i want adventure in the great wide somewhere - running journal! (comments welcome)

[DopeyBadger]

Congrats on the mile PR! For a moment I thought those side by side race photos were of you and a twin. I was like, wait a second @xjillianpaige has a twin. When did I miss that? Matching bib numbers broke that thought though.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Congrats on the mile PR! For a moment I thought those side by side race photos were of you and a twin. I was like, wait a second @xjillianpaige has a twin. When did I miss that? Matching bib numbers broke that thought though.

Thank you!

Not a twin - just a gemini.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal​

Hey - it's camp season so who knows how often I'll run or update this. We're in survival mode.

My current mood.​

The past week I did one weekday run, then I had a weekend of races!

June 28: 4.00 miles • 45:26 • 11:21 avg pace
Tuesday night with the girls followed by drinks! I don't remember much but it must have been fine. Maybe a bit warm?

July 3: 5.01 miles • 57:49 • 11:33 avg pace
I moved my "long" run to Sunday since Saturday was hot. I need to start building my base up a bit more since I have a 10 mile race in August and I think that's roughly when I need to be half marathon ready as Hal Higdon's Dopey plan starts soon-ish. Felt good the whole time and only slowed/walked when my friends requested. Felt like a redemption run after last week's awful 10k.

July 4 Race Recap​

This was a day of decision. There's a race that runs past my parent's street, so I figured it'd be a fun one since they could easily pop out to the end of the road to see me. And I know the route very well since I ran those streets all the time when I lived there.

I got there early, about 45 minutes before start, and paid the day of registration. At $40 it was kind of steep, but I had committed and was meeting 3 girls from the club. We waited around a bit and then started. The course was flat overall, with one uphill around mile 2 and then downhill after that.

Mile 1: 10:05
Mile 2: 11:04
Mile 3: 11:33

It was a quick first mile - very flat in a shady neighborhood. Slight slow down in mile 2 as it got significantly warmer. There was also a water stop so I slowed a bit for that and my parents, friend, and niece and nephew were here so I stopped for some high fives. Mile 3 was the uphill bit and I walked a bit since it was pretty sunny and warm at this point and I wasn't racing this 5k, just running it for fun.

Beer was advertised at the finish, but I couldn't figure out where it was so I went to my parents' place for a celebratory swim instead.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal​

I made it through one week of camp before getting Covid again (I had it post-marathon in January) and being in isolation for 5 days. So let's pick this up where I left off.

By some miracle, I ran 3 times last week.

July 19: 3.00 miles • 34:47 • 11:35 avg pace
Back to my Tuesday night run since I was past my 10 days of isolation & masking. Felt pretty good. It was a warm one as we kicked off a heat wave. It was 89 degrees when we started at 7. The cider after was delicious.

July 21: 3.17 miles • 35:38 • 11:14 avg pace
This was actually a local, women's-only race. Another really hot one with a 7 pm start and everyone told me that the course was awful and hilly. It was not that bad at all. One hill at the beginning, maybe one or two more? But really not terrible. It was hot, but the houses on the route put out sprinklers and hoses which was so lovely. One guy had washcloths in ice water. This was a Grand Prix for my club, so we had a big team and friends cheering us on. Someone brought frozen sponges that I put in the front and back of my sports bra.

​

July 23: 5.01 miles • 1:03:09 • 12:36 avg pace
My goal was to get in 5 miles as I have a 10 mile race in August and want to get my base built back up before the Higdon plan starts in September. My first long run for Higdon's Dopey plan is 13 miles, so 10 by the last week of August feels like a good jumping off point. I met up with the group for a 7 am start. We had a new member who wanted 3 miles, so I said I would join her for the first 2.6 miles of the route since that's where the 3 and 5 mile routes break apart. She wasn't sure what her pace/endurance would be so we made it just over a mile before she needed a walk break. This is what I love about this club, my friend Toshie and I ran with her. We had no agenda for the day except run 5 miles, and we would stick by her side. No woman left behind. Plus, we're still in the middle of a heat wave, so some slower miles and walk breaks weren't unwelcome.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal​

It feels like it's been weeks since I posted. But it's been one. Time is an illusion. I cried at work a lot because my work bestie left for a new job. We ran the marathon together in Vermont in May.

