MARCH 2024 Monthly Running Challenge
Replies
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quilteryoyo wrote: »@7lenny7 I'm impressed that you would even want to run that race. It sounds brutal, but the scenery looked really cool. I think I remember you telling us about the hallucinations at the time. Scary stuff. It sounds like you will be ready for it this year, well, as ready as you can be for something like that. Good luck with all of your upcoming races.
Brutal is a certainly an applicable adjective here.
For the race in 4.5 weeks I'm implementing a few different changes in preparation and execution. I'm cutting out caffeine leading up to the race so that when I really get tired in the overnight stage, the caffeine will have more effect on me. Two weeks ago was my last week with coffee, last week was black tea, this week is green and white tea, then nothing between this weekend and the race. I'm also cutting way back on alcohol, working on my "sleep hygiene", more practice with my trekking poles, and more practice power hiking. During the race I'll start out slower to keep my HR down (targeting 135bpm max during the race), work at getting through the aid stations much quicker, eating while I hike rather than eating at aid stations, and I may even take short cat naps if needed. Better that than drop out and it's amazing what a 15 minute nap can do for you. I intended to do more strength and core work leading up to it but I'm not doing near enough.
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AlphaHowls wrote: »@AlphaHowls some things never change, like you're amazing running! Did you once have a huge streak of daily runs of half marathons or more? Or maybe you still do...that wouldn't surprise me. Great photo!
Love your pictures!
HAHA! I did have a long Half marathon streak as well. My last race from October 2023 took me out.AlphaHowls wrote: »
I think it was 1182 days.
From October 21, 2023
I had a half marathon streak. It was going really well until today - day 2 that is!
Fair run at Eastbourne yesterday, weather was really nice, cool and dry. A little slower than Brighton last week though there was a much bigger hill on this run.
Have a great week everyone!
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Oh. Wow. March. I lost a few weeks there again, life has been crazy with travels and racing and stuff.
@kgirlhart fully agree with what everyone else has said. You need to pay attention to the ground, work on your balance and ankle strength and mobility and forget any expectations re times or paces. Be prepared to be sore in unexpected places, trails can be a full body workout. Find out what the hills are like and try to simulate them in training, and bear in mind walking (which we call power hiking) is often a better approach to the hills. Be prepared to get hooked and soon find yourself on crazy adventures!
@7lenny7 I am SO jealous lol.
I'll type a race report tomorrow from the computer, but let's just say it was fun
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Prime weed season, with some warm sun and after all the recent rain. A mid-day lunchtime run around my neighborhood.
March Running Goal: 17 runs, 55 miles- Mar 3 -5.00 miles
- Mar 4 -1.51 miles
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@7lenny7 - congratulations on getting into your ultimate goal race!! I run with quite a few people who run crazy ultras - but I have not yet had the courage to take that plunge. Excited to hear about your adventures - I find there are always some great stories on the other side of an ultra7
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Here for my second Monthly challenge of the year.
Goal 85 miles:
3/1 - 2.82 miles
3/2 ‐ 12.01 miles
3/3 - Rest Day
3/4 - 3.02 - Ran 3 miles today. I’ve run the same route the first Monday of each month, Jan, Feb, and now March. I am still so much slower than I used to be, but I am getting progressively “faster” (putting faster in quotes, because I am most definitely NOT fast). I am trying to stay focused on the progress I am making rather than fixating on what I am not doing (which is running a much faster pace that was once easy for me)
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17.85 total miles
67.15 miles to go
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@Teresa502 Great news about your dad. I'm glad it went well. Great running on your part.
Sounds like your recovery is coming along well @martaindale !
That sounds like a great plan @7lenny7 . I am an advocate of naps everyday ( ), so I'm hope a catnap during a race will do you good. It will be interesting to see how that all works out for you.
Congrats on you HM yesterday @TheMrWobbly !
@Leigh_b You are doing great. Getting faster every month is a great accomplishment. Remember, as Teddy Roosevelt said, "Comparison is the thief of joy." (Easier said than done, I know.)6 -
1 Mar - Walked 1.00 miles - Ran 0.00 mile - treadmill
2 Mar - Walked 1.00 miles - Ran 2.00 miles - driveway laps
3 Mar - Walked 1.25 miles - Ran 0.00 miles - treadmill
4 Mar - Walked 1.50 miles - Ran 1.50 miles - driveway laps - wun/intervals
8.25/85.00 goal
Did a driveway session after work. I really wasn't very energetic, but was determined to do a total of 3 miles today to commemorate the fact that my late husband an I got married 30 years ago today....so long ago.
