Week 7: B2B2B 624K Challenge

Well I called it from day one. 

This was not the week to get anything done in the running department. 

Between having some of the WORST (and I mean, WORST) heat and humidity that I can remember, to having a BRUTAL work week, AND a sneak hay delivery (of course) I was shit at running. 

Yet another Maine morning

Even though I expected it from June 15th, it was still frustrating to miss my 30 mile running goal by so much this week. I did manage to get in the minimum mileage after a decent hiking day... But, BOOO. 

In retrospect, it may not have been a great week of running even if the stars had aligned for ultimate perfection. I was legit tired. Dragging ass. Maybe after backing off the *intense* mileage for a week, I will have lost my zombie expression.

We did have a glorious family hike yesterday. Whiteface and Passaconaway presented a good challenge on a hot day. It was nice to (sort of) unplug for a bit, and get out in nature. 

Outdoor fun day

And now, onto another busy hot/humid/hurricane??? kind of week.

And let's see. In the Challenge the silver and bronze medals have been awarded. Looks like 4th place will finish up tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that the top 5-10 placements will definitely be determined by who is willing to kill themselves in the heat. Maybe me. Like, for 10th. 

Miles run: 18.7. I am legit not amused by this. 

Miles Hiked: 11.9

B2B2B standing on Sunday night: 11/43 Gotta step it up
Hottest day: A brutal 93 degree/absurd humidity Monday. GROSS. Tuesday also sucky. The rest of the week pretty fucking hot. 
Longest run: 6.3

Week 6: B2B2B 624K Challenge

This past week wasn't delightful in the running department, but I still managed to get it done. 

There were definitely a few REALLY hot and humid days.

While they might have been pretty to look at, it was quite unpleasant to exist in that weather. 

Despite the grossness, I still got in 30+ miles. SO: goal accomplished. Out of all the runs I did, only one way any good. Maybe 2? More like 1.5, let's be honest. 

I had reached my limit of 4:30AM wake up calls on Wednesday, and rebelliously slept in until 5:45 the following day. That meant getting in some after work miles, which wasn't terribly fun (but definitely beat getting up early that day!!) That seemed to sufficiently recharge my batteries, and I felt much better after that. 

We wrapped up the week with a 21+ mile hike to the elusive Owl's Head. A bit of a notorious mountain, because it's basically the longest hike you can imagine for a 4025 foot hill. We took advantage of some perfect conditions, and got it done. 

As expected, the first place woman in the challenge did indeed claim the crown early in the week. The second place finisher certainly could wrap things up tomorrow. 

Currently, I am sitting in 8th, but I have my doubts about whether or not that is real. With Garmin down I believe a few people are behind on loading data (you don't need to "prove" what you are doing, but I think most of us are relying on data of some sort.... and perhaps waiting to sync?) I gave up waiting and plugged my watch into the computer to get my miles loaded for complete transparency. 

Another week in the books. 

A hot, humid and busy upcoming week may preset some challenges. We shall see. 

Miles run: 32.2
Miles Hiked: 21

B2B2B standing on Sunday night: 8/43
Hottest day: A brutal 95 degree Monday
Longest run: 7

Week 5: B2B2B 624,000K Challenge

Holy. Crap.

Can I even remember last week??

Week 5 of the B2B2B was a crazy one, but I managed to get in my personal goal of 30 miles (or maybe slightly more?) All runs were done at ass o'clock, with a couple little bonus sessions with the puppy in the evening (I really wanted a day off, haha)

Two of the mornings were almost cool- a nice change!! Lots of slugs, dead frogs, and animal poop on the road in the early morning. Also, an outrageous number of deer flies. HORRIBLE.

There was a particularly nice sunrise, before a day of enormous thunderstorms.

The calm before the storm

The weekend weather was not conducive for running, hiking, living. Also, I had a horse to look after who had been subjected to major oral surgery on Friday. Hence, Eric and I sat out the weekend and missed out on bonus miles.

I feel good (maybe not while actually running) but I feel very accomplished and pleased that I have met my personal goal for this event every week since week one. I'm sure I'm also building a terrific fitness base (for something? or just for fitness!)