I did run 2 times. Not bad considering I really wanted to skip this weekend. Summer is the woooooorst.

July 26: 3.05 miles • 36:00 • 11:49 avg pace
Eventually I'll run more than 3 miles on a Tuesday night. This was not that night. As long as someone is willing to do 3, so am I. It was hot but we were okay. I need to order a new water bottle. but when I went to the running store that I had a gift card to, they didn't have the Nathan handhelds. To the internet I go!

July 31: 3.00 miles • 33:08 • 11:02 avg pace
I skipped the Saturday group run for no good reason. I did go out on Friday night, but I was home at a decent hour (8--ish) and my 3 drinks were over the course of like, 3 hours. So nothing wild. I just wanted to sleep in a little bit? And I think most of the girls were running at least 8 miles, and I wanted 6 max. This led to me running alone Sunday morning instead, and I didn't start until 9 am (a summer run anytime after 7 am is insane). So I ended up going out for 3. I'll aim for 6-8 this weekend. As long as I can run 10 the last weekend of August, I'm in good shape. Anyway, it was fine. I'm pretty surprised by my pace, actually. It was h-o-t.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal​

I went axe throwing on Friday night! The last time I went in the fall I was terrible. This time went much better. Oh, right, this is my running journal.

August 2: 3.01 miles • 37:50 • 12:34 avg pace
I got to the parking lot where we meet and a few people had already run 2 miles. They were completely covered in a layer of sweat. We had someone join us who doesn't usually come out to group runs, so she and I ran/walked a little bit so I was slower than normal. Not complaining. Summer running is bogus.

August 6: 6.02 miles • 1:14:45 • 12:25 avg pace
Back to the group run. The original plan was the 5 mile route and adding on one mile. A woman from two weeks ago was there again, and she's new to running, so I ended up doing the 3 mile route with her and another member named Melinda who was slowing down because of the heat. She was going to be running about as many miles as I was (she had already done 4) so we did the 3 mile route with Laura, then got some more water from our cars, and did a different 3 mile route so I could get that 6. Even though it was hot, it wasn't terrible. I guess for me I prefer the sort of muggy heat versus the full sun in your face heat. Followed my run with an iced coffee and a jump in the pool.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal​

It's been busy, hence a two week update here. Also there's just one more week of camp and then I'm free (and officially starting Dopey training). We had a meeting last night about the trip, started planning dates, park days, car rentals, costumes. The whole shebang!

August 9: 4.00 miles • 44:51 • 11:12 avg pace
Tuesday night run then drinks & dinner. A bit of a late start since some of the girls got a few miles in before we did the four route. It was hot - 84 degrees according to Garmin Connect. Also, I just learned that you can see the temperature in Garmin Connect.

August 13: 8.01 miles • 1:32:33 • 11:34 avg pace
This was the week where I learned whether or not I can run 8 miles in preparation for the 10 miles coming up. Turns out I can! Good news. It was a nice cool morning, just about 60 degrees. We did the hilly 8-mile loop. I remember the first time I ran this loop I had to walk most of the hills. This time I was fine. Never needed to take a break.

August 16: 4.00 miles • 44:01 • 11:00 avg pace
Another Tuesday night. Nice and easy - cooler than the week before by about 10 degrees. Otherwise unremarkable. Decided to go with two of the girls on a day trip to Martha's Vineyard the following weekend (a.k.a. two days ago from the writing of this post).

August 17: Week 1 of Track • 2 x 800 @ 10k pace ; 4 x 400 @ 5k pace ; 1 mile @ half marathon pace
Fall track is back! Coach Carmela is doing a 5:30 beginner's track group (those who recently finished our Spring First 5k Program and those not marathon training and looking to get speed work in) and then a 6:30 group (geared toward folks marathon training). I went to the later group since there is no way I could get to track at 5:30 and because I will be marathon training very soon.

