The Running Thread - 2020

[Professor_Cookie]

My big question is: what now? Part of the reason I dropped off the map (again) is that shortly after running the half I got the news, as everyone did, that the WDW Marathon has gone virtual for 2021. I'm not interested in running my first marathon as a virtual in the dead of winter up here in Montana, so my A-goal race is now off the table. I'd still really like WDW to be my first marathon, which means I can expect to restart the Galloway training program for it next summer. But...what now? The marathon was the one thing that was keeping me motivated to train at all, let alone when winter hits.

I'm thinking this coming year may be a time to put in a couple more half marathons and try to cut down my time at that distance before launching into longer distance training runs. While I'm very proud of the half marathon I ran, realistically it's probably good for me to have another year to build up baseline fitness and better speed before tackling the full. I might also run a couple of 10Ks this fall and push myself on them since I'm not having to hold back and prevent recovery needs for a larger training plan anymore. But at some point I need to map out my larger plan and figure out what my next goal is to tide me over.

Also, side note: cramps. This race was the first time I've gotten leg cramps while running, and it was really bad during the last half mile. Is that something where I should be looking to adjust nutrition? Stretching before or during the race? Or do I just need to train more so my body's used to the distance??

You can run the Mid-Mountain Marathon with me in Park City next August.

 

[flav]

I signed up to do “Run the Year 2021” to give me something “big” for the next year

Tempted... might go for 2021km equivalent... but nice medal.

 

[Kazrak]

side note - I signed up to do “Run the Year 2021” to give me something “big” for the next year. I’m afraid I might need the motivation to keep me moving with MW 2022 being so far away

My wife's been doing that for a couple years now, although she's walking the year instead of running it. I believe she finished for 2020 late last week.

 

[BigEeyore]

@YawningDodo congrats on your race!

September totals (down a little this month thanks to a week at Disney and racing):
- Run = 93 mi
- Bike = 250 mi
- Swim = 7,000 yds (I really need to get back into a swimming routine!)

The news about Marathon weekend going virtual was a real gut punch. I decided to keep my vacation plans for that weekend at WDW and do Goofy virtually (probably the weekend before since it is New Years), but maintaining the motivation and training for a virtual race is going to be a big challenge for me - but I need something to keep me going right now!

 

[Dopey 2020]

September miles
running - 101
pace - 10’40’/mile
walking - 145

My first 100+ month since last December training for Dopey 2020
I‘m walking quite a bit more as well and tracking it as I race around the globe with my new found DIS CRAW friends.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

September Totals:

Running: 81 miles
Average Pace: 10:17

Another YTD PW for me. I've had a series of aches and pains that I just haven't been able to shake. Nothing that I would call an injury and not always the same thing. I think my shoes wore out prematurely. I switched to a new pair last week and seem to be doing better. I might start retiring shoes at 250 rather than 325 miles.

 

[MissLiss279]

September mileage: 116.1
September Avg Pace: 10:40

After running a marathon at the beginning of the month, my mileage has been way down, and I dont think my HR has completely recovered yet. I need to pick it back up, because I’m on pace to have my most miles ever this year, and may actually be able to make it to 2020 miles. I don’t usually make yearly mileage goals. I just run whatever is on my training plan, and go with it. Since MW is now virtual, I probably can flex my plan a little more. I just need to average 152 miles for these last three months. Considering my previous three months (before September) were just over 200 miles, I think I have a chance!

 

[camaker]

September was another big training month. Marathon training has peaked for the NYC Virtual that I plan to run in ~3 weeks and starting up the CRAW has really helped me push my walking game a bit further. September’s temperatures were also much more moderate here, contributing heavily to the 0;21/mile pace reduction and 4 bpm lower average HR for the month compared to August. Hopefully that trend continues into October. Overall, 2020 continues to be a massive year for running, as I’ve surpassed my 2019 running total, which was a PR, with 3 months left to run! Here’s the summary:

September Training Summary
Total Miles: 174.60
Total Time: 29:48:59
Average Pace: 10:10/mi
Average HR: 143/min
2020 Total Miles: 1356.05 (New annual PR with 3 mo left in the year!)
Rolling 12mo Miles: 1,734.70 (New PR!)

