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

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 4​

I've been off kilter generally lately, so feeling pretty good about what I accomplished this week. Skipped Wednesday's 6 miles (and the last week of track) because I had forced family fun after work. Anyway, let's get to it.

September 27: 3.01 miles • 38:40 • 12:50 avg pace
This time my watch survived the run. I ran with Casey again and kept my heart rate in the "warm up" zone the whole time. It helps that I'm running with someone 15 weeks pregnant. We keep it nice and easy. I did have some significant calf tightness for the first mile or so... it did sort of stretch out once I got going but it wasn't pleasant to deal with at first.

September 29: 3.00 miles • 33:11 • 11:03 avg pace
A post-work run since I didn't have anything after work for once. It was nice to not run at the crack of dawn. Brought my lights just in case but didn't need them quite yet. I bet this coming week I'll need them by the last mile. This run was mostly in the green HR with a little dip in the orange. Pretty sunset on the run.

​

October 2: 8.00 miles • 1:30:22 • 11:17 avg pace
I meant to run this with the group yesterday but I fell asleep after my 5:00 alarm went off and I woke up at 7:10. The group run starts at 7 am. Oops. So I had to push it to today. The first mile and a half was pure torture. My legs felt like the were barely moving and it took all my effort to move and my feet hurt and none of it was fun. I contemplated just quitting when I got to my car instead of going out for the second loop. I texted my friends and they sent me some motivation and I sort of loosened up after a short walk/pity break and felt good for the rest of the run. My third mile was sub-11 and I had a few other sub-11 miles in there. And considering I felt like it was a total struggle-run, my HR was fairly evenly split between green and orange.

I also tried new fuel! It's been no secret that I can't do the gu/gel stuff. I've done clif bloks and waffles and like those, but would love more in my repertoire. I gave untapped maple syrup a try and loved it! Not sure if it had an effect since I don't usually fuel on an 8 mile run and I took this at just over 3 miles, but I loved the flavor/texture and could see myself using this throughout training.

​

On the docket for week 5:
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 6 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Saturday: 5 miles
Sunday: 15 miles

 

[GollyGadget]

I did have some significant calf tightness

I had problems with tight calves for years! I would focus on stretching them out post run but it didn’t seem to make much difference. Anyway, I finally went to a pt for a different issue and now my calves are fine. Turns out I had tight quads which were causing tight calves. The tight quads were caused by weak glutes. Just a reminder that everything is connected and strength training is important

 

[xjillianpaige]

I had problems with tight calves for years! I would focus on stretching them out post run but it didn’t seem to make much difference. Anyway, I finally went to a pt for a different issue and now my calves are fine. Turns out I had tight quads which were causing tight calves. The tight quads were caused by weak glutes. Just a reminder that everything is connected and strength training is important

The big debate for me was it a shoe or form issue. I think it was shoes because my last 2 runs were in new shoes and no calf issues! But yes - it is allllll connected!

 

[GollyGadget]

The big debate for me was it a shoe or form issue. I think it was shoes because my last 2 runs were in new shoes and no calf issues! But yes - it is allllll connected!

Happy to hear it!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 5​

Stresso and depresso, get me some espresso. It was a week. Again. Which is just sounding like excuses to me blah blah blah. I skipped Tuesday because on Monday I got to work and couldn't put any pressure on my right foot which immediately sent me into a full panic that I had a break or strain or something. On Tuesday I had zero pain, but knew the smart thing to do was not run and the rainy weather solidified that. I showed my shoes to my friend and she said they're still fine to run on.

Skipped Wednesday, too. So that brings us to Thursday.

October 6: 3.00 miles • 34:13 • 11:23 avg pace
I went for a run after work and had some calf pain. I've decided it was a combination of old shoes even though they're technically fine to run in and the route I'm taking. This route is a very gradual uphill for about a mile. A bummer. Anyway, happy with the time all things considered and was glad to be back at it.