The original workout was a 1 mile warm up, followed by 4x800 at 10k pace, then 4x400 at 5k pace, then a mile at half marathon pace, and a cool down but Carmela decided to cut it down to 2x800 and the rest the same.

Mile 1 Warm Up: 11:30
2x800: 4:49 & 4:52 (average 9:46, 1 mile completed in 9:42)
4x400: 2:08 & 2:15 & 2:15 & 2:13 (average 8:52, 1 mile completed in 8:52)
1 Mile: 10:14
Half Mile Cool Down: 5:50

I am *very* surprised by my times here. I thought I would be MUCH slower (and I guess I should be taking it easier... because those are not my typical 10k, 5k, or half marathon paces). It's nice to see my fitness is in a better place than I thought, which means I am more ready for Dopey training than I realized.

August 20: 6.00 miles • 1:09:55 • 11:39 avg pace
Long run Saturday with the group followed by lots of walking miles on Martha's Vineyard. The run itself was tough - a humid morning after a late-ish night. I stopped to walk a few times, but overall its was fine.

The last time I was in MV was for the half marathon in 2018! It was nice to be back a few years later to enjoy the sites in the nice weather. Also after the race I took the photo on the left, then this weekend I took the one on the right.

​

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal​

Ok.. medal reveal day. They are on theme. That is for sure. Do I love them? No. I loved the 2022 medals. Will I lean into the theme and celebrate my accomplishment this January? With lots of laughter, absolutely.

Anyway - running. Did one run this week + a race yesterday that I'll recap here because I don't feel like making a singular post for it. I was not feeling the run on Tuesday, so I skipped. The convenience for me was that there was a storm projected for 7:00, so I used "avoiding lightning" as my reason to skip.

August 24: Week 2 of Track • 2x1 mile alternating 5k and half marathon pace ; 2x400 @ 5k pace
Started with a 1 mile warm up. The actual workout was a 3x1, but it was hot and humid, so she cut us down to the 2x1 and turned the last mile into two 400s at 5k pace with a 1 minute standing rest. The two miles were alternating laps of 5k pace and half marathon pace (fast - recovery - fast - recovery - standing rest, repeat). The first one was a bit of a mess, the second one I did much better. I stopped worrying about pace and instead went by effort. I wanted my recovery lap to feel a lot different from my fast lap.

Mile 1 Warm Up: 10:42
First Mile: 9:56 (I don't really remember each split and forgot how to hit lap on my watch, but I believe the first two laps were around 2:15 each, then the following two laps were two very different times)
Second Mile: 10:01 (Again - no splits because I forgot how to hit lap and just did my thing, but these were much better at the fast/recovery thing)
2x400: 2:12 and 2:12 (Look at that consistency!)

I then cooled down with a quarter mile walk.

Autofair 10 Miler Race Recap
I've done this race two years previous (read those race recaps here and here). I won't say much about the course except that I'm 99% sure that they put new, steeper hills in.

I met up with 3 of my friends and we carpooled up together. I drove. We parked about half a mile from the start and walked to get our shirts (they say Why the Hill Not? on them) and then brought them back to my car and got our bibs on. We then went to the start and I met up with Eric (he and I went together the past 2 years but I had a post-run party with the club this time).

We took some photos, got over to the start and we were off. This year's race was much more hot and humid than the previous two years, so it felt more difficult than I remembered. My goal was sub-2:00 (I was off by 20 seconds last year) but let go of expectations when I got to the first hill and "nope-d" right out of it. I was running with April, Marsha, and Kim, so Kim and I started walking while April and Marsha kept going. Wait, I should put this under my splits below, right?

Mile 1: 11:23
Mile 2: 11:34
Mile 3: 11:18
I'm pretty happy with the first three miles. It took a little bit to get into the groove of the run, but once I warmed up I felt pretty good. The hills here are relatively small compared to the hills mid-race.

Mile 4: 11:55
Mile 5: 13:01
I slowed down a bit at 4 to fuel (I had waffles). Then mile 5 is a massive, massive hill so I took a big walking break until I crested the hill.

