APRIL 2025 Monthly Running Challenge

WarmJellyfish · April 4

@martaindale you got this. Hear you on going stir crazy. It will end soon. I just got out of jail 🤣 Last year September, on one saturday, tested positive for covid (again), finally tested negative on the wednesday after, and THEN on the next saturday, I went and finished a half baked/trained 50k trail race. Didn't think I was actually going to finish, but I kept saying to myself, one step at a time. The highlight was being the last one to do the river crossing (crotch deep and mountain water BRRRR😳) just before the cut off. It wasn't pretty but I got it done. It ain't over until it's over. Love this community here. PS wait till you see the spiders we have in my home town…..😈

@SummerSkier right? not sure how @quilteryoyo does all of this? Maybe she is plugged in like the Matrix Neo.

@chris_in_cal Parkrun San Diego!

@yirara nice work

I liked as many posts as I could.

Weather is going to be nicer for the next week in the teens. I just set up a Garmin Coach Plan. I was originally going to not do it, given all the s**** so far but I decided to bite the bullet. Have a goal for a 100k trail race at the end of September. There I said it. Celebrating my 60th birthday with a 60 miler.

People. PLEASE give me grief if I slack off….😎 I can supply cattle prods.

AlphaHowls · April 4

1 8.13 miles, Running Partner A, 3555 Days on MFP
2 6.42 miles
3 6.11 miles, 2530 days on the run, Crazy Laps! so much rain!
4 6.04 miles, Crazy Laps!

So, I spent the day in Nashville today. I had to be there for a consultation so I could get to the next step and get a steroid epidural injection. Doctor said after looking at MRI, "you do not have a lot of space left, and really do need the surgery." I explained that I understood that, but right now, I just need to buy time and get some relief. The surgery recovery time would be 3 months of no lifting or bending. I am taking care of my mother and just do not have that kind of time right now. So, doctor agreed with the steroid epidural and since I did not want to be sedated, he would do it today. I immediately went over to the surgery center and got checked in. I saw the doctor at 10 AM and he did the injection at 1 PM. I also do not have insurance, so I do not have to wait for approval. Traffic did not get horrible and I made it home by 3 PM (after a quick run to the grocery). I am feeling alright, a bit of pressure.

What you are just dying to know: I will keep my running streak. I will wait till late tomorrow and do a slow 1 mile/crazy laps! Unless, things go south before then.

quilteryoyo · April 4

Thanks for the shoe porn and kind words @WarmJellyfish . I hope you love them on your run tonight and I hope you like your Garmin coach plan. Cattle prods will be had if you need them. I ran a 10K on my 60th, because that's what I did on my 50th too. I can't imagine doing 60 miles. But, I'm sure you will train well and get it done!

It would be great if you could get that going @chris_in_cal .

@martaindale I'm sorry that you haven't gotten over that chest congestion yet! Maybe a long, restful weekend, with hills (😉) will help. I understand not wanting to deal with a huge spider in the dark. I'm glad the water was left on for you. I've never been a fan of spiders, so I did my senior project, for my BS in Science, on the anatomy of the Argiope trifasciata, commonly known as the garden spider, to try to get over my fear. It helped a little, but am still not a fan - I admire their webs from afar. 😂 Update: Read your response to @WarmJellyfish . So sorry work is very stressful too. Feel free to invite us to your pity party any time. We all have them. Having company helps. Hang in there. I hope it gets better soon.

Congrats @yirara ! That's a pretty fast 5K in my book.

WOW @AlphaHowls . I hope the steroid injection gives you much needed relief and lasts for a while.

quilteryoyo · April 5

1 April - Walk 1.50 miles - Run 3.10 miles - Treadmill - Gym 24m56s - arm day
2 April - Walk 1.70 miles - Run 2.60 miles - Treadmill - Gym 29m17s - leg day
3 April - Walk 2.85 miles - Run 0.25 miles - Driveway - Push mow 17m44s
4 April - Walk 2.50 miles - Ran 0.00 miles - Treadmill - Gym 23m40s

14.50/80.00 goal

I went to the gym this morning. I did a half mile walk on the treadmill for warm up. I told my trainer that I wanted to do more core. Not sure that was the best idea. 🤣 Today I did assisted pull ups, diverging seated row, Russian Twists with an exercise ball, and seated crunches with an exercise ball.

I sort of rushed home because the electrician was supposed to call about 11 to check my malfunctioning circuit breaker. He called about 11 to let me know he was going to be late because he had to help out a friend with car trouble.

So, while waiting on him to call again and get here, I did a 2 mile treadmill walk. I didn't want to get too sweaty because I had some other things I needed to do this afternoon.

