Where my runners at?

Set a new record this morning for coldest temperature we have run in. 16 degrees at 8AM. Previous record was earlier this winter at 20 degrees. Wind was thankfully light. With proper layering, we were sweating in no time.

It may sound strange, but I am thankful for mornings like this one. It shows us we can stretch our comfort zones and succeed where we would otherwise stay home and sit it out. It makes getting out there on “normal” winter mornings almost a joy. “32 degrees? No problem!”
 
cubrock said:
Set a new record this morning for coldest temperature we have run in. 16 degrees at 8AM. Previous record was earlier this winter at 20 degrees. Wind was thankfully light. With proper layering, we were sweating in no time.

It may sound strange, but I am thankful for mornings like this one. It shows us we can stretch our comfort zones and succeed where we would otherwise stay home and sit it out. It makes getting out there on “normal” winter mornings almost a joy. “32 degrees? No problem!”
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Damnit… I should get up for a workout tomorrow at 5:30. I’d basically told myself it was too cold, but you just called me a pansy.

You aren’t wrong though.
 
cubrock said:
Set a new record this morning for coldest temperature we have run in. 16 degrees at 8AM. Previous record was earlier this winter at 20 degrees. Wind was thankfully light. With proper layering, we were sweating in no time.

It may sound strange, but I am thankful for mornings like this one. It shows us we can stretch our comfort zones and succeed where we would otherwise stay home and sit it out. It makes getting out there on “normal” winter mornings almost a joy. “32 degrees? No problem!”
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I enjoy this perspective.
 
15 degrees this morning for a new record cold run. Ice formed on my mustache this time. First time that has happened. Wasn’t too bad, actually. No wind really helped.
 
62 degrees! We ran in 62 degree weather this morning in shorts and t-shirts!

We went to Morganton’s Catawba Meadows park and did the route that our 10K will be on in April. Ran the first two miles, walked the next few with a little running, then ran a mile and change at the end. When I was runnjng, this was my view, if I was lucky. She got way ahead of me after this pic. When walking, my longer legs gave me a slight advantage.

Anywho, 6.5 miles in the books with nearly half of it running . She did more than half. Three more months till the 10K. Today was both humbling and encouraging. Have more work to do, but we have made great progress.


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I was having a great December but January has felt like a rut. I even took a week off for the first time in 10 months. I think part of it is the fact that I’ve been running on a treadmill because of logistics. It’s either been cold, raining, or cold and raining. It’s also plenty dark by the time I have a moment to myself.

For now, I think I’m going to try C25K again but at a much faster pace. Maybe I’ll start at week 4 or 5.
 
I haven't run in two weeks now thanks to this frickin' rain. Even on the couple nice days, everything has been a total mud pit.
 
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Frack N Cylons said:
I embraced the cold, dark, rain, and mud last year and I have been a bit of a punk about it this year.

Time to change that I think.
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I've come too close to snapping my ankle in the dry - I'm not risking it in the wet, especially at ASCG where the leaves are like glass and roots are hidden everywhere. 20 years ago, maybe.
 
I used to like running in cold weather. Then I got old and I got cancer (which I swear 'thins my blood'). Now I can't stand being outside in anything less than about 45, for pretty much anything. Now, in this season, my cardio is entirely indoors through HIIT. But I look forward to getting back out.
 
Ran right around 2 miles today. Rent decent for a half a mile, then everything started hurting. Feet, calves, back, neck, lungs. That’s what I get for going hungry and dehydrated. Ended up walking more than I would have liked, but at least I finally dragged my butt out there after three weeks.
 
Supermatch said:
Ran right around 2 miles today. Rent decent for a half a mile, then everything started hurting. Feet, calves, back, neck, lungs. That’s what I get for going hungry and dehydrated. Ended up walking more than I would have liked, but at least I finally dragged my butt out there after three weeks.
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You got up and ground it out. Good on you.
 
Supermatch said:
Ran right around 2 miles today. Rent decent for a half a mile, then everything started hurting. Feet, calves, back, neck, lungs. That’s what I get for going hungry and dehydrated. Ended up walking more than I would have liked, but at least I finally dragged my butt out there after three weeks.
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I don’t think I’m giving enough thought to staying hydrated either.

Good job getting out there!
 
Frack N Cylons said:
I don’t think I’m giving enough thought to staying hydrated either.

Good job getting out there!
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I normally drink a ton of seltzer since I hate regular water. We ran out several days ago. I started thinking of why I was cramping so bad, and realized that I probably hadn’t anything to drink other than coffee or a hard cider for the past few days. It catches up quick!
 
This week, I’ve been doing 4.76 miles per run. My average speed per mile has decreased as my total miles per run has increased, but at least I am doing it. lol. Part of that slowing down has been a sore knee from a hike injury a few weeks ago. Next week I up it to 5.2 miles (weird mileage intervals are due to the length of the track we are using at our local park).

