January 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

SummerSkier · January 2023

dang everything is a great read today! Love the report @eleanorhawkins 👏👏👏👏 ANd you too are a queen of negative splits and NOW you have overcome that one nasty downhill altho not nice they tricked you into doing it again.

@tarun_yadavA wow. 17 today after being sick for 2 weeks. I would say not much time to train for a race next month but sounds like you could probably do it next week if you wanted. 😁😁😁😁😁

kgirlhart · January 2023

January Goal: 100 Miles

1/1: 10.50 miles
1/3: 6.01 miles
1/4: 5.11 miles
1/5: 5.60 miles
1/8: 11.03 miles
1/10: 6.02 miles
1/11: 6.26 miles
1/13: 5.26 miles
1/15: 10.6 miles

66.05/100 miles completed for January

I ran 10 miles today. It was kind of a tough run. The temperature wasn't bad. It was 54°F to 57°F for the run. But it was windy. The winds were 15-18 mph. It was cloudy too, so just overall not that pleasant of a morning. But I got it done and then came home and made manicotti.

@elaneorhawkins Great race report! You are a beast!

@teresa502 Glad everything is going well with your dad.

@tarun_yadav Great run after being sick. Congrats on signing up for the marathon.

eleanorhawkins · January 2023

@kgirlhart thanks! I usually prefer long races but have to admit finishing in under 2 hours and being able to finish hard and fast was fun! I'm sore now though, really regret not warming up.
@tarun_yadavA whoooo, gooo!

My friend decided against that crazy race series. I was disappointed for about 5 minutes, then I remembered the first race next week is one I've never wanted to run, and that I have a marathon to train for and shouldn't be playing the mountain goat 🤣. Phew! Maybe next year.

quilteryoyo · January 2023

Wow @tarun_yadavA . That's a great run, especially when you aren't feeling at 100%. Congrats on signing up for the marathon. You'll be able to run it as well as you did the 2/3 today.

@eleanorhawkins Great race report and race! Glad it wasn't as cold as they were expecting. Sorry they had the dreaded downhill that wasn't supposed to be there, but you DID IT! Glad you had enough left for a speedy finish. Love that your DH said you were going so fast, he couldn't get a good picture.

Excellent time and improvement from your trial runs!

@kgirlhart Nice job on your tough 10 miles. I hope you enjoyed the manicotti.

Mom and I decided to not go to in person church today since it was so cold (ok, only 17F, -8.3C). So, I walked on the treadmill while watching the service on Facebook. I struggled today. The first two miles seemed to take forever and I was ready to give up after I finally made it to the first one. But, I kept going and magically, when I reached the two mile point, everything felt fine. So weird. It had to be a mental thing. Anyway, I walked a total of 2.8 miles in 44:14 minutes....3.8 mph.

Scott6255 · January 2023

@eleanorhawkins great race! You really kicked some butt!

@tarun_yadavA nice job on your run and congrats on signing up for the marathon! Yeah that's coming up quick, but like ripping off a bandaid, it's best to do it quickly while you are in the mood (and nice your wife approved the hand-holding) 😁. You can probably run it tomorrow if you wanted.

eleanorhawkins · January 2023

@Scott6255 thanks!
I can't stop laughing... first batch of race photos has appeared. The photographer was at the aid station RIGHT before that horrible sandy downhill part I hate so much, and apparently decided the look on my face was NOT to be photographed so waited and took one of my back as I approached it instead!

Yep, that's me with the orange jacket round my waist conveniently stopping him snapping my backside lololol

Laurz9191 · January 2023

Hello Everyone!

@tarun_yadavA That was quite a run you did over the weekend! You must be feeling better! Congrats for signing up for a marathon too. I am sure you will do great! After reading about your and @eleanorhawkins weekend adventures, I think I might have to add a marathon to this year's schedule as well! Not next month though

, maybe in the fall.

@eleanorhawkins It sounds like you ran quite a race. I liked the picture too! It reminds me of and obstacle course run I did last fall together with 2 guys. Part of it involved a water/mud slide. The picture that made the front page of the newspaper was of the 2 guys I was running with on the water slide - I had been conveniently cropped out of the picture, due to what I assume to be a weird facial expression or my not so smooth water sliding technique

.

