February 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

Teresa502 · February 2023

Feb 1 – 5.34 miles
Feb 4 – 9.07 miles
Feb 6 – 5.1 miles
Feb 8 – 5.11 miles
Feb 9 – 4.3 miles
Feb 11 – 10 miles

I haven’t been around this week due to work being crazy. The week was spent spending at least 11 hours in the office, coming home, and eating dinner while in front of the computer doing more work. We’re also in the midst of reductions in force and my boss was let go on Friday afternoon. As you can imagine things are pretty tense around the office. Last night, I finally had a chance to catch up reading, liking and hugging here. Yesterday, I met some friends for a 10-mile run. I ran out of energy around mile 6 and really wanted to quit. If it were not for said friends, I probably would have but I finished it out. I’ve been cutting back on calories, especially the kinds full of sugar, and I think that has affected my energy levels. Today is a windy, rainy day with temps around 40. I have no desire to go outside for a run. Planning to do some yoga shortly.

@shanaber – Your shingles sound so painful. I hope that you are better soon.
@kgirlhart – Glad you didn’t hurt yourself worse during your fall.
@Scott6255 – I’m going to have to check out that playlist.
Glad your hamstring seems to be healing @Laurz9191.
@quilteryoyo – Are you training for a race? You have been so consistent with your plan!

Can’t wait to hear all about your races @Tarun_yadavA and @eleanorhawkins! I see on Strava that @eleanorhawkins is finished and wow she had 4,564 feet in elevation gain!!!

martaindale · February 2023

@Teresa502 I hope things improve at work soon. That sounds really stressful.

tarun_yadavA · February 2023

Hi everyone.
Write more later... But done! 4"02... Waiting on official chip time. Sore 😣

Tramboman · February 2023

2-1 4k slooowww; resistance band training
2-2 golf swing training
2-3 3k treadmill; resistance band training
2-4 golf swing training
2-5 4k slow
2-6 4k slow; resistance band training
2-7 golf swing training
2-8 4k slow; resistance band training
2-9 desultory golf swing training (mind was elsewhere)
2-10 4k slow; resistance band training
2-11 golf swing training
2-12 4k slow

February total: 27 k
February goal: 50 k

Sunny, upper 20s F, with no wind. Heard red winged blackbirds; 4 days later this year than last.
@tarun_yadavA Congratulations on our marathon!!!!! Splits were very consistent.

Scott6255 · February 2023

Congratulations @tarun_yadavA 👏🎉
@Teresa502 hope work stress eases a bit!
@shanaber I missed that your feeling bad was due to shingles 😒 I've been meaning to get that vaccine for years. Did you have it?

shanaber · February 2023

@Teresa502 - RIFs are the worst. I have been through so many and they were all so incredibly stressful. It is awful for those let go and awful for those left behind trying to figure everything out. Sending you lots of big {{HUGs}}. Hang in there!

@tarun_yadavA - Congratulations!! Looks like an amazing race and such an awesome pace throughout! I am looking forward to reading your race report.

@tramboman - love that you heard the red-winged blackbirds. I loved them when I was a kid growing up in Idaho and was surprised to see them here a few times when I was running by the river. I had never seen them in So CA before and don't know if they are common here or maybe they were just passing through on their way north.

Thanks @Teresa502 and @Scott6255, I have not yet had the vaccine. Because I have other autoimmune issues my doctor wanted me to wait so there was some time between the flu vaccine (I have a bad reaction to it), the pneumonia vaccine and all the Covid boosters. I also had shingles previously when I was a kid. I was really sick at the time and it was awful. Apparently it likes to strike when your body is at a low point and I had been having a really bad IBS flare that I let go thinking it would improve. It didn't, just got worse and then the shingles hits. Fortunately there is an antiviral for it that helps clear it up if you take it right away. I didn't get it for a few days but am almost finished with it now. So I am trying to be good and not over do anything but I did get a 4 mile walk in yesterday and hope to get a short neighborhood one in today.