Extra
Walking Miles: 91.28

 

[opusone]

September Training Summary
Running Miles: 186.2 miles
Running Time: 29:39:10
Average Pace: 9:33/mi
Average HR: 132/min

Additional Tidbits
CRAW Miles: 191.9 miles (5.7 miles of walking)
Cycling Miles: my bike saw daylight once for a whopping 15.3 miles

Definitely my biggest running month in 2020 so far. This is largely thanks to the CRAW and the accountability it brings. Looking forward to the coming months!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Here I've been feeling lazy because this weekend will be the 2 week mark and I don't feel quite ready to jump back in--the pain's gone, though. Think I need to start at least walking this weekend, though, because it's just weird not going out and putting the time in.

Well now you can feel not lazy and know you were following a good pattern of recovery between training cycles. Not only are you allowing your body to recover from the previous cycle, but you're allowing the mathematical training load to fall. This allows the upcoming training cycle to be more fruitful. So I say, way to go!

I'll be honest, a lot of my hesitation around Hal Higdon is the daily time commitment. I sometimes find it hard to get out for my weekday runs at all, so doing just two of those and the long run has been manageable (though maybe having it be closer to a daily thing might help make it more routine). Walking for at least some of it makes it seem more doable; I can typically walk to/from work at least two days each week (1.2 miles each direction) and somehow that doesn't feel like such a commitment. I kind of like the idea of going time-based for the winter months, too. There's a half marathon in February I'm halfway considering, but I have a feeling that once it comes to that time of year I won't actually be excited to go out in the cold and run it, so I'm not currently planning my training around that.

I had gotten to week 13 of the Galloway beginners' marathon training plan from the runDisney website (https://www.rundisney.com/running-training-programs/). Longest training run I did was 13 miles and it was challenging. Garmin says that one took me 4 hours and 11 minutes and I was doing two half hour runs during the week, so purely in terms of hours spent running the Higdon plan isn't more onerous--it's just talking myself into getting out there four or five days each week instead of three.

I can certainly understand that. I'd say that despite the two training plans having nearly identical peak training time (about 5 hrs) having one spread out over 5 days vs 3 days might leave you feeling better throughout the process. In my personal experience (and from others I know), moving up from 3 to 4 or 5 days actually made running easier and not harder. Obviously time is a very personal thing. Some people can work in 20-30 min, others 45-60 min, and others 120-150 min on a weekday. I'd say be honest with yourself and choose a training plan you feel you can be consistent with. Because the ebbs and flows of the plan are intentional by the writer and you'll maximize gains by following what's written. So a well followed 3 day plan is better than an inconsistent 5 day plan. Since you don't have a committed race at the end of this training plan, then now is a great time to experiment with something new on the off chance it does indeed leave you feeling better throughout and more prepared. In the end, the most appropriate volume and paced training you can do in the absence of injury is likely to lead to the best long term outcome. But look at endurance training in the scope of years of effort rather than in the immediate impact.

From my work with training load calculations (which are not the end all be all but simply a tool for evaluating training), walking is about 1/4 of the load as easy running. So to receive a near equal training load value, you're looking at a 30 min easy run vs a 120 min walk. But, a 30 min walk beats a 0 min inactivity. Just something to consider as you move through your options.

 

[DopeyBadger]

September 2020 Training Summary

Running duration = 16:57 hours
Running mileage = 120.3 miles
Average Pace = 8:27 min/mile (about 90 sec/mile slower than estimated Marathon Tempo)
Average HR = 136 (12 bpm lower than Marathon Pace)
Indoor Cycling duration = 22:05 hours
Indoor Cycling mileage = 375 miles
Indoor Cycling average power = 181 watts (highest since Dec 2019)
Indoor Cycling average Normalized Power = 197 watts (highest since Oct 2019)
Strength = 5:39 hours
Total Training Time = 44:42 hours

Feeling good and training is going well. My Garmin VO2max raised 8 points over the course of 8 weeks. Since this training plan was developed for specifically that purpose since I've seen a correlative relationship between my Garmin VO2max and race performances, then I'm pleased with the progress thus far. I'm coming into the home stretch of training and keeping an eye on the data in determining when I'm peaking and ready for a HM/M time trial. The focus has switched from hard cycle/easy run to easier cycle with a few hard runs. I've also been pleased with my strength routine combo of LIIFT4+McMillan Core and McMillan Legs. I was initially disappointed with McMillan Legs given the cost over McMillan Core which felt like only a marginal increase in product. But I do feel as if the McMillan Legs program is working. I was able to do a side plank with leg lift in McMillan Core which is something for nearly 5 years of having using that program I had never been able to do. I attribute that ability to the McMillan Legs program.

