too!3 -
10-1 7k slow
10-2 7k sleasy (between slow and easy)
10-3 7k slow
10-4 rest
10-5 7k measy (between moderate and easy)
10-6 6k slow
10-7 rest
10-8 7k slow
October Total: 41k
October Goal: 150k
Foggy, mid 60s F with a breeze from the east again today. No niggles until I got to kilometer 6.
Add me to the list of "no maths while running." Of course, I can barely do them on the best of days anyway.
Nice swag, @quilteryoyo !!!
Great to see you back, @Orphia !!!
Certainly valid points about shirts. If they can run the gamut from smallest to largest, they can certainly provide cuts for both genders and choice of colors as well.
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 31:48 chip; 31:59 Garmin; 53d overall; 2d male 65 and over
7/17 Run of the Ox 5k, Mantua, OH 32:19 Garmin; 44th overall; 3d place male 60 and over3 -
Hi @Orphia! Good to see you again
I agree with all the women...this being 2021 it seems ridiculous not to offer gender choices for shirts (and colors).
Thinking all good thoughts for you @polskagirl01 for your upcoming 'hilly' HM.
Very nice swag @quilteryoyo!
7 miles this morning. Legs felt quite a bit better today, but running form felt very choppy. I don't know what it takes to get into a smooth rhythm anymore.
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4 x miles at tempo pace (intended to be around 6:51/mile) this morning. Ran them all very consistently, though about 2 seconds or so too fast - 6:48.7, 6:49.1, 6:49.3, 6:48.5
10/1- 7.6 miles
10/2- 4.05 miles
10/3- 14 miles
10/4- 4 miles
10/5- 8 miles
10/6- 4 miles
10/7- Rest
10/8- 8.15 miles (1:06:25, 8:09/mile)
October To-Date: 49.8 miles
October Target: 185 miles
Percentage Complete: 26.92%
On-Pace?: 2.04 miles ahead of pace
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Add me to the list for Women's cut shirts and technical shirts over cotton or cotton blend especially when at many of the races here the women outnumber the men. However, they need to be offered in a range of (true) sizes, not a small that will fit an elephant and all sizes beyond way big or what I see a lot are shirts that run really small. My biggest complaint with the San Francisco marathon (and a few others too) was that the brand of women's cut shirts they always bought were made for tiny women and not all are tiny. I wear a sm/md and the xl was too tight. So how does a bigger woman or one with a normal size chest manage with a shirt like that let alone a well endowed woman. Who wants even a free shirt if they can't or won't wear it?
The 25th anniversary Surf City shirt was a big disappointment. While I was excited to get it it is not a technical shirt - why?? I would wear it often to run in, I do all their other race shirts, but this one I can't... Also it is short sleeve (others have all been long sleeve). I guess they were trying to cut costs but still...
Most of the races here you get a shirt and a medal and there aren't any color choices, they only offer by distance so a marathon runner has one color and HM another. I would love to get a running hat but my favorite has been the jackets.
Wow @polskagirl01, when I saw the elevation chart for your race I thought, assumed it was a trail race! Those are some umm, crazy hills! I think you will do great!
Welcome back @Orphia so good to see you here!
I don't even bother to try to do arithmetic while running. I honestly don't think it can be done, or well, it can be done just not accurately! 😂
I ran yesterday and will post mileage later today. Have appointments today so by default it is a rest day.5 -
Another 4.5 miles in the woods in a light mist.
This is the time of year that you have to be on the lookout for Vampire Squirrels. I think I saw one shadowing me at one point. These things are dangerous. If you've watched True Blood, you know there is a whole ritual to turn you into a Vampire Squirrel, but if you just get fed on and then glamoured, boy are you in trouble. Unquenchable cravings for nuts and the urge to run out into the middle of the freeway to break dance...it could happen.
