To Dopey 2020 and Beyond!

First time checking in for the New Year. So I’ll try to give a short-ish recap of the last 19 days. And it’ll most likely be more of a stream of consciousness.

Jan 1, I PR’ed the 5K by 50 seconds. So new 5K PR is 23:31.

One goal I’ve set for myself this year is to try and get to at least 1 yoga class a week. So far, I’ve made it to 4 classes this Month. So far, so good.

Only did some short easy runs between the New Year’s 5K and Dopey. Nothing to really speak of there.

I flew down to WDW Wednesday morning. When I originally booked my flight with American it was supposed to leave 8ish and get down there about 10:15. However, in the months leading up to flying down American changed my flight on me twice and I didn’t actually leave Philly until 10:45 and got to MCO about 1 PM.

I was meeting up with my brother and Aunt who where both running the 10K. They had gotten in earlier that day and had already picked up their bibs. Once I landed they picked me up and we headed straight to the expo so I could get my bibs. From there it was on to YC where we were staying. I didn’t take any notes or anything, so no trip report. The following are just some thoughts on the races.

First, sorry for not making it to any of the meet ups. For the 5K I got in line for Dopey and it took about an hour to get to him. By the time I did the corrals had already opened up and I just went right to them. For the 10K I was there with my brother and Aunt so hung with them. The. For the Half and Full I just put on my headphones and went into my own little zoneuntil I’d aw people start making their way to the corrals (and boy was that a hike).

For Dopey, I was in B corral for the 5K, & C corral for the other three races. My original plan was to take all 4 races super easy. I wasn’t going to have any time goals and I was just going to have a good time with it. And I did have a good time with it. Somehow I didn’t end up with any PWs either.

However, with Thursday morning being a real nice morning for running I made a last second decision to actually run the 5K full out. I didn’t stop for any of the character stops (kind of bummed I missed Chip & Dale as Rescue Rangers, but when I passed the line it was super long. I did the 5K in 25:11. If it had been less crowed/the course not as narrow I think there would have been a good chance of me breaking my 5K PR again in just a matter of days.

For the 10K I knew I had to start taking these runs at a slower pace. So I deliberately stopped for a picture with Goofy. I also made a bathroom pit stop. All told I crossed the finish line in 1:02:19.

For the Half, I knew with the warm temperature and the high humidity that I would really need to take things easy. So I made myself a promise that I would never go more than 4 character stops without stopping to take a picture. And boy am I happy I made that promise. I started out the Half feeling great and ran past the first three stops without a thought. But by the time the fourth stop was coming into view I was already feeling the humidity. That’s why I have a picture with that random reindeer character that was out there. All told during the Half I stopped for 9 character pictures. (Reindeer, Queen of Hearts, Dopey, Pinocchio, Pluto, Daisy, Goofy, Lilo, & Horace). I crossed that finish line in 2:12:33.

For the Marathon, wow was that a tough day. I’ve ran in hotter temperatures, but I don’t think I’ve ran in humidity that high often and never a combination of the two. Especially not for a marathon. The other two marathons I run were Philly in ‘18 & ‘19. The Philly Marathon is ran the Sunday before Thanksgiving. So needless to say, the temperature for those was vastly different. I know a lot of people had trouble getting g to EP that morning, but I was not one of them. I was on the very first bus that left YC. Even just the walk to the YC bus stop I could begin to feel the humidity. I knew well before I even started running that I would need to make myself take a lot of character breaks. And I did. I ended up taking 18 breaks for pictures (15 characters, the Figment statue, Cinderella’s Castle, & a picture with the sheep on the way to AK). I’m also happy with myself for thinking ahead of time to bring the cool towel they handed out after the half. Pouring water onto that every couple of water stops was very nice. It ended up taking me 5:21:43 to cross the finish. Funny enough, physically, this was the best I’ve felt durn g a marathon. During my first two my right knee stuffed up around mile 19, but that didn’t happen this time. This was also the best I’ve felt the day after the marathon as well. I’m guessing it might be because it’s the most walking I’ve even done after the same day after the marathon was over. I ended up with over 70,000 steps on Sunday.