Mile 6: 11:58
Mile 7: 11:56
Mile 8: 12:11
Mile 9: 12:35
Mile 10: 10:22
More hills. More walking. Ran the flats and downhills. The mile 9 marker is literally at the top of the last hill, so I hauled butt on the final mile, going downhill and using what little energy I had left to kick it into high gear.

My final time was 1:59:06! So I broke the 2 hour mark and PRed this course - I can retire from this damn race. Also no photos this year because I'm lookin' rough. Kim has a nice selfie of us running! Wait, let me find that...

​

Post race I went to a fellow club member's lake house for some food and paddleboarding and fun. We also went out on her boat. The best part of the race was the party after.

 

[DopeyBadger]

 

[azrivest]

Good job on the PR!

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Do I love them? No. I loved the 2022 medals. Will I lean into the theme and celebrate my accomplishment this January? With lots of laughter, absolutely.

I agree and appreciate your attitude! Great job on your PR

 

[xjillianpaige]

Good job on the PR!

I agree and appreciate your attitude! Great job on your PR

Thanks, everyone!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal​

Updating today because I know I'm not running tomorrow! I decided to take the weekend off to enjoy my last few lazy days of vacation before diving full in on Tuesday!

There is a very small 5k on Monday that I'm debating running. It's so small that my friend thinks that I'll place in my age group so long as I run a sub-30 5k. I know I'm capable of that... but my hamstring has been talking to me a tiny bit the last few weeks and I don't want to push it and mess up my training. It's also a late start (10 am) so I feel like my ability to hit the sub-30 would be dependent on the temperature... I don't know - what do you guys think?

August 30: 4.00 miles • 45:15 • 11:19 avg pace
I forgot my watch on this run! Luckily, I carried my phone so I used runkeeper to track the run. The splits were 11:07, 10:52, 11:06, and 12:06. The last mile looks slow because I didn't bother pausing my watch at the stop light, so I was probably slightly faster than this shows.

August 31: Week 3 of Track • Yasso 800s
As always, I got there and began with a 1 mile warm up (11:47 - so it worked out to be 1.08 miles at a 10:54 pace). Then we had Yasso 800s. In this case, we were doing 8x800s at a goal time of about 5:00 per 800. If we were able to do them all at the 5:00 mark consistently, then we can allegedly complete a marathon in 5 hours. Y'all... I was not sure about this workout. I figured that I would die for sure at 6 (and we were maybe going to only do 6 - we decided to assess how we felt at that point) but I felt great the entire time. We did about a 3 minute standing rest in between each 800. I think its was the 7th 800 that I said, "[Redacted], I feel [redacted] fantastic." Here are the splits:

1: 4:52
2: 5:00
3: 4:58
4: 4:58
5: 4:57
6: 4:36 (maybe if I leave it all on the track, she'll let us finish)
7: 4:53
8: 4:58

Total: 4 miles • 39:16 • 9:49 avg pace

Tuesday starts the official Higdon plan! Here are the first 5 weeks:

MON	TUES	WED	THUR	FRI	SAT	SUN
rest	3 miles	5 pace	3 miles	rest	3 miles	13 miles
rest	3 miles	5 miles	3 miles	rest	7 miles	cross
rest	3 miles	5 pace	3 miles	rest	4 miles	14 miles
rest	3 miles	6 pace	3 miles	rest	8 miles	cross
rest	3 miles	6 miles	3 miles	rest	5 miles	15 miles

I will be traveling week 2 (I'll do the 7 miles in the Florida heat before my cousin's fiancée's bridal shower) and will have to work in some of the other runs I have around social plans (the Saturday 4 miles will be before I go apple picking).

I'm determined to keep as close to this plan as possible! Wish me luck!

 

[striker1064]

It's also a late start (10 am) so I feel like my ability to hit the sub-30 would be dependent on the temperature... I don't know - what do you guys think?

A summertime race starting at 10 am is woof -- that's what I think! I try to be done with training runs by then, no matter how long they are.

 

[xjillianpaige]

A summertime race starting at 10 am is woof -- that's what I think! I try to be done with training runs by then, no matter how long they are.