Miles run: 31.6
Miles Hiked: ZERO BOOOO

B2B2B standing on Sunday night: 13/43. Holding steady. The first place woman in going to win officially, tomorrow. 
Hottest day: HOT AF like, 90's both Saturday and Sunday. UGH
Longest run: 6.5

Week 4: B2B2B 624K Challenge

It's hard to believe that week 4 is already in the books, but there you have it.

Another successful week in the running department. All workouts done at the ass crack of dawn to avoid work/weather pitfalls.
Ass crack o'clock is pretty.

Summer is nice

Once again I completed my goal of running all the "required" miles, and banking a few extra miles while hiking.

All runs were done at a relaxed pace (no real "workouts" at this point. my brain can't handle that crap at 5AM.) All runs were done in humidity, and with some of the WORST guests: deer flies. They are just horrible this year.

Eric, Ellie and I hiked 11 plus miles, in the rain on Sunday to check Mt. Cabot off the list.

Rainy wooded summit

Anywho.
For about a HOT minute I moved into the top ten in the challenge (at the bottom... literally 10th place) but immediately lost that! The leading woman is already 80% done, with a couple others nipping at her heels. For the rest of us, it's going to be a "race" to stay in the top 15 or so, unless there are some drastic changes. DRAMA.

So backing up just a little. This really is the first time in history that I have woken before dawn to run more than once, or twice during the summer. By the middle of last week I felt that I was acclimating to the routine reasonable well, and (almost) was enjoying the process.
Then, I completely got off track over the weekend by doing rebellious activities like sleeping until 6AM. Oh well.

I signed up for the virtual edition of the Boston Marathon, although I have zero intention of training to do it fast, or particularly well. I do feel that it's going to be a fun event, and it will be fun to connect (virtually) with some of my friends who were planning to run. Also, it's a pretty historic thing to be a part of (although the "historic" reasons that Boston seems to be memorable are all just a bit grim. seriously....)

Miles run: 32.3
Miles Hiked: 11.25

B2B2B standing on Sunday night: 12/43
Hottest day: HOT and gross. About 90 on Friday and HUMID AF
Longest run: 7.0

Week 3: B2B2B 624K Challenge

I'm pleased to say that despite some potential pitfalls (work, weather) I was able to stay on track for the challenge this week. 

I really did not improve (or ruin!) my standing in the order, which is ok. Slow and steady. 

I only ran super early on one day, and it was lovely!

A nice way to wake up

I had a shockingly solid run on one relatively cool day, after work. It's always nice to see that the slow and early miles actually translate to some quicker work when the timing and weather line up. 

If I was marathon training at the moment, the early running would feel awful. I never wake up at 4:30 feeling prepared to tackle speed, or hills, or extreme distance. But to be honest, I actually enjoy an early summer wake up call for some easy miles. 

We snuck in a Sunday 10 mile hike up Garfield, which was HIDEOUS. Kidding. 

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

And that wraps up week 3. A short recap, but week 4 has me feeling pretty damn busy (no complaints, considering the current state of the world.)

Miles run: 30.2
Miles Hiked: 10.0

B2B2B standing on Sunday night: 14/43 (holding steady, temporarily moved up one place then promptly fell back to 15th haha)
Hottest day: Why don't I remember? Pretty hot. Like 85.
Longest run: 7.2

Week Two: B2B2B 624K Challenge

I'm pleased to report that I was able to get back on track with my mileage during the past week.

Because of the hot and muggy weather, and a really busy week at work, I did the unthinkable and arose at dawn to run.

It was muggy.

Soup

Muggy every day.

At least the sun peaked through the soup the next day

It was worth it though, as the after work afternoon hours were stifling. By Friday, I had run 35.9 miles, and was back in the game.
All of my runs were definitely "easy" efforts, as that is ALL I can manage at 5AM. I see no problem with this though, as easy miles equal no injuries.

We also managed a pretty spectacular hike on Sunday, crushing the Carter range and covering 14 plus miles.
The best thing about this hike (other than it is close by??) We saw ZERO people for the first 5 hours, and only 6 total for the final 2. Social distancing at its finest.

Finally, NOT SOUP

This week certainly established some clear frontrunners for the challenge, with a group of 10 or so throwing down a ton of mileage. Unless they basically give up and quit running, they seem to be dominating the top places.
The thing about this challenge, at least for someone like me, is that it actually is one! I can't recall the last time I ran weekly summer mileage of 30 miles. Sure, here and there most definitely. But 30 mile weeks for 3 months? Nope. And the thing is, you fall behind for a few weeks and catching up would be next thing to impossible. (this challenge needed to happen during Boston Training to make it easy for me, haha!)