October 8: 5.00 miles • 55:24 • 11:04 avg pace
This was the best I've felt in awhile. Ran in new sneakers (a gorgeous bright blue brooks ghost with hot pink laces) and with the group. More than happy with my pace (splits: 11:49, 10:53, 10:53, 10:52, 10:57). Met a new member of the club who I've just missed as we criss crossed through life. She moved to my hometown when we were sophomores, but she went to private school. Then she went to the same university as my best friend for one year, then transferred to a university where a bunch of my friends went. We studied abroad at the same time, she was in Galway while I was in London. Just funny coincidences. Anyway, coffee after this run. Felt really good and confident.

October 9: 15.01 miles • 3:05:06 • 12:20 avg pace
Ok. Long run part 2. This was a solo run. I ordered a new Nathan handheld and am waiting for it to arrive so I decided to do 3 5-mile loops with pauses at my car to hydrate. I definitely under-fueled. I had an uncrustable before leaving the house, and brought some waffles with me. I thought I had brought gummies, but realized I had taken them out of my gym bag and left them at home by mistake. So I had one waffle at 3 miles and another at 7. I wish I had taken then at mile 6 and mile 10. By mile 11 my stomach was growling. I had a salt tab at some point, also. I did try some nuun tablets (2 tablets in my 30-something oz water bottle) and am... not sure about it. Can I drink it like gatorade? I didn't finish it by any stretch of the imagination but wasn't sure if it's something I can drink on days I'm not working out or outside of my workout generally. I need to go pick up more of that maple syrup stuff.

​

Oh right - the run. I finished? The first two laps were super steady with one walk break each to have my waffle. The third lap was... difficult. Mile 11 and 12 were fine - it was mile 13 where I hit a wall. I tried to run a bit more during mile 14, then decided to just walk the first half of mile 15 and try to run it in at the end. My feet were also sore. These were another pair of new Ghost 14s but I swear as I get into these longer miles my feet just hurt. Not sure what to do about it and am nervous about playing around with shoes when I'm in the middle of training.

On the docket for week 6:
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 6 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Saturday: 9 miles

 

[Herding_Cats]

I’m working on breaking in some new shoes as well and I can 100% tell that they’re new/have very low miles because my feet are a little more cranky than they usually are. It’s getting better but I can totally tell the difference between the comfort of my 160mi shoes and the new ones (and figuring out the pressure of the lacing on the new ones is being a total chore too.)

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 6​

I was so determined to be on it this week and while I wasn't perfect - I did the best I could. Work was awful. The town I live in is a mess and I was at a 15/10 on the bad mood scale all week... but I survived and ran the best I could run. Only skipped Thursday night because it was POURING after work and that was the only time I could get a run in.

October 11: 3.01 miles • 36:10 • 12:01 avg pace
Did 3 with the group. Ran with Carin who just finished Berlin and was looking for 3 easy. It was super easy. Kept my heart rate in blue/green the whole time. I like running easy. I think I'm starting to get it.

October 12: 6.01 miles • 1:06:01 • 11:00 avg pace
This is supposed to be marathon pace so I pushed it a bit harder than the night before. Felt good considering it was speedier. Heart rate in green/mostly orange. Looking at my laps... this was SCARY steady. 11:01 • 11:04 • 11:01 • 10:56 • 10:56 • 10:59. I am a metronome. I don't feel this steady when I'm running and yet... here we are. I thought that I needed to be on the track to hit paces but apparently not.

October 15: 9.00 miles • 1:46:23 • 11:49 avg pace
Went with the group this morning. Like, almost all of them are tapering for MCM in a few weeks so they are speeeeedy and I am... not. I ran with Toshie and kept it nice and easy. The route we took was quite hilly so I just maintained effort as best as I could on them. My heart rate was primarily green with some orange so I felt good about that.

Not related but also related. I tend to post a photo of my watch after a run, then a photo of whatever I treat myself to (usually a very sugary coffee) on my instagram. A few of my club-mates have started tagging me in photos of their post-run treats and I'm just so glad that this is my legacy as a runner: the post-run treat documentation on social media.

On the docket for week 7:
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: 16 miles

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 7​

This week was better. I'm doing better. Forgiving myself. Reminding myself I can do only what I can do. Going easy on myself. Skipped Wednesday because I don't have a great route to run 6+ miles in the dark yet. The route I was using is very dark to the point of not safe - even with my lights - by my second lap.