Electricity woes under the spoiler, if interested.

I think I told you guys about the circuit breakers being thrown when I was on the treadmill last week and one wouldn't reset. The one that didn't was my master bathroom, so I've been taking showers during the day so I could see what I was doing.

The electrician made it today and wound up having to replace the circuit breaker. He said they are just getting weak and breaking after 27 years. When we turned it back on, another one threw and wouldn't reset. So he needs to replace it too (but didn't have another breaker that would fit my box). He was able to "fix" it so that it would work safely for now. He said multiple threw at the same time because the grounds are all tied together and they will do that.

Since the other one that got thrown was the one for the refrigerator, I'm going to have him replace it too.

I also had him check a light switch where the light would work sometimes and sometimes not. Turns out, the switch was broken and falling apart, so a real fire hazard. He replaced that one. I had another switch that hasn't worked in years - went to the fan for my fireplace. He checked it and the same thing - falling apart. It's just weird. I know the house is getting up there in years, but you would think the switches wouldn't just fall apart. (I had one other do the same thing a few years ago.) I think they may have just used the cheapest switches they could find.

I decided to have him change out all of my fluorescent lights for LED ones, since all of my ballasts are going bad too. He is going to come back tomorrow and do that, since it wasn't planned today.

Tonight, I took the switch plates off of all the light switches and found 17 more that are faulty! Seventeen! I called him and he's going to fix them tomorrow too. He's flabbergasted that so many are bad. (That is something that I could do, but would rather pay him to just get it done.)

I went to Subway and got an Italian BMT and chips and dip for dinner. Why is stress eating so much easier than stress exercising?

martaindale · April 5

Yikes @quilteryoyo it's good you got the electrician out before something more serious happened. My dad was an electrical engineer and my parents always bought fixer upper houses. He redid the electrical in almost all of them. It's scary the things he would find that people had been living with for years.

Congrats @yirara!! Quite a streak!

@alphahowls I hope the injection gives you some relief. I worked for a neurosurgeon once upon a time. While there were some cases where surgery wasn't likely to give relief, there are definitely cases where success is high. You're active and a healthy weight with what sounded like a pretty focal issue. When the time comes you have a much higher likelihood of success than many! Until then 🤞the injections do the trick.

tarun_yadavA · April 5

Morning all

Got in 4 (well, 3.99) at 10'27.

@SummerSkier thank you! And win on getting your front lawn mowed!

@quilteryoyo love that your project was on Spiders - and picked it to get over your fear of them!

@chris_in_cal good luck on setting up Park Run San Diego! (And if I may say so - probably a great, app-free swipe-free way of meeting women!)

@AlphaHowls hope the injection works for you! 🤞🏽

And finally... @Laurz9191 Good luck tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

tarun_yadavA · April 5

PS: @quilteryoyo Sub for the win!

quilteryoyo · April 5

@martaindale I think people don't realize how dangerous it can be. I'm sure your dad found a LOT of scary things. I'm an electrical engineer too, but would never tackle re-wiring a house. I have the ability to change the switches, but would rather pay someone that is a bit more qualified (and practiced) at that and will get it all done quickly instead of the multi-day project it would probably take me - that I would procrastinate on. LOL

Thanks @tarun_yadavA Good easy, short run, but you needed to take that extra step.

SummerSkier · April 5

@WarmJellyfish NICE Hokas!! I actually accidently discovered a pair of them back in 2018 or 2019 I think. I loved them. But over the years I have come to not like them as much (no matter the style) because I feel like altho they have good fit and cush that there is no spring to them. That has happened to me with a lot of different brands over the years. But I keep experimenting becuase why not?

.. @Laurz9191 looking forward to your race report. Your training has been amazing and inspiring and I forsee a PB for you….

@martaindale so sorry to hear that you are still struggling. My last bout with the flu was in 2018 and it took me a long time to recover also. And I was not yet 60.. I keep an eye on my resting heart rate and it seemed to take forever to return to normal (I think at the worst it was up 10 points!). I have also had injuries I never thought I would return to running from which at the time was so depressing and felt like ages but now can be looked back as just a short while. Hope that this cough and weakness goes away quickly just in time for our summer heat? LOL.

We are having winter today - well rainy north wind and chilly. But honestly that is OK by me for a few days. I have been tired the past week and cut back on my mileage but mostly it is because I really do want to drop the last 2 pounds and after 3 months of TDEE tracking and really pushing the workouts I was going way too slow so I just decided to get it done in April and then I could go back to fueling more. Probably why my tennis has suffered as well. It's difficult to cut and have energy at the same time.