eleanorhawkins · February 2023

@tarun_yadavA well done! Hope you had pizza and don't hurt too much tomorrow!
Thanks for the encouragement, etc, folks 💜

I'm zonked, but happy! 3rd place in my age group! There were probably only 3 of us but I'll take it. Annoyingly, I actually passed the woman who came 2nd on the last tough uphill stretch, but then the way back down on the other side was the kind of loose dirt and stones on a very steep descent that I really struggle with, and she passed me again. Still, it was only supposed to be a long run with aid stations for me, so very happy with the results.
It was the kind of race I really like, plenty of hills and some technical parts but also some easy trails, stunning views down to the coast, almond blossom, streams to run down and streams to cross. Not perfectly marked, but I managed not to go off course. Loads of aid stations and loads of food at the end (including a guy cutting serrano ham, was almost sad to be vegetarian). All in all the authentic was of the awesone kind 🙂
Not so awesome was family woes, the teenager was struggling yesterday so they stayed in the village with me overnight but then came home when they got out of bed, so they didn't see me finish or get my trophy and I had to hitch a ride back with the guys from the club who were there. But... we stopped at an Italian buffet for lunch so there was pasta and pizza. And gelato. Ha!

Tramboman · February 2023

@eleanorhawkins Great race!! And pizza to boot!!!

Teresa502 · February 2023

Congratulations @tarun_yadavA! That's a great finish time. Wow, you were really excited on that first mile. It's amazing what a crowd of other runners and endorphins can do to your pace!

Well done @eleanorhawkins! Congrats on 3rd place in your AG! My calves started aching just when I saw that elevation! My hike last Sunday was 15.70 miles and had only 3,000 feet elevation gain and my calves were sore for three days after. Sorry the family wasn't there to see you finish. I know they are proud of you anyway!

@shanaber - I've been meaning to get the shingles vaccine but just haven't gotten around to it. My doctor has recommended it and every time I hear about how painful they are, I resolve to do it at the next chance I have and then I forget about it. Glad the antiviral seems to be working for you.

Scott6255 · February 2023

@eleanorhawkins Great race and congrats on the 3rd place AG!

quilteryoyo · February 2023

@Teresa502 Great job pushing through the 10 miles when you wanted to quit at 6. I hope things get better at work. That does sound stressful. Thanks. I don't really have a race in mind at the moment. I really should find one. I am just trying to build back up and try to make sure that I can do the T-Minus 10 miler in Dec faster and better than I did a couple of months ago. I am currently loosely following a Matt Fitzgerald plan for a 10 mile race. There's 8 more weeks in this plan. He has a 10K race scheduled into the plan in 4 weeks. May see if I can find a local one to enter.

@tarun_yadavA You did great! Can't wait to read your more detailed report. I hope the soreness goes away quickly. Love the pictures. You don't look like you just ran a marathon!

@Tramboman Glad you saw your red-winged blackbirds. I wonder why they were late this year. Seems like everything else is early/warmer. Great running in the cold.

@eleanorhawkins Congrats on your 3rd place Age Group win! That is awesome, esp. when you weren't really "racing," even though I am sure your competitiveness kicked in and you really wanted to pass up the second place lady again. You did great! Sorry about the teenager woes. Glad you got Italian on your way home.

Today was my rest day, so I walked 2.50 miles at 3.7 mph on the treadmill between church and lunch. It's a cool, rainy, dreary day, so most of the afternoon was spent napping and watching TV on the couch.

kgirlhart · February 2023

February Goal: 90 Miles

2/3: 5.27 miles
2/4: 5.26 miles
2/5: 13.15 miles
2/6: 5.02 miles
2/9: 5.52 miles
2/10: 6.02 miles
2/12: 10.10 miles

50.34/90 miles completed for February

Congratulations on your races @Eleanorhawkins and @tayrun_yadavA! Third in your age group is awesome @Eleanorhawkins! And I can't wait to see your report @tayrun_yadavA.