I ended up skipping it! It ended up being a very swampy morning and I wouldn't have placed anyway, which the potential for that was the only reason I considered it. All in all a good call.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 1​

It's been a bit of a delay in my update about week 1 because life has not slowed down much since fall started. Some busy days/weeks ahead!

September 6: 3.01 miles • 32:16 • 10:43 avg pace
Ran a local route instead of my Tuesday group route and then got dinner with them after a nice shower. It was a fast 3 miles - I had a lot of feelings because this was right after they had found Eliza's body. We don't need to dive into that here. My calf was a bit sore on this run - the first half is up hill.

September 7: 5.01 miles • 53:58 • 10:47 avg pace
Track was cancelled since our coach was traveling. I did this run from work, so I had to deal with a lot of stop lights. Coach posted the track workout, so I modified it.

Original workout: 1 mile warm up, 400 at 5k pace, 400 recovery, 800 at 10k pace, 400 recovery, 2 minute standing rest, 1 mile at half marathon or marathon pace, 1 mile cool down.

My workout: 1.5 mile warm up, .25 at 5k pace, .25 recovery, .5 at 10k pace, .5 recovery, 1 mile at half marathon pace, 1 mile cooldown.

The actual breakdown looked like this: 1.5 mile in 16:17 (10:51 pace), .25 in 2:20 (9:21 pace), recovery, .5 in 5:01 (10:02 pace), recovery, 1 mile in 10:55, 1 mile in 10:16 (bit of a fast cool down...)

September 8: 3.00 miles • 34:12 • 11:23 avg pace
This was an early run. Nothing really remarkable. A bit tired due to the time and the miles in days previous. Had some nerves running so early with everything that went on this week, but didn't want to let fear control me and impact my training.

September 10: 3.12 miles • 39:38 • 12:42 avg pace
I ran with my friend Eric this morning and we did 2:1 ratios. I figured it's good practice to run easier on Saturday when I have a long run the next day as practice for Dopey where I'll theoretically take the 5k and 10k very easy.

September 11: 13.00 miles • 2:38:30 • 12:12 avg pace
I met up with a few friends from the club and did an out and back. It took about a mile or so to feel warmed up, but once my legs were moving I felt really strong until about mile 9. I was able to sort of hold on until mile 11 when I did a loose run/walk. We would run about .75-1 mile and then walk for a quarter mile, then run again. My fitness is more or less where I want it right now - I still have some decent endurance and speed - I just need to get that endurance to the next level so I can maintain my pace longer.

On the docket for week 2:
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Saturday: 7 miles

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 2​

Week 2 was hard, man! Not sure why, but these runs definitely felt harder. Let's dive in.

September 13: 3.00 miles • 36:21 • 12:06avg pace
This was another solo run after work and I have no idea what was going on, but my calves were so tight it was painful. I stopped to stretch about a mile in and took a short walking break in the hope that it would force me to use the muscles differently and work them out a bit.

September 14: Track Week 5 • 6 x 1000
Back to the track with the Coach! I did a 1 mile warm up (12:00) and then some drills. Our goal for the 1000s were about a half marathon pace, so my goal was similar to last week, with about a 5:00 800 and then keep that pace steady for the last 200. On the last two 1000s, we tried to kick it up a notch for the last 200 as a reminder that we can still run hard on tired legs. Here are the splits:

6:12 • 6:17 • 6:14 • 6:10 • 6:06 • 5:47

My cool down was about a quarter mile walk/jog. This brought my total mileage for the workout to 5 miles in 52:39 (a 10:32 avg pace). Not bad. Especially considering the day before was tough and running 1000s was harder mentally than the 800s from two weeks ago.

September 15: 3.01 miles • 36:11 • 12:02 avg pace
An early morning run again. A tiny walk break about half way through. Started feeling good then got tired and slowed down a bit. Not much to say other than that.

