March 2022 Monthly Running Challenge
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3-1 - 1.0 mile walk on the driveway
3-2 - 1.0 mile walk - 2.50 mile run out the road
3-3 - 2.0 mile walk in the neighbor's field looking for cows
3-4 - 1.0 mile walk - 1.8 mile run on the driveway
3-5 - 1.0 mile walk - 2.75 mile run out the road
3-6 - 1.0 mile walk in the neighbor's field
3-7 - 1.0 mile walk - 2.0 mile run out the road
3-8 - 1.0 mile walk on the driveway
3-9 - 1.0 mile walk on the treadmill
3-10 - 1.0 mile walk on the driveway
3-11 - 2.0 mile Wun on the driveway
3-12 - 1.0 mile walk on the treadmill
3-13 - 1.20 mile walk - 3.30 mile run on the treadmill
27.55 miles/60 mile goal
I didn't go to church this morning because I knew the lock on my gate would be frozen and I didn't want to stand in 12°F temperatures to try to get it thawed out enough to open. I did a treadmill workout while watching the church service on Facebook. I did a run/walk for 4/1 minutes. The walks were at 3.8 mph. For the runs, I did a ladder from 4.2 - 4.8 mph. The last two intervals I did at 4.5 mph...I just didn't have it in me to run 4 minutes at 4.9 and 5.0 mph today. I managed 3.30 miles in 45:17 minutes. My warm up walk was 0.5 miles. Church wasn't quite over when I got to 0.5 miles for cool down, so I went another 0.2 miles, making my total for the day 4.5 miles. I'm embarrassed to say that the 3.3 miles is my longest run of the year so far. Pretty sad, huh?
I'm still trying to decide what my running goals are for the year. I don't know if I I want to concentrate on distance running again, or speed for shorter distances. I guess if I am going to run the 10 miler in December I should concentrate on slowly increasing distance. Time to fit in the workouts seems to be my biggest hurdle. But, I guess that is the case for everyone. Priorities, right?6 -
Hi everyone, I’ve continued my walking all week and managed a 2.03 mile run tonight after a 3 mile walk. I’m definitely getting stronger and could have run longer. But I really needed a restroom break. So I decided to run toward home.
@martaindale I completely understand enjoying some solitude at home when it works out. Teenage angst feels never ending…
@quilteryoyo have you looked at any trading plans for your December race? If so, you might want to figure out the timing on that and the base mileage it starts at. Then back track it on your calendar to make a plan to work toward.
Monthly question: I generally listen to podcasts or sometimes audiobooks. I really like historical fiction and classic literature. Sometimes I do listen to music. And I do like a lot of 80s music. And any playlist with Queen in it is sure to be enjoyed. But for me, if I’m in a music mood I’m typically going to put on contemporary Christian music or praise and worship music. Especially if on a trail. It just really transforms my time into meditative time that recharges me. My favorite album to listen to from beginning to end is likely Jason Gray’s “Acoustic Storytime” since it was recorded start to finish at a concert. And I really enjoy listening to him chat between songs.
5.6 of 20 miles for March complete5 -
Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
03/01/22 :::: 3.0 :::: 3.0
03/02/22 :::: 4.0 :::: 7.0
03/03/22 :::: 1.5 :::: 8.5
03/04/22 :::: 0.0 :::: 8.5
03/05/22 :::: 3.1 :::: 11.7
03/06/22 :::: 3.1 :::: 14.8
03/07/22 :::: 2.8 :::: 17.6
03/08/22 :::: 3.1 :::: 20.7
03/09/22 :::: 3.1 :::: 23.8
03/10/22 :::: 2.0 :::: 25.8
03/11/22 :::: 0.0 :::: 25.8
03/12/22 :::: 3.1 :::: 29.0
03/13/22 :::: 5.0 :::: 34.0
It was not the running weekend that I planned or that I needed, but I got something done. It snowed hard Friday night into Saturday morning. We called off the long run because conditions were bad, but a few of us went out for 3 miles in the snow. It was pretty but the wind blowing snow in our faces half the time was a little much. It stopped snowing by Saturday afternoon for the most part, but the wind was still crazy and there were predictions of single-digit windchills for Sunday morning. I am just so over this winter that I turned off my alarm in the morning and said no to that BS. I went to the gym later and ran 5 miles on the treadmill while watching a standup comedy special on Netflix. That kept me entertained enough at least to get through those miles. Mainly I felt pressured because I had said out loud to people that I was going to the gym, so I had to account for myself. It's an effective strategy for me
I was supposed to be heading for Florida tomorrow for a much-needed vacation and I had envisioned some nice warm running. But we had to cancel so I am trying to be positive and pinning my hopes on at least a gradual warmup to the 50s-60s which should make for some decent running here this week.