I’ve seen others on here mentioning getting sick when they got home and I can kind of be added to that list. On Tuesday I could feel the beginnings of a semis infection coming on. Lickily, thanks tomucinex and sudafed it didn’t get to bad.

As I said, this was the best I’ve ever felt after a marathon. I actually felt so good that I meet up with my normal Tuesday night run club and ran 4 miles. I did 4 miles yesterday & today as well.

I’ve got a few weeks to take it easy as my next race isn’t until Feb. 22 and that’s a 5 miler. Then I have the Love Run Half at the end of March.

i think that’s about all I’ve got for now.
 
This was an easy recovery week. Ran a total of 9.20 miles this week and 5.10 of those miles were this morning. I'll need to get back into it next week, as I need to start my next training cycle for the Love Run Half at the end of March and before that I have a 5 miler that I am signed up for towards the end of February. There's also a 10K in Mid-February that I just came across that I am now thinking about signing up for.

While I've been keeping my running easy, I've still be doing my strength training on Wednesdays, Fridays, & Sundays. On Friday I PR'ed my hexbar deadlift with 6 reps at 225#. I've also been keeping up with my goal of gtting to at least one yoga class a week. I'm glad I'm finding the time for it, as I feel great after it's done.

I'm also getting better at recovery overall. I'm actually using my foam roller on a fairly regular basis. I also recently bought a TheraGun and man, am I liking that.

Overall it's been a pretty quiet week and I think that's about all I've got for updating this week.
 


Ooh, I just saw an ad for those - I think I would love it, but can't get past the price.

Yeah, the price is a bit high. I bought mine back on Black Friday for a pretty good deal. It then came about two weeks later and sat in the box for most of December. I only started using it the beginning of this month. I’m really liking it. I know there are a couple different brands out there and that the TheraGun is one if the more expensive ones. Might be worth looking at some of the other ones.
 
Ooh, I just saw an ad for those - I think I would love it, but can't get past the price.
I got one for christmas! I took it in a carryon to Marathon Weekend and surprisingly did not get frisked over it. I do love it but haven't been using it nearly as often as I thought I would when I opened it. In fact, maybe I'll pull it out right now :scratchin
 
Yeah, the price is a bit high. I bought mine back on Black Friday for a pretty good deal. It then came about two weeks later and sat in the box for most of December. I only started using it the beginning of this month. I’m really liking it. I know there are a couple different brands out there and that the TheraGun is one if the more expensive ones. Might be worth looking at some of the other ones.
Mine isn't a Theragun brand, I forget what brand it is. Hypervolt? I think that's it.
 


Are you entering the lottery for Broad Street? Last time I ran it (2 years ago) I swore, Never again, it's such a zoo, but now I'm not sure...
 
Nah, I’m not entering the lottery for Broad Street this year. I liked it and do plan to run it again in the future. I’m not this year though because I forgot what day it was on. I have already said yes to going to a concert up in Hershey on May 2. I’m not going to feel like making the drive back that night and then getting up early the next day for Broad Street.
 
Haha. Whelp, disappeared again for a little bit. But once more back and planning to keep up with this journal better. Now onto a stream of consciousness update.

February running totals:
Miles - 47.3
Time - 7 hours 29 mins
Pace - 9:29

I don’t know what it is about February, but it’s not a month that I run a lot in.

In February I did do a 5 miler race and set a new 5 miler PR of 41:42, which broke the old PR by 2:12. So that was a nice highlight.

While my running has been down and a bit inconsistent, my strength tracing has continued to be on point. Hitting the gym every Wednesday, Friday, & Sunday. I’ve also been pretty good with my goal of hitting a yoga class at least once a week. In February I even went to a special class that a local yoga place had specifically for athletes. That was a nice class.

I’m a pretty big reader and for this year I’ve decided that each month I’ll read at least one running related book. While I post all my book read over in the Annual Reading Challenge thread on the Community Board section https://www.disboards.com/threads/annual-reading-challenge-2020.3785139/ ) I figured I’d also post the running related ones here.