@marisap2010 Congrats on your race just after being sick!

I had a really nice tempo run (11.3km) in a very very muddy forest on Saturday. It was a great run and I enjoyed running fast after so many base runs last week. After running I spent the afternoon at a bouldering club with some friends all afternoon. It was fun doing something different, but I don't feel that comfortable rock climbing with no rope, so some of the routes I was too afraid to really try to do.

Today I wanted to do some weight training, so I went to the gym and did a 7km run on the treadmill before getting some weights in. Tomorrow is my long run for the week.

tarun_yadavA · January 2023

@Scott6255 , @quilteryoyo , @SummerSkier , @Laurz9191 , @eleanorhawkins
Hey guys!
Thank you for the supportive messages... Even the 'Tarun are you insane?' ones! Lol ☺️

Basically- I'm in the zone right now. (Save for illness last week-10 days, but past it now for the most part). I ran 20 at a good pace in December and did think about doing it then.
I figure now's a good time as any! (Like you said, @Scott6255 ). Especially as social calendar is empty. So I can focus on this alone. And plus running buddy said he'd do it with me at my pace. (And 'hold hand' haha!)

I'm quite nervous about it. I'm not someone who struggles for confidence - at all. But on this one...

Soooo.... Personal backstory time:
Teenage years - Athletic.
Then 20s... Met my wife last year at university. Was overweight then - lots of partying. Got married, had kids. Just ballooned even further. BMI Obese.
At 36 - decided enough is enough.
Lost ~65 lbs to be under 200 lbs in twelve months. Mostly Steps, Calorie Counting and weekend gym trips (and one weekday evening one). Half hour elliptical, 10-15 mins rower and dumbbell work. No running at this point. But lost all that weight and was slim again .
Anyways. Covid happened. Lockdown. Gyms closed. And I was like, cr*p... "never again". So took to outdoor running. Started with 2 miles. Gradually 5K. At first three times a week, then four then five. Then up distance. Then up speed.

In 2020. Something happened. I and a different friend joined a running club. (Think it came up on one of these forums awhile back - those Beer running clubs).
Basically it was a way to circumvent Lockdown rules of social distancing, gathering in groups etc. (Don't want to go off on tangent - but I wasn't a fan of lockdown and cutting out social mixing). Basically, run socially and drinks cans of beer afterwards.
It's very... Well something that woulda been jam many years ago. Guys running hard, chugging beers harder afterwards. I went for a 10Miler. Pacy. I mean, i drank water afterwards. Had a banana and an apple or something. But within half hour drinking beer. At this point- nothing. Went home, showered, ate. Napped. Evening, met a different couple of friends for a 'walk' (basically social mixing - walk and drink cans of beer). Anyways drank maybe 4? Came home. Ate whatever. Not drunk or hungover. Ate. And fell asleep. Middle of the night went to pee... And must've passed out, hit my head. Next thing I know - being wheeled off in an Ambulance, heart monitors all strapped to me.
Long story short: basically body just rebooted. As the cardiologist said. Just too much going on and switched itself off in the form of a syncope episode.
After further tests: I have been diagnosed with Bradycardia and Hypertension. And I'm on these Heart Meds, Losartan for life.
So... Kind of nervous about this. Wife - supportive to a point. Had always been a 'Hard No' on any of this. ('cant you do peloton?', 'cant you do yoga?')
So in the 2y since... I have just been even healthier. Keep alcohol/socialising to a minimum. Say twice a month, and do my rest days around that. So that I'm not running at pace and chugging beers and whisky within the same 24hr span.
Since then, my running has basically been, I do a distance. Hold at that distance. Then run it faster. And so to 20M last December.

So here I am.

Wish me luck! 🙏

Thanks for your support... And to some of you recent/scheduled Marathon runners - thanks for Inspiring me ☺️

Teresa502 · January 2023

Jan 1 – 7.02 miles
Jan 2 – 3
Jan 3 – 5.1
Jan 5 – 3.02
Jan 7 – 8.01
Jan 9 – 5.48
Jan 10 – 4.21
Jan 12 – 5.16
Jan 15 – 5.03

I packed some running clothes when I left for the hospital yesterday. While my dad was out of the room for a test, I went outside and walked and later in the afternoon when it warmed up to 38F and the sun was shining, I was able to get outside again and ran 5 miles. Thankfully, I didn’t sweat too much because I ended up spending the night at the hospital with him and am still hanging out waiting for the doctors to come. Thankfully, they were able to do laproscopic surgery and I am hoping he can go home today.