@Shanber I knew you weren't feeling well, but I also missed that you had shingles. I have never heard anyone who has had it say that it wasn't that bad. I hope you are feeling better soon. I got the vaccine as soon as I turned 50, but my husband keeps putting it off.

Sorry you are having work stresses @teresa502.

Today I waited until about 10 so it could warm up some and then I ran 10 miles. It was a pretty day and a nice run. I stopped by to see Sunny the Donkey, and she wasn't there. Her owner told me that they are planning to tear down her house, so I am hoping she was just temporarily moved. I had taken some carrots for her and forgot about them and threw my clothes into the washer. Hopefully a handful of baby carrots won't hurt anything.

tarun_yadavA · February 2023

Hey everyone...
Thank you ALL for the kind words! ☺️
@eleanorhawkins - well done on yours... And placing third in your category!
@shanaber - sorry to hear you've not been feeling good.
@Teresa502 - yes, lol. The race started and I must've just got carried away with myself. 🤦

It was a good day all in all. I'm pleased. I put in a lot of hard yards.

Running laps - Pros and Cons.
Pros : can know what to expect; in terms of visible landmarks on the route and how much you're doing, how much is left etc.
Con : monotonous.
Con : does get crowded - particularly when the 10K runners joined in. And then you don't know if you're being lapped/overtaken which can feel dispiriting when you're struggling.

Not gonna lie. There is a small part of me wondering - so close to a sub-4 finish... What could I have done differently? And I can't really think of anything, to be honest. I put the work in, made myself a social recluse cut out socialising (ie alcohol!)... and well, I tried my hardest today. I left it all out there. I knew going into today, that those last few miles are horrible. 21-24 ish. (For me at least anyway). And so it was again today. At one point towards the end - I looked, and it was something like 5K left to do in 26 minutes to make sub-4... And I thought, 'I can totally do this'. But the mind was saying one thing and unfortunately, the legs another altogether.
My friend, the seasoned marathon runner, was like 'it will get better over time'. 'trust me - you will be faster on your next marathon!'.
I think I spat my water out. 'next marathon?' 'too soon Bro, too soon'.

Anyways... Lying in bed now.

Oh, I got in pizza!
Pizza hut.
(Side note- So I gather in the US, old school Pizza huts are rare... ie dine-in ones. Something like 5%, and the majority are all delivery collection or taco-bell combined Food court things). Probably about 50:50 here.

I destroyed this! Cheesy bites crust. The crust is basically mozzarella dough balls.

I wasn't totally unhealthy. I did have a salad (bathed in Blue Cheese dressing though. Oops [do have c4000 calories to play with! Haha! )

And my wife got a me a 'cruffin' from some Instagrammable bakery place in London

@SummerSkier - beers on Friday! ☺️

Laurz9191 · February 2023

Good morning everyone!

@tarun_yadavA and @eleanorhawkins Thanks for collectively making me want to eat some pizza

. I hope recovery is going well. I am very impressed with the elevation @eleanorhawkins . @tarun_yadavA - I am sure you will get sub 4 in your next marathon! ...too soon

. Was it hard to keep track of what lap you were on?

I had a great relaxing, head-clearing 10.3k run this morning. It was great being outside and I can feel my leg healing up. I saw a total of 2 trains, 3 cyclists, a jogger and a chicken on my run today.

February is as good as half done and I am as good as half way to my February goal of 200km

.

tarun_yadavA · February 2023

Laurz9191 wrote: »

Good morning everyone!

@tarun_yadavA and @eleanorhawkins Thanks for collectively making me want to eat some pizza . I hope recovery is going well. I am very impressed with the elevation @eleanorhawkins . @tarun_yadavA - I am sure you will get sub 4 in your next marathon! ...too soon . Was it hard to keep track of what lap you were on?

I had a great relaxing, head-clearing 10.3k run this morning. It was great being outside and I can feel my leg healing up. I saw a total of 2 trains, 3 cyclists, a jogger and a chicken on my run today.