In January I read:
Life’s To Short to Go So F*ucking Slow: Lessons From an Epic Friendship that Went the Distance by Susan Lacke - Memoir. Lacke’s a writer and triathlete. This memoir covers her friendship with her boss, Carlos. From introducing her/training/coaching her through multiple Ironmans through his battle with an incurable cancer. A beautiful mix of humor and heartbreak. 4.5/5

In February I read:
A Kind of Grace: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Female Athlete by Jackie Joyner-Kersee - Autobiography. As the tile says, the autobiography of Jackie Joyner-Kersee. 4/5


In March I have 3 races.

The 14th I have a local 5K.

The 28th is the Phillies 5K

The 29th is the Love Run Half.
 
Well, this week has been...interesting. I want to say disconcerting, but while that’s close to how I’m feeling that’s a bit heavier than the word I’m looking for. I live in Montgomery Country, PA which is the county with the highest amount of Covid-19 cases in PA. The county has been on shutdown since Friday and will be on shutdown for at least two weeks. That’s fine by me. I’ve been social distancing for a couple of days before the governor’s announcement anyway, not going anywhere I didn’t obsoletely have to go to.

I’ve seen a lot more people then I normally do out in my local neighborhoods on my runs yesterday and today. But even with that increase in people everyone, that isn’t obviously a family unit, is keeping a wide breath of each other. So that’s good to see. The were a couple times that another runner and I have been coming towards each other and one of us would cut across the street so we wouldn’t be near each other. There was even one time on my run today that there was both a person in front of me that I was going to pass, as well as a person on the other side of the road; so I looked to make sure no cars were coming and run right down the middle of the road for a few seconds until I had a good amount of room between me and the person I passed.

As for my runs themselves this weekend:

Yesterday was Pi Day so I ran 3.14 miles.

Today I ran 12 miles, which is my longest run since Dopey.

So far I’ve had 3 races cancelled/postponed.

I was supposed to have a St. Patrick’s Day 5K yesterday. For that one I haven’t heard anything about a refund, but the money from the 5K goes towards the local volunteer Fire Department. So I’m glad for them to keep my money.

The Phillies 5K has been postponed with plans to reschedule but no additional info.

The Love Run Half has been rescheduled to 10/10/20.

And while I hadn’t signed up for it, I saw the Philly’s Hot Chocolate 5K/15K ;which was scheduled for 4/5) has been turned into a virtual race. So I’m thinking about signing up for that now.
 
Well, this week has been...interesting. I want to say disconcerting, but while that’s close to how I’m feeling that’s a bit heavier than the word I’m looking for. I live in Montgomery Country, PA which is the county with the highest amount of Covid-19 cases in PA. The county has been on shutdown since Friday and will be on shutdown for at least two weeks. That’s fine by me. I’ve been social distancing for a couple of days before the governor’s announcement anyway, not going anywhere I didn’t obsoletely have to go to.

I’ve seen a lot more people then I normally do out in my local neighborhoods on my runs yesterday and today. But even with that increase in people everyone, that isn’t obviously a family unit, is keeping a wide breath of each other. So that’s good to see. The were a couple times that another runner and I have been coming towards each other and one of us would cut across the street so we wouldn’t be near each other. There was even one time on my run today that there was both a person in front of me that I was going to pass, as well as a person on the other side of the road; so I looked to make sure no cars were coming and run right down the middle of the road for a few seconds until I had a good amount of room between me and the person I passed.

As for my runs themselves this weekend:

Yesterday was Pi Day so I ran 3.14 miles.

Today I ran 12 miles, which is my longest run since Dopey.

So far I’ve had 3 races cancelled/postponed.

I was supposed to have a St. Patrick’s Day 5K yesterday. For that one I haven’t heard anything about a refund, but the money from the 5K goes towards the local volunteer Fire Department. So I’m glad for them to keep my money.

The Phillies 5K has been postponed with plans to reschedule but no additional info.

The Love Run Half has been rescheduled to 10/10/20.

And while I hadn’t signed up for it, I saw the Philly’s Hot Chocolate 5K/15K ;which was scheduled for 4/5) has been turned into a virtual race. So I’m thinking about signing up for that now.
Yeah I was signed up for the Hot Chocolate race. Not nuts about being sent a medal when I didn't even do anything yet, but going virtual is a reasonable compromise. This is the first virtual race I've ever done. Like you said about your race, at least it's a good cause so the money is going somewhere.
I'm in the Lehigh Valley and have been seeing lots of people on the trails too. I'm going to need to run a lot to avoid cabin fever, both my teenagers are home full time for the next few weeks.
 