October 18: 4.00 miles • 44:48 • 11:12 avg pace
A small but mighty crew on this Tuesday night. Lots of folks tapering not running as much but we managed to pull together a little group of four for 4. Felt good.

October 20: 4.01 miles • 44:11 • 11:01 avg pace
I promised the girls that I would make a grand return to the Thursday morning group and I delivered. To make the run, I need to leave my house between 6:00 and 6:05 am. I woke up at 6:15 am. Decided that since I had clothes laid out already, I could high tail it and hopefully catch them. Then, while I was on my way, I took the WRONG EXIT off the highway. Guys. I wasn't wearing sneakers. I just grabbed them and slid on flip flops. I brought my watch but never put it on!

I did catch them. I pulled into the parking lot as they were coming out of it on one side. I went to park on the opposite side and met them there. Was tying my shoes as they ran past. Truly a wild morning. But I got the miles in.

October 22: 6.00 miles • 1:15:54 • 12:38 avg pace
Instead of running with the group I went with Eric. At my suggestion, he's doing 3:1 intervals. It went fine. My HR was blue or green the whole time. Met up with the girls for coffee after. It was a super busy day. I had some cooking to do for a Halloween party that night. By 8:30 pm I was falling asleep on my friend's couch so I went home so I could get my 16 in the next day.

October 23: 16 miles • 3:24:45 • 12:47 avg pace
My goal here was to keep it slow and steady for the entire time. After crashing in the 15 two weeks ago plus my last marathon cycle where I had a few long runs that I started too fast, I wanted to realllllyyy concentrate on going easy. I wanted my pace to stay in the 12s. Overall - very successful. Let's break it down.

Mile 1, Mile 2, Mile 3
12:30, 12:20, 12:29
Crushed it

Mile 4, Mile 5, Mile 6
13:12, 12:21, 12:26
The slowdown in mile 4 is due to my fuel walk. I decided to walk while I took fuel (Untapped Maple Syrup). I ended up walking for about 1-2 minutes for each fuel stop.

Mile 7, Mile 8, Mile 9
13:34, 12:05, 12:17
Another fuel walk at the start of mile 7. More Untapped Maple Syrup.

Mile 10, Mile 11, Mile, 12
13:33, 12:19, 12:21
Another fuel walk. See the pattern? Untapped every 3 miles (breakfast before the run was a PB& Grape Jelly Uncrustable).

Mile 13, Mile 14, Mile 15, Mile 16
14:38, 12:54, 14:16, 11:26
I did run out of a steam a little bit here at the end. My fuel break was a little longer than the other ones and then I decided to take a little walk break. But then I was able to really kick it into overdrive at the end for the last mile. I wish I could have done that for the last 2 miles, but it wasn't meant to be. Thinking that I might alternate with the Untapped and waffles. I did a salt tab at... maybe mile 14? But I think it was too late at that point. It wasn't particularly hot out but I did sweat a bit and lose some salt.

I had Gatorade in my hand held also. I meant to bring a water bottle of plain water to have at my car stop at mile 8 but I forgot it. Next time I'll remember it.

Overall I'm very happy with my pacing this long run in general. My feet weren't screaming at me at the end. HR was steady in the green. Treated myself to a latte and cake pop from Starbucks after.

On the docket for week 8:
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Sunday: 10 miles

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 8, 9, and 10​

Despite the world's best efforts, I'm alive. Hey guys. I'm back. After last week's run I was prepping for some traveling, so not much running during Week 8 and 9. Home now and had a pretty good week 10. Let's dive in.

October 25: 4.01 miles • 46:01 • 11:30 avg pace
The weather has been all over the place lately. This was a surprisingly humid evening. A small group, too, as lots of folks are in their final week of taper before the Marine Corps Marathon.