February is as good as half done and I am as good as half way to my February goal of 200km .

@Laurz9191 Too soon Bro, too soon.

RE: laps/distance... kind of knew I had 11 to do. Was a bit tricky trying to workout how much I'd done without glancing over at phone. Multiples of 2.37. The Mile Markers were confusing. Multiple races... Full, Half, 10K... I think towards the end the penny dropped in my head, that they were colour coded.

PS: you're welcome RE: craving pizza! lol
PPS: Well done on being well on track for your 200kms goal for the month.

quilteryoyo · February 2023

Nice run @kgirlhart . I hope they are going to make Sunny another shelter and you'll still be able to visit. Hahaha about the carrots. I hope they didn't hurt anything or stain anything orange.

@tarun_yadavA Sounds like you gave it your all yesterday, so you have no regrets. "My friend, the seasoned marathon runner, was like 'it will get better over time'. 'trust me - you will be faster on your next marathon!'. b]I think I spat my water out.[/b] 'next marathon?' 'too soon Bro, too soon'."

If there is a next time, maybe do a full training plan, instead of 4 weeks, and you could probably break 4 hours. That pizza looks delicious, as does the dessert!

Glad you had a great run @Laurz9191 .

martaindale · February 2023

@eleanorhawkins Great racing/long running. Congrats on the AG podium. That’s awesome!

@tarun_yadavA You look so happy in your pics. Congrats on a strong race. I could see how the multiple laps with shorter distances racing at the same time could feel demoralizing towards the end. I feel you with it being too soon to be talking about the next one!!

martaindale · February 2023

February total: 52.4/125 miles

2/1: 3.1 miles
2/3: 5.2 miles
2/4: 9 miles
2/6: 5.1 miles
2/7: 5.5 miles
2/8: 3.2 miles
2/10: 6.3 miles
2/11: 10 miles
2/13: 5 miles

Went to Pilates yesterday. I’m enjoying the classes and I’m not as sore afterwards already. My legs are pretty tired though between the running and the Pilates. Hopefully that will improve as I adjust to the extra exercise.
Easy miles this beautiful morning. 40 F and clear. I saw my trail friend and his dog Hank. Now to get ready for work.

Tramboman · February 2023

2-1 4k slooowww; resistance band training
2-2 golf swing training
2-3 3k treadmill; resistance band training
2-4 golf swing training
2-5 4k slow
2-6 4k slow; resistance band training
2-7 golf swing training
2-8 4k slow; resistance band training
2-9 desultory golf swing training (mind was elsewhere)
2-10 4k slow; resistance band training
2-11 golf swing training
2-12 4k slow
2-13 4k slow

February total: 31 k
February goal: 50 k

Sunny, low 30s F, with just a light breeze from the southwest. Looks like my decision to add an additional day to my run schedule might help me make goal. Can add the mournful notes of a dove cooing to the repertoire of spring sounds.

tarun_yadavA · February 2023

hello ladies!

@martaindale awww, thanks Sarah! yep wayyy too soon to be talking about doing another one! Never say never - but not for a few months at least, though. And I'd probably not do another lap-type marathon again. I'd rather do a City one. Mentally- less repetitive, and nice to have crowds/noise along the way, rather than just one place (the start/finish bit).

@quilteryoyo *IF* I was doing it again - find some way of not totally slowing down between 21-24 would be the one thing I'd want to change/work on. Struggled during training (what? 3weeks ago now?) and then again yesterday.
Glad I ran the full 26.2 beforehand though, that way I knew I could do the distance yesterday and do it without stopping/walking. Think that helped me a lot mentally.

ScienceofTeaching · February 2023

@tarun_yadavA That pizza looks amazing! My husband hates pizza, so it's one of my go-to treats if he isn't home for dinner with me. That pizza hut picture makes me miss meeting my friends there in high school a long time ago. The ones closest to me have all been converted into other businesses, which makes me so sad!

