April 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

Scott6255 · April 2023

@Laurz9191 way to go! Super impressive that you met ALL your goals, especially having ridden just once in the last 6 months! Great job 👏👏

yirara · April 2023

23.04 Sun 16°C 4.0km 36min 9:02/km

total: 4.00/0km (4.0km ahead)

Checking in. Don't really have time nor energy because I do lots of strength training to regain muscle mass after accident in December. So today I did my strength workout, during which I lifted over 4000kg in the afternoon. And did a little run in the evening. Was fairly easy because I used an old workout I'd created last year: run 10mins each with a specific hr, and if I got over then walk. Lots of walking involved here, and my HR peaked at 191bpm in the end. But it was fun

chris_in_cal · April 2023

There is a lot of powerful news going on in the group. Races, goals, injuries, family and personal breakdowns and breakthroughs. I'm glad we all have each other as we work through it.

April Running Goal: 12 runs, 25 miles

April 2 - 2.49 miles
April 4 - 3.58 miles
April 6 - 3.68 miles
April 9 - 2.76 miles
April 11- 2.92 miles
April 14- 2.55 miles
April 16- 3.31 miles
April 18- 3.13 miles
April 20- 2.71 miles
April 23- 3.17 miles

Current: 10 runs, 30.3 miles

quilteryoyo · April 2023

Not sure why, but I'm not seeing the pictures under the spoilers on my computer, just the captions. I'll see if they show up on my phone.

@tarun_yadavA So sorry that you can't run for a month, but glad to see that you are doing something to keep those muscles moving. Hope you enjoyed watching the marathon go by.

Congratulations @Laurz9191 on meeting all of your race goals! You did awesome. I hope the chaffing isn't too bad.

@yirara Glad you were able to run some and that you enjoyed it. I hope you continue to heal from your accident and get back to running more soon.

I had lunch with my mom and her two sister's after church today. I ate too much and got home later than normal. I was also tired, so took a nap and then made myself go for a 2 mile treadmill walk. It was tough getting started. My legs just didn't want to move after a great nap.

kgirlhart · April 2023

Thanks @scott6255, @quilteryoyo, @tarun_yadavA I love the photos. How cool that the London Marathon passes right by you. Sorry about the knee, but take it easy and follow doctor's orders and you'll be running again soon.
@laurz9191 Thanks and congrats on meeting all of your goals as well. Sounds like it was a great race.

Just resting and some yoga for me today. I feel good, but my quads are a little sore. I am planning to run in the morning, but I plan to take it pretty easy.

eleanorhawkins · April 2023

Hi everyone! Wow, I miss a couple of days and there are 70 posts to read!
@kgirlhart wow, well done on meeting ALL your goals!
@Laurz9191 I'm in awe of your ability to just get on a bike and race!
@tarun_yadavA ugh, a month! What did the family doc reckon you've done? Working on strength and any cross training she'll allow will do you good though.

Me: I'm home, I survived. Considering just about everything that could go wrong before my race did, and I had barely slept for days beforehand because of the crazy taper nerves and stuff, it went awesome! It was tough, it seemed to last forever and annoyingly the course was almost a mile short, so I went ahead and just let my watch (which I started late anyway because I pressed the wrong button, d'oh!) run while I wandered about then walked back to my room just to let it reach the full marathon distance and get the damn badge. Frustrating, and I feel like I cheated a bit doing that now, but at least it gives me a very very slow PR to beat next time LOL!
Report in spoiler:

I got carried away at the start (of course) and jogged the first couple of miles, albeit slowly, then went into my run-walk intervals. Had to walk up a couple of the bigger hills. It was nice for the first couple of hours, then it got very hot very fast. I'm glad I managed to get a couple of sample tubes of sunscreen for my pocket so I could reapply on the go and avoid getting burnt. As usual, because I was near the back of the pack I was pretty much on my own the whole way. I knew there were a few people behind me, I passed a guy around km 15 and I could sometimes see the guy ahead of me in the distance but it was me and nature for the most part. Around halfway around I started getting confused... I had the track on my watch and was using Garmin's pacepro thing that gives you the pace for each km to get your goal time, and all of a sudden it seemed to skip a kilometre so it would tell me the pace for kilometre 22, for example, when my watch said I'd just passed the 20km mark. That got to my head a little bit, and it started to feel like hard work all of a sudden. But after a couple more kms a song came up at random on my mp3 that @polskagirl01 sent me the other day, and everything was all right again :-) Soon afterwards I found a nice big bush I could pop behind for a pee, and then I came to the point where the 13km short race and 'nordic walk' started, not long after they had set off, so I had to dodge and weave and shout at them to let me past for a mile or so. That made me speed up, but I would regret that for the last 5km or so because by then my hamstring was cramping up and I just wanted to finish. The worst part... the last bit back into the city seemed to be ALL uphill and then (only a trail runner could be this sadistic!) the finish line was at the top of a flight of steps! Not only that, but there was a party going on and people dancing between me and the finish line, including a dude in a T-rex costume who almost knocked me over with his tail as I crossed the line LOL! I've no idea what my official time was and they haven't published the results yet. I reckon it was 5.35 or 5.40 or so. Garmin gave me 6.04 for the marathon distance and that included some wandering about getting water and stuff and then a slow walk back towards my room.
The course was lovely, the aid stations were awesome, it was a shame all I needed was water because they had everything from candy to fruit and salty snacks. There was also sherry available at 3 of them, which I avoided like the plague lol. The cool thing about the race is it goes all around the vineyards outside Jerez. The last stop is at one of the big sherry places. You run through the middle of a cellar full of huge barrels, then come out the other side and there's literally a party going on with sherry and ham and people dancing! It would be a really fun race to run as a group and not care about time, just go for the fun.

Teresa502 · April 2023

April 1 – 3.33 miles
April 3 – 4.04 miles
April 4 – 5.50 miles
April 5 – 5.10 miles
April 10 – 5.32 miles
April 12 – 5.01 miles
April 13 – 5.51 miles
April 16 – 6.01 miles
April 18 – 5.01 miles
April 19 – 3.09 miles
April 20 – 504 miles
April 21 – 7.13 miles
April 23 – 6.01 miles
April 24 – 5.07 miles
Total 71.17/95.00

I ran 6 miles on my local trails yesterday and ran 5 miles this morning before work. It was chilly this morning!

@TheMrWobbly – Oh the chafing sting! You made me laugh about your John Wayne impression!

Congratulations on reaching your goal weight @AlphaHowls! I ran past some cute baby calves yesterday. The fence line runs close to one of the side of the park. Of course, they kicked up their heels and took off in the opposite direction.

Great news @spl8!

Love the Cade’s Cove pictures @quilteryoyo. I’ve never been there that I haven’t seen a black bear. Did you know that on Wednesdays in the summer months they close the loop to traffic and you can run, walk or ride you bicycle without worry of the cars.

Congratulations on winning your age group, beating your previous course record and PRing @kgirlhart! All in the same race! Good job!

Thanks for the London marathon pictures @tarun_yadavA. The girl who won it seems so humble. The top runners times are simply amazing. (I hope the month of no running has you healed and back to 100%!)

Way to go @Laurz9191! Sounds like you managed the ride just fine. Nice that you didn’t have to manage traffic on the course. That was a lot of participants! You look great and not at all tired! Ow – that bike seat!

@eleanorhawkins – Sounds like a tough race indeed, but girl you are one tough cookie! Congratulations on your marathon! You did great!

Scott6255 · April 2023

@eleanorhawkins sounds like you had to overcome MANY obstacles and challenges during your race, but you got through it still standing! And you set a PR

Way to hang in there!

I got 6 miles in this morning. It was pretty cold (for me) with lower 40s. The first 3 miles I felt stiff and slow. The second 3 miles I just felt slow

spl8 · April 2023

What an amazing group. Everyone is crushing their goals - @Chris_in_Cal, @alphahowls, @kgirlhart, @Lauraz9191, @eleanorhawkins, etc. Congrats to all!

@quilteryoyo - Loved your trip photos. Smokey Mountain National Park is on my bucket list. Not sure why I haven't gone yet.