September 17: 7.00 miles • 1:24:33 • 12:04 avg pace
I was in Florida for a bridal shower this weekend (a whirlwind weekend - I flew out on Friday morning very early and then back on Sunday morning early) so my run was in the absolute swampy humidity of the Palm Beach area. How do you Floridians/Southern runners do it? I started my run at 6 am and was done around 7:30. It was soupy. I felt good at the start and then the heat reminded me that I wasn't at home anymore and so I slowed down and took some walking breaks.

It was a really pretty spot to run. This is early - the beginning stages of sun rise.


And these two are from the turn around point (left - you can see there's no sidewalks) and then heading back (the sky turning orange). I ran from their neighborhood through a very fancy area full of horse barns and mansions.​

The first walk break was about a mile and a half in, then again somewhere in the 2.5 ish mile mark, then a decently long one at the 3.25 mark (this is where I turned around because my out and back hit an intersection and had no more sidewalks in either direction, then the final two in the 4 and 5 ish mile marks (once I got to the 6th mile my goal was to run the final mile in its entirety).

All of this to sum up this run in one word: flat.



On the docket for week 3:
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Saturday: 4 miles
Sunday: 14 miles

 

[HangWithMerida]

Yep, that’s flat! My first Disney race I was a little surprised by the elevation because in my head, Florida is just as flat at here but I didn’t take into account that we would be running road overpasses. As for the soup, you just kind of get used to it. It always sucks but you find yourself saying things like the humidity was really low today when it’s like 85%!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Yep, that’s flat! My first Disney race I was a little surprised by the elevation because in my head, Florida is just as flat at here but I didn’t take into account that we would be running road overpasses. As for the soup, you just kind of get used to it. It always sucks but you find yourself saying things like the humidity was really low today when it’s like 85%!

I think the single change in elevation was me stepping off a curb.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 3​

Week 3 is where the plan became a true plan. Made some shifts this week. I was burning the candle at both ends trying to balance social stuff, work, and my scheduled runs. I skipped the 3 miles on Thursday night in favor of cooking dinner and "respecting" the track workout from Wednesday. I skipped 4 miles yesterday (Saturday) because I had apple picking plans with my friends from high school and didn't want to be up before sunrise all weekend.

September 20: 3.01 miles • 37:09 • 12:216avg pace
My watch died halfway through so my data is based on my friend Casey, who I ran with. She's in her second trimester of pregnancy so we went at her easy pace. Felt good throughout. Kept up conversation. Can't imagine running and growing a human at the same time.

September 21: Track Week 6 • Descending ladders
I had a meeting run late so I hauled butt to track to try to get started as early as possible, but we still ended in the dark. Ran my final 800 and 400 with my knuckle lights. The workout was a 1 mile warm up (10:39) and two descending ladders. 1 mile, 800 meters, 400 meters getting progressively faster and repeat. The goal paces were half marathon pace for the 1 mile and then each step of the ladder faster. Coach wanted the mile in under 10:00 (about 2:25 per lap), the 800 in about 4:30-4:45, and the 400 under 2:00. Let's see how I did:

1 mile: 9:46
800 m: 4:35
400 m: 1:56
1 mile: 9:59
800 m: 4:37
400 m: 1:59

Crushed it. Cool down was about a half mile walk/jog again. A total of 5 miles in 50:16 for an average pace of 10:02. Garmin has this clocked as a 5k pr of 29:14, but I had 2 minute rests in between all of these laps so it's not an official or unofficial PR. Just a fun fact.

September 25: 14.00 miles • 2:42:52 • 11:38 avg pace
I had a 10k race this morning. Since I had 14 scheduled, I decided to go up early with Christina and get in as many before as I could. I ended up running about 7 and change with Pam. We did the course + 1 mile as a warm up. Then we ran the course again as, y'know... the race. All I had to add on at the end was a tiny bit. I felt great at the start. Felt really really really slow towards the end, but I looked at my splits and I didn't slow down that much, and my last mile was an 11:31 to the first mile's 11:30. My slowest mile was mile 8, which was when I did a walk in the sand to the start line. I'm definitely not back to my endurance from the spring, but I'll get there.

On the docket for week 4:
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 6 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Saturday: 8 miles