I did a warm up walk of 0.35 miles, then 3 x run/walk of 0.3/0.15 miles, ran 0.3, walked 0.25, ran 03, walked 0.45 miles. The running segments were at an avg pace of 12:12 min/mile. Avg HR was 145 with a max of 166 bpm. As you can tell from the HR, it was harder than it should have been. It was 75F (23.9C) and sunny. A bit warm for the beginning of March, but not a record.8 -
March Goal: 130 Miles
3/1: 3.55 miles
3/3: 10.25 miles
3/4: 3.35 miles
17.15/130 miles completed for March
I usually take Monday as a rest day, but I decided to do my short run today instead of Friday a d I ran 3 miles. There are some possible thunderstorms for Thursday and I figured I would rather run today than take my chances. Of course, now I have probably guaranteed that it won't rain.
Thanks for the advice on the trail race @7lenny7, @contrarymarymary, @laurz9191, @ martaindale, and @eleanorhawkins. I am kind if excited to try something new.
@quilteryoyo I hope that today has been mostly happy memories for you. Hugs.
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Morning all.
Got in 4 (at 09"57 pace). Wasn't feeling it today.
@quilteryoyo aww hugs.
@Teresa502 glad to hear all Ok with your Dad!
Have a nice day everyone!8 -
March 2 – 7.38 miles
March 3 – 3.02 miles
March 4 – 5.03 miles
March 5 – 5.10 miles
Total 20.53/100 mile goal
What a nice morning for a run. Temp was 46F at 5:00 am and the sliver of moon was so pretty.
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@Teresa502 Im happy to hear everything went well for your dad!
@eleanorhawkins I‘m excited to read your race report. You seem to always have adventurous runs .
Today was my long run day. I planned 16km at M race pace right in the middle. It would have been easier if I had put the faster running at the end. It was just hard to run at a slower pace after running faster and I just wanted to be done .
My route took me right next to where they were spraying pesticides and it was kind of windy. I really didn’t like that and tried to bypass the spraying on the way back but didn’t take the wind direction enough into account. I know the farmers here have been struggling because it basically has been raining off and on for months so they couldn’t drive on the fields, but still, really not something I want to repeat. I am definitely tired and sore from today’s escapades. I ran 24.4km.
58.7/250km for March.11 -
tried to bypass the spraying on the way back but..
I rail against cars and traffic in the city. Out in farmland it's a different set of circumstances. I guess we all have our crosses to bear.
I hate cars and traffic, yet hypocritically I have a car and drove :25 minutes this last Sunday to my favorite car-free reservoir to run. Don't get me started on dog walkers with those 30M retractable leads. (Grumbled the angry old man yelling at the clouds)
Have a nice day everyone.
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Finally, I have 5 minutes to report on my latest antics hahaha. Putting it in a spoiler because I rambled a lot!Last weekend was this year's edition of the 100 Millas Sierras de Bandolero, the oldest and probably most renowned ultra in Andalusia. It's held in the mountains west of Ronda, notorious for bandits from Roman times to the 20th century (thank you Google for that snippet), hence the name of the race. There are three distances: 100 miles, 50 miles and the marathon, a loose term there as tends to be the case with trail races - my watch made it 39.7km. The terrain in those mountains is interesting, to say the least, rocks and stones galore. When they open inscriptions the 1000 or so places usually get taken within an hour.
I will say before I go any further that I was well aware the trails there are extremely technical, and the race is infamous for nasty weather, either extremely low temperatures for southern Spain or very wet. Well, this weekend we were lucky enough to get both! Although I missed the worst of it, they had to stop the longer races on Saturday evening because the conditions were too dangerous.
So, I had always said I would never run any version of this crazy race (never say never, huh), then my friend started texting me at 5 am on the day they were opening inscriptions and yeah, I fell for it.
