30 runs in 30 days - who's with us? (Page 136)

Hello I have been eyeing the streaking challenge for awhile and why not I am gonna jump on in!
I usually run six days a week, one long bike most weeks training for a century ride in October. That will be the biggest challenge I see coming up but I am sure I will be surprised by the challenges this brings.

My name is Mary, this is my second year running. I am 51 and am a nurse. Long term partner no children, one dog and currently a second we are fostering. I ran my first marathon in St Louis this spring and had a wonderful time for 24 miles then suffered for two. My second is in November.

So I am at day three today!

Day 1 3 miles over lunch
Day 2. 8 before work
Day 3. 6 day off work

I am looking forward to this, I enjoy these fitness challenges.

Welcome Mary. What marathon are you running in November?

Good luck this weekend Ron!

Good luck this weekend, Ron! Being an MSU grad, Ann Arbor is my least favorite place in the whole state, but I do hope it treats you well.

Wednesday - #402 - 2 miles easy after a 15 mile bike, in which I unintentionally set a PR on the route I was on. I certainly wasn't trying to race myself out there, it just seemed that the wind conditions were all smooth and for some reason, I was just moving real well.

I'm doing a My Team Triumph event on Saturday at a local triathlon in Grand Rapids, MI. MTT is a group that allows challenged/special needs athletes to participate in different types of races. I volunteered for this a while ago. For this triathlon, they put me on a 3 person team (4 including the captain, the special needs athlete). Each of us does the whole triathlon together, but you each get to push/pull the captain for one segment of the race. My goal is to do the swim, but I just learned who my teammates are last night and haven't contacted them yet. One swimmer has a harness to pull the boat with the captain, while another goes in front to give you something to spot off of, and the 3rd swimmer goes alongside the boat to keep an eye on the captain. Same thing goes for the bike and run sections. It's cool because the timing chip goes to the captain and none of the "angels" are technically entered in the race. Really looking forward to the event on Saturday morning.

#199 - 3.9. I'm back! Actually, I never left, but I was on a strict internet diet over the summer. Glad to see we're still at five and maybe up to seven if the two new folks stick around (apologies if I've miscalculated; I teach English, not math).

Ron, congrats on #1000.

Brad, good on you. I just applied to be an Angel with the local MTT chapter. For some reason, it got all dusty in here while I was reading their website. There's a race at the end of the month and one in December and I'm going to try to do both.

After being off for about 4 weeks with a bacteria infection, my son starts back with chemo today. He has two maintenance rounds left before he is done.
He missed the start of his senior year this week. If all goes well, he should be done by the end of September.
He has lost 70 lbs along with a lot of muscle. Going to start looking for a program to help him build his strength back and get him into a more active lifestyle.

Congratulations on him nearing the end of his maintenance rounds.

I know this has been an incredibly tough ordeal on him and your entire family. Sometimes it is tough to find a reason to go out and do my run or other workout on certain days, but when I think of how much he must be missing some of those opportunities and looking forward to getting back to the more active lifestyle you mention, I get mad at myself for those thoughts. I will keep training and thinking of him while doing so. I look forward to hearing more of your reports with good news on the process!

mrheathen - welcome back. Good to see you around again.

Chunga - good luck, and keep the streak going! Be warned, though, it's addictive!

Day 4 - 3 at the gym over lunch. Not a favorite but I am finally finding the treadmill less of a chore.

Looking forward to getting to know you guys.

Brad we have been in the same monthly run challenge before.

Is this group all guys at this point?

Mary

I'm thinking so, so I am glad you are joining us!!! "tryin2tri" just joined us a few days ago, but I've only seen the one post so don't really know for sure there.

Yep, I remember...I haven't quite been getting 100 mile months over the summer since I did a *lot* of sprint races, and didn't have a lot of opportunity to go long in between. I'll be back over 100 going forward without a problem.

Thursday - #403 - 2 miles easy after 1500y in the pool...easing up for my event on Saturday.

Friday Day #5 3 miles on the treadmill
Today Day #6 2 miles at the gym treadmill, but after a 75 mile bike!

