Half K Challenge: Complete! Plus, big moves in the BOS to BHB attempt.

After a week of some high mileage, the Half K Challenge wrapped up today! I completed this with success, and did not miss a day, or miss nay mileage. As I have mentioned, this is the first time I have ever done a streak, and I wasn't sure how I would feel without a rest day. I'm pleased to say, that I finished up in fine form, and with no physical (or mental??) issues. I certainly took some easier days (run/walk) and I am quite sure that helped. 

This being said, I simply can not imagine running with intensity (marathon training) and never having a day off. I definitely think that when one is doing speed work/long runs/hills, the rest days are critical.

The plus of all this running is I have been able to see some glorious sunsets. 

Nice

Some big moons.

Why am I running at 5AM?????

And definitely some rain the other day. 

I literally give zero shits

Another positive is that I seem to have racked up some miles in my Boston to Bar Harbor Challenge. I made a huge jump in the standings, and was ranked out of the 200's for the first time since week one (I think?) 

I'm physically feeling great, and am in much better running shape than I have been since before the weird leg (which held up so well this month that I shall retire that topic. I'm still being super mindful, ice, rolling, etc. More than anything I'm having a minor reccurance of sesamoiditis in my right foot which is annoying. And par for the course.)

We managed a rainy day hike on Saturday which was pretty sweet. Despite the rain, the conditions are still completely fall like, at least in the lower peaks. Lots of fun, and we are all very happy to get out on the less traveled trails since Covid is going bananas around here. 

Ellie wishes we would not be so lame

It is definitely funny/uncomfortable seeing other parts of the country carrying on as normal. Marathons being run. People BQ'ing. Turkey Trots galore. 

To be honest, nothing seems like a worse idea at the moment. 

Yep, I miss my racing life, but I'm legit enjoying the day to day work. I'm appreciating the many health benefits of my active lifestyle. Work has been beyond stressful, and running really helps me to cope with my anxiety. With all the uncertainty, it is so satisfying to log a good workout, and know that I'm committed to my health. 

Anyway. On to next week (or, this week since I'm posting a day late in order to celebrate my Half K victory!) 

I need to continue logging miles for Boston to Bar Harbor. I have to check to see how far behind I still am- but there's still work to be done there. (LIES: I am NOT behind, I am now AHEAD: 14.02 miles. WINNING WINNING)

I managed to run some 800's last week (slow, but not as slow as I normally run!) 

Winter is not yet really here, so running outdoors has been completely safe, if not altogether pleasant. 

Maybe I keep a streak alive until New Years?? (NOT continuing to add Half k a day though....) 

Stats:

Miles run: 

Running: 45.93 (WTF like a legit peak marathon week)

Hiking: 7.3

Straight up walking: 4

Total: 57.23 HOLY SHIT

Warmest day: 46, coldest day 28 and a half inch of snow

Place in Challenge on Sunday night: 164/571 36 place improvement. That happens when you run more than twice the miles required. YAY!

BOS to BHB Week 13 (my week count has been wrong...) The Half K lives on, Summer is OVER

The title says it all, I don't need to write any more!

I managed to do 5 actual runs, and (as promised) some really tragic "speed work" of 4x400 at an 8:00 pace. HAHA!!!! I have not done any speed AT ALL in so long, that it's like doing it for the first time. 

Winter is not really here, but summer is absolutely gone. We had a couple days that were quite chilly and it seems that there may be some stupid snow in the forecast. 

I spent this weeks "rest days" doing a walk/run, and a hike, followed by more walking so that my Half-K streak would not be broken. I'm hanging in there with that one, and also slowly making up ground for the BOS to BHB challenge. Weird leg has been good- I was the *tiniest* bit worried that I felt something after two consecutive treadmill days, but it was nothing. 

Weird moment of the week was getting a finishers medal for BOS 2 BHB....

I'm not finished. Like, at all? So I guess one gets a medal just for signing up. Either way, if I don't manage to get the correct mileage in the correct time, I'm going to have to give this prize away at terrible christmas (scheduled for July, maybe of 2022, once Covid is somewhat under control....)

Work was a cluster fudge this week, which is what it is??? I was planning to give myself a little birthday afternoon hike on tuesday (NOPE) but we were lucky to snag some totally decent Saturday afternoon weather and get a nice one in with Lee. 

We didn't hike at all with him last year, because he was injured, so it's great that he's back in one piece and doing silly things with us. 

Hiking with my FRIENDS!!!