On the topic of race swag. I'm in a totally different camp. I would rather they stop giving medals, shirts and other stuff and just drop the price by 50 bucks. It shouldn't cost $165 to run a marathon. </soapbox>
37.9 miles out of 125 complete.8 -
October Mileage:
Walking: 3.5/10
Running: 12.5/40
Total miles on sneakers (for my own replacement purposes): 22.5
Foggy run this morning which was lovely. Two calls came in on the run, one requiring me to stop and pace in place for 15 min while I talking to my 6yo's school psychologist. In a previous "less in shape life", once I stopped running I was done and couldn't get myself going again. I'm quite happy that not only was I able to talk while I took the first call and first 4 minutes of the second call while running (I just started to feel guilty about the heavy breathing so I stopped LOL), but I was able to start back up again for the last mile. Progress! Hooray!
@ContraryMaryMary - Puddles are truly a life saver sometimes. LOL. Well played! The new sneakers look awesome!
@katharmonic, @polskagirl01 , @ContraryMaryMary , et. al. - I agree on the women's cut. I do love me a pink shirt, but for shirts I'm going to run in - black and navy should always be color options. Black is glorious and helps me hide how much I sweat when I run. 😂6 -
Hi @Orphia! Good to see you again
I agree with all the women...this being 2021 it seems ridiculous not to offer gender choices for shirts (and colors).
Thinking all good thoughts for you @polskagirl01 for your upcoming 'hilly' HM.
Very nice swag @quilteryoyo!
7 miles this morning. Legs felt quite a bit better today, but running form felt very choppy. I don't know what it takes to get into a smooth rhythm anymore.
This may or may not be helpful, but when I'm looking for smoothness I like to feel like I'm sitting down on my hips. May be worth a try for you.3 -
I think this advice, this tactic is very good. What I see this doing is forcing you to keep your feet under your torso and not extend too far forward. What that does is force you into more, shorter strides, getting you closer to the preferred cadence of around 180 steps per minute.
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CarsonSurfs wrote: »Another 4.5 miles in the woods in a light mist.
This is the time of year that you have to be on the lookout for Vampire Squirrels. I think I saw one shadowing me at one point. These things are dangerous. If you've watched True Blood, you know there is a whole ritual to turn you into a Vampire Squirrel, but if you just get fed on and then glamoured, boy are you in trouble. Unquenchable cravings for nuts and the urge to run out into the middle of the freeway to break dance...it could happen.
On the topic of race swag. I'm in a totally different camp. I would rather they stop giving medals, shirts and other stuff and just drop the price by 50 bucks. It shouldn't cost $165 to run a marathon. </soapbox>
37.9 miles out of 125 complete.
They could make the swag optional, with a base lower cost. I like the swag myself, and given that many 5ks have medals and shirts for $30 total, I’m guessing the percentage of that $165 that goes to swag is fairly small. Marathons cost way, way more than other races, even halfs, presumably because of a combo of the prestige factor (they charge what the market will bear) and the need to close roads, get permits, hire security, and so on.4 -
rheddmobile wrote: »CarsonSurfs wrote: »Another 4.5 miles in the woods in a light mist.
This is the time of year that you have to be on the lookout for Vampire Squirrels. I think I saw one shadowing me at one point. These things are dangerous. If you've watched True Blood, you know there is a whole ritual to turn you into a Vampire Squirrel, but if you just get fed on and then glamoured, boy are you in trouble. Unquenchable cravings for nuts and the urge to run out into the middle of the freeway to break dance...it could happen.
On the topic of race swag. I'm in a totally different camp. I would rather they stop giving medals, shirts and other stuff and just drop the price by 50 bucks. It shouldn't cost $165 to run a marathon. </soapbox>
37.9 miles out of 125 complete.
They could make the swag optional, with a base lower cost. I like the swag myself, and given that many 5ks have medals and shirts for $30 total, I’m guessing the percentage of that $165 that goes to swag is fairly small. Marathons cost way, way more than other races, even halfs, presumably because of a combo of the prestige factor (they charge what the market will bear) and the need to close roads, get permits, hire security, and so on.
I'm totally down with making swag optional and charging additional for it. I still think that non-swaggers would still foot the bill for some of it because the races need to order so far in advance.