 

[C.beara]

September total
7km

Definitely not what I had planned/wanted, but life had other plans this month.
Really not sure what it means for my virtual 10km this month, but I have a feeling I’ll be walking it. Also not what I planned, but I’ll take it if that’s my only option...

 

[Smilelea]

Tempted... might go for 2021km equivalent... but nice medal.

That's a great idea! I was going to try for 1500 miles because I should easily hit 1000 for this year but I don't think I could hit 2021 miles. I like the idea of trying for 2021 km. I might start with that goal and then move to 1500 miles if I hit it early.

My wife's been doing that for a couple years now, although she's walking the year instead of running it. I believe she finished for 2020 late last week.

I just learned of it a couple of weeks ago. I'm excited to try for a new yearly goal and actually get something for it. I set a goal of 650 miles for this year and hit it in July but I have nothing to "show" for it.

September Totals:

64.5 miles
13:19 average pace
13:03:20 cross training hours

9:56 mile - 1 mile PR!

Other news:
- Weight loss is holding steady
- I'm still on track to hit my updated yearly mileage goal
- We are headed to Disney in May and we were able to snag a couple of nights at VGF for the first time. The rest of our stay will be at our home resort AKV. I'm just a little excited

 

[Jules76126]

2020 has been a tough year for a lot of people, myself included. September was a chance to turn over a new leaf for me. I had been running pretty consistently last winter (pre-covid) and was able to get out there even more when we switched to work from home in March. I then found out I was pregnant in March and continue to run pretty consistently. Unfortunately, I had a miscarriage in April and although running was not to blame, I still worried that I "exercised too much". So the rest of the Spring and Summer was a roller coaster of some times running, some times walking, trying not to work out too much, still trying to get pregnant, and dealing with the stress of Covid and having no idea how long we would be working from home (which I enjoy and don't want to give up)

I decided in August I was becoming a very unpleasant person to be around and needed to regroup and focus on what I could control. Luckily, many of my coworkers were also not enjoying the uncertainty surrounding our office return so we were able to get some clarity that we are most likely work from home till end of Spring semester (I work at a university) or at a minimum won't be back five days a week in January. I decided to recommit to fitness as it is a good way for me to decompress and relieve stress. I joined a CRAW team for motivation and my office had a virtual step challenge for September and October that I joined. I also committed to a Beachbody workout to help with core and strength training. I am happy to say my stats for September are -

Walking - 123 miles
Running - 22 miles
12 days of core/strength training work

I am excited to up my running mileage in October and enjoy the cooler fall temps and hopefully a better end to 2020, but not gonna lie, I'm ready to flip the page on this year.

 

[michigandergirl]

@Jules76126 Sorry to hear about the miscarriage, but glad to hear you've found that focusing on fitness is giving you some control over this crap year.

 

[SheHulk]

@Jules76126 I'm so sorry. Looking for what you can control, when things feel uncontrollable, is so important, I do that too. Flipping the calendar to next year will feel great.

 

[michigandergirl]

September total: 45.2 miles

Another not-so-stellar running month, but it is a slight improvement over July & August, so there's that.
Here's the good news:
1) I've finally got some control over the SI joint issue.
2) I've consistently done 2 strength training workouts a week all summer long.
3) I've been doing more trail running.
4) I've been foam rolling, which I loathe, but my PT says it's crucial to my future as a runner.
5) I have an in person race on the calendar for November (a small trail 5K)!!

 

[garneska]

@Jules76126 sorry about your miscarriage and crap year. I am with you though, let's flip the page on this and get into something better.

 

[DopeyBadger]

@Jules76126

 

[Sleepless Knight]

@Jules76126 So sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I've seen family and friends go through with and it is such a challenging thing. So sad.

September totals: 42 miles, 1 virtual 10K, 1 virtual 5K. The virtual races turned out to be a very positive experience for me as I found that I liked having some sort of purpose to a run after just getting the run in since May. Accordingly, I decided to go for a few different upcoming runDisney virtual races. No challenges, although I reserve the right to turn one of them into a challenge if I feel like it.

In the tradition of what next, September was defined by horrific air quality out here that made going outside an unpleasant experience let alone running. Then throw in work ramping up again and the month once again did not go how I wanted it to although it was a nice improvement over both July and August. So there's that.

YTD miles: 339.6