April 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

TheMrWobbly · April 2023

I thought I was the odd one out, good to see someone else tracking their HR @quilteryoyo

The difference three weeks makes has been incredible. When I started my first run my resting HR was 73 and peak 159. 25% of my run was in zone 5 and 52% in zone 4 and that had a 5 minute walking start. My most recent run was 45% zone 4, nothing in zone 5 and my resting heart rate has dropped to 52.

A long way to go but a small effort has been a big difference!

Mari33a · April 2023

Got a run in last night and almost at my goal. I'm going to get another run in this afternoon but might not get back here to update it later.
02/04 3.26 miles
03/04 3.24 miles
05/04 3.26 miles
07/04 3.26 miles
10/04 3.27 miles
13/04 3.25 miles
14/04 3.25 miles
16/04 3.27 miles
18/04 3.27 miles
20/04 3.26 miles
26/04 3.31 miles
27/04 3.32 miles

Total 39.22/40miles

@Teresa502 - Good luck for your race! For owning a dog here the law says you must have a dog license which cost €20 per year, the dog must be microchipped, and must wear a collar with owners details and that's all. But the likes of a dog shelter or a registered breeder won't give you a dog unless they are satisfied you will give it a good home.

martaindale · April 2023

While I don't generally want to interact with snakes, they don't bother me if they are minding their own business. They are generally timid and try to get out of your way. This time of year I expect to see a snake if temps are upper 60s or over so I've just gotten used to them. It surprised me how many of you are so freaked out by them! I guess I assumed more of you were encountering snakes on your runs because it's so normal for me

@Itadakimasu7 I'm in TX, just north of Houston. This trail goes through a nature preserve along Spring Creek for 16 miles without crossing any roads except for the occasional park access road. It's a fantastic place for a long run. And a good place for wildlife.

@chris_in_cal I agree wholeheartedly DFL > DNF > DNS.

@eleanorhawkins Great pics! You look like you're having a great time. Those dinosaur costumes are hilarious!

SummerSkier · April 2023

I was married to a photographer for many years. Before the digital age. The one thing I learned is that you have to take 100 photos for every "keeper" It used to shock me when he would get the package of photos back from the developer and immediately tear almost all of them to pieces. 🧐

Finally decided/analyzed what is going on with my back is sciatica. Which means I need to get a decent massage therapy asap. Sitting on a tennis ball and icing my butt 24 / 7 is getting old. Running may or may not be an issue. As I think twisting is what seems to irritate it but with sciatica until you can get that nerve calmed down or shifted a little it's a rough road which i have unfortunately been on before too bad my therapist from that year is long moved on.

eleanorhawkins · April 2023

martaindale wrote: »

While I don't generally want to interact with snakes, they don't bother me if they are minding their own business. They are generally timid and try to get out of your way. This time of year I expect to see a snake if temps are upper 60s or over so I've just gotten used to them. It surprised me how many of you are so freaked out by them! I guess I assumed more of you were encountering snakes on your runs because it's so normal for me

@martaindale I've always been terrified of snakes, no idea why, spiders and stuff are fine but not snakes. That was worsened when I was about 19 and running (and living in) a stable... I got up with a hangover, went to feed the horses and there was what my sleepy eyes thought was a bunch of baling twines on the floor, so I picked it up to throw it away and it moved. Argh! The thought of what it felt like makes my skin crawl every time I see one now.
There are 14 different snake species in Spain according to Google, 5 of them venomous. So I am aware that they're out there, but I take a head-in-the-sand approach and just try to make as much noise as possible to scare them off before I even see them. I can only say for sure that I've come across live snakes 3 times on a run. I've seen plenty of dead ones on roads and discarded skins, and plenty of things that might have been snakes but I prefer to try and think they weren't really snakes. Cause if I let myself think about it too much I'd end up back on the seafront promenades pounding the pavement and dodging tourists or reverting to obese couch potato, neither of which appeal at all!
What I do see ALL the time is lizards, and weirdly I find them cute! There are also a lot of hares down by the river trail, a lot of wild boar/Vietnamese pig hybrids in the woods nearby, and a lot of deer and mountain goats up in the mountains behind us. Then the nature reserve where my mother lives is home to a load of Griffon Vultures. Those are amazing to see but they worry me a little when they start circling me as I run, I end up shouting at them "look, I'm slow but I'm moving, go find something dead!"
And that concludes my southern Spanish trail fauna lecture for today!

quilteryoyo · April 2023

Thanks @eleanorhawkins . Sometimes you just do what you have to do. There are days I'd rather just lay on the couch and not get up.

@TheMrWobbly Wow! That is amazing improvement in 4 weeks! I started trying to run by HR and zones after I read Matt Fitzgerald's book, 80/20 running. There are days that I can't keep it in the zones that I want, so just run by feel. But I still like to keep track. I had a stress echo a couple of months ago and my HR went down so fast after stopping walking that I'm not sure they caught what they wanted, but said I was good. My resting HR is around 48 bpm. A little low, but my doctor says it's okay and due to running so much.

