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It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Fman99 Feb 02 2020 04:25 PM

Finished January with a strong 131.5 miles ran (plus a nice 6.5 mile bike ride one weekend in Florida). Following a formal marathon training plan (Hal Higdon's Intermediate 2, for reference) for the first time in many years, and it calls for some gradually longer weekday runs as well as two longer ones each weekend. It also calls for some runs to be at my goal pace, which is an 8 minute mile, as I hope to run a 3:30 marathon in Delaware in April. This past weekend, I ran 7 miles at pace yesterday, and then an easy 12 miler this morning, followed by the local Super Couch Potato 5k - in which I ran a 22:09, good enough for 6th in age and 61st overall out of about 625 participants.

metsmarathon Feb 03 2020 09:47 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

i've always used higdon as the basis for my own training. usually intermediate 1 or 2. the general structure always seemed to work well for me, and also made sense to me. That said, today i'm starting up a new running training program. for christmas, i got a garmin watch - a forerunner 235, and since january have been using it to track my running instead of holding my iphone whenever i ran. so far, i like it. and its GPS track seems a lot more accurate - or at the very least, smoother - than the iphone. so i noticed that garmin has some training plans that you can sign up for, and i decided to give their 10k plan a try, with the goal of training up for a notional 10k in early may. which should put me in good position for the annual spring lake 5 run. not that i'll be running it for speed this year, at least not for _my_ speed. once again, we've signed minimm up for it. his training will be more off-the-books, improvisational, fit it in where schedule and activity allows. but we're looking to make an improvement off last year, and it seems like he's somewhat motivated to work at it. on a non-interference basis with basketball and soccer of course... which is where the scheduling gets tricky. but i figure one or maybe two runs a week with good spacing away from his other activities and we can make some real endurance gains, especially with all the other sports-fitness he's already getting. he went so far as to float 40-minutes as a possible goal. which is a bit sporty, but i'm happy to work for it if he is LOL i finished january with 54 miles. not incredible but not awful. other than the spring lake 5, and a notional unplanned 10k early in may that exists purely for training plan scheduling purposes, i've no big races planned for the year. i think my fallback is to plan then for a fall trail half marathon, kidsport-willing. which is probably enough motivation. the other big goal for 2020, which is definitely running related is to get my fat ass down under 200lbs, and stay there. i was getting close, but had been creeping back up in january, and that trend needs to reverse itself. sub-200 will definitely make the trail half so very much easier.

Fman99 Feb 03 2020 10:19 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Nice! I got a new watch also, just before I ran NYC, I bought myself the Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music. It's nice to be able to play music and run without the headphone wire getting in my way.

Fman99 Jul 01 2020 07:54 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Wow has this thread gone stale! Sure, races are cancelled. My spring marathon got scratched and I don't see any options for a fall 26.2 that might actually happen. I did get in 200.8 miles last month, 82.4 on my bike and 118.4 running. Pretty pleased with that.

metsmarathon Jul 02 2020 06:38 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

yeah, uh, wow. i think maybe we got distracted or something... i don't know when races are coming back, but i'm still hanging onto a sliver of a hope that a small trail half marathon in a state park in the hills of near-rural northwest jersey can still go on in november. but not having a defined race to train for has thrown my whole training mindset out of whack. i had been doing a good job of hewing to the garmin training plan that i'd intended, but fell off with the shut downs. i kept running for the most part, but really didn't want to stress about fitting in a specific workout when i was mostly still trying to figure out how to work and help with school and all the other shit. I'm running fairly consistently nowadays. mostly i'm picking and choosing from a few different 3-6 mile loops of my neighborhood. and i'm really, really glad i don't live in a place where every house is just like the other, or i'd be going even more stir-crazy than i am. i do miss running at work during lunch, but now i run after lunch, and will occasionally have a minimm riding his bike alongside me. The biggest impact to my running though is that without a long race on the horizon, i'm struggling to convince myself that i should go for the long run, getting my max distance into double digits. it just feels too superfluous right now. like too much of a luxury, if that makes sense. and it takes me away from the kids too, and all the stuff i need to get done around the house. normally, i don't get that feeling; it's rather strange. damned perspective, i guess... but i find myself asking, 'do i really want to be away for two hours right now?' i suppose it's been suppressing my mileage a bit. but not overly much. i logged 100 miles in may, and finished up june wtih 75 more. i finished the first half of the year with 460 miles, and feel like i've got a hell of a shot at 1k for 2020. i will say, that with all the working at home, i'm actually snacking less during the day, and have finally dipped below 200 lbs, which is where i haven't really been in over 10 years. oh, and although my annual spring lake 5 was cancelled, i ran an unofficial 5 mile time trial that same day just for kicks, and pumped out one of my faster times. so maybe if my trail half gets cancelled i can convince myself to run a pretend virtual road half instead, and see where i land.