October 30: 10.01 miles • 1:52:48 • 11:16 avg pace
I skipped Wednesday and Thursday due to work/life/etc. So this is the fast forward button to my weekend long run that I did in DC. My club had 23 women go to DC for Marine Corps - most ran the marathon but there was a group of us who did the 10k. Is this turning into a mini race recap? I guess so! We took the metro to the Smithsonian stop and were very early for our 7:50 start time. Since we were early, I got just about 2 miles in before hand (ran up and down the mall - 11:49 and 12:09) and then my miles for the race were relatively quick, in the high 10s. I took a shot of fireball around mile 3 of the race. It's a very flat course with the exception of a terrible uphill right at the end as you come by Arlington Cemetery and up toward the Iwo Jima Memorial. A very slow last two miles/cool down as I was trying to figure out if I was heading toward the right metro station (I was not) and doing laps around buildings near said incorrect metro station. Overall a great race followed by spectating the marathoners at mile 21 near our hotel and celebrating at Founding Farmers near GWU. My only complaint is that there was no 10k merch. One shirt and it was awful. I wish they had some weekend gear.

​

November 1: 4.00 miles • 46:38 • 11:39 avg pace
So I didn't fly home after the Marine Corps weekend. I flew to Los Angeles! My friend/running bestie lives in LA so I met up with her to see Harry Styles (and go to Disneyland). So on Monday I flew out there, then Tuesday the plan was to go for a run and then get a Lyft to my friend/former roommate Kara's place to hang out and get dinner. So I did go for the run. And less than a quarter mile in I WITNESSED A CAR ACCIDENT. You can see my heart rate SPIKE when I heard the initial crash and then my speed goes super red as I hauled butt over to the accident to see how I could help. My contribution was to call emergency services and then I finished my run. It was a hard run. Hot. Apparently uphill. LA is terrible.

​

The face of a girl who cried in an airport because her flight was delayed so she was gonna miss her connection and then she had to go ask them to reroute her through Chicago so she could get to LA.

​

November 8: 4.01 miles • 43:15 • 10:47 avg pace
Ok I finally made it home. This was a small group again because a lot of folks are still in their two week recovery period post marathon. I finally feel a little bit more like myself. Hitting paces I know I can hit. Mile 4 was particularly fast, clocked in at 10:22.

November 10: 4.50 miles • 47:49 • 10:37 avg pace
A less exciting return to Thursdays than last time. Actually made it on time. Accidentally ran an extra half mile because of the route someone took us on. She said it might be "a little over 4." Yeah. You can say that again. Felt good again.

November 12: 10.50 miles • 2:09:56 • 12:22 avg pace
This was a terrible run. I felt like crap. It's unseasonably warm and humid for November. There was rain in the forecast - I think from the hurricane down south - but the rain mostly held off. Which sounds nice, but a little mist or drizzle would have cooled me down. I managed to hit mile 10.05 or something before the skies opened up and I got downpoured on. My watch charger went missing so I had to use my phone to track this run and I think the rain broke my Face ID because it hasn't been working since it rained on me. Also I got to where my car was at like, 10.5 and called it a day even though 11 was on the plan because I was literally wringing water out of my shirt.

November 13: 3.14 miles • 32:34 • 10:22 avg pace
So here's another mini race recap! I didn't have miles on the schedule for today, but it was the last Grand Prix race for the club, so I went out for a little 5k this morning. Felt really good. Ran with most of the girls and sprinted it in at the end because a man passed me and I was feeling petty. My splits were 10:37, 10:28, and 10:19. It was a mostly downhill course with some very gentle hills that felt great. Hoping to take this momentum into the next week!

On the docket for week 11:
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 8 miles
Friday: 3 miles
Saturday: 8 miles
Sunday: 18 miles

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 11​

Hello from my cocoon of sneezes. I woke up this morning with every intention of getting 18 miles in, but my sinuses had different plans for me. I've lost count of the number of times I've sneezed. It's exhausting. Had a great 5k yesterday, though. Let's recap.

November 15: 5.00 miles • 54:27 • 10:53 avg pace
Tuesday night. I like when my pace starts with a "10." Did two early and then 3 with the rest of the group before dinner and drinks. Felt good and speedy. This was my only run this week. Didn't get another one in because life is just too busy. I'm definitely burning the candle from both ends.