You're doing great @Mari33a ! I like your laws re dogs. I bet you don't have many strays like there are here.

@martaindale I do see a few snakes when I run - on my driveway. They don't freak me out like they used to, but I also don't see any venomous ones. They would make me really nervous.

@SummerSkier I hope you can find another massage therapist that can help you out. I know that is painful.

I enjoyed your S. Spanish fauna lecture @eleanorhawkins . So funny that you yell at the vultures. I can see how accidently picking up a snake would be traumatic.

Teresa502 · April 2023

quilteryoyo wrote: »

@Teresa502 Nice running. Good luck with your race on Sat. Where are you racing? You are doing great with your running. Sorry your friend had tummy issues. I hope it was a runners tummy and not something else.

It's at Natural Tunnel State Park. Although the park is located in my county, it still will be about a 45 minute drive for me. It doesn't start until 9:00 am though.

yirara · April 2023

23.04 Sun 16°C 4.0km 36min 9:02/km
24.04 Mon 9°C 5.1km 45min 8:48/km
26.04 Wed 8°C 4.0km 35min 8:49/km
28.04 Fri 13°C 5.3km 47min 8:51/km

total: 18.41/0km (18.41km ahead)

Nice run. Still about 1/3 walking but today my HR was a wee bit lower overall. Weather unpleasantly humid but I got home before it started to rain. Tomorrow I should do strength rehab again. Lets see

Laurz9191 · April 2023

Decided to go to the gym again today even though I didn’t have any time really for strength training. My goal is to make strength training more of a priority in May! I got 8km in. Strava thinks I only did 7.35km

. I don’t know why Strava sometimes really shorts me on distance when I run on the treadmill, even when I calibrate my watch when I am done. Oh well

.

@quilteryoyo Your league tennis match sounds like it was quite a game!

@eleanorhawkins Love the pictures! It looks like it was a real fun race to run, dinosaur and all. I hope your recovery is going well!

I need to practice making my easy runs easy and not pushing the pace when I should be running more slowly. Another goal for May

.

So far for April I have 159.3/175km.

chris_in_cal · April 2023

Great, I made my goal with one more run on the calendar. I'll try to get 40 miles this month.

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
April 25- 2.78 miles
April 27- 2.95 miles

Current: 12 runs, 36.03 miles

chris_in_cal · April 2023

Mari33a wrote: »

Total 39.22/40miles

You got this!!!! Very good consistency.

quilteryoyo · April 2023

@Teresa502 A later start tomorrow sounds nice - a little warmer and you won't have to get up so early to get there. I have never been to that park, but have heard of it. Enjoy and I look forward to reading about it.

Great progress @yirara ,

You are doing great @Laurz9191 . Garmin never gets the distance right when I run on the treadmill. I always correct it.

Congrats on making your goal with another run to go @chris_in_cal .

I did a little longer treadmill session than normal today since I won't have time to do much tomorrow. I walked one mile total for warm up and cool down and then did a 3 mile run. I ran various times at 5.0, 4.5, 4.4, 4.3, 4.2 mph. Big news is that I ran 30 min before stopping for a walk. Walked 2 min, and then finished the run - 41:23 min. Avg pace was slower than I was expecting, at 13:48 min/mile (4.3 mph)...so was a bit disappointed in that, but I'll get over it. LOL Avg HR was 144, with a max of 152 bpm. I knew it was going to be high today when the warm up walk had a high HR of 106. Most of the time it doesn't get above 100bpm on the treadmill.

shanaber · April 2023

Hi All! Lots of great spring running going on here! Loved all the race reports (running and biking)!
I must say I can't believe @laurz9191 got on a bike after 6 months away and rode 62 miles! Just being on that saddle for a short time would have done me in!
I was so excited for @eleanorhawkins completing her first marathon and getting some great pictures oof it too!
@Teresa502 - good luck with your race this weekend!
@martaindale - can't believe that lady let her dog chase you! I have had many door owners pull some interesting (aka dumb) moves but nothing like that. I would have told her to stop too and maybe would have said more than I should have.
Snakes - I used to be pretty afraid of them because my brothers would chase me with them and throw them at me. In college I worked in the Baby Zoo of a larger Zoo and we would be asked to take the large snakes out for people to see and touch. After learning to handle them I actually found them pretty fascinating. We have quite a few varieties here, especially over by the river and it isn't unusual to see rattlesnakes on the rocks or moving across the dirt. It is one reason I don't let Hobbes run off leash as he hasn't had snake avoidance training.

I hit my goal for the month with a bit more running than walking. I have had a couple of good runs but honestly since the shingles and IBS flare I have not felt great and ended up walking more than I wanted. Today walking home with Hobbes I was feeling pretty down and thinking maybe I am too old and just can't run any longer. On the other hand there are lots of runners older than me who get out there and manage it so for now I will keep plugging away at it. I see my doctor on Tuesday so I am hoping she will have some insights.