Fman99 Jul 02 2020 06:55 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

=metsmarathon post_id=39737 time=1593693521 user_id=83] oh, and although my annual spring lake 5 was cancelled, i ran an unofficial 5 mile time trial that same day just for kicks, and pumped out one of my faster times. so maybe if my trail half gets cancelled i can convince myself to run a pretend virtual road half instead, and see where i land.

You and I should figure out a halfway point between where we each live and go run a trail somewhere, just get 13.1 in and chat it up, sometime this fall. In lieu of an actual half.

metsmarathon Jul 14 2020 10:45 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

ok, so... i may need to rethink this whole fall half marathon thing. the new york city marathon is going virtual. for $60 friggin dollars. there are 5ks at this price point, damnit. pay $60, run 26.2, get actual nycmarathon medal. very, very tempting.... i'm going to have to give this some serious thought. like, mostly, do i really want to run 26.2 miles all by myself some day in november, without the crowds and excitement and support structure that a real race offers....

Fman99 Jul 14 2020 12:16 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

=metsmarathon post_id=40395 time=1594745157 user_id=83] ok, so... i may need to rethink this whole fall half marathon thing. the new york city marathon is going virtual. for $60 friggin dollars. there are 5ks at this price point, damnit. pay $60, run 26.2, get actual nycmarathon medal. very, very tempting.... i'm going to have to give this some serious thought. like, mostly, do i really want to run 26.2 miles all by myself some day in november, without the crowds and excitement and support structure that a real race offers....

I couldn't bring myself to do it - and I was mostly trained up in March (had completed a 19 mile training run) when my April marathon in Delaware got cancelled. I ended up just putting those miles in the bag. I've done 1-2 virtual races since, only because they were real ones at the time I signed up and then converted. They're not particularly fun.

metsmarathon Jul 14 2020 01:20 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

yeah.... i think i can't quite make the leap from a 20 mile training run to adding 6 more miles - the worst miles - on top of it without the marathon environment to make it feel worth it. especially since it would just be running around the same course that i already run around. i'm still gonna think about it though. pretty sure i'll end up in the 'nah' category. hmm... yeah, i'd be doing like 3 times around my lake. as beautiful and scenic as it is, it's also hilly AF, especially compared to the relative flatness of nyc (bridges not withstanding). that third time around would be killer.

Fman99 Aug 03 2020 06:46 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Mileage check! Good July for me, 123 miles run and another 53 on my bike. Tight back today so I'm resting but otherwise feeling good. Started using CBD cream to alleviate some discomfort in my left knee, which is helping.

Fman99 Sep 07 2020 06:59 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Another mileage check! Hopefully y'all haven't gotten obese this summer. I'm still piling up the mileage - August was 127.1 running, and 45.7 cycling, total 172.8 miles for the month. Feeling great.

metsmarathon Sep 08 2020 10:48 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

i followed up a 90-mile july with a 73-mile august. probably would've gotten a higher total in august but i spent a week in acadia hiking and mostly not running. not getting obese this summer, somehow. apparently, with fewer actual in-person meetings to sit through, i'm snacking less, and am within spitting distance of 190 lbs. which is a number i really haven't seen much of since... well... since i came home from my honeymoon. maybe since college. body composition isn't quite what it was way back then, of course. hoping to be able to keep running now that school is starting and the kid sports are kicking in. we'll see what i'm able to manage....

TransMonk Sep 08 2020 11:28 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

I've been doing 15 miles per week consistently since July 4th. It's been a while since I have been out so frequently.

metsmarathon Oct 02 2020 11:16 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

logged 115.75 miles for september. biggest month in a LONG time. possibly a little too much, but we'll see... i've got a nagging patellar tendon thing going on right now. i think i pissed it off in maine, with a bad slippery step on a rock climbing down a mountain. i'm going to see if i can just treat it into submission with ice, stretching, and light leg extensions, while not cutting back my running too terribly much. we'll see how it goes. i'm also thinking that my current shoes might be contributing. i switched up from my usual asics GT-1000's to a pair of saucony guide ISOs, and i'm not loving them too much. not enough support for my foot, and they feel a touch light on cushioning in the forefoot. i might maybe step up a level into the asics GT-2000s for my next shoe, to give the extra stability features another go. haven't been in the 2000s for over a decade i think...