November 19: 4.90 miles • 59:48 • 12:12 avg pace & 3.15 miles • 31:43 • 10:05 avg pace
I had 8 miles on the calendar and my work's 5k on the same day. So I got there early and ran 4.9 miles. Eric managed a roughly 2:1 run/walk strategy for this. It was cold. We made it back to the race start with plenty of time to spare, so I had a maple syrup and found everyone coming to the race and got my drink tickets and took pictures. Kept busy before the last 3.1 miles. The course is so nice - it's super flat (9 feet elevation gain). I'm really pleased by the race, even though it was a training run I wanted to get to the party part and so went quite quickly. Splits were 10:08, 10:15, 10:10.

Hoping next week is better (and I stop feeling sick).

On the docket for week 12:
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 8 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Saturday: 12 miles

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 12​

A perfect week! All it took was not being at work on Wednesday and Thursday to get it all done. Let's see how quick I can recap before my 5k planning meeting at 7:30

November 22: 5.00 miles • 54:24 • 10:53 avg pace
Tuesday night. I went in feeling pretty salty and unkind because I didn't get a Boston Marathon bib this year and really really really wanted one/felt like I was deserving. But I'm gonna try again next year. I really think Dopey worked against me. Anyway, I accidentally paused my watch and didn't unpause it for just under a half mile, so I edited my run based on the girls I ran with. So this is mostly accurate.

November 23: 8.01 miles • 1:31:24 • 11:25 avg pace
I "worked from home" for a half day Wednesday so I went out in the afternoon for 8 miles. Did some walk breaks in the later half since I learned how to do run:walk on my watch and want to get back into that for some of my longer runs. It was very surprisingly warm, too, so I was too hot for the first bit. Ended up losing layers.

November 24: 5.01 miles • 55:31 • 11:06 avg pace
I went out by myself in the morning before Thanksgiving dinner. It was again - surprisingly warm. This lake I ran around is known for being very windy and it was not windy at all. I've been overdressing. I just need it to be cold for real now.

November 26: 12.00 miles • 2:24:13 • 12:01 avg pace
12 miles for week 12 and a 12 minute pace. The number of the day. I originally planned to do an 8 mile route and add 4 miles on after with some of the girls, but early on I was chasing them and decided to just go out on my own and do a 5 mile loop twice, then do a 1 mile out and back for the last two. I ran the first 5 miles straight, and once my running partner finished at 5, I switched to a 3:1 ratio to keep it feeling easy.

On the docket for week 13:
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Friday: 4 miles
Saturday: 9 miles
Sunday: 19 miles

The plan is to run the two 5s. Walk the 4. Run the 9. And run/walk the 19. If I run/walk the 9 that's fine, too.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 13​

I'm really proud of myself. You guys have seen that this training cycle has been a little bit rocky, and I was really nervous about today's run since my last long run in a back to back week was over a month ago now and I wasn't sure I could do 3 "long" runs in a row... but I did it. Let's recap the week. (I skipped my Wednesday 5 miles for two reasons: 1, it was pouring rain and 2, it was my niece's 6th birthday so I went to get some cake.)

November 29: 5.02 miles • 55:42 • 11:06 avg pace
The usual Tuesday night run then drink. Did 2 before and then the 3 route with the girls. The first two miles were 11:28 and 11:36 as I warmed up, then once we were all together for the run the pace was speedier with 10:46, 10:53, and 10:46 again to bring it home.

December 2: 4.00 miles • 1:03:11 • 15:47 avg pace
Before anyone is concerned about my suddenly slow pace - this was a 4 mile walk. I had 4 miles on the calendar and wanted to look at this weekend the way I plan to run Dopey, so I did this first, short, "long" run as a speedy walk. And danngggg I can walk fast. By mile 2.5 I was sweating in my winter coat and wished I had worn something closer to what I wear when I run. Heart rate never left zone 1. Miles were 15:50, 16:08 (lots of texting during this one), 15:45, and 15:27 (just want to be done)

December 3: 9.00 miles • 1:41:15 • 11:15 avg pace
I honestly thought that this was going to be significantly slower than it is. I ran the first 7 and change miles with friends, so I was pretty speedy with all miles under 11 except for mile 2 (11:19 - not sure what happened there). Once they finished and I had about 2 more miles, I slowed down to a run:walk (3:1) since my original goal for this day was to go EASY. In order to go easy I need to run alone because these girls got me flying.