Scott6255 · April 2023

Hugs @shanaber 😒 I definitely am feeling the same. Probably mostly due to just getting old, but partly due to going cold turkey from asthma and naproxen this whole week. That has been a big adjustment. Hopefully will have a new attitude going into next month. At least hit my goal this month. Did 5 TM miles yesterday and 8.2 miles this morning outside. See you all in May.

polskagirl01 · April 2023

@eleanorhawkins I may have shared this before, but my son & I once wanted to see if some vultures would come closer, so we laid down near the trail they were perched above, and played dead. It didn't work. I guess they go by their sense of smell and we didn't smell dead enough?

shanaber · April 2023

polskagirl01 wrote: »

@eleanorhawkins I may have shared this before, but my son & I once wanted to see if some vultures would come closer, so we laid down near the trail they were perched above, and played dead. It didn't work. I guess they go by their sense of smell and we didn't smell dead enough?

@polskagirl01 - this is hilarious! I used to worry that one of our vultures would try to snag Hobbes as they flew over and round and round us. They are definitely bigger than he is!

Thanks @scot6255 - we will definitely get through this! I hope the transition off the naproxen gets easier. Is your asthma worse this year? Here allergies are crazy because lots of rain = lots of pollen!

I read a very inspirational story this morning about a Ukrainian runner who lost both legs in the war. He saw the movie about the Boston Marathon bombing while in the hospital and made a goal to be able to run it. He was brought to the US by a Ukrainian support group and NYC runners to be fitted for prosthetics and rehab. He had hoped to run in a 5K in Central Park but it was too soon (he walked across the start line and finished in a wheelchair). He also went to Boston but wasn't ready to run on his new running blades. He wore his regular prosthetics and finished the 5k there. He is hoping to be back to run the Marathon. This was just 7 months after he was wounded on the battlefield in Ukraine!
All this to say I was humbled. It made me realize my whiny complaints of being tired and not feeling great, while frustrating to me, are just so trivial!

Mari33a · April 2023

02/04 3.26 miles
03/04 3.24 miles
05/04 3.26 miles
07/04 3.26 miles
10/04 3.27 miles
13/04 3.25 miles
14/04 3.25 miles
16/04 3.27 miles
18/04 3.27 miles
20/04 3.26 miles
26/04 3.31 miles
27/04 3.32 miles
28/04 3.32 miles
29/04 3.31 miles

Total 45.85/40miles

Teresa502 · April 2023

I really enjoyed the trail race this morning. I got there about an hour before the race began so I had plenty of time to pick up my shirt, use the bathroom and visit with friends before the start. It was sunny and 52F at the start. It was a small race. A total of 62 people ran the course. The first mile was on pavement. It started in front of a picnic shelter in the park and then we ran up the hill and through the campground before running back down said hill and take a side trail into the woods. I passed a guy that I knew (Rob) on the up hills and he passed me on the downs When I passed him the last time, I was determined to keep in front of him. Lucky for me, it was an uphill finish and I beat him by 6 seconds (and he is 5 years younger than me)! I finished 34th place overall with a finish time of 47:21 and placed 3rd in my age group. I figured there were probably only three in my age group but turns out there were 7 of us. After the awards were given out, a friend and I hiked some of the trails in the park for 5.5 miles.

@shanaber and @Scott6355 - I think our bodies just take longer to heal as we age. We don't quite bounce back from injuries and illness as do the young especially children. Don't be so hard on yourself.

Scott6255 · April 2023

@Teresa502 your trail race sounded really great! Congrats on the 3rd AG finish, and beating that young man 😀

tarun_yadavA · April 2023

Hi, morning everyone! How's everyone doing?
End of the month...

Miles (literally!) off. Just 36 this month. Cruise ship and now an injury.

Please could someone tag me in the May one! 🙏
Targeting last week/10 days of that month to phase in short and sleasy runs!

Been 10 days of going to the gym... (Last few days I've taken to walking the 1M each way to the gym. Less and less pain. But don't want to rush it. Go, do at least an hour of the Elliptical with fairly high resistance. Dumbbell weights and walk back!). Do miss running. Especially as the weather is getting nicer here. Just 3 more weeks... Signed up for a 5K in July when I'm back in the US! So something to work towards

Miles behind in the messages so apologies if I miss you out...
@martaindale - love *LOVE* those snake pics!!!
@SummerSkier - I have Narproxen, but stopped taking it. Just messes with the system IMO. Hope sciatica sitch improves and doesn't impact running.
@Teresa502 - well done on all your runs
@Laurz9191 - killing it!!! Running for longer and faster too 💪
@quilteryoyo - amazing V, on all the runs/walks and tennis!

April 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

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