My evil coach was pretty cross with me as it was exactly a month after the Backyard Ultra and ordered me to not race it. Hilarious because the cut-off times compared to my turtle pace meant I would have no choice, but we agreed this wasn't a race, it was just a long training run with a number pinned to my pack and aid stations.
Compared to most trail races here, the elevation was pretty low, and the second half is on trails that in theory you can go pretty fast on, nice wide hiking trails and dirt roads and stuff. The first half, however, basically starts in a village on one side of a rocky mountain, goes almost in a straight line up to the top and then almost straight down to a village on the other side. The total time for the race was 6 and a half hours, but there was a 4-hour cutoff at the checkpoint at km 22.8. I wasn't too sure I would make that. but had decided it didn't matter and that as long as I was feeling good I would carry on anyway.
We started from inside the bull ring in the village at 7.30 am after getting on a bus from the finish line at 6. (Pro tip: don't take a sandwich and coffee to have on a bus in the dark on winding mountain roads if you get at all travel sick. Luckily I was fine once I got off the bus, but it was an uncomfortable, queasy 45-minute ride!) There was quite a jam to get out through the doors, then after getting out of the village we had to cross through a little gate in a barbed wire fence and the queue to get through was ridiculous, everyone was milling about not sure how to get through. Dumb. After that came the slow, hard part. Up, up, up and it had been raining so there was a lot of mud and streams running down. I like the cold but a lot of people were complaining about that. Once at the top, it was very misty (or foggy or cloudy or I dunno, all I know is I could only see a couple of metres ahead and my hair was soaking wet even though it wasn't raining) and then, of course, coming down the other side was hair-raising because the rocks were wet and slippery, but I made it down in one piece and caught up with another lady from our club. Then came my mistake. We got to the aid station, and I had carefully planned everything so that I would only need to fill my bottles and get going again, knowing that time was going to be very very tight. However, the other lady started dithering about and spent at least 10 minutes there and I stupidly didn't want to seem a *kitten* by leaving without her. Then when we finally got out she announced she had to pee and was going to hide behind a car parked on the side of the street! I'd had enough then and said well I was going to start walking up the hill and she could catch me up. She never did. I did my best to make up lost time but the next stretch was terribly muddy and slippery, even using my poles to test it I ended up with mud over my ankles a couple of times, and then there was a tricky descent into the village where the cutoff point was. I was 5 minutes late and they tore my chip off my bib even though I begged a bit hahaha.
As that aid station had a bathroom I decided to use it as time no longer mattered, and also shed a few tears of frustration knowing that I could have made it if I hadn't waited for Lorena. My husband was outside and he walked with me for a couple of minutes and encouraged me when I said I was going to carry on because physically I was feeling fine. I thought about slowing right down and making the rest of it a true long slow run, but then decided I would actually still try to reach the finish line before the 6.5-hour mark. I passed quite a few people during the last 15 km, all of whom were still in the race, which made me angry but also encouraged me to keep going even though by then I was tired and getting some cramping. The last 8 km of the route are hell. You can hear the finish line, there's music and people shouting, but you know you still have quite a long way to go. Then it started raining, and there was even more mud to slip about on. Finally, the village came into view, at about the same level I was at, but (you guessed it) on the other side of a valley. So we had to go dooooooown to the bottom, and then uuuuuuuup to the village, on a concrete hill from hell. I reached the entrance to the village, looked at my watch and saw I had 10 minutes to get to the finish line, which was, of course, up another hill and I didn't know exactly how far away. By that point, I was forcing myself to run 50 steps, then letting myself walk 50 steps, over and over. Unexpected signed turn to the right, then to the left and up a pedestrian street with bars on either side and people shouting and clapping! Left again and I could see the finish at the top of the hill, then my friend appeared, grabbed my hand and shouted "RUNNNN". I crossed the line with less than 3 minutes left, so although officially it was a DNF, I'm taking it as a huge triumph because I made it and I now know if it wasn't for external factors I would have finished 'officially'. They still gave me a medal, so really the only thing I missed was the ITRA point I could have gained (a bummer because that was the sole reason I signed up, but oh well).