So, the forecast looks crummy this week, but so far this year, no snow. Like, a dusting one morning but that was it. I love a nice, brown November!

Brown November sunset

This week will be a good, solid challenge. Unless I want to quit the Half K challenge, my daily mileage is going to be over 7 miles all week. I have never heard of such a thing!! We'll see how I manage to trudge through this. I have made it this far, and it seems pretty silly to quit now, so I am hoping I am just to stubborn to give up!

Stats:

Miles run: 

Running, or Run Walking: 34

Hiking: 4.15

Straight up walking (not work related...) 4.5

Total: 42.65

Warmest day: 52, coldest day 28 :-( 

Place in Challenge on Sunday night: 200/571 Big, 20 place jump this week. YAY! 

BOS to BHB Week 11, the Half K streak continues, and MORE summer

Last week was another good one. 

The unseasonably warm temps continued for much of the week. We enjoyed several days when it was well into the high 60's. It was warm enough, that I was able to run outdoors, after work, in shorts, in the RAIN one evening. WEIRD. 

However, all good things must end, and I believe fake summer is now behind us. The coming week looks ominous, with one day forecast not to get out of the 20's. HORRIBLE.

No problems at all from weird leg last week, and I was able to have 4 runs that were completely running. 6 coming in around 6.2-6.6 miles, and a 5 miler. I spent my two "rest days" run/walking on the treadmill, and managed to get one 6.25 brisk hike in over the weekend. 

My hiking friend!

The Half K challenge is about to reach the point of dire difficulty, in that it is hard to do your "rest day" when the activity calls for over 5 miles. I have never done a run streak before, and I am enjoying it! So far, no problems with the mileage, and I'm sure it's because a: it started easy, and b: I have been having 2 easy days. WE SHALL see how I feel a week from now. Not to mention two weeks from now......

This coming week could be interesting. Cold weather is going to be here (gross!) I definitely think that it is vastly easier to motivate myself to run in the warm than in the bone chilling cold. I am planning some birthday hiking miles, which I am looking forward to. AND, if weird leg continues to be perfect, I may even add in the worlds tiniest and slowest speed workout. There are not enough daylight hours, so I've been doing some pretty dark running (but I have the gear for it, if not always the cheerful attitude....)

Despite my much increased miles from a couple weeks ago, I only had a 10 placement improvement in the BOS to BHB challenge. The good news though, once again I was able to get in some "extra" miles, which means I'm currently 34 miles behind. I feel like I can make this up in the next month or so (and THEN, I just need to stay on track....) If I was prepping to go into Mid-December Boston training, I would feel pretty amazed by the fitness base I'm working on. I suppose, I can feel impressed about that no matter what! 

I changed shoes when I was fighting with dumb leg. I have been running in Hoka Clifton's for about 300 years (and I imagine that will continue at some point) but for whatever reason the leg hated the lovely soft ride that they give. Pretty stupid, in my opinion. I snagged a pair of Brooke's Ghost 12's on sale, and have actually really been enjoying them. I had a pair of older model Ghost's that I took for a few runs before making the big, crazy, $70 plunge and felt that the firmness was of benefit. FYI, for "normal" shoe people, I believe the Ghost 12 would be considered pretty damn cushioned by typical standards. After a Hoka, everything else feels firm! (but, the leg is now all better, and the Brooke's played a role in that!) 

Stats:

Miles run: 

Running, or Run Walking: 32

Hiking: 6.25

Total: 38.25

Warmest day: 69, coldest day 41

Place in Challenge on Sunday night: 220/570 Another 10 place improvement. Consistent. 

Summer weather, improving leg, more miles, and some slow running

This past week marked the turning point for weird leg. There were no issues, no funny feelings, not even one step of ouch while running, no little pains when I hopped out of bed first thing in the morning. 

While all of those things have been diminishing over the past few weeks, this was the first where there was nothing of note AT ALL. Good news. 

I did 3 runs that were 100% actual running, no walk breaks. Two 6.2 adventures, on a couple of delightful days where the temps were unseasonably warm. I also did a very short run (2-ish) just to get in miles for the Half K a Day Challenge. I also did a couple mostly-run-but-a bit-of-walk workouts on treadmill (because it was FREEZING at the beginning of the week. Tuesday was a high of 31 and WINDY. GROSS.) And sunday, when it was 72 degrees, we enjoyed a 5-plus mile hike. 

