The Running Thread - 2020

[Guidman]

May Totals:
220.47 miles
7:25 avg/mile

35 miles biked (hopefully that can increase this month)

 

[SheHulk]

May 2020:
Miles 80.5
Average pace: 11:47

Just kind of jogging along, trying to keep to about 18-20 miles per week with one tempo run a week in there and one kind-of longer run (7 miles give or take) on the weekends. Same as the past few months with nothing to train for. Also I've been trying to plank and do push ups every day. This is my longest daily planking streak: more than 2 months without getting bored and quitting!

I'm signed up for a *very* local 10k (about 200 people normally) on Labor Day, which hasn't been canceled yet, and then the Philadelphia Marathon in November which seems to still be on for now. If these races don't cancel soon I'll have to get on a real training plan by the end of June.

In Disney-related news, while we were there for Marathon Weekend, we had booked a bounceback trip for arrival July 11, which happens to be the day DW is re-opening. So we are sitting tight waiting to see if a) they let us keep our reservations, b) what will be open, and c) whether we feel safe going given the state of their safety measures and the world at that time. I refuse to fly right now so we can make it a last-minute decision if Disney gives us a choice.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

May 2020:

59 miles
18 hours

I want to get better at getting exercise in 5 days a week, but at least averaging 4 days a week is a huge improvement over where I was once the shelter in place order was issued.

 

[shellott-hill]

Month of May Summary:

• 22 Runs
• 126.35 miles
• Time on Road 19:42:20
• Average Pace 9:14/min
• 3 cross-training additions: 2 hikes, 1 bike ride

This is the first year I am taking my running beyond 3 days a week with no cross-training. I want to keep it injury free and build up strength to support that.

 

[Baloo in MI]

May 2020 totals:
74 running miles
136 biking miles
88 walking miles

I continue to stick to the plan my PT gave me. It is hard to stick to the plan, the mileage just does not add up and I want to be running more. But it is about 10 percent more than April and I am still running pain free. I guess he knows what he is doing... Left to my own stupidity I would have many more miles and likely injury issues. It is all just a battle to be patient. I want to do more but the last thing I want is to be back in physical therapy again!

I am now focusing on getting ready for my Dopey proof of time in September - Capital City River Run. Hoping to improve my post injury PR at the Half Marathon distance there and get a usable POT for Dopey.

 

[camaker]

Ooh! I found a local race that looks like it’s still set to be run! It just opened for registration today, so that should be a good sign. Now I just have to decide whether training for a 50k trail run over the summer really sounds like a good idea... Not to mention the race is Labor Day Weekend in NC. Can you say hot and humid?!

 

[JediKnightXan]

May Miles

80.8 average pace 12:42

About 8 miles short of last month. I finished the month really poorly not getting in my last long runs. Need to get back on track in June, and shoot for the mid 90s miles wise. Also time to bring on the heat!

 

[flav]

Just wanted to make sure everyone saw this (free to all who want to participate)... https://www.nnrunningteam.com/marathon

If I'm doing math correctly, registration opens tonight at 3:00am EDT/2:00am CDT/1:00am MDT/12:00 midnight PDT.

Thanks, I joined a random team.

 

[FFigawi]

Ooh! I found a local race that looks like it’s still set to be run! It just opened for registration today, so that should be a good sign. Now I just have to decide whether training for a 50k trail run over the summer really sounds like a good idea... Not to mention the race is Labor Day Weekend in NC. Can you say hot and humid?!

At this point, a race is a race

 

[GreatLakes]

May 2020 Training Summary

Running duration = 18:59 hours
Running mileage = 122 miles
Average Pace = 9:20 min/mile (about 176 sec/mile slower than estimated LT)
Average HR = 132 (67% HRR)
Indoor Cycling duration = 24:00 hours
Indoor Cycling mileage = 371 miles
Indoor Cycling average power = 149 watts
Indoor Cycling average Normalized Power = 152 watts
Yoga = 6:01 hours
Total Training Time = 49:01 hours

Good and bad month. The good was I was visited by @canglim52 during his cross country trip. We decided to do an impromptu mile time trial since that's what I've been training towards for the last 2.5 months. I've run several time trials over the years and had yet to break 6 minutes in the mile. My lifetime PR was 7:12 back from middle school until I broke that in November 2013 after 14 months of training with a 7:03. I didn't break 7 minutes until December 2015 (happened during a HM). Since then I've run several time trials, but hadn't been able to break 6 minutes. Everything I can do at 5k, 10k, HM, and M suggested I was capable. My PR of 6:02 was from a 5k TT in May 2017. A time trial in April 2019 was 6:19, and a time trial in Feb 2020 before this training cycle began was a 6:12. But based on the training over the last 10 weeks, I was confident I could break 6 minutes. With the help of @canglim52 I was able to run a 5:42 (and he got his own PR in the mile as well at around 5:20). As a side-note, shout out to Christian (who doesn't post as much as he used to) who ran 519 miles in May!