Yes, the cost of the swag is a small percentage for sure. I've run plenty of $30 races too that had a shirt. But most of them end up in the goodwill piles, so I would love to be able to opt out of the shirt completely. The biggest cost of marathons is traffic control because they have a larger area to police and they usually have to do so for like 7+ hours. That's not cheap.
ETA: I'd also like to see a reduction in the swag purely for environmental purposes. I just recently moved cross country and was astounded by the amount of junk we had accumulated in 5 short years. I rented a 500 pound capacity dumpster and filled it before we left. All stuff that we thought we needed at some point.3 -
I have been on both sides of the swag spectrum. My "firsts" of certain distances and events were all treasured (still are). That said, unless is it "quite literally the coolest medal ever to exist on planet Earth", I would prefer to save the money than have another medal and especially another dang event shirt.2
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WhatMeRunning wrote: »I have been on both sides of the swag spectrum. My "firsts" of certain distances and events were all treasured (still are). That said, unless is it "quite literally the coolest medal ever to exist on planet Earth", I would prefer to save the money than have another medal and especially another dang event shirt.
I donated all my medals to Medals for Mettle.
https://www.medals4mettle.org/3 -
Thanks! First I've heard of this! I actually have had mine in storage for a while now. This is great!CarsonSurfs wrote: »WhatMeRunning wrote: »I have been on both sides of the swag spectrum. My "firsts" of certain distances and events were all treasured (still are). That said, unless is it "quite literally the coolest medal ever to exist on planet Earth", I would prefer to save the money than have another medal and especially another dang event shirt.
I donated all my medals to Medals for Mettle.
https://www.medals4mettle.org/1 -
Oct 2 - 4.89 miles
Oct 5 - 6.2 miles
Oct 8 - 5.13 miles
16.2 / 75 miles
We were in trial all week so hoping to do a better job of sticking to my training schedule from here on out.4 -
October 1 – 5.14
October 2 – 22.24
October 4 – 5.14
October 5 – 3.01
October 6 – 5.05
October 8 – 6.02
I’ve had days of back-to-back meetings so when the chance for a break came up today, I took it and left the office about 12:30 for a run. I’m definitely more of an early morning runner! It started sprinkling rain the last mile but I didn’t mind it.
Thanks for the medal donation information @CarsonSurfs. I have a few special medals that really mean something to me but most I can easily part with. I have a friend who ships running related items to a running group in Belize – shoes, clothing, water bottles, etc. They re-use race bibs so I always send those but medals cost a lot to ship out of the country.
@quilteryoyo – I haven’t decided but I will probably do the Pioneer 5-Miler if it is a nice day. I’m really bad for not deciding until the week of the race and then signing up. Getting to see you would be a bonus! Nice HM swag!
Love your rant @katharmonic!3 -
@Tramboman @CarsonSurfs thanks for the tips. Cadence isn't my issue, I average just over 180 steps/min. I feel like my stride is short (usually between 0.90m and 1.0m) and I am landing under my hips (I think) with a bent knee.
But it just feels jerky lately and like I am fighting myself ¯\_(ツ)_/¯2 -
@Tramboman @CarsonSurfs thanks for the tips. Cadence isn't my issue, I average just over 180 steps/min. I feel like my stride is short (usually between 0.90m and 1.0m) and I am landing under my hips (I think) with a bent knee.
But it just feels jerky lately and like I am fighting myself ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm 6 feet tall and my race stride is right around 1.0m, with cadence about 170 steps/min. But I'm also 5 months from turning 70, so I suspect that factors in as well.
It may have been @MobyCarp who discussed this, but I would offer that we each have an optimal individual stride length and cadence based on a host of factors. Certainly we can work on some modifications, but a relatively short striding heel striker is never going to be comfortable as a long striding midfoot striker.