Fman99 Oct 02 2020 01:18 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

I have Asics GT-1000's that are the Gore-Tex lined ones, that I ran in last winter. They're pretty good. I had a good September also, 119.5 miles running and another 38 on my bike. Everything's clicking for me these days, though my average pace has slowed to just under a 9 minute mile most runs.

metsmarathon Oct 02 2020 02:33 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

my average pace is around an 8:20-8:30 unless i really cram in some hills. my longest run was a hilly 8.75, at 8:45 pace. i've been mixing in some speedier workouts as well. minimm having soccer practices at a soccer complex that has a 3/4 mile paved loop around it helps a ton. started september running a few kinda hard 1200s followed up by a mile speed run got me a 6:49. mid month i did a ladders workout where i started with a 400, then 800, 1200, mile, and back down with a minute or two between each hard stretch, and got the mile down to 6:42. i also clocked the fastest 5k my garmin has seen me do since i got it in december in that workout, so, walking bits included, for a 23:40. aaand i also logged a garminPR for the 10k at 48:46. so, good month speedwise. also, might be why i'm hurting a tad. slower tends to hurt more, though... i am totally itching to run a real race. a real, live, non-virtual 5k, against real people. there's a gear that i just cannot quite tap into right now, racing against my watch. and i hate to squander how good i feel right now... i will be designating some weekday in october as a 'race day', so i can run my virtual turkey trot. i wanna see if i can get low 7's for the full 5k... the VO2max calculator on my watch tells me i'm at 54-55, which my watch tells me is supposed to translate into a 19:11! now, i ain't buying that at all, but 22 seems like it might just be achievable.

Fman99 Oct 03 2020 05:34 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Nice! I have seen a few "races" that are going on or have gone on nearby - but these are staggered starts where they send out 10-15 people at a time. I don't think that's gonna get it done for me.

metsmarathon Oct 03 2020 07:51 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Yeah, ditto. I mean, if it was a 15-person group that was all aiming for 21-22, then maybe.... But I need people to chase, and to be chased by.

metsmarathon Nov 02 2020 03:31 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

so, i just ran 114.70 miles for october, just a shade under what i did in september. worth noting.... early in the month i decided to do a bit of a time trial on a 5k. not pushing super duper hard, treating it mostly as a tempo part of a 10k tempo run, but still wanted to see what i could get away with. 22:34 on a paved 3/4 mile flat rectangle loop around a bunch of soccer fields. with some warmup and cooldown. the 10 was a 47:17, too. not shabby. now i just need to find some decent weather to run my turkey trot and crack into the 21s... october put me at about 857 miles for the year, and feeling fairly positive about cracking the thousand mile mark.

Fman99 Nov 02 2020 05:39 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Steady Eddie over here, another 128 miles in October (plus 22 more on my bike for 150 even overall). Going to Schenectady weekend after next to run an honest to goodness half. About a dozen of my run club buddies are all going en masse. It'll be nice to do a real race, my first since early March. I'm hoping to run 8 minute miles and come in around 1:45 but it'll depend on the weather.

Fman99 Nov 15 2020 02:56 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

For the first time since early March, I pinned a bib to my shirt and ran a real race this morning. My run club friends found a marathon/half marathon/5k event in Altamont, NY, near Schenectady. About a dozen of us went out as a group, met for dinner last night in a hotel suite, and then raced this morning. It was great fun. I didn't realize how much I had missed the competitive vibe and the cheers from folks along the route. I set a modest goal for myself, to run a sub-1:45 half marathon and hang out in the 8 min/mile range, and was able to hit that goal (with 13 seconds to spare). It was a cool, cloudy and windy day and a hilly up and down country route.