@quilteryoyo electrical stuff is SO strange. My house is pretty old too - circa 1986 - and I find that things just seems to waste away and crack and break . It makes fixing things a definite adventure because it is ALWAYS the tip of the iceberg. I guess you are lucky that you got the electician in and discovery happened.

@chris_in_cal looking forward to seeing if you can start a parkrun up! that would be inspirational and so cool.

@AlphaHowls glad you got your injection quickly and hope that it helps with relief. Back pain is pretty debilitating. :(

This is one of the fancier Puma shoes I tried out which looked amazing but was a total bust …. LOL. Luckily I was able to return them with not too much problem.

Mari33a · April 5

01/04 2.86 miles
02/04 3.02 miles
03/04 2.18 miles
05/04 3.12 miles

Total 11.18/ 70 miles

No run yesterday cause the baby arrived a week earlier & I was minding grandson no1. My legs needed the break anyway. It’s another healthy boy weighing 9 lbs 1oz and of course he’s perfect 😍

@martaindale Sorry ur suffering so much at the moment.

@Laurz9191 Hope ur marathon goes great. U have all the work done!

John772016 · April 5

Congrats on the healthy addition to the family @Mari33a !

April:

01/04 - 7.10 km / 4.41 miles Treadmill
02/04 - 7.27 km / 4.52 miles Treadmill
03/04 - 10.06 km / 6.25 miles Outside
04/04 - 0Km / 0 miles - rest day
05/04 - 8.10Km / 5.03 miles Outside - race day

Total = 32.53km / 20.21 miles (Goal - 161Km / 100 miles)

After my slip-slide in the mud on Thursday, decided to take Friday as a rest day since I was pretty sore when I got up.
Today was race day, an 8K. My first this year.

Woke up to rain & near freezing temps, & it poured on us as we were waiting at the start.
I wasn't bothered that much by the rain or the cold, but during the race I had a real hard time breathing, since my bad bout with Covid, it's the worst weather for me trying to run.

Oh well, pushed through. Dropped my pace on the wet downhills as was pretty positive I was going to faceplant, (every time I wipeout I'm convinced I'm going to wipeout for several runs after that) but managed to stay vertical.
Finished in 46 mins, not great, but I'll take it as I shaved 2:11 off my time from last year🤸‍♂️

Enjoy the weekend folks!

chris_in_cal · April 5

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48554934#Comment_48554934

It’s another healthy boy weighing 9 lbs 1oz and of course he’s perfect 😍

Congrats…that's such a good story. Then next generation of tough Irish runners.

martaindale · April 5

Congrats on the new grandbaby @Mari33a 🥳

And congratulations on the 2:11 time drop! That's quite an improvement , especially with hard conditions. @John772016

martaindale · April 5

April total: 8.9/100 miles

YTD: 250.1 miles

4/1: 3.2 miles

4/2: 1.5 miles

4/5: 4.2 miles

So, figured out what I forgot to pack - the bladder for my hydration vest. Super annoying. Luckily there is an academy not too far away so I stopped in and bought literally the only running vest they had in stock. I planned on going to a local state park for a run and hike today and definitely needed water. It rained last night and this morning so I called to check the trail status and they were all closed?! That surprised me but I'm glad I called. Since I was already out, I did my grocery shopping before heading home. I gave it a couple hours but the message of trails closed didn't change, so I went to a small trail down by the lake instead.

It's never busy there and the trail is nice enough. I ran for 3 miles (3/30 intervals), turned around and walked 2 miles, then decided to run the last mile which turned into 1.2 (3/30 intervals) because I made a wrong turn. It was hard but not terrible. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. It was nice to get outside on a trail.

kgirlhart · April 6

April Goal: 140 miles

4/1: 6.25 miles
4/2: 6.05 miles
4/3: 2.51 miles
4/4: 6.10 miles

20.91/140 miles completed for April

I didn't post yesterday, but I did run 6 miles yesterday. It was raining over night with some storms, but not as bad as the night before. It wasn't raining in the morning, but it was misty and gross all day and has been the same today. It is supposed to be colder tomorrow but not as wet.

Congratulations on Grandson #2 @Mari33a!

@John772016 Congrats on your race! A 2.11 time improvement is impressive!

Good luck with the Parkrun @chris_in_cal.

chris_in_cal · April 6

2.42 miles at 15'09"

I ran a hilly course in a nearby park.

It was warm and the little lizards were out if force.

tarun_yadavA · April 6

Morning all

Got in 11.22M at 09'51.

Great day for running out here in London. Sun's out but not hot, with a nice breeze as you run riverside.

Anyways...

@Mari33a congratulations 🥳

@chris_in_cal well done on the San Diego parkrun reccy

@martaindale White Lotus finale tonight... Who dies??