The 10K is end of April. We have to run 14.5 laps to get 10K. I’m currently running 11 laps. Next week will be 12 laps. I’m adding a lap (.43 miles) per week. At this rate, I should have a couple weeks of running 10K before the race.

Prior to this training, the longest I had ever run was 5K. So, every week I am setting a new personal record. Chump change for a lot of guys here, but I’ll take my wins where I can.
 
cubrock said:
This week, I’ve been doing 4.76 miles per run. My average speed per mile has decreased as my total miles per run has increased, but at least I am doing it. lol. Part of that slowing down has been a sore knee from a hike injury a few weeks ago. Next week I up it to 5.2 miles (weird mileage intervals are due to the length of the track we are using at our local park).

The 10K is end of April. We have to run 14.5 laps to get 10K. I’m currently running 11 laps. Next week will be 12 laps. I’m adding a lap (.43 miles) per week. At this rate, I should have a couple weeks of running 10K before the race.

Prior to this training, the longest I had ever run was 5K. So, every week I am setting a new personal record. Chump change for a lot of guys here, but I’ll take my wins where I can.
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Well done!
10k isn't too far to push yourself through either! So if you make it to 5 miles you'll easily be able to push past the 10k on race day.
If your knee bothers you more too don't be afraid to take a little rest. I'd be pretty confident you can finish a 10k in a reasonable time as it sits today.
 
Ran on Sunday, ended up walking at least half of it. Don't know why, but it really kicked my butt. Nothing felt smooth, every stride felt like I was being dropped on my knees/back. My hips and lower back were absolutely killing me, and still are. I started off at under 14 minutes and then dropped way off as I was forced to walk more and more (this trail is much steeper than the others as well).
 
Supermatch said:
Ran on Sunday, ended up walking at least half of it. Don't know why, but it really kicked my butt. Nothing felt smooth, every stride felt like I was being dropped on my knees/back. My hips and lower back were absolutely killing me, and still are. I started off at under 14 minutes and then dropped way off as I was forced to walk more and more (this trail is much steeper than the others as well).
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At least you are out there. Just showing up and grinding it out is a win. Don’t let it get you down. Figure the pain part out to make sure something isn’t injured and keep at it. Maybe go back to an easier trail for a while. You can do it!
 
Desron23 said:
Well done!
10k isn't too far to push yourself through either! So if you make it to 5 miles you'll easily be able to push past the 10k on race day.
If your knee bothers you more too don't be afraid to take a little rest. I'd be pretty confident you can finish a 10k in a reasonable time as it sits today.
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Thanks for the encouragement. Went to the chiropractor yesterday and that has helped the knee pain subside some. My low back/hip on that side was out of alignment, which wasn't helping anything. I look forward to my next run on Monday after a few non run days to see if things have settled down. I can see myself abandoning adding one lap a week and going for the full 10K if the knee pain is sorted out. I’m kind of impatient for that 10K milestone. :)

After the 10K, I start back to long distance hiking training for our Montana backpacking trip this summer. That entails at least one weekly 12-15 mile hike in mountainous terrain (usually Linville Gorge or Grandfather Mountain). I may still keep running one day a week to help build and keep that muscle group. Last year, I would do the long hike one day, a shorter (5.5 mile) a different day, with two days at the gym working on strength and flexibility. Kinda don’t want to give up the running stamina now, but I have to put the miles in on the trail with increasing pack weight, too. With my schedule, four days a week is about all I have for any kind of workout, so I have to be smart about how I use them.
 
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cubrock said:
Thanks for the encouragement. Went to the chiropractor yesterday and that has helped the knee pain subside some. My low back/hip on that side was out of alignment, which was helping anything. I look forward to my next run on Monday after a few non run days to see if things have settled down. I can see myself abandoning adding one lap a week and going for the full 10K if the knee pain is sorted out. I’m kind of impatient for that 10K milestone. :)

After the 10K, I start back to long distance hiking training for our Montana backpacking trip this summer. That entails at least one weekly 12-15 mile hike in mountainous terrain (usually Linville Gorge or Grandfather Mountain). I may still keep running one day a week to help build and keep that muscle group. Last year, I would do the long hike one day, a shorter (5.5 mile) a different day, with two days at the gym working on strength and flexibility. Kinda don’t want to give up the running stamina now, but I have to put the miles in on the trail with increasing pack weight, too. With my schedule, four days a week is about all I have for any kind of workout, so I have to be smart about how I use them.
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That's good.
I definitely pushed to 11 miles faster than I planned training for my half last fall, I understand that drive. You could always do a maintenance run (2-4 miles) early in the week and push for the full 10k as a 'long run' later. That way you minimize injury and could pick up the pace on a shorter run to make sure your body maintains efficient form at the faster pace.