But, next weekend's half is currently forecast for morning rain/snow and high of 44 degrees. And for a painful slog because someone has not been getting long runs in for weeks.
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March Goal: 100 Miles
3/1: 5.15 miles
3/2: 5.16 miles
3/3: 5.16 miles
3/4: 2.02 miles
3/5: 1.61 miles
3/6: 8.10 miles
3/7: 2.02 miles
3/8: 5.60 miles
3/9: 5.15 miles
3/10: 5.15 miles
3/11: 1.51 miles
3/12: 2.03 miles
3/13: 10.10 miles
57.76/100 miles completed for March
I ran 10 miles today. It would have been really nice if it hadn't been so windy. The wind really made it tough. But it was still a pretty good run. The sky was blue. I saw a red tailed hawk and some cows with babies.
Overall it was a nice morning, just too windy. We planned to cook out for lunch, but we had to change our plans because it was so windy. Hopefully the wind will die down soon.
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@quilteryoyo - Hobbes and Tippy are about the same age. He will be 10 at the end of June. Really can't believe it has been that long.
@martaindale - I used to love 1) going on a business trip by myself where my days may have been tied up with work but my evenings were all to myself and 2) when my husband had a business trip and I had the house to myself or even with my daughter. It always felt like a time to refresh and do something for me. Doesn't make you a bad mom or a bad spouse. Those teenage years do go by and things get better, you just have to hang in there!
@katharmonic - So sad your warm weather vacation had to be canceled. I hope the weather cooperates and warms up for you. I often think nostalgically that I would love to have colder weather and even snow when the reality is I would probably feel like you do! I do have to say that having the opposite (nice and then hot and dry) is not great either. We need a place where it stays in a nice running temperate range!
@kgirlhart - Great long run. I love seeing the young calves! They always look so sweet
I am thinking of looking for some new shoes. I love the Topo Athletic ST-3 but the new ST-4s, not so much... I can't find the ST-3s anywhere in a size that fits (mens or women's) so now I need an alternative. I have not had great luck with Altra sizing but I need to find a somewhat minimal, wide toe box, zero drop shoe. Anyone know of any other brands?
There used to be a long distance, crazy runner/lawyer on here who had so many different shoes - I need that guy to advise me!3 -
Hey guys! I achieved my March Goal!!
I made it up, and down the mountain!!
Going up was awesome, I loved it. The climbing was great and I would absolutely do it again.
Going down... Another story. Its really steep with lots of rocks and loose stones. And the soles came off my hiking boots about 1/3 of the way down. This made things a lot harder and it took way longer than it should. But I made it, in one piece and undamaged. Well mostly undamaged haha.
My legs, especially my knees, are in agony. It was 5hrs up, and 4.5 down.
Absolutely worth it. And definitely an once in a lifetime trip!
now on to HM training for June!9 -
You are doing great @emmamcgarity ! I haven't really looked at a training plan yet, since it is so far away, seemingly. I do need to do that and get a plan going. Thanks.
@katharmonic So sorry you had to cancel your vacation to FL. I hope you can get in a few short runs this week and that Saturday's weather forecast improves.
@kgirlhart Nice running. Those calves are really cute.
Congratulations again @Avidkeo . I commented on the other thread.
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@katharmonic I’m sorry your vacation was canceled. Hopefully, the weather in your area will start to warm up a bit soon.
Great job, @Avidkeo! Your pictures are awesome!
Has anyone read Matt Fitzgerald’s 80/20 Running? I’ve seen more and more about it online, and I ordered the book yesterday. I think I run too many of my runs too fast/in a higher heart rate zone, so I want to see if this method really does make a difference in improving speed.4 -
3/1 – 6.51 miles
3/3 – 6.01 miles
3/4 – 4.08 miles
3/7 – 5.06 miles
3/9 – 4.68 miles
3/12 – 15.59 miles
Total – 41.94/100 miles
I’ve been so busy with work (speaking of which where is @skippygirlsmom?) and then out of town for the weekend that I’m hopelessly behind on responding to everyone but I have gone back and read and liked and hugged as appropriate.
Hope you like your Brooks Ghosts @marisap2010 – they are my favs! Sorry your trip to Florida was cancelled @katharmonic (same thing happened to me last month so I really feel your pain!). Beautiful views from the mountain top @Avidkeo – congrats!