Fman99 Nov 15 2020 03:01 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Here are me and my run club buddies. I am wearing safety yellow. https://www.awesomescreenshot.com/image/1075218/5678770-db9ea83fa0376f7596fcad02c54a6645.png>

metsmarathon Nov 16 2020 11:34 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

outstanding work! i'm looking forward to running my virtual turkey trot sometime between thursday and turkey day. just gotta find the right combination of weather and availability. earlier this month i did notch a 21:46 for a soccer-practice 5k, so if i can gear myself up enough mentally, i might be able to shave some more time off that. but, yeah, it's just going to be a mental battle, with no competition available for the attempt. I'm thinking that i'll probably run my 5k while minimm is at basketball practice, then pick him up and run his virtual 5k with him. that then frees us both up to run with mrsmm, ummL, & ummR for their own virtual 5ks on thanksgiving morning. it will be ummL's third 5k, and hopefully ummR's first full 5k, having run half of last year's.

metsmarathon Nov 21 2020 03:24 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

so, virtual turkey trot done. and man, do i wish i could've had a real race to be a part of. i logged my fastest "official" time since 2012, with a "GPS-certified" 21:28, only 14 seconds off my PR. i think that'll do... also, so far, i'm in first place in the race. caveat: only 5 runners have their times in, as of this writing. but i'll take what i can get lol.

Fman99 Nov 21 2020 08:15 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Well done! I think my 5k PR is almost exactly where yours is - I ran a 21:15 a few years ago.

metsmarathon Nov 21 2020 09:14 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Thank you! And I am very happy to have that second on you, seeing as how I'm fairly certain you've got me beat in the half and full! ;)

Fman99 Dec 01 2020 07:49 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Steady Eddie, they (should) call me. November: 123.1 miles running, 26.2 miles on bike, and another 5 2/3 hours of virtual bike riding and spin time. I joined a holiday bike challenge with some of my run club friends and it's all based on minutes per week in the saddle, so my cardio is way up. I feel great.

metsmarathon Dec 02 2020 07:23 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

finally, i finished a month with more mileage than you. well, as long as we exclude the bike... i logged 127.1 miles running, including that 21:28 5k. i feel like the current president waiting for mail-in ballots to be tabulated, though. and it looks like georgia just certified their results last night... I started out in first place until there were about 20-odd participants. then one other time snuck in there for first place.. then as they got up toward 95 official participants, another time got in under 21, pushing me to 3rd place overall. and then, last night, #96 logged in, taking first overall, dropping me to 4th. damn. still first in my age group though, and faster than anyone over the age of 30. out of 96 total participants (so far) but i'll take what i can get. ;) sadly, there are no virtual awards this year, just virtual pride. i also ran with minimm to try to get him a good 5k time. i should not run with minimm to try to get him a good 5k time. last year, he ran about a 27:30. this year, struggled to get in under 29:00. running in a crowd is certainly a different affair, but he also just mentally ties himself in knots when he's with me, running. i think he's thinking too much about it, and i'm defintely responsible for that. he was pretty frustrated. I then ran with ummR, who is, in so many ways, minimm in a smaller package. last year, he ran teh second half of the 5k, having been in the running stroller for the first half. so this was his first time tackling the whole distance. he got a 39:35, switching between nearly sprinting, and walking from exhaustion. not bad for a 6-year old. while i was doing that, ummL was running his 5k with mrs.mm. running a steady, easy, consistent pace, the dude logged a 33:50! easily 13 minutes faster than last year. wasn't even tired; he took only 2 walk breaks for the whole dang thing.

Fman99 Jan 01 2021 07:56 PM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

Final numbers - my runniest and mileiest year ever, 1535 miles running and another 342 biking, 1877 miles overall. I had never even cracked 1400 miles prior to 2020. Ran very few races but kept a consistent routine of long runs each weekend. Reconnected with a run buddy of mine who had taken a few years off to have kids, and we met most Sundays for a 10-11 mile route along the Erie Canal Tow Path and Green Lakes State Park. Hoping for more races in 2021. Real ones, not this virtual nonsense.

A Boy Named Seo Jan 02 2021 10:02 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

That's a lotta running, well done. I have a friend who runs outrageous miles and he did a 100-mile treadmill run (!!!) the other day to raise money for mental health and suicide prevention. He started at 9am and finished a little less than 24 hours later. I was in complete awe.

metsmarathon Jan 02 2021 11:50 AM Re: It Keeps You Runnin': Running Thread, 2020

I would make a joke about where my mental health would be after 100 miles on a treadmill, but that would seem wildly inappropriate given the context especially. That's fucking impressive. My mind turns to goo after one mile on those things. I finished 2020 with my second highest mileage year ever, at 1083 miles, and also ran my fastest 5k in a long time. Longest run was 12 miles, and really only did a handful of runs in double digits mileage. Had 4 straight hundred-mile months to close out the year. Feeling like I might be able to tackle a marathon again, but still thinking that the weekend time commitment might to too big. Maybe I'll just try to target a trail half that I'd wanted to run this past year.