AUGUST 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

Aug total: 75.8/100 miles

8/1: 5.6 miles
8/2: 3.3 miles
8/5: 10 miles
8/7: 7 miles
8/10: 6 miles
8/11: 5.1 miles
8/12: 9.2 miles
8/14: 3.1 miles
8/16: 4.1 miles
8/17: 4.1 miles
8/19: 10.2 miles
8/21: 3.1 miles
8/22: 5 miles

I went to my neighborhood trail today since I got out after sunrise. It's been a while. There were more people that I usually see on the trail. Seems like the secret is getting out. Saw my trail friend out walking his 2nd dog and this guy who walks barefoot with his dog that I have seen all over the neighborhood, but never on the trails. The bottoms of his feet are probably hard as a rock!

Found it just where I left it after pulling into the shop. Not sure why I didn't notice that it needed to be taken into the house.

Good luck with your streak @tarun_yadavA ! Any particular distance or just run every day?

@kgirlhart You are doing great. Sorry about not getting to run through a sprinkler today.

@yirara Great run, and yeah, getting stuck in a graveyard would NOT be fun.

@martaindale I recall going barefoot most of the time when I was young, but I just can't do it outside anymore. I hope your trail doesn't get too crowded as it gets cooler.

@quilteryoyo congrats on getting your 700 miles so far!

Today was speed day, but really couldn't bring myself to go outside, so did intervals on the TM. 1 mile WU/CD, 7x1:00, then 6x1:30. Avg pace for intervals was 7:19/mi, so actually quite close to outside pace. Added up to 6 miles.

Morning all.
Got in 5.25M (08"57).
Yes I know... Should have gone slower!

Anyways...
@quilteryoyo well done on crossing 700 for the year
@chris_in_cal glad to hear you're feeeling better and all set to get back on it! 💪

Laurz9191 wrote: »

I want to ask for everyone’s opinion on something. I signed up in the spring for a marathon when I optimistically thought I wouldn’t get sick/injured/busy with kids/work/summer holidays and could train a bunch to be well prepared for the race. Well now I’m a little less than 4 weeks out and haven’t even got a 10 miler in in months. The race wasn’t that expensive to sign up for, so I wouldn’t cry over it if I didn’t run it. Do you think I should still go for it, even though I know that I’m undertrained (obviously then without any grand time goals), or sit it out until I really feel I’ve put in the work? I do have a sprint triathlon this Sunday that I will definitely do and an obstacle course race where I will be running a combined 15km in two weeks. Your thoughts could be helpful in making my decision .

That sounds like a lot of miles in the next few weeks already. You know how you feel, as long as there are no longer term impacts I would be tempted though I am averse to losing money

Great going on the 700 @quilteryoyo , currently struggling to hit 80 for the month!

Had a good run last night fueled by anger at some work stuff which gave me my first sub-10 minute mile since coming back to running.

martaindale wrote: »

I went to my neighborhood trail today since I got out after sunrise. It's been a while. There were more people that I usually see on the trail. Seems like the secret is getting out. Saw my trail friend out walking his 2nd dog and this guy who walks barefoot with his dog that I have seen all over the neighborhood, but never on the trails. The bottoms of his feet are probably hard as a rock!

I met a lady at the Flying Pig 10K a few years ago who ran barefooted. Her feet looked just like a leather sandal on the bottom. I've heard that they become tough like that after so much barefooted walking and running. She said the only time that she wore shoes was when she had to a work. I believe she worked in a hospital or some sort of medical setting.

I decided to work my way up to a long run next week by doing a 10 miler this morning. It went fine, although it did seem harder than when I last ran it in the winter…. We’ll see how my run goes next week.

The event organisers told me I can switch to the half marathon if I want. The marathon is a 2 loop course, just with a different home stretch - the HM loop is run together with the marathon loop with the same start time - so worst case, I can bail after 1 loop.

I’m guessing I will need between 4hr:30 (optimistic guess) and 4hr:45 (realistic guess) to finish, which is a loooooong time running. I will definitely need lots of snacks . @yirara I think I can definitely make the cutoff time. If not, it’s in a nearby city (Kassel) that I know the pretty well, so I think I could always bail and find my way to the train station if need be.

I think I need to see how my body and mind can handle a really long run next week to decide for sure.

So far for August I have 78.7/160km.

Laurz9191 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice everyone! I think I will go on a long run either Monday or Tuesday (depending on how sore the triathlon makes me) and then see. That sounds like a good plan and then I think I will let my body (and mind) decide if I’m up for it. If not, then oh well. It really isn’t that important to me and I’m more dreading it at this point than looking forward to it like I am to my other 2 races (especially the obstacle course one which is a ton of fun).

Ok, this part is really important. I honestly don't recommend running a marathon at all, unless you are really feeling pulled to do it. Of course, your upcoming long run might reveal to you your calling to run this one 😁 in which case, go for it. We'll be cheering you on either way.

@quilteryoyo glad you found your cantaloupe!

This morning we got our coal delivery, for hopefully the entire winter. 4 metric tons of eco-pea coal in 25kg bags, 1 ton (40 bags) per pallet. A loaded pallet won't fit through the door to the furnace room, and the pallet jack would bust up the garage floor tile anyway... so we have to move them ourselves. I took the driveway station, unloading all of the bags onto a dolly and a skateboard a few steps away, so the kids could wheel them into the furnace room, where my husband stacked them how he wants them. The kids maybe picked up a few by themselves, or my son and I carried a few together, but for the most part I lifted almost all of them myself. It worked well but was a serious workout. We took lots of breaks, and didn't hurry. I tried to keep my heart rate low and use good lifting form. In the end we were done in under 2 hours. We rewarded the kids with fast food (I had a grilled chicken salad) and I'm laying down until further notice. I really hope this didn't mess me up, but will have to wait and see how I feel tomorrow or the next day.

In other news, the "up" button on my Suunto watch is stuck. I can't log a workout without it. I found some ideas and am going to try to fix it (it's 4+ years old and out of warranty). Looks like it's a common sports watch problem. But I was just thinking this morning about how, even though it's scratched from a cycling accident, it might be my last sports watch because how would I ever justify the expense of a new one (crybaby of me, I know🤣), and then an hour later it breaks on me. My older watch doesn't do HRV "body battery", which is the main thing I'm using it for right now. I hope I can fix it. Wish me luck!

@tarun_yadavA you are starting to sound like a certain @PastorVincent who used to be in here giving great advice but then going and doing crazy things himself and telling us not to do what he does. Take that as a huge compliment. He is missed.

@yirara running around a cemetery reminds me of that guy Ed Whitlock, who held all kinds of marathon and track age group records for ages 65-85. Anyway, his training was slow jogging in a cemetery near his home. Pretty cool guy.

Happy running [or whatever] everyone!