This weekend I participated in Peyton’s Wild n’ Wacky 50K in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Race report in the spoiler if interested.Six of us ladies loaded up in a minivan on Friday morning and headed out. We made it about 2 miles before we stopped at Starbucks. 😊 It’s about a 5-hour drive and started raining on us when we were almost at our destination. We ate lunch, went to the local Fleet Feet store for packet pickup, stopped by the grocery store and headed then to our condo. The rain stopped long enough for us to get a two and one-half mile walk in on the beach. As forecasted, we awoke the next morning to the wind howling and rain hitting the windows. There was a gale warning in effect all day. The temp though was in the mid-60s--thankfully not too cold under those conditions. We were about 15 minutes away from the park where the race was being held. We had planned to set up our canopy tent the night before but because of the weather forecast we decided to wait until Saturday morning and were glad we did because some other people who sat theirs up on Friday had them mangled by the wind.
The race began at 7:00 am. I think I described it earlier but in case you don’t remember, the 50K is set up so that you run a 5K every hour on the hour for 10 hours. You have to finish within the hour and can’t start your next one before the top of the hour. Everyone sets up tents at the start/finish area, the race directors provide wonderful food all day long, a coffee truck is there etc. It’s like an outdoor music festival for runners. As you can imagine it sells out far in advance. This was my fourth year participating. This time, I was on a 2-person relay so I ran Loops, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. My teammate is training for a marathon so she also ran loops 1 and 3 with me in addition to her assigned loops. You can run them in any order that you want. We decided to rotate every loop but two others in our group ran 2 each twice and then one each.
It rained off and on (not heavy) for about the first three hours. During this time, those in our group not out on the course had to hold the tent down to keep it from blowing away even though we had it anchored pretty good. The course was dirt with a few rocks and roots but no significant elevation gain. As expected, it was muddy in places but not bad. The first loop my Garmin measured it at 3.56 miles and I heard other people say they measured closer to 4 miles. The race director adjusted the route and my next loop was only 2.99 miles… I guess it all evened out in the long run. My total for the day was 15.59 running miles. The rain stopped around 11:00 am and the sun came out. Even though the wind was blowing it wasn’t as bad and the temperature got up to about 70F before it started dropping.
By the time the last loop of the day rolled around it was about 45F but the sun was still shining. Everyone traditionally participates in the last loop whether it’s your assigned loop or not albeit walking instead of running if it’s not your assigned loop or you just don’t care at that point. Most people had a cold beverage of some sort in their hand during this loop.
My observance of annoying things from the day (it’s short):
• Not using ear buds and listening to music through their speaker phones while running. (This caused me to pick up the pace a couple of times just to distance myself from them.)
• Nothing wrong with walking. I love walking but for the love of all things, be considerate of others and don’t walk three abreast blocking the path, especially in a trail race please!
Our group heading out for the last loop (I walked the last one in my flip flops.)
The last few yards to the start/finish line were down this beautiful tree lined path. Run 4P = Run for Peyton - the little boy who tragically died when he was 9 years old. His parents organize the race in his memory.6 -
March total: 28.8/75 Miles
3/2: 2.1 miles
3/4: 4.2 miles
3/6: 3.1 miles
3/7: 2 miles
3/9: 5 miles
3/11: 3.1 miles
3/12: 4 miles, 2.2 miles
3/14: 3.1 miles
Another low 50's lovely run in the dark. Even with daylight savings some of my mornings are early enough that I still get to run in the dark, which I really enjoy. This morning I dodged several sprinklers that I would probably kill for in a couple of months and enjoyed the peaceful low traffic morning. It is spring break here, so no kids to get to school and so many families out of town or just sleeping in.3 -
@marisap2010 I have Matt's book and love his approach.0
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It is nice to hear that so many of you also love being alone at home. I am one of 5 kids, so I have rarely ever been alone. When I was a kid I LOVED the rare hour or 2 that I had the house to myself. Now, I probably enjoy it even more!
@quilteryoyo It is absolutely not sad that 3.3 miles is your longest run of the year! Everyone goes through ups and downs with running. Despite not running much, you have stayed active and hopefully will find the joy in it again.
I second finding a training plan and counting it back now for your December race. Your target is really the beginning of that training plan, not the race day. It’s good to know at what point you need to be ready to truly start training. When I do races at the end of the year, I usually account for not doing much running around thanksgiving and Christmas so will build in a couple of weeks “off”. Usually I do a some of the runs for that week but not all, then just repeat the full week following that.
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@katharmonic Oh, no!! So sorry you had to cancel your vacation.
@shanaber I agree, lets all find a place with year round perfect running weather!! Where does year round 40’s-50’s in the morning and highs in the 70’s exist? That’s my perfect.