@eleanorhawkins – 1 hour, 48 minutes is very impressive! Well done and congratulations on managing the race so well that you were able to pass people in the last part of the race! Looks like you are attacking that downhill in the picture.

@marisap2010 – I remember when you did the Wineglass. I probably loved the shirt then also!

@tarun_yadavA – Excited to follow your training and cheer you on for your first marathon!

@kgirlhart – Mmmm, manicotti – sounds delish!

@quilteryoyo – Looks like we’re warming back up this week. It may be a rainy day here and there but I can handle that better than the cold. Good job sticking with the treadmill yesterday.

@Laurz9191 – Not only does this forum provided accountability and motivation, but also inspires us to step out of our comfort zone and reach for more. Definitely add that marathon to your goal for the year!

tarun_yadavA · January 2023

@Teresa502 aww thank you ☺️

eleanorhawkins · January 2023

@tarun_yadavA I am also on meds for high BP, minimal dose. I don't think I need it anymore (long story but basically I didn't deal with the pandemic thing all that well and when we were put in quarantine after my MIL caught the Vid I kind of went into a meltdown and my BP went nuts) but my GP wants me to stay on them forever to be safe. Meh. Having said that, my issues are so mild I often forget about them completely!
Having said that, are you monitored at all? Hate to be the one to say it, but a marathon is a big thing and we know you're not going to walk it. I would say get a doctor's approval first just to be on the safe side.

SummerSkier · January 2023

Wow! quite the back story @tarun_yadavA I had to look up your diagnosis. What is your resting HR these days?

@Teresa502 glad your Dad is OK and you were able to get run in while on hospital duty. My Dad was in the hospital for many months a long time ago (2010 I think) and I had just gotten an IPAD played Angry birds a LOT! Luckily the hospital was halfway between my house and Bandit so I would go visit, go ride, go visit etc....

@eleanorhawkins that down hill looks like an ANKLE breaker for sure. I don't blame you or anyone else for hating it. It looks to need poles to safely manage it with those big rocks. And love the ORANGE jacket (nice butt btw) 😇🤣😇

I was really exhausted yesterday (Sun) emotionally and physically but later after lunch (still windy as @kgirlhart mentioned) I convinced myself to go run a mile. Then brain said why not 2 and then why not 5K?

So up to almost 75 out of 120 halfway thru the month.

So after a year of not riding after my horse of dreams Bandit passed away in Dec 2021 who I had for almost 27 years I was offered to ride a pony out at my former trainer's barn as his owner had just joined the airforce at18 yo and he needed a ride. In my experience sadly that happens to a lot of girls - their parents get them nice horses during high school and then when they are off to college the poor horse is left. It was a pretty nice but windy day and the horse is quite a looker and rides more like the stride of a horse than a pony. But the emotional part was not that I was riding (I have been out to the barns a few times to visit) but that I was definitely not a good enough rider for this pony. So today I will go out and let them know we are not a fit. My trainer watched some of my ride Sat so I don't think this will be a surprise to her but you know sometimes pros have agendas. Anyway, it was nice to go hacking around the property and he would be a very good trail horse but sadly he has zero brakes and felt like a freight train with no training to seat or hand. We trotted some but I was afraid to canter which since i have been riding over 60 years says something. I would like to see the trainer ride him but for some reason I have doubts she would. 🤪😂 ANnway for me it was rough because it would have been a nice diversion to ride a few times a week and I hate to disappoint the owner's mom who desperately wants him ridden I think.

quilteryoyo · January 2023

That's funny @eleanorhawkins . Looks like your running pretty fast in the photo though. Wish we could've seen your face.

You're doing great @Laurz9191 .

