AUGUST 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

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  • tarun_yadavA
    tarun_yadavA Posts: 1,097 Member
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    Morning all
    Got in a 5 (09"12).

    @polskagirl01 thanks for the compliment! lol
    @Chris_in_cal good luck with the skunks!
    We get urban foxes here in London... Skunks tho
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,975 Member
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    AlphaHowls wrote: »
    @chris_in_cal wrote: »

    After the hurricane blew through a surfeit of skunks seem to have taken residence behind my house. There were several large freshly dug holes smack in the middle of my yard. Since I moved here, I've heard about them from the neighbors, I've smelled them when the windows are open at night, now I have evidence there are 10 metres away from my bedroom, just camping out. Yet, I've never seen one.

    I imagine I'll come bopping out in a hurry one night, meet one of the little buggers, who'll promptly turn and spray.
    You did not ask, but offering what I know. I have had difficulty with skunks. It is almost that time of year where I have to be diligent. Keep all outdoor lights on, they are nocturnal and will do what they can to avoid the light.

    And if you have pets, do not leave cat food or dog food outside.
  • Laurz9191
    Laurz9191 Posts: 370 Member
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    Was aiming to do a short run this morning, but the weather was great, so I went a bit further and completed 9.2km. It even was raining at the end. I guess summer is over here already? I guess I’ll take it. My body doesn’t do too well in the heat. I feel fine after my long run yesterday.

    @polskagirl01 That sounds like a literal ton of work! I hope you aren’t too tired from it. Good luck with your watch too! I hope you can get it to work again. I WAS dreading my marathon when I didn’t feel I had options, but now that I see I have a bunch, I am a lot more excited and open about being able to choose what option will be the best one for me at the time.

    @scott6255 That’s a lot of treadmill miles!

    Skunks! Good luck @chris_in_cal . I hope the light method works!
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,490 Member
    edited August 2023
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    Hey all! I know I haven't been here in quite a while but I'm going to try to make more frequent appearances again.

    My running started off REALLY well this year and for the first 5 months it looked like I would make my goal of 1500 miles for the year, but June got crazy with work and the effort involved in buying a new sailboat. I went 6 weeks with only 2 runs and even after that it was hard to get back into a rhythm, averaging just 12 miles a week for the last 5 weeks. I need to get it in gear, though, with several trail races tentatively on my calendar:

    9/23 - In Yan Teopa 10 mile
    9/30 - Grand Traverse 27 mile
    10/28 - Glacier Hills 50K
    11/18 - Stuffed Turkey 100 mile (or km, depending on how training has gone when I register).

    But, like I said, the year started out well. On April 1st I attempted my first 100 mile race in Jackson, Georgia, the Bootlegger 100. It was just 10 minutes from my brothers house and he was my crew. The race had two 5 mile loops, so I saw him quite often. I didn't think I'd like such small loops but it worked out great for having setting up a personal aid station and having my brother there to help every time I passed through. He had no prior experience with any of it but he learned quickly, was helping out other racers when I wasn't there, and loved the trail running community...so much so that he's fired up to help me again next year. I wasn't going to enter that race in 2024 but he's so excited about me trying again that I just can't break his heart by not doing it.

    As I said, it was an attempt. I made it 70 miles before quitting. I was in plenty of pain but I was mentally prepared for that, and that's not what caused me to stop. What caused me to stop was that after 23 hours I couldn't keep my eyes open. On my last 5 mile loop I was down to 30 minute miles and often stopped to lean up against a tree, frequently almost falling asleep until nearly falling and waking myself up.

    Twice on that loop I had hallucinations from the exhaustion. First I thought a rock on the trail was a hedgehog, but I soon realized that it was just a rock. The *big* hallucination was when I approached a big tree with a black spot at the base. I thought it was a rabid skunk coming out of a hole in the trunk to attack me. It even had glistening eyes! I jumped off the trail, nearly falling, and it took what seemed like several minutes for my mind to figure out that it wasn't moving, and it wasn't a skunk. That was just crazy!