ScienceofTeaching · February 2023

Had a busy Saturday celebrating family birthdays and eating way too much tasty food. I knew that I wouldn't want to get out after the party, so husband and I went out for a short (1 mile), chilly hike on Saturday morning. Jogged a little bit, but mostly just a brisk hiking pace. Lots of hills, so that was good!

Yesterday, went for a walk with my mom. She wasn't up for any running this time, but we kept a decently quick walking pace for 1.5 miles.

Today is our anniversary, so husband and I are going to try to get outside for a nice hike (and then get dinner afterward!) to celebrate.

tarun_yadavA · February 2023

ScienceofTeaching wrote: »

@tarun_yadavA That pizza looks amazing! My husband hates pizza, so it's one of my go-to treats if he isn't home for dinner with me. That pizza hut picture makes me miss meeting my friends there in high school a long time ago. The ones closest to me have all been converted into other businesses, which makes me so sad!

@ScienceofTeaching Hi! Nice to meet you!
poor you! how does one hate pizza?? something like sushi i get - fish. cold fish etc. but pizza??
Anyways... yeah, agree. shame that dine-in pizza hut restaurants in the US are now quite rare. Salad bar, and them coming fresh out of the oven - best part! Delivery - ummm, just not the same thing!

Scott6255 · February 2023

Happy anniversary @ScienceofTeaching!

spl8 · February 2023

A beautiful day running today.

quilteryoyo · February 2023

@martaindale Sounds like you had a great run. Glad you are enjoying Pilates and that your body is already adjusting well to it.

You're doing great @Tramboman ! I love all the sounds of spring and reading about what you are hearing.

@ScienceofTeaching Sounds like you had a great weekend. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I hope you enjoy your walk and dinner with DH.

Today's plan called for Hill Repeats. I have all sorts of good excuses for NOT doing that today, but bottom line is that I just didn't feel like pushing it to run up hill as fast as I could for a minute x6. LOL So, I switched today with tomorrow and did an easy run on the treadmill. Hopefully, it will be a bit warmer tomorrow and I'll have more energy.

Today, I did a run/walk for 4/1 min at 4.2-4.7/3.8 mph, then finished with 4.2 mph. Total was 2.50 miles at an average pace of 13:58 min/mile. Avg HR was 130 and max was 146 bpm. I had hoped to keep my HR below 140. It was above that for only a little over 2 min when I was running at 4.7 mph. So, I'll take it. I also walked a mile total for warm up and cool down.

Scott6255 · February 2023

8 miles this evening. One more nice weather day until rain moves in again tomorrow. This was one of my better paced easy runs (consciously kept telling myself to take it easy).

kgirlhart · February 2023

February Goal: 90 Miles

2/3: 5.27 miles
2/4: 5.26 miles
2/5: 13.15 miles
2/6: 5.02 miles
2/9: 5.52 miles
2/10: 6.02 miles
2/12: 10.10 miles
2/13: 5.51 miles

55.85/90 miles completed for February

I decided to run today instead of tomorrow. There is rain in the forecast and strong winds so I decided to switch my rest day. I had a really nice 5.5 mile run this morning. The wind is howling now, so I am glad I ran today.

Happy Anniversary @ScienceofTeaching !

tarun_yadavA · February 2023

Taking another day off to rest. Stiff Quads, still. Blisters on toes.

@ScienceofTeaching - happy anniversary. Hope you had a nice dinner out. Where did you go?

@scott6255 - well done on the 8! Over half way of mileage target at the half way point of the month! 💪

Speaking of...

Happy Valentine's Day ladies!! ☺️

Who's got plans??

Laurz9191 · February 2023

@tarun_yadavA I had plans! Run a half marathon

. Done!

Today I went on my long run for the week. I felt inspired by @eleanorhawkins mountain running and decided to do it on a "hilly" course. Total elevation was 222m, so nothing compared to what she is doing, but a LOT more hills than my standard flat runs. It was nice. It started off cold and icy and then the sun came out and warmed everything up.

Picture of me running above the clouds

.

February 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

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