The day wasn't over though. When I sat down and started looking through messages, I saw that the relay team the friend who had got me into that mess in the first place was running in was in a state because they had lost a member halfway through the race! The relays were 4 team members, each of whom ran a section alone and then all 4 had to run the last 12km or so to the finish line together. This guy finished his section, then got back to his Airbnb to find someone had crashed into his car, and instead of calling for a tow truck he freaked out and decided to leave immediately and limp it home, leaving his team missing a member to finish. I felt ok, and I'd just run (well, run-walked-shuffled) that section so knew what I was letting myself in for, and luckily I had packed a headlamp even though I didn't need one for my race... so I said ok, I'll do it. It was a bit risky because I was clearly not the person the bib said I was, but it was cold and dark and raining and I pulled my buff over my mouth and nose, cap over my face, jacket down over all but the bottom edge of the bib, and nobody noticed hahaha.
All in all, I did 51.5km in just over 8 hours altogether (with a 6-hour break in the middle) and despite an official DNF I came home with two medals, LOL!
I'm still pretty stiff and a little sore but should be recovered within a couple more days. At least I hope so, because I have the 2nd local road race on Sunday and another mountain relay race on the 23rd!
ETA: there was a goat that decided to run the first part of the race with us. It was on the national TV sports news at lunchtime. I'll see if I can find a link to it later, so funny!10 -
@eleanorhawkins Wow! It sounds like a really tough course. You did awesome! And I'm sure the team was grateful you were able to help them out.3
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I don't know if this will work:
https://www.facebook.com/chitospeaker/videos/2265714327098294
@Laurz9191 very nice long run!
@chris_in_cal there's only one thing worse than dogs without leads... dogs with 30M retractable leads that were clearly invented to kill runners!
@martaindale thanks, yes they were very grateful!4 -
eleanorhawkins wrote: »
Ha! Yes it does. "Las Cabras" is a perfect name for a trail running team.2 -
March total: 14.6 miles
YTD: 215.8/1200 miles
3/2: 4.1 miles
3/4: 4.1 miles
3/5: 6.4 miles
My legs are feeling muuuch better. Today's run was tough because of the summer-like conditions but only for that reason. My legs felt totally fine and I wasn't feeling fatigued. With summer closing in I may get a few cooler mornings but probably not any more truly cold ones, which is sad. Time to start freezing my water pack.8 -
chris_in_cal wrote: »eleanorhawkins wrote: »
Ha! Yes it does. "Las Cabras" is a perfect name for a trail running team.
In Spanish they use the phrase "estás como un cabra" to tell someone they're crazy :-)
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05.03 4.5km 36min 8:06/km - 12 stride repeats
4.5km/80km, 8.6km behind
checking in. February was not a good month, but now my pollen allergy is gone and running is going well again. Nearly feels like I didn't have to stop. Had a very nice run anyway.9 -
Good afternoon everyone. Reading about the trail races has me itching to go find something nearby. Maybe that will be a weekend goal!
I got two quick miles in this morning with my dog. Her first run since her spay surgery. She’s been a chaotic mess the past few weeks having to stay calm and not get her miles in. She was raring to go!
Goal is 50 miles
3/3 - 5 miles
3/5 - 2 miles11 -
@chris_in_cal - I also hate those retractable leashes especially when the owners are paying too attention to where/what their dog is doing!
@eleanorhawkins - WOW! What a race! I can't even imagine running in those conditions but it sounds like you enjoyed it and made the most of it! Fantastic job! Also I loved the goat! Pretty sure it should have gotten a medal too 😁
@martaindale - so glad you are feeling better and more recovered. Hopefully you will get a few spring days and not jump right into summer!
Got in a 2.32mi walk/run with Hobbes yesterday running g more than I have been able to and it felt great. Then had agility class last night where for once Hobbes was feeling pretty into it. We have been rained out the last few weeks so maybe that is why. The courses were fast and technical but so much fun! I always forget to have someone video us.
Total mileage so far 5.15mi11 -
Got 3 in today. 15:32 pace. Was supposed to be an IW, walked a lot, ran some intervals. I wasn’t feeling it today, but am sticking to the training program as written. It rained heavily for about 18 hours prior to my run, so the worms were out in full force. Hopefully I didn’t squish too many.