If you need a buddy on a Saturday hike at Grandfather my dog and I could tag along at some point.
 
Desron23 said:
That's good.
I definitely pushed to 11 miles faster than I planned training for my half last fall, I understand that drive. You could always do a maintenance run (2-4 miles) early in the week and push for the full 10k as a 'long run' later. That way you minimize injury and could pick up the pace on a shorter run to make sure your body maintains efficient form at the faster pace.

If you need a buddy on a Saturday hike at Grandfather my dog and I could tag along at some point.
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I'll keep you posted on Grandfather. I usually work Saturdays, but if I wind up hiking on an off weekend, I'll give you a shout. We usually hike up the Scout trail to Calloway Peak and back. To get 14 miles, we start at Holloway Mountain parking area and hike the Tanawha to Scout. The 3.5 miles each way on Tanawha are fairly easy going with some hills. The 3.5ish miles on the Scout trail are a grind. :)
 
cubrock said:
At least you are out there. Just showing up and grinding it out is a win. Don’t let it get you down. Figure the pain part out to make sure something isn’t injured and keep at it. Maybe go back to an easier trail for a while. You can do it!
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I suspect my hips being super tight is probably contributing. Next run, I will go to the trail closer to the horse barn - tends to be a little flatter and a little more loam/fewer roots to hopefully beat me up a little less. I've done a 12.xx pace there compared to a high 13.xx pace on the other trails.
 
2.9 miles today. Trails were horrible, like running through a pot of chili. Still, ran more than walked. Kept stride very short to keep things easy on the legs and hips. Calves were the limiting factor at first, then ran out of gas 2.3 miles in on the return leg which was mostly uphill. First two miles were right around 15 mins, so I’ll take the consistency given how bad the trails were. Drank a Liquid IV beforehand and think it made a big difference in minimizing the neck/shoulder cramps and back spasms.
 
Supermatch said:
2.9 miles today. Trails were horrible, like running through a pot of chili. Still, ran more than walked. Kept stride very short to keep things easy on the legs and hips. Calves were the limiting factor at first, then ran out of gas 2.3 miles in on the return leg which was mostly uphill. First two miles were right around 15 mins, so I’ll take the consistency given how bad the trails were. Drank a Liquid IV beforehand and think it made a big difference in minimizing the neck/shoulder cramps and back spasms.
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Pickle juice can be a big help with cramping and is a natural byproduct of eating yummy dills.
 
I'm way out of shape for mid-March. I'm signed up for the Tar Heel 10 Miler in five weeks, and I've just started back running after a long break. Will be doing run-walk only for both training runs and the 10 miler.
 
I ran about 5.3 miles today. I am pretty sure I could have gone the whole 10K. Knee is still a bit sore and stiff but a lot better than the last two weeks. My goal is to run the 10K in 1 hour 10 minutes or less. At the pace I did today, I would have been about 1 hour 12 minutes had I finished it out. Pretty encouraging place to be with almost six weeks to go till the race.
 
cubrock said:
I ran about 5.3 miles today. I am pretty sure I could have gone the whole 10K. Knee is still a bit sore and stiff but a lot better than the last two weeks. My goal is to run the 10K in 1 hour 10 minutes or less. At the pace I did today, I would have been about 1 hour 12 minutes had I finished it out. Pretty encouraging place to be with almost six weeks to go till the race.
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That’s a really solid pace, better than I can usually manage.
 
cubrock said:
I ran about 5.3 miles today. I am pretty sure I could have gone the whole 10K. Knee is still a bit sore and stiff but a lot better than the last two weeks. My goal is to run the 10K in 1 hour 10 minutes or less. At the pace I did today, I would have been about 1 hour 12 minutes had I finished it out. Pretty encouraging place to be with almost six weeks to go till the race.
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That's awesome
You're in a great spot. I wouldn't be surprised if you end up knocking 20-30 seconds/mile or so off that 1:10 pace between now and the race
 
MrBitey said:
Traveling for work this week but got in some morning miles in Sunnyvale, out behind NASA Ames / Moffett Field. You can see the hangers in the distance in this photo.
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That's very cool. I would love to see Hanger 1. The Cali ANG has a pararescue unit out there, a friend of mine is in that unit and has invited me out. I'd love to visit.
 
2.93 miles yesterday in steady light rain, 15:29 average pace. Wanted to get a run in before heavy rain turned the trails into a mud pit again all weekend.

Cardio was not an issue until maybe the last 200 yards, it was all calf pain/burning.

My upper back has been bothering me so I ran in my Donnie Thompson Bow tie, which is a very stiff but somewhat stretchy brace that pulls your shoulders back. It definitely helped prevent some of the back/neck/shoulder pinching I normally feel.
 
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