This is the first day that I have run strictly due to this streak I have started. I would not have thought about running after a ride of that length before. I was nervous about it. I planned to do the ride then do the treadmill after since by then it would be really hot, which it was. When I got to the gym it had started raining so hard I it was difficult to see, lightning etc. When I went in the power had been off and had just come back on.
People were not even back on the treadmills yet. I had to run then go to work until 8pm so I figured if the power went back off that would probably nix my streak at a pitiful little 5 days.
It stayed on and I did a very slow steady two miles!! Really cool to see that I could do that.

What a great training day!

Happy Birthday Ron-I hope the race has been doable for you and you have enjoyed your birthday present!

Nice to see folks joining (and re-joining) the group. Welcome aboard and welcome back.

Wishing Ron the best for his race, trying to send some good thoughts his way.

#681 - 7 mi easy

#682- 13.1 mi ran it in a somewhat nearby park (25 - 30 minute drive) with a championship XC course, did 4 loops of the course and a bit extra. Was challenging, and a fun change of pace. Got about 1700 ft elevation gain out of it. I plan to run this course every week for my long run. Will get me prepared for any hills NYC has to offer and then some. Also its either grass or packed dirt trails, so it will be a bit easier on the legs. Was going to go another loop, but wanted to play it safe and not have the calf act up again.

Also ran in my new shoes! Got a pair of Hoka Cliftons, and even though they are considered lightweight, they definitely held up over distance and were very comfortable.

#683- 4 mi easy/recovery

Friday - #404 - 2 miles easy

Saturday - #405 - 4.9 miles in the Reeds Lake Triathlon. I did this with MyTeamTriumph. A team of 3 of us pulled our captain, Tony, a special needs 12 year old through the race. I had his boat hooked up to me during the swim. For some reason, rather than sending us off in our own wave before everyone else, they started us with the last heat of athletes. I felt really bad because I was pulling this boat and my two teammates were swimming along side it trying to keep it from running over people, but from where they had us start, I couldn't get to the outside. I should've been the first boat to finish, but I got held up a bunch of times right near the finish by slower racers that I couldn't get around with the boat and another group managed to get by me right at the end. Oh well. I also felt bad for my teammate who had to pull Tony in the cart on the bike, as there is a long hill in the bike. We dropped down to about 8/9 mph as we climbed that hill because it was so tough to pull him up for our biker. It also torched our poor biker's legs for the run portion. Still, we cruised in as the first of the 4 MyTeamTriumph groups by about 7 minutes. It was a great experience, and listening to the kid get excited and yell as we went down the finish chute was amazing. Definitely something I want to do again.

Sunday - #406 - 3.1 miles. Even though I did the race on Saturday, I wasn't going all out due to the nature of what I was doing. I went out Saturday night and drank a bunch of beers watching MSU lose to Oregon, and then woke up early on Sunday morning and decided to hurry out to another triathlon where I could do on site late registration. I could definitely feel I wasn't at full strength in each of the disciplines. There are quite a few short steep hills on both the bike and the run, and I really struggled with those. I was pretty good on flat ground on the bike. Someone passed me *right* at the finish line to beat me by 1 second. I had no idea he was coming, otherwise I know I had it in me to speed up and hold him off. Unfortunately, it turns out he was in my AG and knocked me off the podium. Oh well, I guess he earned it. I was a little frustrated, but I don't feel too bad since I was doing back to back races and had been drinking the night before, and knew I was probably 2 minutes off of what my time should have been. Still, though, 1 second...frustrating! The main thing that is frustrating about it is that this triathlon gives out a bottle of wine as a prize rather than a medal! I could've used that last night!

Looking forward to hear about Ron's weekend race!

Run #109

Great job on back to back races Brad.

I dropped after 33 miles in my race this weekend, I could've gone farther but made the choice to stop and not continue to do further damage to this injury. I also ended my running streak at 1017 days. I did not run on Saturday, I could have but decided it was time to end the streak. I enjoy racing much more and looking to continue to race into my 70's with any luck and I really do not think streaking will get me there. First thing I need to do is get this hip/leg healed up and I have my back to back marathon in less than 5 weeks that I am hoping I can do.

