The Running Thread—2023

October running totals:
Total miles: 143.8
Average pace: 11:23 per mile

October, you have been quite a month. Started off by have race canceling record heat and finished off waking up to a Halloween winter wonderland.

After TC 10 miler got canceled I was on the hunt for a replacement race. I ended up in Des Moines for their half marathon. Ended up better than I thought, missed a PR by :02. Yes, 2 seconds! What can you do? Pretty happy with it once I got over my mad. Crashed and burned on my long run the following week but happy to say I crushed my long run this past weekend which was the longest I’ve run since Dopey 😳 So I’m feeling pretty good with where I’m at in relation to my Goofy + 10k training. Hoping for an equally good November!
 
October 2023

I made up for being at almost 199 miles for September by going way over 200 for October - my highest mileage month by a mile! (A figurative mile. Literally by more than 40 miles 🤣)

Running: 39h 17m, 239.9 miles 😅
Strength/mobility: 7h 14m
Biking: 51m (+ a bit more that I didn't track)

Less than 4 weeks till Space Coast!

ETA: I just realized I also hit 1,600 miles for the year today 😮
EATA today's strength training
 
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After a dismal September where I only managed to run 9 km or 5.6 miles (main culprit was a trip to WDW plus the two colds - neither of which was COVID - I caught afterwards), I'm really happy I managed to get back into running in October!

October totals
73 km or 45.6 miles - met my usual target of 2 km/day on average - includes 8 5k runs
Average pace of 6min45s/km or 10min48s/mile - slower than previous months but I'm also doing longer runs on average these days.

Overall, fairly happy with running in October. Very glad that I'm getting used to the 5k distance now - even just a couple of months ago I was struggling with 5ks!

Just need to keep increasing the distances for the next few months heading into Princess weekend! Though I still need to book my flights to get to Orlando. Rather annoyed with myself for not booking a month or even a week ago because the prices of the flights I wanted have now gone up! Might have to go for a completely different airline/route/class now...
 


October wraps up this training cycle. I did a 10K in Houston this past Saturday, which was a "take advantage of the sun rise during the first 5k, just survive the second 5k since the sun is now up". I'm going to take it easy this week, do some of the Peloton Halloween classes, and this weekend is my TLC weekend.
 
October Recap

Running

Runs: 17
Miles: 93.68
Time: 16:00:38
Avg Pace: 10:18
Avg HR: 145

October was my highest 2023 month! My just-for-fun half marathon is on Sunday, and since I'm not running Disney in January, I'm probably on a downhill slide into the end of the year.

Strength Training
Sessions: 11
Time: 5:54:58

Got back to it, though I skipped last week because I was lazy. Feeling good though and hoping to keep it up.

Walking
Miles: 8.29
Time: 2:42:48

Walking makes my lab happy, and I just found out he's lost 13 pounds since last year, so I guess we need to keep up the walks. Arlo (he's named after The Good Dinosaur) is a decent 71 pounds now, instead of a fairly chunky 84.

Cycling
Sessions: 1
Miles: 2.11

Our local rails-to-trail has at least two preserved iron furnaces along it, and my youngest daughter got obsessed with them over the summer after reading a brochure. So we took a bike ride to see one of them.

I want to hit another one, but it is at least a 6-7 mile ride (it's a little over 3 miles from one of the trailheads), and goodness the whining about the 2-mile ride almost did me in. I know she can ride 6-7 miles, but she gets it in her head that she can't. She's also 7. :P
 


October Running:
Total Distance: 82 mi
Average Pace: 11:28/mi

Ran the Chicago Marathon this month, and then took some time off. Ramping up because I have 3 half marathons between now and Princess (including DL Half), but none of these are A races. Back on a new DopeyBadger plan because I tried modifying an old one myself for the marathon and wound up with an IT band issue. Thankfully Billy agreed to help with a plan when I came crawling back :flower1:
 
October running: Um, I didn't. :P I had my 5k on September 30 and went on a two week cruise on October 5, so I gave myself a break. I only ended up running twice on the cruise and ran three times last week... only to then get sick. :P I'm almost better, and DopeyBadger is writing me a plan for the Princess half, so November will be back to the grind. Thankfully, the weather has cooled off here in the mornings and at night, so it won't be miserable anymore.
 
October Miles = 154

Tapering now for NYC on 11/5. After a week or so off, I will start reverse tapering to get back into it for Dopey in January.

January Miles = 113
February Miles = 113
March Miles = 116
April Miles = 115
May Miles = 123
June Miles = 112
July Miles = 119
August Miles = 136
September = 152

2023 Total = 1,253
 
October total: 78ish miles. Garmin says 78.1, but I know there’s about 0.3-0.4 missing from a run where I forgot to start my watch. That’s almost. 33% increase over last month, so I’m on track to be just over 100 for November and December. We will see what adding reffing to the mix does to the schedule; hopefully it doesn’t do anything.
 
October 2023: Activities: 21 Distance: 84.46 mi Time: 15:47:19
This is the most I've run in a month ever!
At the beginning of the month I was nervous to start every run: Would I be able to run the workout as described? Would I have to take unauthorized breaks? Would I be too slow? Now that I'm through 5 weeks of Half Marathon training I am much more confident. I did have a slog of a long run this past weekend, but I think it was because it was over 70 degrees after two months of lower temperatures.

Looking forward to November I hope it's just more of the same, that my endurance and speed improve.
 
October totals:

Running: 47.09 miles, 10h 11m 46s
Stationary bike: 4.52 miles, 15m 73s

I did almost all my scheduled running miles, except for the 10 miler race that was supposed to start the month and a couple weekday runs in the week immediately following that. I was too busy with yard work to get much time on the stationary bike, but we’re pretty much done with that now, so hopefully November will get back on track for that, and steadily rise with the running.
 
October 2023 totals
Distance: 217.7km (135mi)
Average pace: 6m33s/km (10:34/mi)
YTD: 1783km on 2023km

This month felt like the family had the craziest agenda ever: In top of the peak training for a marathon and the regular Fall stuff like putting away the patio furniture and changing the tires, our now adult DD (not Sarah) had an ACL reconstruction surgery which also means that we drive her to school and to her physio appointment. She is doing amazingly well 😊

It was DD Sarah cross-country race season. I was able to witness what running in a sea of mud really is about 😅

Of course, work brought impromptu responsibilities and projects all at once, same for DH.

Similarly, it was both DD exams and projects period. As a bonus, it was time to visit open houses for their respective next level of schooling.

We were fortunate and are grateful for all the help received. My mom driving even allowed me to participate in the annual charity costumed race with the colleagues! 🎃
IMG_6906.jpeg
I am ecstatic and proud that I was able to train the way I did 🎉

I had a great tailored plan, not overly demanding and in line with DH and my objective: Enjoy the NYC Marathon next weekend, yes, the race I have been registered for and been anticipating since February 2020 🗽
 
Does anyone have any recommendations for good gear (such as a light vest) that they like for running in the dark? With the time change approaching, it will soon be getting dark here around 4:30-5 pm. I’m running the Fairy Tale Challenge in February and really want to be better prepared and trained this time, which either means resorting to a treadmill during the week (which I don’t have at home) or running in the dark. I’m not looking for anything fancy or expensive, just something simple that I can use for 30-45 minute runs twice a week.

Thanks!
I have used the Avanto chest light (link) for a few years and it works well for me. But I went out for my run today and I couldn't get it to turn on. No sign of any issues with it, but I may be in the market for a new light. And I have a 10-mile run tomorrow morning that is exclusively in the dark!
 

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