Running Renaissance: Road to Paris 2024

[lookingforsunshine]

Let the record stand that I had an average pace of 10:35 for that run.

My fastest mile EVER was 10 min lol

 

[GollyGadget]

My fastest mile EVER was 10 min lol

And there's nothing wrong with that! Runners come in all paces.

This reminds me of a Paula Radcliffe quote that I read recently.
I won't quote the whole thing but she states that we are all "going through similar emotions, trials, and experiences." A runner is a runner no matter the pace.

 

[HangWithMerida]

the only thing I remember about this run is that some guy mumbled about how slow I was as I passed him. Rude. But also, that's the point of the easy days so I guess it was a success.

Sounds like someone could use a snack…

 

[GollyGadget]

Sounds like someone could use a snack…

 

[GollyGadget]

WDW Marathon Training - Week 5/15

Last week's running encounter was just the beginning of the weirdos. At first I thought maybe there was a full moon, but there definitely wasn't. Really hoping it was just Halloween and things will be back to normal soon. I had to unexpectedly turn around on Tuesday to avoid an unpredictable encounter and on Friday there was another incident involving a guy yelling at everyone he passed . I was pretty close to a family when I passed and I did my best to tuck in with them so I didn't have to deal with him one on one. I run in the same area regularly and have never had problems here before. I have had problems on other routes that I no longer run and I will be devastated if this becomes a regular thing. It's literally one of the main reasons we bought our house.

Anyway, on with the show!

Scheduled
Monday - Easy 6 mi
Tuesday - Speed 6x800m
Wednesday - off
Thursday - M Tempo 5 mi
Friday - Easy 5 mi
Saturday - Easy 6 mi
Sunday - Long 10 mi

Completed
Monday - Easy 6 mi -My left foot was hurting most of the day which made me nervous but turned out to be a non event. It was a rainy October day so I took advantage of the treadmill and watched Muppets Haunted Mansion.
Tuesday - Speed 6x800m - Beside the near weirdo encounter, my mind was all over the place. There's been some things going on at work and it was a distraction. Needles to say, I struggled keeping the paces but this was entirely mental. Maybe, in this case, I'm the weirdo who finds the mental side of running more difficult than the physical.
Wednesday - off - I searched for a new running focused mobility exercise and what I found was way more workout than I intended but I managed. My legs were really restless all evening. Does that happen to anyone else? They were just buzzing with energy.
Thursday - M Tempo 5 mi - Still figuring this one out. Good thing I have 10 more weeks! Average pace was 8:39 which I consider a small victory because mile by mile there was more variation than intended (8:45, 8:32, 8:48, 8:41 , 8:29?!). My quads were starting to feel it in the last half mile which was a good reminder that I need to keep up with my strength and not rely on the quads so much. I found a good standing core workout which was perfect for those instances where I want something quick and don't want to crawl around on the floor.
Friday - Easy 5 mi - This was an amazing run! Weather was beautiful and I felt really strong.
Saturday - Easy 6 mi Long 10 mi - We had Halloween plans on Saturday night so I decided it would be best to get my long run completed before any shenanigans. This was my first run at this pace and I thought I was aiming for 9:29 but it was actually supposed to be 9:24. Whoops! I knew this run might be a little rough because there was less recovery after the tempo but, in all honesty, it was fine. This was my first 10 mi run since July which is a little shocking. My knees were a bit grumpy afterward so definitely need to start using the new shoes for these long runs.
Sunday - Long 10 mi Easy 6 mi - I'm glad I switched these runs because my body battery was hovering right at 30 when I woke up . I waited until afternoon for the run and because I was so tired, I thought I might only go 4 but I made it the entire 6. I could really feel it those last two miles. My pace and hr were fine, but got the full running while tired experience.

I don't want to jinx myself, but training has been going tremendously well so far. Obviously, I'm only 1/3 of the way done and a lot can still happen. I'm kind of in disbelief with how well the tempos are going because those are historically my toughest workouts. They bump up to 8 miles soon so hopefully I can keep my momentum going. My body also seems to be responding well. I was a bit nervous because my resting heart rate had increased quite a bit a couple of weeks ago but it was back to normal levels this week. Here's to many more good training sessions!


Happy running y'all!

 

[azrivest]

Love the GIF "Halloween is cool"

It's not just you by the way. We had a bad encounter yesterday with my running group. A man started backing up in his F-150 right onto us, and wouldn't stop even though our group was passing behind him. He just yelled at everyone to eff off and get out of his way, he wasn't gonna stop.

 

[SheHulk]

Love the GIF "Halloween is cool"

It's not just you by the way. We had a bad encounter yesterday with my running group. A man started backing up in his F-150 right onto us, and wouldn't stop even though our group was passing behind him. He just yelled at everyone to eff off and get out of his way, he wasn't gonna stop.