The anti-inflammatory is definitely helping my knee. @Tarun_YadavA - hope your knee is improving, too.

tarun_yadavA · April 2023

Hey guys
Thanks for all the kind words!
Am a bit bummed... (Doubly so, as I have all that holiday weight gain to shift - so we really are dieting over here 😭)

@Laurz9191 and @eleanorhawkins - well done both of you! Amazing! X

@Teresa502 - yes she seemed so nice and humble didn't she? The London one is a really fun atmosphere. Once the elites have gone past (and some of the serious runners), it's a bit of a costume party for those raising money for charities. It's fun!

yirara · April 2023

23.04 Sun 16°C 4.0km 36min 9:02/km
24.04 Mon 9°C 5.1km 55min 8:48/km

total: 9.10/0km (9.1km ahead)

Hey, look at what happened here! I went out, still sore legs from yesterday. Thought after a few 100m "nah, I give up", went on, it started to rain, I got soaked, I ran on (ok, with some walking intervals as I didn't want to max out my hr on the first 1km already). Ran the last 13 minutes without walking, and ended up with HR of 191

But hey, got it!

polskagirl01 · April 2023

You guys. This made me think of @PastorVincent

For new folks: He was a well-loved member of our group, passed away a few years ago. I'm pretty sure this was his strategy in a race where he didn't want to get stuck behind people at the start.

Scott6255 · April 2023

@polskagirl01 yep totally @PastorVincent strategy right there!

quilteryoyo · April 2023

Great race report @eleanorhawkins . It sounds like a tough course, esp. with the finish being at the top of a flight of stairs! Love our attitude about the slow walk back to the hotel being part of the distance so it will be easier to PR next time.

It sounds like, despite everything, that you enjoyed the race.

You are doing great @Teresa502 . I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. I knew they closed the loop to cars, but didn't know it was one day a week. That's cool. I'm thinking about signing up for the Cades Cove Loop Lope.

Haha @Scott6255 ! At least the last 3 miles you had loosened up a little. Great job getting in 6 miles when you weren't really feeling it.

Thanks @spl8 . There are lots of things to see and do in the Smokey's. Well worth a trip, I think, esp. if you enjoy nature.

Hugs to you @tarun_yadavA .

Nice running @yirara !

Hahaha @polskagirl01 ! His 10 sec of fame. I sure do miss Pastor Vincent. Was thinking of him when I was watching the Boston Marathon.

quilteryoyo · April 2023

After I got home from work today, I did a run on the driveway. It was 60F (15.6C) and sunny, so really nice. I didn't have a ton of time though, so I walked one mile total for warm up and cool down and ran 2.25 miles in 30:15 minutes for an avg pace of 13:27 min/mile. I had wanted to keep my HR under 140, but saw that wasn't going to happen, so just ran a fairly easy pace by feel. My avg HR was 149 with a max of 161 bpm. I was okay with that, considering the hills and pollen.

katharmonic · April 2023

@polskagirl01 oh gosh I love that and the memory of @PastorVincent. Good to see you - as I've been absent too I didn't know about everything you've been doing to try to improve your health issues due to long COVID. Hugs to you. I'm sorry it's taking such a toll and hope you can get back to more normalcy and better health.

So much big news here!
@eleanorhawkins congrats on your very tough race! Ending up a flight of stairs and dodging a t-rex?!?! That's very extreme. Good for you, you are amazing.
@AlphaHowls Wow - congrats on goal weight AND 1000 days HM+ streak!!!! Mind blowing. You are beyond inspiring.
@kgirlhart fabulous job on your 10k! Wow! Excellent job on all your accomplishments in this one race!
@laurz9191 congrats on meeting your goals on your bike race! Impressive in only riding once in 6 months especially. Well done.
@quilteryoyo great job on your longest run in a couple of months. Beautiful pics.

@tarun_yadavA I'm sorry about your injury and not being able to run. Hope it heals well.
@yirara sorry about your injury as well but glad you are working on a comeback! Nice job with your workout with HR targets.
@spl8 glad to hear that it is only a bad bruise, although that must hurt. Great news that it's not something worse and your knee is in pretty good shape!
@TheMrWobbly great to see you back here too! Chafing is so miserable! We all hear you on that.