@tarun_yadavA Thanks for sharing your history with running. It is inspiring. With your paces and distances you are already running, you are going to do great. You do need to dial in that fueling before and during racing. I also have episodes of Bradycardia, HR in the upper 40's. They don't think it's too bad since I'm a runner, but it does keep them from upping a dose of my RX that helps with arrhythmia which also lowers the HR. You should be fine, with all the running you are already doing. But, like @eleanorhawkins said, maybe you should clear it with your cardiologist first.

@Teresa502 Great job in getting out for a run and walk yesterday! I'm glad your dad is doing okay and they were able to do laparoscopic surgery. I hope he gets to go home today! Yes, I'm looking forward to the warmer weather this week.

@SummerSkier So glad that once you started the run, you felt like going further. Also sorry that the horse is not a fit for you, but glad that you know that and are willing to say "no" for both of your sakes. Maybe someone else will be able to ride her.

eleanorhawkins · January 2023

SummerSkier wrote: »

@eleanorhawkins that down hill looks like an ANKLE breaker for sure. I don't blame you or anyone else for hating it. It looks to need poles to safely manage it with those big rocks. And love the ORANGE jacket (nice butt btw) 😇🤣😇

So after a year of not riding after my horse of dreams Bandit passed away in Dec 2021 who I had for almost 27 years I was offered to ride a pony out at my former trainer's barn as his owner had just joined the airforce at18 yo and he needed a ride. In my experience sadly that happens to a lot of girls - their parents get them nice horses during high school and then when they are off to college the poor horse is left. It was a pretty nice but windy day and the horse is quite a looker and rides more like the stride of a horse than a pony. But the emotional part was not that I was riding (I have been out to the barns a few times to visit) but that I was definitely not a good enough rider for this pony. So today I will go out and let them know we are not a fit. My trainer watched some of my ride Sat so I don't think this will be a surprise to her but you know sometimes pros have agendas. Anyway, it was nice to go hacking around the property and he would be a very good trail horse but sadly he has zero brakes and felt like a freight train with no training to seat or hand. We trotted some but I was afraid to canter which since i have been riding over 60 years says something. I would like to see the trainer ride him but for some reason I have doubts she would. 🤪😂 ANnway for me it was rough because it would have been a nice diversion to ride a few times a week and I hate to disappoint the owner's mom who desperately wants him ridden I think.

@SummerSkier yeah, if I'd known we were going down there I would have taken my poles. There's a perfectly nice, wide dirt track you can drive a car down that loops down literally 100 metres to the right, but they obviously thought that would have been boring! Funnily enough, I've spent months training myself not to sit down and dig my heels in while running down steep trails and it had worked so well I'd completely forgotten that's pretty much the only thing to do on that footing. A guy passed me and muttered "dig your heels in" and after that, it wasn't so bad.
Sorry the pony wasn't the one for you, but I am a firm believer in things happening for a reason... maybe it was sent to make you consider the possibility in preparation for another one due to come along in the future :-) Shame to disappoint the owner's mother but better all round for them to find someone prepared to handle a difficult ride. And that's a LONG time to have been riding! I rode as a child and worked with carriage horses in my late teens.

JennieMaeK · January 2023

Completed week 3 of my 5k training plan. I feel like week 4 is where I really start to rev up. I have a 20 minute run this week as well as 36 minute walk/run (3 minute walk/15 minute run x 2).

quilteryoyo · January 2023

You are doing great with your plan @JennieMaeK !

I didn't have to work today, so did my treadmill run this morning - at 11:00. I found a Matt Fitzgerald 10 mile training plan on-line. I'm going to use it as a guide, but not force myself to do all the runs if I don't have the time for them and modify it to be somewhere in between the beginner and intermediate runner. Today was a Speed Play day. I ran 6 x (4.5/6.0/3.8 mph for 3.5/.5/1 min), 4:59 min at 4.2 mph. That made a total of 2.60 miles in 34:59 minutes. I also walked a mile total for warm up and cool down. It felt pretty good. The hardest interval was the 4th. Go figure.