December 4: 18 miles • 3:55:44 • 13:05 avg pace
This is not where I was in the spring of this year, pace/time-wise. I know that this run comes after a 9 mile run the day before (I had 19 scheduled but decided to take it from 16 a month ago to 18 this week to 20 in two weeks), but it's still a bummer to see my pace be so much slower - closer to my pace when training for Disney last year. I did 3:1 ratios today and kept my heart rate in the green. I'm taking the win, however, because I went out and got it done. And got to see Santa and the Grinch go by in a surprise parade!

On the docket for week 14:
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 8 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Saturday/Sunday: 13 miles

 

[azrivest]

That's 36 miles in 4 outings... Good job

closer to my pace when training for Disney last year

Had you run or walked 18 miles in the week prior to that tho?

 

[xjillianpaige]

That's 36 miles in 4 outings... Good job

Had you run or walked 18 miles in the week prior to that tho?

Thank you! & I'm sure I did max 8 miles total leading up to those miles in 2021! Gotta learn to be kind to myself!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 14​

I have exciting news! I was elected to my running club's board of directors! I ran on Tuesday and skipped Wednesday because that was the annual membership meeting where the election results would be shared (and I had two slides to present on our social media efforts since I was appointed Social Media coordinator a year ago) then ran Thursday and skipped Saturday (I volunteered at the 5k our club puts on each December) and then ran today! Let's go!

December 6: 4.00 miles • 44:43 • 11:11 avg pace
I was supposed to run 5 miles, but I was late for the early mile before running the 4 mile loop and decided to just call it. By the end of the 4 miles, it was a freezing rain and the last mile wouldn't ruin anything. So I finished at 4 miles and then we went in to warm up, eat, and have a drink! Also - a metronome again (11:05, 11:08, 11:20, and 11:08).

December 8: 5.00 miles • 54:34 • 10:54 avg pace
I met up with the girls for 5 morning miles before work, coffee to go. They were speedy this morning, so I was hanging out behind them, but kept them (mostly) in my sights and just did my thing. The run itself started easy (11:17 and 11:06 and 11:11) and then got much faster at the end (10:28 and 10:29)

December 11: 13 miles • 2:35:40 • 11:58 avg pace
I needed this today. It felt like redemption after a tough training cycle. I had posted on our group's Facebook group to see if anyone wanted/needed long miles today since running yesterday was out with our 5k being the priority. I had three people bite - Beth considered coming for 6 of them, and Toshie and Heather said they would do 8 of them with me. Beth had to back out this morning (it was COLD) but Toshie and Heather met me at 8 am and we went out for the 8 mile loop. I was so grateful to have them join me and they really let me set the pace at what was easy and conversational for me. When we got back to the cars, I didn't even have to ask - they both said "I feel good, I'll do the last 5 with you" so I had company for all 13 miles! Now, if they had left, I would have done 3:1 intervals for the last 5 miles. But since they stuck with me we continued our continuous running (stops for fuel) and finished together!

My splits started out VERY even and steady but then I definitely got tired at the end and slowed down for the last two miles. 11:45, 11:54, 11:49, 11:35, 11:33, 11:37, 12:51 (walk break for fuel), 11:52, 11:30, 11:38, 13:20 (walk break for fuel), 12:11, 12:04.

On the docket for week 15:
Dopey Simulation!
Tuesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 2.5 miles (walk)
Friday: 5 miles (walk)
Saturday: 10 miles (run/walk)
Sunday: 20 miles (run/walk)

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Congrats! Good luck with your simulation.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Congrats! Good luck with your simulation.

Thank you!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Congrats on getting elected to your running clubs board of directors! That is cool!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Congrats on getting elected to your running clubs board of directors! That is cool!