Summer Hiking

Currently, I am feeling very happy to be on the right track. I have been keeping up the ice/rolling and plan to continue doing so. Other than feeling pleased, I am feeling slow and sluggish while running. (mixed feelings???) While I am sure that my run/walk plan was (A) key to my recovery, and (B) most likely helpful in keeping up *some* fitness, I am certainly NOT feeling super fit or speedy. 

If this next week goes well, I plan to incorporate some small speed workouts into the routine the following week. (I know *at my advanced age* it takes some time to get the legs to come around....) For the next week, I hope to get in more "strictly running" work while on the road, while being more careful while on the treadmill. While running on the treadmill did not seem to cause any issues last week, it has not been my ideal surface lately. 

This was the first week in FOREVER that I was able to bank a couple "bonus" miles for the BOS2BHB challenge. (Still about 50 miles behind....) I successfully logged all the miles, plus extra, for the Half-K challenge. The final week of Half-K should really assist in reclaiming miles for the other challenge. I believe the mileage that week is something close to 50- not sustainable for me long term, but a good place to play catch up. 

And, as mentioned, the weather was insane. 30 and snow on Tuesday. Legit 70 plus and blazing sun Saturday and Sunday. OK. 

Stats:

Miles run: 33.5 (about 5 of these were hiking)

Warmest day: 70 Coldest: 32 FUCK

Place in Challenge on Sunday night: 230/569 Another 10 place improvement. Encouraging. 

Week 9 of the BOS to BHB challenge

Another fall week of pretty lousy weather, (boooo!) some random unavoidable issues (work, poor Eric has not been feeling himself #notCovid)  and on Sunday I really felt my age, and tweaked my back (UGHHHH!) 

However, I did manage to get in *almost* all the miles for my challenge. 

As far as my funky shin goes, I definitely feel like headway is being made in the recovery process. If this was a "normal" year, I imagine I would have barely even mentioned it, because now is usually the time that I do very little before beginning Boston Training. *oh, and for those who don't know, Boston has been postponed to Fall 2021, and we all know I think that is pretty optimistic*

ANYWAY. Since this isn't really a normal year, I have been mentioning my shin shit rehab and thought it might be prudent to outline what that means to me. 

It's not entirely unusual for me to experience a shin issue during the summer. Eric and I both continue to run, and we also absolutely thrash up and down mountains on the weekends. This is great fun, and the risk is worth the reward. 

However, there usually comes a time when I need to address the issue. I usually shut down the athletics when any pain is noticed when I am not actually exercising (or, of course, if I am feeling pain during every workout. that's not cool.) In this case, I had some mild shin/calf pain that was occasionally noticeable while simply living my life, as well as while running.  

After taking about a week off, the pain had been completely eliminated from my non workout activities. At that point, I eased back in to a routine of slow running, or walk/running. In addition to being very cautions about my exertions, I also ice after EVERY workout, and use a stick roller on my calf. Last week I never felt a single twinge from my junk leg, and this leads me to believe I am gaining ground. For me, it seems that shin crap takes a while to completely get over, and that it can not be ignored. 

Oh, and as a side note, after two consecutive years of post summer-fun-shin-death, I'm planning to invest some time in figuring out how to PREVENT this. Fool me twice, and all that.....

So, the past week was neither glamorous or exciting but I was happy to keep moving along. I had to hit up the treadmill quite a bit due to RAIN and DARK, so I was extra cautions, as treadmill runs have been the hardest on my leg so far. I did have a good, non stop 4 miler on Saturday in which I felt no pain during, or after. 

Also, this was the first time that I have actually advanced a few places in the challenge. I was a bit skeptical about this, as I certainly did not have a bang-up week, but I must not have been the only one. 

More of the same planned for the upcoming week, with some better weather on the horizon! 

Also, the Half K a Day challenge began yesterday, so I'll be reporting on that next week as well. I suppose that means that I will actually be running, or moving in some way daily for this month! I'm kind of excited, because I have never done a streak like this before. I'm definitely hoping to get outdoors a bit more this week, and if we are lucky, maybe even get in a short weekend hike. 

Stats:

Miles run: 27 (about 5 of these were short hikes)

Warmest day: Ugh it was cold daily. I'm not even sure if we got into the 50's this week. 

Place in Challenge on Sunday night: 240/569 This is a decent improvement, and one so unjustified (I was still a mile short this week, it's not like I ran 55 miles!!) that I'm just wondering if people forgot to log miles. We shall see next week.