shanaber · January 2023

@Teresa502 - I am so glad your dad is doing better and the surgery has helped! Hope he gets to go home today. I am sure he is hoping so too!
@marisap2010 - Great job on your race and getting an age group place right after coming back from being so sick! I hope all goes well with your club HM later this year. Will you be able to run it or will everyone just be expected to work it?
@eleanorhawkins - Awesome race and I think that photographer just wanted to memorialize you conquering that downhill!
@tarun_yadavA - I am amazed that you had the ability to go out and run 17+ miles for your welcome back from the crud sickness!
I also have bradycardia as a result of a childhood illness. My cardiologist was not a fan of medications, as you said once you start you are on them forever. So he took the approach of watching it and when it started impacting my life we would do something about it. My RHR was in the mid 30's for years (after I started running) but had always been low. I remember going to the hospital once (long before starting to run/workout) when my husband thought he was having a heart attack and they hooked me up to make sure I was ok too. The girl asked if I was an athlete because my HR was 42ish. I was definitely not an athlete and for sure didn't look like one at about 80lbs overweight!
In the summer of 2020 I started having issues not being able to get/keep my HR up and my RHR was dropping precipitously low. I noticed mostly not being able to sustain a run because my heart just couldn't keep up so the cardiologist scheduled me for a pacemaker. It has taken some getting used to (low HR initially set to 60! and now to 50) but the PM I received is pretty cool because it will 'learn' your requirements and adjust accordingly.
So I too would recommend you at least touch base with your doctor (maybe just send a note?), tell them your plan and see if they have any concerns.

Well we are finally coming up from nearly being swept away to the ocean! Once the rain today passes we should have clear sailing the rest of the week. We have had some pretty incredible amounts of rain even just in the last couple of days. Saturday I was pretty worried, even though we have pretty good drainage around our house, it was raining so hard for so long that our back yard and patio flooded along with the front planters and even the grass in front couldn't absorb or drain fast enough, it is on a slight slope so really shouldn't be an issue. Fortunately as near as we can tell now everything is fine.
Hobbes and I met up with agility friends yesterday morning for a walk along the trail that I typically run. It wasn't supposed to rain until later in the afternoon. Hobbes and I walked over, got there early so went out to see the river status. Wow! was it full and moving fast. They are still diverting water at least at the same rate but it looks like it could no longer keep up with the flow coming downstream. I suspect the upstream reservoirs and diversion ponds are also full.

Yesterday - so much water!

Just a few days before. They were able to divert most all of the water

We met up with our friends and all the puppies (6 this time!) were SO excited. We took it slow and didn't walk too far because one of the ladies just couldn't do more. We had been watching a couple of really dark clouds and sure enough as we got back to the parking lot it started sprinkling. I was offered a ride home but figured we would be fine walking. Ha! As we headed to the entrance to go home it started pouring. I almost headed back in hopes of a ride but decided to just keep walking. Not long after we left the trail it pretty much stopped and the sun started popping through. Then we had that strange phenomena where it is raining but the sun is shining enough to make you warm.
Fun - non-running puppy pictures...

We had to laugh that it was nearly impossible to get them all to stay and look in the same direction.

Today I planned as a strength workout day but will probably get out for a short run or a walk since it is clearing up a bit. I also spent a couple of hours this morning reformatting my spreadsheet to have separate entries for running and walking distances/paces. I was lumping it all together but then I lose clarity on whether my running paces are improving.

quilteryoyo · January 2023

@shanaber I'm glad you fared well through the storms. That is a lot of water in the river. Those dog photos are great!

Glad you didn't get poured on all the way home. I love that you redid your spreadsheet. I probably should keep up with more info, but mine is just distance and time - I do have walking, running, and other exercise separate.

Laurz9191 · January 2023

@shanaber The dog pictures look like all the pictures of my kids - there is always at least one looking in a different direction

. I love it! I’m glad that the rain seems to have stopped for now!

Scott6255 · January 2023

@Teresa502 glad your Dad came out of surgery well.
@shanaber glad you made it through the biblical flooding 😁

Well as I suspected I wasn't able to get any running in last weekend. But we had a good time in Austin with family as we hit a few bars on 6th St. 😜
I also had the realization that doing 2023 running miles this year is going to be out of my league, this year anyway. I just can't maintain 42 miles a week for 52 weeks. I don't know what I was thinking 🤔

January 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

Replies

Categories