On a fun note, I drove 45 minutes to my favorite running shop and tried on running shoes and ordered a pair. Now, have to wait about a week for them to arrive. Shoe porn to come….. 😂13 -
@eleanorhawkins thanks for sharing your adventure! I always look forward to reports from each of you regarding your races/runs/adventures…. Keep them coming all!
@Teresa502 glad to hear your dad’s doing ok.
@7lenny7 I like how you’re preparing for your Superior Fall 100 Trail Race! Every little detail counts. I too started running in my 40s, short races like 5Ks, 4-milers, etc. Started my more serious running after I turned 50 and ran a lot of HMs and a few marathons. My peak year was 2011, where basically all my regular repeat races ended up with PRs. Now at 64, and out of shape, I’m just happy that I’ve started up again. Slow road, but very glad to be here!
@kgirlhart good luck with your training for the trail race. Sounds like a lot of great advice from experienced runners. My husband’s done trail runs and has enjoyed them. I’ve never done one.
@quilteryoyo how sweet of you to run your 3 in honor of what would have been your 30th with your husband!
@martaindale glad to hear you’re doing better!
@Leigh_b great progress for March thus far.
@TheMrWobbly would enjoy hearing about your race!
@shanaber sorry to hear you’ve been dealing with cancer. From your past references to treatments, I was wondering, but didn’t want to pry. I do hope you continue to recover and that good news follows with time. (Hugs)5 -
01/03 4.55 miles
02/03 4.15 miles
03/03 3.55 miles
05/03 3.54 miles
Total 15.59/50 miles
This evening was perfect for a run weather wise even though it really stormy last night. Thats typical March weather. I’m exhausted this evening, more wiped out than usual. I did 10 miles on bike in morning and yoga at lunchtime. This is new for me but feel its help my stretching a lot.
@elenorhawkins That was some race!7 -
Thanks @kgirlhart. It was mostly happy memories. You are doing great with your running and I'm excited with you for trying something new.
Thanks @tarun_yadavA . Sorry you weren't feeling the run today. I'm right there with you.
Great running @Laurz9191 . Did you shower right after you got home? I think I would have and I would have been trying to hold my breath or at least breathing with my head turned away from the spray.
@eleanorhawkins Loved the race report. You did great. It sounds like a really tough course, even without the cold and rain. I'm sorry you had a DNF, but glad you got the medal and I'm sure the team appreciated you running with them so they could complete the race. I am wondering, could you have crawled through the barbed wire fence instead of waiting in the que to get through the gate? Funny video of the goat.
Glad your allergies are getting better @yirara . Great running.
@codygirlfriday Glad the pup got to run with you today!
@shanaber I'm glad you got out for a good run and you and Hobbes both enjoyed your agility class!
Thanks @daria0919 You are doing great following your plan. Looking forward to the shoe porn. Did you get a different brand than you normally run in?
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1 Mar - Walked 1.00 miles - Ran 0.00 mile - treadmill
2 Mar - Walked 1.00 miles - Ran 2.00 miles - driveway laps
3 Mar - Walked 1.25 miles - Ran 0.00 miles - treadmill
4 Mar - Walked 1.50 miles - Ran 1.50 miles - driveway laps - wun/intervals
5 Mar - Walked 1.00 miles - Ran 2.00 miles - driveway laps
11.25/85.00 goal
Mom and I ran errands this morning. I did my driveway run after I got home. It was 77F (25C) and cloudy, so didn't feel as warm as yesterday. The run was still a bit of a struggle. I guess I should expect that since last month was such a low mileage month. I'm sure it will get better as I keep going. My run was slow, at an Avg of 13:13 min/mile. Avg HR was 147 with a max of 162 bpm.6 -
March Goal: 130 Miles
3/1: 3.55 miles
3/3: 10.25 miles
3/4: 3.35 miles
3/5: 7.02 miles
24.18/130 miles completed for March
I had a great run today. It was 48°F. The sky was clear and there was a beautiful crescent moon. I felt like I could run forever and ran 7 miles. I have really been enjoying watching the sky get light in the morning as I run. We change to daylight savings this weekend though, so I'll be running in the dark again next week.
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That was quite an adventure @eleanorhawkins!1
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March goal - 30km
March 1 Run 3km
March 2 Run 5km
March 5 Run 5km7
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