Unfortunately, the bad side of the month is I've been dealing with some back/upper leg pain that refuses to go away. So I'm pausing the mile time trial training for the moment. Depending on how long it takes, we'll see whether I resume training for the mile again or shift focus elsewhere. I think I can probably take the mile time lower, but that'll have to wait a bit before the next attempt.

I think I mentioned it here before but I highly recommend the book Becoming a Supple Leopard for general mobility and specific problem areas. I'm not sure what kind of issue you are having with your lower back/upper legs but I was also having some issues there and some of the "smashes" and stretches in his book really helped in addition to seeing a local Physio.

Have you ever done a 1-mile race? I don't mean the 1-mile before a 5K but actual 1-mile race? I did my first one last year and loved it but it was painful. It had some pros come into town for it. Meeting Nick Willis, Heidi See, and Nikki Hiltz was really cool and unlike other pro sports you go right next to the pros. Check out this site. There are a few not too far from me I was thinking about looking into this year before racing was cancelled.

 

[TinkerBellLiz]

Ooh! I found a local race that looks like it’s still set to be run! It just opened for registration today, so that should be a good sign. Now I just have to decide whether training for a 50k trail run over the summer really sounds like a good idea... Not to mention the race is Labor Day Weekend in NC. Can you say hot and humid?!

We chose our local “Run the Coast Summer Series” this year instead of the Disney virtuals. April was cancelled and Memorial Day was postponed until August but our July race will happen! I’m so excited

 

[DopeyBadger]

I think I mentioned it here before but I highly recommend the book Becoming a Supple Leopard for general mobility and specific problem areas. I'm not sure what kind of issue you are having with your lower back/upper legs but I was also having some issues there and some of the "smashes" and stretches in his book really helped in addition to seeing a local Physio.

Have you ever done a 1-mile race? I don't mean the 1-mile before a 5K but actual 1-mile race? I did my first one last year and loved it but it was painful. It had some pros come into town for it. Meeting Nick Willis, Heidi See, and Nikki Hiltz was really cool and unlike other pro sports you go right next to the pros. Check out this site. There are a few not too far from me I was thinking about looking into this year before racing was cancelled.

Thanks! Added it to my Amazon wish list.

Never a 1 mile race race, but a 1 mile time trial. So everything but the other people which is definitely an adrenaline booster/motivator. I think I've done a time trial at least 5-6 times. Doesn't look like any of those races are close enough to be worth it, but it's something I'll keep an eye on as races begin to pop up again. Alternatively, I could find a really fast 5k field and just use them for a mile. Then obviously crash for the remainder of the 5k distance.

 

[KevM]

https://www.boston.com/sports/local...jgylJeoLwxb8cVFwOooPnHCpTuAFgpXPBLUt-K2TrXA9U

 

[TheHamm]

May
44 miles
12:39 miles per minute

I think I would be happy before the end of summer to see 60 miles/month at at least an 11:30 pace. I have no clear reason for that target other than I did the distance before and I can hit that pace for intermittent miles so with work it should not be a stretch. It has been a year since I averaged under a 12m/m pace. The real challenge is finding time to put in the runs given the rest of what life throws my way.

Mid-May found me irritated that heat, humidity, and thunderstorms rolled in, but it was bound to happen sooner rather than later! And fewer and more difficult runs is a better problem to have than faced by many.

While I am disappointed with the mileage total, which was a mile less than last month, I did it in 4 fewer runs. If weather had been more pleasant I am sure I would have seen an upward trend in the total- it makes me more sad about gyms being closed but I am not eager to go to one to use the treadmill and it is unclear when they might open anyhow. The pace was a bit of a bright spot as it is a smidge lower than the previous two months, though still not where it was when I added in TM workouts (which go faster but on are less inadvertent hill work) or this time last year. If I split it into the first two weeks vs. the last two weeks of may, or split it into individual runs I feel better about the numbers, the longer run week of humid runs were about a minute per mile slower, so I am going to remind myself I am not a single number. I am trying to set realistic expectations for June and aim for similar total miles knowing that the weather will not cooperate, treadmills will remain inaccessible, and I will be returning to my lab and need to figure out how to work without childcare. The bright side of returning to work is that my second pair of running shoes have been sitting in my cubicle for three months, and I would like to run their last 30 miles and break out my last pair in reserve. I started to get a bit of pain in my shins (posterior) and hip which I do not think is due to the current shoes (maybe half their life left), but I want to eliminate that option. My guess is either sloppy form in hot humidity (most pain during worst weather) and the minimal weight training I was doing has stopped without going to the gym.