I know I missed people, I got way behind and you've all been busy. Great to read through and catch up a little.

martaindale · April 2023

April total: 88.8/115 miles

4/1: 6 miles
4/3: 4 miles
4/5: 5.1 miles
4/6: 3.1 miles
4/8: 8 miles
4/9: 4.1 miles
4/11: 3.1 miles
4/13: 3.1 miles
4/14: 10 miles
4/15: 6 miles
4/16: 4.1 miles
4/18: 6 miles
4/19: 7 miles
4/20: 4 miles
4/22: 9 miles
4/24: 6.2 miles

Logging 2 runs. I went to a friend’s wedding this weekend in Galveston, a little island off the coast of TX. The winds were steady 18-20 mph so did most of the headwind portion first then had almost 5 miles of glorious tailwind. I had to do about 0.75 mile back into the 20 mph headwind and it was sooo hard. My HR spiked into zone 5 and I was relieved when I hit the end.
This morning was lovely, low 50’s with significantly lower humidity than normal. I love every nice morning I get these days!

martaindale · April 2023

So much good racing this weekend! Congrats to @kgirlhart @Laurz9191 and @eleanorhawkins.

Wishing for a speedy recovery for @tarun_yadavA and @spl8. Dealing with injuries sucks.

katharmonic · April 2023

So my news is that I actually RAN!

I had another follow-up with my surgeons Thursday and Friday in Boston and I was given the all clear to start back up with my regular activities! Everything is healing very well and one doctor said that it looked like healing-wise I was several months out from surgery instead of just 5 weeks (tomorrow). I'll take it! I am going to start back slowly of course, but I was given the ok to start running, yoga, and lifting.

I headed to the gym for the first time tonight to say hi to my pals and start to ease into some things. I didn't do much, basically just made an appearance

. Everything felt like it was the first time I'd ever done it. LOL. I did 1 mile on the treadmill, slowly. I think I could have done more but I didn't want to push it. It felt ok, but I was very aware of everything.

In any case I ran! Oh, and I also signed up for a 5k today.

It's the former Corporate Challenge (now Workforce Run) and it's June 20. That will be some motivation to work my way back.

kgirlhart · April 2023

April Goal: 110 Miles

4/2: 11.03 miles
4/4: 6.02 miles
4/5: 5.25 miles
4/6: 5.51 miles
4/9: 11.02 miles
4/11: 5.25 miles
4/12: 5.26 miles
4/13: 6.02 miles
4/16: 11.01 miles
4/18: 5.5 miles
4/19: 5.26 miles
4/20: 5.10 miles
4/22: 0.58 miles (warm-up)
4/22: 6.26 miles- Run For The Children 10K
4/24: 5.16 miles

93.23/110 miles completed for April

I got out for 5 miles this morning. It was a little chilly at 48°F. I wore shorts and a t-shirt with my sleeves. My legs are still a little tired from Saturday, but overall I felt good.

I'm behind on the thread, but I am sleepy so I am going to post this and then try to catch up tomorrow.

yirara · April 2023

Aww, thanks guys! I have no idea how come I'm still able to run 5km despite being out for 4.5 months. But I'm ecstatic

Mind you, my legs are SORE! today.

quilteryoyo · April 2023

Great running @martaindale . I hope you enjoyed the wedding.

Thanks @katharmonic and YEAH for being able to run and other regular activities! Sounds like you have a great plan in place and signing up for a race is great motivation. So glad you have healed quickly.

Great recovery run @kgirlhart .

Teresa502 · April 2023

@quilteryoyo – I think you would enjoy the Loop Lope and you have plenty of time to train for that distance. I’m undecided about running it this year. I have some friends who are but I will be out of the country on vacation the prior weekend, returning home late that Monday night, and then will work the rest of the week so I don’t know about heading out of town again a few days later. Vacations are exhausting!

@Polskagirl01 I could totally seeing @PastorVincent doing that and then circling back after he finished to run in with Kristie.

Great news @katharmonic! I’m sure your physically active lifestyle leading up to your surgery was a big factor in your favor. I remember you talking about the Corporate Challenge before - so glad you are back at it!

Laurz9191 · April 2023

@quilteryoyo I forgot to mention the other day that I loved your pictures. They looked so beautiful and made me want to visit there as well!

@katharmonic I am glad you can get back to running and am sending lots of strong positive vibes your way!

@yirara Good job getting out there! I hope your legs recover quickly, so you can go again!

I did 14km today. I did think about running yesterday, but even though I wasn’t particularly sore after the bike race I could tell that my body as a whole was fatigued. Today’s run felt fine, but I am still a little bit in recovery mode.