    It was indeed a tough race, especially when I had to train in the cold, snowy Minnesota winter and then race in temps up to 80F. There was also a thunderstorm during miles 20 to 25 and I waited until mile 30 to change socks and shoes. By then I had a HUGE blister on the balls of my feet which would only increase in size and pain for the next 40 miles. I later started getting blisters DEEP in my heels. Those blisters took 4 weeks to work their way to the surface after the race. The other pain I had was in my back and shoulders, likely from losing my form and posture as I grew more and more tired. I never did get any cramping, which was a nice change.

    The highlights of the race were really getting to know the other 30 racers on the looped course and cheering each other on, seeing a few armadillo in the night (the locals laughed at me because they're so common, but we don't have them in Minnesota), and the food. It was my first race where the aid station served pulled pork sandwiches. Amazing!

    I did learn quite a bit and will have a better race plan next time. I'll go out slower, I've got ideas to save time in the aid station, and I'll probably take a few cat naps at night. I'll also avoid caffeine in the weeks leading up to the race, and not take any during the race until the early hours of that second day. I may bring some red bulls as well. Most importantly, I'll try to get more sleep leading up to the race. The morning of, I only got 3 hours.

    I did get credit for completing the 50 mile race and ended up 27th out of 30th, with a time of 14h 27m. Surprisingly my recovery went very well. I was in bed by 8am the second day and up at 2pm. My brother took me to a local state park for some light hiking and then to a hidden Revolutionary War cemetery. It was enough walking to help with recovery. I stayed there the following day to make sure I felt good then headed home the next day.

    The trip to and from was fantastic. I took 2 weeks off and slowly drove my way down with no predetermined route. I avoided the interstate as much as I could, driving just 5% of my 3000 miles on them. I took mostly 2 lane roads and once even found myself on a single lane dirt road for several miles in the Ozarks. On the way down I also stopped to run at a state park in Iowa, on the Trail of Tears in Arkansas, The Natchez Trace in Mississippi, and the Pinhoti Trail in Alabama. Beautiful! I met my brother at a campground on the border between Alabama and Georgia and we spent 3 days camping and bass fishing. On the way home I didn't do any running but did drive through some scenic areas, such as the Land Between the Lakes in TN & KY. I may stop there next year on the way down and run there.

    Some photos from the race photographer:
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    6beo2l9ening.jpg

    I never took any photos, wanting to focus solely on finishing, but here's some video my brother took.
    Here's the start of the race, at 5AM
    https://youtu.be/JN2X-cfJuXo
    and here's me coming in to the aid station after 50 miles, still feeling pretty good
    https://youtu.be/hTXGDcixSXg

    Two weeks later my wife left for the weekend so I looked for a short race to do. I ended up finding the "Norwegian Foot March and Trail Run". Apparently the local National Guard and U of M ROTC have a relationship with the Norwegian military and have been doing a 30k foot march, with a fully loaded ruck. They recently opened it up to the public to either do the foot march or a trail race (not really a trail...mostly gravel road). I signed up for it and had a fantastic time. It rained the entire time, which was great for me, not so great for those with full gear. I managed a 10:13 pace, which I thought was amazing given that I just had a 70 mile run two weeks prior. There were 300 in the military foot march, 28 in the civilian foot march, and just 13 of us in the trail run.

    The next race I ran was the Superior Spring 50K, on the Superior Hiking Trail in northern MN. This was the 3rd time I've run this one. The heat was killer and though I didn't have a great time, I finished 132nd out of 183, which I was very happy with.

    Some photos from the race photographers:
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    3hb3j3bcjlzm.jpg
    dxjvl7t09pbu.jpg
  • polskagirl01
    polskagirl01 Posts: 2,010 Member
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    @7lenny7 Welcome back, and thank you for sharing your race stories!
  • catholicmum
    catholicmum Posts: 5 Member
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    ]Hey welcome to the thread! It is a great group of MFP runners, most of whom came back a few days early from an injury and regretted it. Be careful, take your time.

    Me on the other hand injured my shin and took three years off. ;) You don't want to do that either. Goldilocks it, and come on back when healthy.[/quote]

    I already regret it! I knew I pulled it and took it easy for a week. The next week I divertido right back in . . . And then it was 6-8 weeks. 🥺

    3 years!! I hate that for you!

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