I thought Canadians were all polite!

 

[GollyGadget]

Love the GIF "Halloween is cool"

It's not just you by the way. We had a bad encounter yesterday with my running group. A man started backing up in his F-150 right onto us, and wouldn't stop even though our group was passing behind him. He just yelled at everyone to eff off and get out of his way, he wasn't gonna stop.

Ugghh. I'm sorry to hear this.

 

[HangWithMerida]

My legs were really restless all evening. Does that happen to anyone else? They were just buzzing with energy.

Yes, and I wish I knew what makes it happen. Most nights it doesn’t happen. It seems totally random and it’s super annoying as they jump and fidget while I’m trying to go to sleep.

 

[GollyGadget]

Yes, and I wish I knew what makes it happen. Most nights it doesn’t happen. It seems totally random and it’s super annoying as they jump and fidget while I’m trying to go to sleep.

Oh no! That's way worse. Thankfully, mine didn't interfere with my sleep at all.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I had RLS during one of my pregnancies and it was the WORST. I remember something about potassium I think? I can definitely commiserate with you.

 

[GollyGadget]

I had RLS during one of my pregnancies and it was the WORST. I remember something about potassium I think? I can definitely commiserate with you.

I totally forgot rls was a thing! I self diagnosed myself with it in high school but always attributed it to the uncomfortable desks where I spent most of my day. Maybe it was a nutritional thing.

I did start taking a multivitamin in August to avoid scurvy.

I wish that wasn't a joke. I came back from a work trip, where there were no fruits or vegetables, feeling generally unwell and with terrible calf cramps. However, I could see that I need more of something with my increased mileage. Definitely going to look into that!

 

[GollyGadget]

WDW Marathon Training - Week 5.5/15

Despite only going to bed 5 hours ago, I'm now wide awake . This happens a lot when I travel, usually when I have early morning flights and I'm nervous about oversleeping. However my flight isn't until 8:45a and I only live 5 min from the airport. .. So it must be excitement? Maybe this will at least make my early bedtime tonight more successful.

Anyway, in case you forgot or haven't figured it out, I'm heading to Wine & Dine where I'll be running the challenge. My plan is to write up separate recaps of those so I figured that I might as well post my journal update now.

Scheduled
Monday - Easy 5 mi
Tuesday - Speed 5x1000m
Wednesday - Easy 6 mi
Thursday - Easy 5 mi
Friday - Off
Saturday - 10K Race
Sunday - HM with my mom

Completed
Monday - Easy 5 mi - This was Halloween so what better time to test out my figment horns. Pretty much everyone avoided eye contact with me . Except the one guy who called me slow a couple of weeks ago... He gave me a friendly "boo". At least, I'm pretty sure it was friendly and not insulting.
I already posted this photo in the running thread but might as well put it here too:

Tuesday - Speed 5x1000m - This run was tough. I suppose that should be expected? The first interval was slower and I nearly resigned to 10K paces but felt like I could find another gear and managed to get the next 4 really close to the goal of 4:45. Reps were 4:51, 4:45, 4:44, 4:47, 4:47. I was winded after this one so it was definitely a good workout. I followed it up with a glutes and hips strength circuit which I'll be keeping in my rotation. It hurt so good.
I also finished up my shirt for the 10K. I'm pretty excited about how the whole thing turned out. I don't normally run in costume but I felt this was something I could put together fairly easy and it would be generally comfortable. Plus, the whole thing cost less than $12 so if it doesn't work, it's no major loss.

Wednesday - Easy 6 mi - Wednesday would normally be a rest day but I moved it because of the travel and expo on Friday. The run began with some pain in my inner calf, a new spot for me. I'm guessing it was from the hard session the day before. The pain migrated to my hamstring and then my inner thigh. I thought about cutting the run short for fear of injury but it didn't seem to be impacting my gait and then it just magically went away by mile 3.
Thursday - Easy 5 mi - I had to be at work by 9a which I realize isn't that early but the sunrise isn't until after 7:30 these days so that meant an early morning treadmill run. I guess maybe I could have alternatively gone straight to work without showering but I'm sure my coworkers appreciated that wasn't the choice I made. I kept the paces in my easy range but adjusted it every 5 minutes just to give me something to look forward to. This helped break up the monotony and I was surprised when the run was complete because it didn't feel like the boring torture that I was expecting.
Friday - Off
Saturday - TBD
Sunday - TBD

One more thing before I go: I'm currently at 981 miles for the year, a milestone that I didn't hit until December 6th last year so I'm a whole month ahead of schedule. But more excitingly, this means I should hit 1000 miles somewhere around epcot .

Happy running y'all!

 

[kps7795]

WDW Marathon Training - Week 5.5/15

Despite only going to bed 5 hours ago, I'm now wide awake . This happens a lot when I travel, usually when I have early morning flights and I'm nervous about oversleeping. However my flight isn't until 8:45a and I only live 5 min from the airport. .. So it must be excitement? Maybe this will at least make my early bedtime tonight more successful.