@avidkeo Congrats on making your March goal! Those pictures are amazing. Hiking down is just the worst. I got hiking poles and that helped so much, but a steep downhill will still have me a little achy afterwards.
@marisap2010 I haven’t read Fitzgerald but would love to hear what you think when you do. I love learning about all these different approaches to training. This year I am incorporating a couple of new plans into my training in an effort to mix it up.1 -
quilteryoyo wrote: »@marisap2010 I have Matt's book and love his approach.
What about it appeals to you? Haven't read it myself.1 -
@teresa502 That race sounds like a fun event and I love that it's a trail race. I love running trails! Even with the crazy wind and rain, seems like your group had a good time. I agree with your annoyances - some people are kind of oblivious to what is going on around them.2
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@Teresa502 That sounds like such a fun race! I used to have family in Mt. Pleasant.1
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@Teresa502 glad you and your group had a good time at the 50K!
@Avidkeo congrats on your conquering your mountain. Those are truly awesome pictures!
@katharmonic sorry your trip got cancelled 😣
@martaindale I agree with you about alone time. Whenever my wife goes out of town I feel guilty for feeling downright giddy, but that is just who I am. I enjoy my alone time!
@marisap2010 I have heard about the 80/20 rule for many years, and many times have tried to put it into practice. But after a few runs I completely forget about it. I need to get it tattooed on my eyeball (that's a thing kids do now, right)
7 miles this evening (or is it afternoon now?? I'm so confused). First 'caught in the rain' run if the year. Big heavy drops started right at mile 2 and continued until the end. But it was 75F so it felt good.
It was a slow run, but that was the plan.
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@Teresa502 That race sounds like so much fun - for a relay team. Too bad you had such nasty weather to begin with. I'm glad they adjusted the route to be closer to a true 5K. Your list of annoying things really are annoying. Why do people think it is okay to completely block the trail walking when there is a race going on. I had to yell coming through to a group of ladies that were blocking the route once and they looked at me like I was the rudest person ever.
Glad you had a nice peaceful morning run @martaindale. Thanks for your support and the suggestion about the race and training too. As for the book, I liked the way he was scientific, or at least seemed to be, with his analysis of running and why he feels that easy running most of the time is the way to go. He advocates running by your HR, which I try to do, but some days it's just high from the get go. On those days, I go by feel, which he doesn't like. I do like his training plans. I'm sure I would have done much better on my HM had I actually followed the plan closer than I did.3 -
3-1 - 1.0 mile walk on the driveway
3-2 - 1.0 mile walk - 2.50 mile run out the road
3-3 - 2.0 mile walk in the neighbor's field looking for cows
3-4 - 1.0 mile walk - 1.8 mile run on the driveway
3-5 - 1.0 mile walk - 2.75 mile run out the road
3-6 - 1.0 mile walk in the neighbor's field
3-7 - 1.0 mile walk - 2.0 mile run out the road
3-8 - 1.0 mile walk on the driveway
3-9 - 1.0 mile walk on the treadmill
3-10 - 1.0 mile walk on the driveway
3-11 - 2.0 mile Wun on the driveway
3-12 - 1.0 mile walk on the treadmill
3-13 - 1.20 mile walk - 3.30 mile run on the treadmill
3-14 = 1.00 mile walk on the driveway
28.55 miles/60 mile goal
I worked at daycare today with 9 two and three year old's. I'll just say that Monday after the time change is almost as bad as a full moon. It was a struggle for everyone today, kids and teachers, but we made it through. I was tired and hungry when I got home at 6, so went out and did a driveway walk, no running, before coming in and finding something to eat.4 -
@Avidkeo those pictures are amazing. Looks so beautiful and congrats on achieving your goal!
@Teresa502 that race event sounds like a ton of fun. I would love doing that with a team. Maybe not in wind and rain, but good for you guys in sticking that out and having fun.
@martaindale enjoy your alone time! Too bad you couldn't go on spring break but take advantage of the time to do what you want to do without a teenager in the house
Thank you, @shanaber, @quilteryoyo, @teresa502, @marisap2010, @martaindale, and @Scott6255. I feel like I do nothing but whine these days, but things seem to be piling on. My boyfriend continues to have heart issues and they planned a stent procedure for this thursday but it sounds like that's off now to try beta blockers first instead. It's frustrating because he feels bad and wanted to get this done and be on the other side of it, and now it's all vague again. The stress of his health, the disappointment of not being on vacation and the continued work stress are kind of doing me in. This morning my back started acting up again and it was really painful this afternoon when I walked Stella. I feel a little better after putting heat on it, and I sat in the sauna at the gym and did some stretching and used the theragun. I didn't try to run. I'll see how things are tomorrow.7