Well, nothing to new this week. Still all about the social distancing. Solo runs on the streets around me, where I can give anyone else out a wide amount of space. The pictures I've seen of the trails around me are more crowded than I am comfortable with, so staying away from them. I have started running some neighborhoods around me that I've never been in, so seeing them has actually been a bit nice. Running wise, nothing else is really new. Next Saturday I was supposed to have a 5K and Sunday a Half-Marathon, so I think for next week I'll go ahead and run those distances those days. As for working out, I've been keeping to my workout schedule even though what I can do at home has drasticly changed what I'm doing. So still figuring that out day to day. Both my yoga spots are also offering on-line classes, but I haven't been able to work them in to my new normal. That's something I'll be working on doing this week.

As for work, n Monday it was still business as usual, so had to go in. However, shortly before lunch a senior manager came around to let us know that a e-mail would shortly be coming out announcing that starting Tuesday anyone that wanted to work from home would be able to for the foreseeable future and that we could leave at lunch to start doing so Monday afternoon. So I've been working from home since Tuesday afternoon. I generally work from home on Tuesdays anyway, so I already have a set up at home for that.

Think that's about hat I've got for this week. Hope you all are doing well with however things are in your areas.
 
Ha! Well, I've been away from this training journal for 6 months. That's not to surprising though. For a couple months there my running was pretty nonexistent. Between the last time I updated and the end of July I ran a total of 110 miles and my total miles between May & June combined was 8.5 miles. But I have been picking it back up. In August I ran 142 miles and so far this month I have ran 115 miles. My goal for the rest of the year is to finish the year with a 1,000 miles. Taking into account what I plan to run the rest of this month, that means averaging 127 miles/month for the next three months.

I also began a run streak on June 29th that is still going. Today was day 85 of that. Also towards the end of July I decided to get myself back on a training plan. While the Philadelphia Marathon is canceled this year, I decided to train as if it was still going to happen. So I am starting Week 10 of Marathon training. I'm thinking that when the time of what would have been this year's Philadelphia Marathon does come I'll probably run 26.2 that day. I also saw the other day that a local Ultramarathon, The Dirty German, has gone virtual and they are giving until Dec. 31 to run it. I'm thinking about signing up for the 50K.

Just a short update for tonight. Hopefully it won't be another 6 months before I update again.
 
Heh, almost a year away from this journal.

Over the last 11 months there were many months were I barely tied up the laces. But in June I felt like things were looking on the upswing so I signed up for the Philly Marathon in November. I started the training for that in late July and while I am now not all that optimistic about the Marathon happening in November I am back in the routine of running which is very nice.

Last Sunday I did the Philly 10K, which was my first in person race in 18 months. At the moment the Marathon is the only other race I’m signed up to run this year. Although I am signed up to volunteer at a race in 2 weeks.

I also bite the bullet and finally signed up for my first Ultra. The Dirty German 50K which is in May. So even I am idealistic about that race actually occurring.
 
Why do you think the Philly Marathon won't happen???!!!?! I'd be so upset, it's my goal race this year. Do you have inside info?
 
Why do you think the Philly Marathon won't happen???!!!?! I'd be so upset, it's my goal race this year. Do you have inside info?

Nah, no instead info. Just after the New Jersey Marathon (ran in mid-October) cancelled in mid-August & Steamtown Marathon (ran Oct. 10th) canceled earlier this week I’m just being pessimistic.
 
Oh I didn't know about Steamtown... I guess I had a half in Allentown canceled for October too. I'm thinking if everyone behaves themselves for the Broad St Run, we'll get to keep the marathon.

ETA welcome back to your journal!
 
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I’m not running Broad Street, but if I recall correctly, they are mandating all runners be vaccinated, correct? If that’s the case and it goes off well, then I’m thinking that’s what the Philly Marathon will do as well.

Thanks! I’m going to attempt to keep up better journaling this time around. Haha.
 

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