Anyway, in case you forgot or haven't figured it out, I'm heading to Wine & Dine where I'll be running the challenge. My plan is to write up separate recaps of those so I figured that I might as well post my journal update now.

Scheduled
Monday - Easy 5 mi
Tuesday - Speed 5x1000m
Wednesday - Easy 6 mi
Thursday - Easy 5 mi
Friday - Off
Saturday - 10K Race
Sunday - HM with my mom

Completed
Monday - Easy 5 mi - This was Halloween so what better time to test out my figment horns. Pretty much everyone avoided eye contact with me . Except the one guy who called me slow a couple of weeks ago... He gave me a friendly "boo". At least, I'm pretty sure it was friendly and not insulting.
I already posted this photo in the running thread but might as well put it here too:
View attachment 716190
Tuesday - Speed 5x1000m - This run was tough. I suppose that should be expected? The first interval was slower and I nearly resigned to 10K paces but felt like I could find another gear and managed to get the next 4 really close to the goal of 4:45. Reps were 4:51, 4:45, 4:44, 4:47, 4:47. I was winded after this one so it was definitely a good workout. I followed it up with a glutes and hips strength circuit which I'll be keeping in my rotation. It hurt so good.
I also finished up my shirt for the 10K. I'm pretty excited about how the whole thing turned out. I don't normally run in costume but I felt this was something I could put together fairly easy and it would be generally comfortable. Plus, the whole thing cost less than $12 so if it doesn't work, it's no major loss.
View attachment 716191
Wednesday - Easy 6 mi - Wednesday would normally be a rest day but I moved it because of the travel and expo on Friday. The run began with some pain in my inner calf, a new spot for me. I'm guessing it was from the hard session the day before. The pain migrated to my hamstring and then my inner thigh. I thought about cutting the run short for fear of injury but it didn't seem to be impacting my gait and then it just magically went away by mile 3.
Thursday - Easy 5 mi - I had to be at work by 9a which I realize isn't that early but the sunrise isn't until after 7:30 these days so that meant an early morning treadmill run. I guess maybe I could have alternatively gone straight to work without showering but I'm sure my coworkers appreciated that wasn't the choice I made. I kept the paces in my easy range but adjusted it every 5 minutes just to give me something to look forward to. This helped break up the monotony and I was surprised when the run was complete because it didn't feel like the boring torture that I was expecting.
Friday - Off
Saturday - TBD
Sunday - TBD

One more thing before I go: I'm currently at 981 miles for the year, a milestone that I didn't hit until December 6th last year so I'm a whole month ahead of schedule. But more excitingly, this means I should hit 1000 miles somewhere around epcot .

Happy running y'all!

The horns look really cute! I can't wait to see the full costume. For what it's worth, don't give some jerk a moment's more of your thoughts. Your pace will always be slow for some and SUPER fast for others. Have a great time this weekend!

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Yay!!! Have the best time! The costume looks great.

 

[GollyGadget]

The horns look really cute! I can't wait to see the full costume. For what it's worth, don't give some jerk a moment's more of your thoughts. Your pace will always be slow for some and SUPER fast for others. Have a great time this weekend!

Maybe I'm just naive or optimistic but I genuinely think it was a friendly Halloween boo this time.

 

[HangWithMerida]

I had RLS during one of my pregnancies and it was the WORST. I remember something about potassium I think? I can definitely commiserate with you.

I don’t think mine is a nutritional thing. My latest theory is that my caffeine intake is creeping later into the day than it used to. I’m still having basically the same amount but I used to get it all before probably 10am. Now I’m still nursing it into the afternoon. I’m making an effort to get it all back into the pre-lunch hours and we’ll see how my sleep does.

@GollyGadget Your costume is really cute!! I’m impressed with your crafting skills.

 

[GollyGadget]

I don’t think mine is a nutritional thing. My latest theory is that my caffeine intake is creeping later into the day than it used to. I’m still having basically the same amount but I used to get it all before probably 10am. Now I’m still nursing it into the afternoon. I’m making an effort to get it all back into the pre-lunch hours and we’ll see how my sleep does.

@GollyGadget Your costume is really cute!! I’m impressed with your crafting skills.

Interesting! I don't think mine is caffeine related. I have one cup of tea in the morning and that's usually it for me. I will have a lunch soda if I'm feeling particularly tired but it isn't the norm. Hopefully you get it figured out! I'm barely human without my sleep

Thanks for the compliment! Super sweet of you. I had to google how to make spikes and it's not the cleanest, most polished look, but it worked!

 

[GollyGadget]

Wine & Dine 10K 2022 Recap

Pre race
We woke up with our 2:30a alarm because I’m one of those first bus people. I wasn’t always but live and learn. We were on the bus by 3a and arrived at Epcot by 3:30a.