The plan for the upcoming week?
A 30 mile week of easy runs. This will soon be "the norm!" As indicated last week, I still hope to "bank" some mileage for late July when I really will be critically busy. BUT, no need to wreck myself this early on and then have to drop out. So slow and steady wins the race (or, finishes. ideally not in the bottom 1/3 of the leaderboard!

Miles run: 35.9
Miles Hiked: 14.8B2B2B standing on Sunday night: 15/43
Hottest day: 89
Longest run: 7

Week 1: B2B2B 624K Challenge

Damnit, week one over and I'm already behind on mileage!!!

In order to complete this challenge by September 15th, one must run 29.5 weekly miles minimum. I managed 24 miles last week, and since we all know what numbers are, we know that was not enough!

WHY???
Well, reasons.

The biggest reason was that it was over 90 for 3 days, and I put 900 bales of hay in the loft (sneak attack hay- like a month early!!) We also had plans for a 11-13 mile Sunday hike and had to ditch our Funday plans because I had some work issues to deal with.

Anyway.... It's a new week, it's a fucking NEW DAY and I'll catch up a bit. I actually hope to get some bonus miles in the bank pretty soon, because the last week in July, and the first week in august are presenting some scheduling nightmares.

Hey, I got my new watch! A Garmin Forerunner 245 and not only is it so cute, but it seems to record mileage! I am excited to take it on my forest route, hopefully on a cloudy day to really test its legs.
Also, since Garmin pics are basically what everyone does I need to remember to take some.
In the meantime, here is a pic of this tomato that I'm growing. A blog without photos is depressing.

I possess gardening skills

So one word about the B2B2B challenge.
There are some really motivated runners doing this.
And how do I know?
They have a LEADERBOARD!!! This is wonderful, because shame is my best motivator. When I noticed that I was sitting solidly in 30/38 place at the end of the week yesterday, I knew I would have to make a move. (and here's the thing. the leaders are already well established. no catching them! but I hope not to finish in the bottom 1/3...)

This makes Pandemic running pretty fun. Really, the leaderboard is clutch. Without that I would just squeak by and end up in 30/38th place NBD.

Anyway:

Miles run: 24
B2B2B standing on Sunday night: 30/38
Hottest day: 94
Longest run: 7

Pandemic Running week 13

Last week was the final week before Eric and I begin the Baxter to Baxter to Baxter Challenge.

The good news is that it was a pretty decent week of running. I ran the same 6.5 mile route for every run, and (amusingly!) my aged watch measured it drastically differently every time. On the final day, it gifted me an entire extra MILE and showed me running through an extra mile of dense forest, a swamp, over the stream, and then (aggressively!) through the properties of several people, before returning to my actual route. YIKES!!! I must admit that the entertainment that this provided gave me all the entertainment that I needed to enjoy my week of running. Despite what my watch led us to believe, I finished up with a 26 mile week.
(and in other fun news, Eric has a SWEET Garmin connection, and has acquired a much newer watch for me which will arrive soon. So fun!!)

We also fit in an aggressive 8.5 mile hike up Mount Adams. This was Ellie's first time in the Northern Presidentials, and she did a great job in the boulder field. We are fortunate to have these mountains so close by, and we can easily spend time in the outdoors without having to stop for any reason (although from what I'm hearing, the business in the area would actually appreciate some safe/respectful customers....)

A SOLID day on Adams

On to this week and the B2B2B challenge. This is going to be great fun, and slightly crazy. We are "counting" both running and hiking miles. The only way I will count walking mileage is if I end up injured (and I had better not!)

In a perfect world, I will finish the weekly "required" mileage all as runs, and use hiking as "extra." But let's be real. I can't remember the last time that I managed to run 3 summer months of (almost) 30 mile weeks without some sort of chaos interrupting me.

I'm pretty excited about this!
Anddddd if we are going to be honest, the weather we are about to have makes me *kinda* happy that I don't have a long run this weekend. Or speedwork. UGH f**k summer marathon training!!

So! Next week will be my first recap of B2B2B and I am looking forward to it!

Mileage: 26
Hiking: 8.5
Hottest day: Not very....