I am taking at least a week off with treatments all week hoping to put this behind me. I have zero regrets and stopping the streak and have been thinking about it for a while now. When I started it I had no intention to run this many days. It has been a true blessing and I enjoyed the journey. I have met, even if some are only online, some amazing athletes who are streakers themselves, some of them here. I will still pop in from time to time to see how everyone is doing. Streak on!!!!!!!!!!

Ron, I wish you the best with your healing and returning to your racing focus. There are so many things to enjoy in this endurance sporting world, glad you are focusing on that!

#7. 9 miles, did a 10k in a local series and added a few more miles
#8 12 miles, nice partly new route I did from home on a day off, I really like starting the day with a run. I usually work 7-3:30 so I don't do it that often and it is so pleasant when I get to during a quiet weekday morning around my neighborhood

Mary

Good decision Ron. Would much rather look towards a future of running.
Take the time to get well again.
Looking forward to your race report to see how you like the course. I would like to get out there to do the 50 or 100.

The course is very runnable, a mixture of single track trail, rails to trails, gravel road and horse trail. About 1300 foot elevation gain per 16.6 mile loop with only one hill being fairly steep but only about 80 -100 yards long. Another section about 2 miles from the start finish area does not drain well so expect ankle deep mud there. Very organized and great volunteers and aide stations are only about 4 miles apart so you do not need to carry much with you. The whole atmosphere is great, camping, music and people. I will return next year, I need some redemption.

Congratulations on an amazing run (pun intended). I have considered giving my streak up, too, but am still going for now. Going to try to keep it rolling through some nagging injuries and such by doing a bunch of very easy 2 mile days when needed. There's a little less wear and tear on me than on you, since I am not putting in anywhere *near* the same miles you have been doing.

Definitely keep stopping in. You've been a real inspiration through all of my 406 days thus far.

I'll +1 what all the others have said, Ron, and add my personal thanks. Your posts over the last three years have been a continual source of humbling awe and inspiration. I can only imagine how you'll astound us once you get healthy.


#202 - 2.6
#203 - 3.5
#204 - 2.6

I've been really fast this week. Fast for me; compared to the average running human, I'm still pretty slow. For the past couple of months, my point of emphasis has been powering up the hills and running easy on the flats and downs, and I feel like it's starting to pay off. Mind you, I only live about 100 feet above sea level, so it's not like I'm running up Denali every morning. I've got races each of the next three weekends, so I feel like this is a good time to be faster.

I'm going to go rub out the shoulder cramp this back-patting session just gave me.

Monday - #407 - 2 miles
Tuesday - #408 - 5 miles

The intention both days was to go for a long run, either 8 or 9 miles. Both days I completely just crashed. Monday I was completely gassed at 1 mile, so I stopped, stretched, and turned around and ran home. Tuesday I was already struggling by mile 2, and so I shortened my course and did a run/walk combo the rest of the 5 miles. I'm really hoping this is all accumulated fatigue from the 2 back to back races this Sunday, because I am still trying to build up for that Oct half marathon.

I do think you made the right choice, and the streak was going to end one way or another eventually, at least this way it was on your terms. I hope you continue to keep us updated on your recovery, and your future endeavors. You have been a tremendous source of motivation and inspiration. The morning after both IM's that I've done during the streak I was pretty beat up, but I told myself if Ron can keep it going after his 100 mile ultras or even a 24 hour run then I can shuffle through two miles. Also seeing you post during some of your big weeks where you were putting up double digits every day including some LONG training runs (I think I remember a 37 miler in there somewhere?) was pretty inspiring and I can only hope that that when I hit my 50s I could pull of half of what you can do.

Get well, come back strong, and don't be a stranger.

Brad, you race ALOT. I get maybe 5 - 6 races in per year, and it seems like you've knocked that off in a month. Nice job on the team race. Also, for your second race, with all that racing experience you should know to always run hard through the finish!!

You gotta give yourself more credit, the average running human struggles running from their couch to the john.