I think it's one of those brothers. The ick and the guilt. But guessing it maybe a massive anticlimax and it'll be the Thai guard.

And if I get my guess(es) right - it was pure luck and nothing else.

"Tarrrrunnnn Nooooooo-hhh".

😂

SummerSkier · April 6

Ran 7 yesterday and walked 2 miles in 2 segments. My apple watch challenge this month was rediculous. 11.45 miles per day 14 times. Anyway today it is a bit "chilly". WHere did I put my mask and gloves??

But… If I run 6 miles this morning I will hit 700 for the year to date so yall know where I am going with this of course. Just waiting perhaps for the coffee to sink in and the sun to come out. It was 64 in the house so lots of cats in front of radiant heaters and sticking close to human heat.

AlphaHowls · April 6

1 8.13 miles, Running Partner A, 3555 Days on MFP
2 6.42 miles
3 6.11 miles, 2530 days on the run, Crazy Laps! so much rain!
4 6.04 miles, Crazy Laps!
5 1.01 miles, Crazy Laps! One day after steroid spinal epidural injection
6 5.08 miles, Crazy Laps! Left side, mid back, feels tight, but I am ok

yirara · April 6

01.04 strength
02.04 7.0km 55min 7:51/km - slow
03.04 strength deloading
04.04 5.0km 37min 7:28/km - warmup, 4x800m fast, 200m slow
05.04 strength
06.04 6.1km 47min 7:44/km - slow

18.09/81km - 1.9km ahead

I was worried about this run. I tried it before some 2 years ago and had to stop running some 2.5km in. It's a run out of town, a part of a circular road around, and then back in. It featured some elevation gain, today against the wind. It's a tiny incline, but considering I can't even properly walk uphill this was tough. But I got around and finished in front of my home at 6.1km. Will take a while until I do this one again.

angf0679 · April 6

I didn't run yesterday as I had something else that I did that was much needed

I was going to go today, but I feel like I cam coming down with a cold (I certainly hope not!) and it's a cold rain out there. I hate a cold rain. I WILL run tomorrow.

Laurz9191 · April 6

Hi everyone,

I survived the Hannover marathon today. The weather was fabulous. I actually ran the first 8km or so with my running gloves on before stashing them. It never got hot, yet a t-shirt and shorts was enough.

The first half was not so bad, but there was quite a lot of wind at some parts. After the half, my pulse shot up quite high and I knew it wouldn’t be sustainable to keep on at that pace, so I slowed down a bit. I also felt my legs starting to cramp, but had some salt tabs and that helped.

In the Hannover marathon there are so many different races going on at the same time, on the same course, during the back half of the race, so it was kind of hard for me to pace myself and I was too tired to pay much attention to my watch - just continuous forward momentum.

I did find it amusing that you could totally tell apart the “wrecked” looking marathon runners, from those doing the half-marathon, and especially those doing the marathon relay. They just were so springy on their feet.

I finished in 4:09:49, which is a PR, but slower than the sub 4:05:00 goal I set for myself. I’m still quite satisfied though. I’m also chaffed all over where the edges of my sports bra and heart rate chest band were despite taking precautions. It’s pretty bad, but that’s marathon “fun” for you.

Now it’s time to rest up ;). 62.3/300km for April.

SummerSkier · April 6

@Laurz9191 I would say you MORE than survived. You crushed that marathon. I could only dream of a finish close to 4 hrs. And you got a PR. Hope that the chafing eases up. HOnestly I used baby powder in the past to help but it depends if you have to wear a bra all the time I guess. LOL.

yirara · April 6

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48556429#Comment_48556429

Congratulations! My employer sent a few groups to participate, with each person running 4-7km or so. I didn't because as a certified slow runner I didn't want to let the team down.

quilteryoyo · April 7

You're doing great @SummerSkier . I hope you'll get your energy back once you start eating more. It is tough to eat in a big deficient when getting a lot of exercise. That is kind of a ridiculous challenge. I agree with you on starting some house repair and it becomes just the tip of the iceberg. More to follow on that in a minute. My house was built in 1997/1998.

Congrats on Grandson #2 @Mari33a . I hope everyone is doing good.

@John772016 You did great with your race, esp. after the falls the day before. I definitely understand being leery of the mud. Congrats on shaving off so much time from last year. That's amazing!

@martaindale I'm glad you were able to buy another hydration vest.

Nice running @kgirlhart .

Nice run @chris_in_cal .

Glad you had such a nice day for a longer run @tarun_yadavA .

Glad you are okay @AlphaHowls .

You did great @yirara .

