July (L)egg fry running

[yellow]

Here is a July thread, a few days late!

My legs are trashed. That is all. 2+ weeks to Tahoe Rim 50. I hope they feel better soon!

[Catrin]

I love the title of this thread I am starting to focus more on the Couch to 5K conditioning, and have also discovered Brian McKensie's Crossfit Endurance website. He has a LOT of information/videos on proper body mechanics for beginning (and elite) runners, as well as cycling and swimming. I don't want to take on too much too soon and wind up with injuries because my posture is off or my body just isn't ready.

[OakLeaf]

Two 50s in two months, are you training for something longer??

My friend the Marathon Maniac says he is really enjoying the 50 mile distance. I can't even imagine it!

[yellow]

Two 50s in two months, are you training for something longer??

No, I was just torn between the two events, so I decided to do both. Believe me, 50m is plenty far. I don't need to go farther. I do like the 50m distance, though. Like endurance cycling, it's important to find balance with life and training, and it's a good limit and test (although I'm not really sure what I am "testing"-- can't tell you how often I've asked myself "WTF was I thinking??"). I like 50k, too, but mentally it is tougher. I always think I should be going faster. With a 50m, I am focused on just finishing.

I am really looking forward to riding more in late summer and fall, though! My bike is still in WI getting repaired and restored, so I couldn't road ride now anyway.

[skhill]

Finally got to run today. It started raining about 7:30 am Thursday and continued with only short breaks until about 11 am Sunday, so it seemed like a good idea to take a break. There are blisters on both feet from walking the dog in wet shoes over the past few days, and I was worried about how that'd feel running but they were perfectly fine. But the calf issue I had during the race came back about 4 miles in today, and now every time I'm sitting for a while it tightens up again. Still, today's run was 6.2 miles in 52:38 so Thursday's race was absolutely an aberration.

[TrekDianna]

I am registered for an 8k at the end of the month. I have not done an (organized) 8k before. It will be interesting.

[OakLeaf]

I did 10.5 today, WAY slow because I kept stopping to take pictures. I never do that, I hate stopping during a run, but for some reason today I was just overwhelmed with the beauty of where I live. These don't do it justice, but here's a share. Wish I could've captured the birdsong and the smell of the air, too.

[TrekDianna]

Very nice! That second one looks like a gravel road I run on sometimes. It's behind a gate so no traffic.

[Crankin]

Nice, Oakleaf. I can really relate to your comment about the sounds and the smell. That was a big part of wanting to move back to New England. Although, in December, I occasionally get wistful for the smell of pinon (oy, my computer doesn't have that Spanish symbol that should be over the first n).

[OakLeaf]

Piñon?

It's option-n on a Mac.

Your other diacritical marks, all with the option key: accent grave is to the left of thè 1, accent aigu is é, umlaut is ü, circumflex is î, cedilla is ç (and you don't have to type the letter C again there), those are all the ones I know without looking up. You can always just hit the character viewer to the left of the date and time on your menu bar and select the letter or symbol you're looking for...

And there is another thing that the Android keyboard has over iOS.

[Crankin]

Thank you.
Unless I am forced, I never "explore" anything on my computer, unlike DH who thinks it is "fun" to do such things.
Oops, I just noticed I have the mark, on top of the accent grave. Too early to be thinking of such things.

[OakLeaf]

Heh, it is there, but if you just hit that key, it's the mathematical symbol ~.

I tried option-shift-that key and it doesn't do anything, you just get the accent grave without the ability to apply it to another letter. Ya gotta do the option-n for a tilde.

I don't really explore either, but I've done enough transcribing over the years that I've had to learn the French and Spanish diacritical marks, and at least know where to find the currency symbols.

[skhill]

Today we're having the most spectacularly wonderful weather we ever have mid-July. It was in the low 60s with low humidity at dawn, and even the guys standing out in front of the homeless shelter on my route were smiling and laughing! Just did an easy 6 miles, mainly through a historic district and the zone of increasing hipsterification. (yep just made that one up)

The most exciting thing that happened wasn't running related, though. I stopped by a park to get a drink of water, and while I was there thought it was time to use the playground equipment to see if I can still do a pull-up. The thrill: the first one was effortless. That's never happened. I stopped at 3, and I'm sure I could have done more but I'll be mowing the lawn later and will need those muscles then. And it's been a couple months since I've done any strength training at all so it's a bit freaky. But really cool.

[Catrin]

LOVELY weather tonight! Since my arm is still bothering me a bit, I decided to do some light trail running/walking instead of riding tonight. I dislike running on pavement, so I hit the dirt trails in my favorite park. There is SOME gravel but it isn't loose. I've far more stamina for light running than I once did, but tried to stick with the 'Couch to 5K' program since I've really not approached running in any disciplined way. So I jogged for a few minutes, walked for a few minutes, rinse and repeat for 35 minutes. I don't have trail shoes, just regular running shoes, so I walked the parts where there were more roots or loose downhill stuff.

It was fun, much to my surprise! I won't get trail shoes until I see if I am going to stick with this - I still prefer being a gym rat and taking my short bike rides. It is nice for a change though, and it IS a way to once again be back on dirt trails in the woods My body felt fine, though the upper outside corner of one knee did do some mild complaining. I suspect that was from not being accustomed to running on an uneven surface. I focused on keeping my feet underneath me, my head up, and not being tight in my upper body. It made a WORLD of difference to not be carrying a water bottle and there was no numbness anywhere

I have no idea how far I actually ran/walked, and frankly I don't care at this point. I just want to get my body better conditioned to it. We DO run in my group training sometimes, but sometimes that is pretty extreme (like 10 100-meter sprints). There were repercussions from that but it WAS fun! I walked around my apartment complex afterwards.

[TrekDianna]

LOVELY weather tonight! Since my arm is still bothering me a bit, I decided to do some light trail running/walking instead of riding tonight. I dislike running on pavement, so I hit the dirt trails in my favorite park. There is SOME gravel but it isn't loose. I've far more stamina for light running than I once did, but tried to stick with the 'Couch to 5K' program since I've really not approached running in any disciplined way. So I jogged for a few minutes, walked for a few minutes, rinse and repeat for 35 minutes. I don't have trail shoes, just regular running shoes, so I walked the parts where there were more roots or loose downhill stuff.

It was fun, much to my surprise! I won't get trail shoes until I see if I am going to stick with this - I still prefer being a gym rat and taking my short bike rides. It is nice for a change though, and it IS a way to once again be back on dirt trails in the woods My body felt fine, though the upper outside corner of one knee did do some mild complaining. I suspect that was do to not being accustomed to running on an uneven surface. I focused on keeping my feet underneath me, my head up, and not being tight in my upper body. It made a WORLD of difference to not be carrying a water bottle and there was no numbness anywhere

I have no idea how far I actually ran/walked, and frankly I don't care at this point. I just want to get my body better conditioned to it. We DO run in my group training sometimes, but sometimes that is pretty extreme (like 10 100-meter sprints). There were repercussions from that but it WAS fun! I walked around my apartment complex afterwards.

You made that sound wonderful and even though I ran this morning, now I want to go out to the trail near my house. I dislike running on pavement also, but I am leaving in the morning for a week in Boston and won't have much choice.