I am not sure whether I should try to go after my monthly goal (I’ll have to run an average of about 12k on the days I have time to train or end a bit short for April). Ending short may be the smarter choice. I don’t want to overtrain when I should be starting to taper. I do have back to back races next weekend in the 5k and then 10k. The races are at the city track/park/lake that I train at sometimes, and my kids are all running in the kids races, so everyone will be here watching for that one, as long as the weather holds….

So far for April I have 130.8/175km.

chris_in_cal · April 2023

spl8 wrote: »

So ortho says I just have a bad bruise behind my knee cap; the bones and ligaments are fine.

That is big. Keep moving, let your knee recover and we can breath a big sigh of relief it isn't worse.

Sounds like @tarun_yadavA is also dealing with a less than catastrophic knee issue.

You two come back bigger, better, and stronger!

Itadakimasu7 · April 2023

General question for US residents... when you have a joint injury, do you see a primary physician first and get a referral or book time with a specialist? I have a bum ankle that isn't healing after three weeks so reckon I might have to go to a doc. Thanks

Hope everyone is having a good week! I can't run atm but am riding my bicycle!

Teresa502 · April 2023

Itadakimasu7 wrote: »

General question for US residents... when you have a joint injury, do you see a primary physician first and get a referral or book time with a specialist? I have a bum ankle that isn't healing after three weeks so reckon I might have to go to a doc. Thanks

Hope everyone is having a good week! I can't run atm but am riding my bicycle!

I go to an orthopedic clinic. We have one doctor in particular at our local practice who is a runner and all the local runners love him because he does his best to keep you moving. They also have walk in hours that are convenient when you can't wait to see a particular doctor. Sounds like you definitely need to get it checked out by a professional.

Teresa502 · April 2023

Laurz9191 wrote: »

I am not sure whether I should try to go after my monthly goal (I’ll have to run an average of about 12k on the days I have time to train or end a bit short for April). Ending short may be the smarter choice. I don’t want to overtrain when I should be starting to taper. I do have back to back races next weekend in the 5k and then 10k. The races are at the city track/park/lake that I train at sometimes, and my kids are all running in the kids races, so everyone will be here watching for that one, as long as the weather holds….

So far for April I have 130.8/175km.

I vote for not going after your monthly goal that you set here. It's more important for you to be healthy and not overtrain than to hurt yourself by reaching some magical number.

Scott6255 · April 2023

Itadakimasu7 wrote: »

General question for US residents... when you have a joint injury, do you see a primary physician first and get a referral or book time with a specialist? I have a bum ankle that isn't healing after three weeks so reckon I might have to go to a doc. Thanks

Hope everyone is having a good week! I can't run atm but am riding my bicycle!

I agree with @Teresa502 , but it would depend on your insurance. Some require you to get a referral from your primary care doctor first.

quilteryoyo · April 2023

@Teresa502 Vacations are exhausting and I can see how you would be hesitant to sign up. If you change your mind, let me know. I'll let the group know if I do sign up for it. I want to do the Space Force 10 miler again, so not sure those two would be too close to each other or not.

Thanks @Laurz9191 . I think missing your monthly goal rather than over train is the smart choice. After all, the goal is just a number to shoot for to help keep you motivated. I think doing well on the races is great motivation. Sorry you have a bum ankle. A lot of that depends on what your insurance requires. Having said that, even though I don't have to have referrals to a lot of places, I will go see my primary care first. If he thinks I need a specialist, I trust him to tell me who he would see and it's not a shot in the dark. Great job riding when you can't run.

I did a treadmill run late morning, after researching assisted living facilities and making some phone calls. I walked a total of 1.0 mile for warm up and cool down and ran 2.25 miles in 30:31 min for an average pace of 13:34 min/mile. Today I ran the first 13:30 min without walking, 3 min each at 5.0, 4.5, 4.3, 4.2 mph and another 1:30 at 5.0 mph. I walked 1.5 min and then the rest of the run was 1 min each at 5.0, 4.5, 4.3, 4.2, 3.8 mph. I had wanted to keep my HR below 130, but was unsuccessful at that. Avg was 134 with a max of 148 bpm. At least I kept the average close.

April 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

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