I headed straight for gear check and was very confused why they gave me a sticker but haphazardly stuck it to the back of my bib as instructed. There were pre-race characters but the lines were all pretty long so we headed towards the corrals which opened around 3:45a.

Once in the corral area, I ran some laps near the potties for a 1.5 mile warm up. Just after 4, I headed to corral A where lots of folks were already sitting in the front corner. I went to the side where there was some open space and did a few dynamic warm ups and then finally made my way into the crowd by 4:15. From there, I did my best to stay loose but it was a bit difficult to wiggle around with all the people. I don’t remember the exact time but I’m going to guess that around 4:30a we started the shuffle to the start line. I managed to stay in the front portion of my corral but that walk out is really annoying with everyone jostling for their position. I much prefer the half and full staging where the corrals are at the actual start line.



It was time to figure out my race strategy. My fitness has already improved with my marathon training so I debated trying to break that elusive 50 min barrier. However it was just too warm and humid to set my heart on it. I would just have to see how the race went.

Race Time!
Being in the front, I started pretty much right at 5a and it was a hot mess. I totally understand why people with slower paces try to get to the front but it doesn’t make it any less troublesome. This was the worst crowding that I’ve ever experienced. I kind of wonder if it would be better further back in A because theoretically there would be fewer people trying to be first? Idk. I practiced my patience and waited for it to open up without too much weaving. About a quarter mile in, I was finally able to run my own pace.

Even though I knew 50 min was likely too aggressive for the conditions, I still didn’t plan on stopping for many characters unless they were sentimental. This is pretty much always my plan and I don’t even know why anymore because it never works.

Just before the first mile, I can see the first character stop is Mulan. I’m not a big fan but I remember that my niece is, so of course I stop. The next character isn’t far ahead and it’s the hippo from Fantasia (apparently her name is Hyacinth but I for sure didn’t know that). I’ve never met her before so of course I’m stopping. I did my best to pose like a ballerina but my brain isn’t yet awake and I stopped ballet lessons when I was 7 so this is what I get instead



I still didn't think I was going to stop for many characters but next is King Louie and he has no line. Again, I try to pose like an orangutan and it looks very similar to my ballerina



King Louie is followed by Mickey Mouse which I'm so excited about!! My mom's favorite character is Mickey and she's never seen him on course. I text her to let her know but she isn't checking her phone and totally missed him



I cross the 3 mile timing mat at 25:23. I realize that 50 could be possible but decide not to push it. I stop for a photo with Donald because now I'm committed to stopping for characters . From there it's into Hollywood Studios and I really enjoyed seeing the Christmas garlands and lights. We quickly exit HS and all of a sudden it’s very quiet. Then I realize there are signs for a “quiet zone” because we’re right next to rooms at the boardwalk. I do get a kick out of all the produce signs. Time to celerybrate!

Naturally, I stop for photos with Goofy as well as Chip & Dale. Neither of these have anyone stopping for photos and I'm slightly offended on their behalf. And then it's into Epcot!



I try to stop for a photo with the figment statue but the poor CM was handed a sweaty phone and couldn't figure out why it was so blurry and at this point I'm just ready to finish so I move along.

Finish time of 52:40 and the best finish line photo I may ever have . How did Mickey change outfits and beat me to the finish?


Post Race
Garmin has my moving time at 50:58. Could I have gone sub 50? I honestly doubt it. It was hot for this Midwesterner and those character stops allowed me to recharge. Regardless, I have no regrets. The race was an absolute blast and I really enjoyed all the Figment cheers.

They're still releasing corrals after I finish. I remember at least 4 more groups. My mom isn't expected to finish for another hour so I head to gear check to pick up my bag.

They want the sticker on the back of my bib and I struggle to find it . Eventually, I'm able to give them what they want and I guess the sticker makes it easier for them but I wish they would just look it up by my bib number. It's much easier to access.

The character lines are not long so I stop to say hi to Raya, Lilo, and Minnie. After Minnie, it's time to head to the finish line to cheer for my mom.



I'm so darn proud of her. I instantly start crying when I see her near the finish. How will I ever survive the half without turning into a giant puddle?

Once she's finished we head straight back to our resort for the official breakfast of runDisney, Mickey waffles.

 

[Naomeri]

Wine & Dine 10K 2022 Recap

They want the sticker on the back of my bib and I struggle to find it . Eventually, I'm able to give them what they want and I guess the sticker makes it easier for them but I wish they would just look it up by my bib number. It's much easier to access.

Yeah, that was annoying for the 10K, the volunteers for the 5K and half were happy enough to just be told the number off the sticker, but the guy was manhandling my bib to look at the sticker himself, and it’s like, “dude, I still need this thing in one piece tomorrow, you know.”