Thank you! I’m so excited to be creative and grow the club!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 15​

This was a big week! Dopey sim week! Diving right in...

December 13: 4.00 miles • 45:41 • 11:25 avg pace
A repeat of last week, I meant to get there for 5 miles (1 early, 4 with the group) but I didn't get it together and missed the first mile. And again, I'd rather go inside for warmth and dinner and a drink with the girls than one last mile. This felt hard? But looking at it I was fairly even throughout (11:18, 11:22, 11:31, 11:27) with a HR of mostly green.

December 15: 2.5 miles • 38:23 • 15:22 avg pace (walk)
Day 1 of the Dopey simulation! The goal was to keep it under 16:00 (success). This will mimic the plan for the 5k in January, as I will walk it - perhaps even more leisurely than this - with a few bouts of jogging when I see a camera. I did this solo for the first mile and then my friend Jen joined me when, halfway through her run she said, "I don't have to run today and I don't want to run today so I'm gonna stop and let Jillian catch me and walk with her."

December 16: 5 miles • 1:18:07 • 15:37 avg pace (walk)
Day 2 of the Dopey simulation! Another goal of getting it under 16:00 (check). This was miserable and I did not want to go because it was raining so hard and it was so cold. I threw on a sweatshirt and my rain coat, a baseball hat with an ear warmer over my ears, and I went for it. Put on a podcast since it was a solo walk before work. And got. it. done.

December 17: 10 miles • 2:07:49 • 12:47 avg pace (3 minute run : 1 minute walk)
Day 3 of the Dopey simulation! I had originally planned to go out early with my club and get it done solo, but at least start with folks. I ended up deciding to sleep in and let the rain finish up before heading out around 9 and doing a 5 mile out and back on a local rail trail. It took a little bit to get my groove... I was very slow those early miles (13:12, 13:33, 13:57) before getting a bit more into it/warming up (13:00, 12:28, 12:52, 12:38, 12:30) and then finishing strong because I wanted to be DONE... and to go get my nails done at 1 (11:53, 11:46). Overall happy with the effort here. The goal was easy, slow, and steady to get myself to finish the 20 the next day. Heart rate in the blue 22%, green 51%, and orange 24%. Fueled with untapped at mile 3 and 6. Breakfast was a bowl of cereal and an uncrustable.

December 18: 20 miles • 4:37:46 • 13:53 avg pace (2 minute run : 1 minute walk)
Day 4 of the Dopey simulation! The big one! 20 miles! I decided to do a shorter run:walk interval for this to make it easier to complete. More time to recover. And I think it was helpful - my heart rate was gray, blue or green for most of it... only hit orange for 4% of the time. Splits were generally within the 13:00 range. I fueled every 3 miles with untapped. Had an uncrustable on my drive over. Did a 10 mile loop (quite hilly) and then a 5 mile loop and then a 2.5 out and back for the final 5. I made a decision around mile 17 that I would walk the last 3 miles. A few of the girls I run with have been talking about the theory that anything over 3 hour stops being beneficial and can lead to a higher rate of injury. I've been running well more than 3 hours since starting this marathon thing because your girl is slow... ish. For reference, every other 20 miler I've completed:

Nov 14 2021: 4:34:53
Nov 27 2021: 4:48:34
Dec 18 2021: 4:37:16
May 7 2022: 3:57:42

This is all very in line with where I was when training for the marathon last winter. And now I'm hitting roughly the same time with 17.5 miles in the 3 days before. I feel really good about that.

Anyway... back to the 3 hours thing. I had those girls voices in my head when my feet were really hurting around mile 17. So I decided to walk in the last 3 miles. I was already about 3.5 hours in. And I was hitting 20 miles regardless of how it happened. Walk, crawl, jog. I did decide to go back to my 2:1 for the last half mile just to get it over with.

Oh, and I did see my dad just before mile 15! He was driving in the area (heading to a client's house) and so he decided to find me. He asked me street names and I had no idea what they were. He did find me and I did ask him to run me over with his car. He refused. So much for doing anything for your children.

On the docket for week 16:
Tuesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Saturday: 12 miles