And as @PastorVincent might note, I am not a locomotion specialist, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Find what works, then tweak it until it works the best.5 -
😲 $165 yikes! Ok, I'm definitely spoiled on the cost point, too.CarsonSurfs wrote: »On the topic of race swag. I'm in a totally different camp. I would rather they stop giving medals, shirts and other stuff and just drop the price by 50 bucks. It shouldn't cost $165 to run a marathon. </soapbox>
Also, wouldn't want to cause any race director's heads to explode... but it's not that hard to include a size chart (with measurements) for the shirts
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@Orphia Welcome back. I think we are all bad at running math. It's weird that is a thing, isn't it?
@katharmonic The shirt is indeed a women's cut. I agree they should offer them in more races, esp. the larger ones, and in the same colors as they do men's. I am not a "pink" person, even though coral is one of my favorite colors. I don't consider it pink.
Nice run @kgirlhart !
@polskagirl01 You're going to do great on your HM!
@Scott6255 Glad your legs felt better today. Hope you get back into a nice rhythm soon.
Nice @johnisrunning !
Nice running @CarsonSurfs !
You're doing great @mshawski .
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1 Oct - 0.00 miles ran - 1.0 mile walked - driveway laps
2 Oct - 0.00 miles ran - 1.0 mile walked - driveway laps - also sawed and split wood, mowed, and cleaned gutters
3 Oct - 0.00 miles ran - 1.0 mile walked - treadmill
4 Oct - 1.00 mile ran - 1.0 mile walked - treadmill
5 Oct - 3.50 miles ran - 1.0 mile walked - treadmill
6 Oct - 1.00 mile ran - 1.0 mile walked - treadmill
7 Oct - 0.00 miles ran - 1.0 mile walked - driveway laps
8 Oct - 0.00 miles ran - 1.0 miles walked - treadmill - played doubles tennis this morning
5.50/80 miles ran - 8.0/31 miles walked
My back/hip/leg hurt last night to the point that I couldn't get comfortable when trying to sleep, so didn't get a lot of rest last night. When I got up this morning, it was worse than normal. As I stirred, it did get better. I was afraid tennis would be a bust, but decided to give it a go. I was surprised when it really didn't bother me, except that I was extra careful and afraid it would hurt, so didn't go all out for some of the balls. Afterwards, it really felt a lot better. It still hurts to sit more than when I am up and about. I have some exercises from many years ago when I had some issues. I'm going to give that a try for a few days and see if it helps any. I'm sort of afraid to go for a steady run, but then again, I played tennis. Hummm. Anyway, I was tired and had already played tennis, so when I got home from daycare, I walked a mile on the treadmill. It felt fine while moving....I mean I could feel it was a bit tight, but didn't hurt.5 -
Thanks for the welcome backs, @Tramboman @Scott6255 @shanaber @quilteryoyo
@quilteryoyo I hope your back/hip/leg improves and you can run and do things.
Add me to the list of women who don't want pink race shirts.3 -
Swag
Yes to women's cuts. No to all the pink. Most races I have done offer the same shirt in unisex or women. So same color. Never had a choice. Always prefer black, gray, or blue.
Trail races and more road now have the choice of no shirt. It really doesn't save that much, especially for road since most of what you're paying for is the closures and police etc2 -
@quilteryoyo I wonder if all that gravel in your half has anything to do with your hip issues. My first half was unexpectedly mostly on gravel and it really wore me out, I was feeling the hip strain for a long time afterwards. There was nothing really injured as far as I can tell, and it got better on its own eventually, but one hip and glute were inflamed and touchy for a while. Anyway I hope you feel better soon!3
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Got my booster today so used it as an excuse to hike rather than running. Strava is driving me bonkers, it keeps rebooting in the middle of my runs!
Wednesday ran 10k easy on the trail where we saw the bobcat. We looked for a bobcat, but alas that was probably a once in a lifetime encounter - we did see this very pretty garden orb weaver though! (Spider warning)
You can add me to the list of those who don’t like pink shirts. I like what Black Girls Run did with their Erace Racism shirt - their main shirt was hot pink, but they also offered black, white, and gray options.
I also wish women’s running brands would make more things in green. I get so sick of pastel colors, and that particular teal blue that all women’s running kit seems to come in.3
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