My larger regret for May was not documenting what I observed while running. There were amazing flowers. For much of the month (and a large chunk of April) I watched college students in caps and gowns take consolation selfies while drinking champagne in front of the university's stadium. I saw kids outside blowing bubbles at the crack of dawn. I cut my run short to ooutrun a thunderstorm, making it home and grabbing a cup of water as the first crack hit the sky. In my overconfidence I got caught in a rainstorm two days later. The little produce store near me is testing an autonomous street sweeper-like delivery vehicle that I used to pace myself. I am pretty sure I saw someone moving their golf club bag by remote control. I accidentally found myself in a peaceful protest the last weekend (There is some form of protest and sign holding in my town every week, but this was not in the typical location for demonstrations). There were fantastic things around me, and while the specifics change, they will be there again next month.

 

[SheHulk]

My larger regret for May was not documenting what I observed while running. There were amazing flowers. For much of the month (and a large chunk of April) I watched college students in caps and gowns take consolation selfies while drinking champagne in front of the university's stadium. I saw kids outside blowing bubbles at the crack of dawn. I cut my run short to ooutrun a thunderstorm, making it home and grabbing a cup of water as the first crack hit the sky. In my overconfidence I got caught in a rainstorm two days later. The little produce store near me is testing an autonomous street sweeper-like delivery vehicle that I used to pace myself. I am pretty sure I saw someone moving their golf club bag by remote control. I accidentally found myself in a peaceful protest the last weekend (There is some form of protest and sign holding in my town every week, but this was not in the typical location for demonstrations). There were fantastic things around me, and while the specifics change, they will be there again next month.

That's a great idea, it's been a very unusual past few months and I'm trying to do a better job of documenting my experiences. Either writing it down or taking pictures or otherwise.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

May totals:
120.6 miles for me. Within 3 miles of my November 2019 total during my @DopeyBadger MW training plan. I've enjoyed seeing all kinds of birds, the trees putting out their leaves, fish jumping in the stream, and graduates coming to the park to take photos (like families do for the holidays). One of the benches along the rail trail we run had a sign on it in March around the time all this began. There was a paper telling us about the woman in who's honor the bench was donated. She liked to paint rocks and leave them places for people to find. A collection had been left on the bench with a note to take one home if you'd like. So I picked the one with the cloud and rainbow on it. It said "be the rainbow in someone's cloud". Kept it at the door ever since. And guess what: I've seen several rocks since then: on the stump of a recently fallen tree, on a park bench, on top of a gate to the trail.

DW hit 38.6 miles in May. Her knee is getting sore, since she can't get to her Pilates classes. Home Pilates is not the same as being on the reformer at the studio.

 

[Disney at Heart]

May miles: 110.3
Pace: 11:21

 

[LdyStormy76]

Question: What do you do for ID and emergency contact information when running outside?

Reason for asking: Since all my training for 2020 will be outside, and mostly by myself, this is something I need to finally figure out. Especially as I was almost hit by a car yesterday when the driver decided to abort the right turn he was making and turn left as I was half way across the street. I really do not want to take my Drivers License for fear of loosing it, but will if I absolutely must.

 

[flav]

Question: What do you do for ID and emergency contact information when running outside?

Reason for asking: Since all my training for 2020 will be outside, and mostly by myself, this is something I need to finally figure out. Especially as I was almost hit by a car yesterday when the driver decided to abort the right turn he was making and turn left as I was half way across the street. I really do not want to take my Drivers License for fear of loosing it, but will if I absolutely must.

ATTQOTD: I run with my phone which is programmed with emergency information.

 

[MissLiss279]

Question: What do you do for ID and emergency contact information when running outside?

Reason for asking: Since all my training for 2020 will be outside, and mostly by myself, this is something I need to finally figure out. Especially as I was almost hit by a car yesterday when the driver decided to abort the right turn he was making and turn left as I was half way across the street. I really do not want to take my Drivers License for fear of loosing it, but will if I absolutely must.

ATTQOTD:
I have a road ID that I sometimes wear. If I’m not wearing it, then I am carrying my ID, Insurance Card, and a Credit Card in a ziplock bag that I put in a zippered pocket in my running skirt for shorter runs or my OrangeMud pack for longer runs.

ETA: I also always run with my phone. It fits nice in one of my skirt’s shorts pocket.

Editing to add again: I recently upgraded my Garmin Fenix watch, that has a couple safety features built in. If you take a hard fall, I believe it will send an alert to emergency contacts that you have programmed in. Also, you can hold a button to send an alert to your emergency contacts. The alerts will send a link to your GPS location.