I hope you feel better tomorrow and the weather is better @angf0679 .

Congrats on your PR @Laurz9191 . That is amazing. I hope the chaffing heals quickly. That hurts so bad in the shower!

quilteryoyo · April 7

1 April - Walk 1.50 miles - Run 3.10 miles - Treadmill - Gym 24m56s - arm day
2 April - Walk 1.70 miles - Run 2.60 miles - Treadmill - Gym 29m17s - leg day
3 April - Walk 2.85 miles - Run 0.25 miles - Driveway - Push mow 17m44s
4 April - Walk 2.50 miles - Ran 0.00 miles - Treadmill - Gym 23m40s
5 April - Walk 1.10 miles - Ran 0.00 miles - Driveway (electrician was here all afternoon)
6 April - Walk 2.10 miles - Ran 0.00 miles - Treadmill

17.70/80.00 goal

I didn't post yesterday because I had a meeting in the morning and the electrician was here from about 1:30 to after 7 pm. So, I walked to check the mail and lock my gate, and walked enough to make a mile (plus a little). The weather was really nice at that time and I was tempted to run a little, but I hadn't eaten anything but a spoon of peanut butter since about 10am and was getting a headache.

More electrical woes under the spoiler.

The electrician and I were talking about why the switches were falling apart. Basically, it turns out that the people who built the house used cheap parts. They should have used 20 amp switches and they used 15 amp, which are a whole lot less robust. So, this means that all the others will be falling apart any day now. They really do need to all be replaced. He also said that, if it was his house, he would replace all of the outlets too, simply because of what he has seen that they did with the switches, they probably used cheap things there and he doesn't like the way they wired the ones he could see.

Then, the big thing. When he was replacing the circuit breakers, he heard the main breaker buzzing, which is NOT good. That's a sign that it is going bad. Also, the breaker that he took out to replace was hot, which shouldn't be. Unfortunately, changing out just the main breaker is possible, if you could find a replacement. But, since everything is so old, he recommends just replacing the entire circuit breaker box with the newer and "better" model. So…… after much contemplation, I told him to go ahead and schedule an entire circuit breaker box replacement. This requires the local electric company to come out and disconnect from the house, he does his work, and they come back and reconnect. It should all happen in a single day, but could be a 12 hour day!

I'm always a little leery that I am getting taken advantage of, but I do believe that he is being honest and I don't want to piddle around with bad wiring. I also googled circuit breaker life times and they say 30-45 years. Since they seem to have used inferior parts and the house is 27 years old, it's probably time.

Hopefully he will get that taken care of next week. Since it isn't an emergency though, they can take a bit to get scheduled.

And, then, my outdoor lights are also falling apart and he begged me to not use them until I get them replaced. LOL So, after the box is replaced, I'll have him come back and replace all the other electrical things that are wearing out. I might as well bite the bullet and just get it all done at once. 😂

Even though I hate to spend the money, I am blessed that I have enough that it is not a real hardship and that things were found before something major (fire) happened to the house.

Today, I did my normal Sunday Rest Day walk on the treadmill. I did go a little bit further than normal. Today the walk was after Mexican for lunch and a much needed nap. Garmin gave me a sleep score of 29 for last night. My stress level never went down and I was awake a lot.

kgirlhart · April 7

April Goal: 140 miles

4/1: 6.25 miles
4/2: 6.05 miles
4/3: 2.51 miles
4/4: 6.10 miles

4/6: 10.10 miles

31.01/140 miles completed for April

It was cold and windy for my long run today, but I did get 10 miles done. It felt really tough especially running into the north wind. It was cloudy, but nit raining though, so I guess it could have been worse. We have a freeze warning for the morning, so I guess it will be another cold run.

Congratulations on your Marathon PR @Laurz9191 All your training really paid off! Hopefully the chafing will improve quickly.

@quilteryoyo I hate to hear about the electrical problems,but at least you are getting things fixed before it becomes a serious problem.

CaityP27 · April 7

Finally got the motivation to do a treadmill WUN today. Only my 2nd this month, but I've had zero motivation the past week. I didn't really today either but I did it anyway. Avg HR was way higher than normal for a half hour but not super surprising when I added a decent amount of Running in. Reading through here always helps motivate me to keep going. It's inspiring seeing the achievements you're all making :)

tarun_yadavA · April 7

Morning all.

Got in 3.78M at 10'53.

@Laurz9191 amazing! Congratulations once again...

PS: that chafing tho 😱

tarun_yadavA · April 7

@quilteryoyo yikes. Here's hoping you don't have an expensive switch rewiring exercise coming your way

APRIL 2025 Monthly Running Challenge

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