Have you run a distance you’re super proud of? Accomplished something for the first time, something you didn’t think you could do? Or tried a distance you didn’t think you could run — a 10K, a half marathon, a full, or even longer?
Now that it’s (almost) mid-May, it’s the time of year when I typically slow down my running, as I’ve usually been training and getting ready for a race in the first few months of the year. (And, now is about when it starts getting 🥵 here.) Which makes this a good moment to take a step back and reflect.
What would you like to do with the rest of your year? Love hearing your thoughts. — Terrell
So far, the year has been good. I'm walking 15 minutes a day for a walking challenge--til the end of May, then onto the PAWS walk which starts June 2, , ,walk for dogs, cats, and wildlife. I do this walk every year--have been since 2015. One 10K in SF in July. Nothing truly amazing. July is tied up with doctor's appointments. I do get the cataracts off in July, which should be an eye-opener! Mostly weeding, raking and mowing. Weather has been hot and dry. looks another week with no rain in the 70s. can't complain! Waiting for our meet-up in the fall. . . one more half set for 2025 on Maui in March. Take Care! :)
What a great post. Me… I have a half marathon next Saturday in Maryland. I’m going to South Africa in November planning marathon somewhere warm in the winter and maybe first ultra in the spring. Start ground work on my crazy 2 year old Arab and aside from that I’m sure the Er will keep me plenty busy. Can’t wait to hear from others I wish you all a great summer
My objective is do to another dozen this year … have done 7, another on 6/1 and three more planned in 4th quarter. That makes 11 so I am in search of another one, probably a virtual, to get to 12. Now that it’s hot, I have added swimming to the mix.
I will register for a 10 Mile race this fall. I have been out since February because of a stress fracture in my right foot. I am healed now, so I will be easing back into training, adding hiking and biking, along with strength work and stretching for a more well rounded training cadence. Before I would run and only run.
Glad to hear you're healing, Lloyd -- this is something I need to do more of too, especially the stretching, which I haven't done in a long, long time. (Though I used to do it before every run; I don't really know why I stopped.) Is there any particular routine you follow?
Thanks Terrell! For stretching, I took martial arts in high school, so I try to get back to the full body stretching. I was really flexible, full splits flexible. For strength work, I am also going for full body strength, slightly more focused on legs. I am still working on establishing consistency.
I am finishing up what has been a life-changing year and a bit. I turned 60 in February of 2023, and I am 3 weeks away from finishing my 14th marathon in 15 months. Everything finally started clicking in October, when I ran Chicago, and since then it’s been such a rush.
14 in 15 months … you have obviously onsumed the kool-aid. Stay healthy and hydrated. In South Florida, the 90s are expected for the next week, making tomorrow’s Mother’s Day 5K “ just enough”.
John, this is incredible! (Happy belated b-day, btw!) Were you always a runner/marathoner? Which marathons have you run during the past 15 months? What prompted this "quest," if I can call it that?
I didn't really start running until my late 40s,to stay in shape for fencing. Ran 500 km of races to celebrate turning 50, including my first (and I swore ONLY) full. Discovered I liked the half, so I've run a lot of those. I got back into marathons with Team RMHC for Chicago in 2021, and loved the whole experience. So, when I turned 60, it was time to celebrate with a marathon a month - and you know you just start registering for more and more races. Here's the list:
Cowtown Marathon 2/26/2023 FT. Worth TX
Little Rock Marathon (7:30 pacer) 3/5/2023 Little Rock AR
Green Bay Marathon 5/21/2023 Green Bay WI
Charlevoix Marathon 6/17/2023 Charlevoix MI
Sioux Falls Marathon 8/27/2023 Sioux Falls SD
Chicago Marathon 10/8/2023 Chicago IL
Des Moines Marathon 10/15/2023 Des Moines IA
Route 66 Center of Universe 11/19/2023 Tulsa OK
Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon 12/10/2023 Biloxi MS
Louisiana Marathon 1/14/2024 Baton Rouge LA
St. Petersburg Distance Classic Marathon 2/11/2024 St. Petersburg FL
Little Rock Marathon (7:30 pacer) 3/2/2024 Little Rock AR
I had a baby in December and ran a half-marathon PR 4ish months later! It was a downhill course, but still. Super gratifying. I feel like I'm set for the year on running achievements 😂
Hi Edith! 👋 I love, love, love this — no qualifiers necessary, it’s seriously amazing!! Not only that you ran that far just 4 months after the baby, but that you PR’d! Just wow. I’d feel done too 🤣
I did my long run after going for labs and blood work Monday. Probably not the smartest thing I've ever done. 🤣 The first 8 mi were great and then suddenly it wasn't, mostly walked the last 2 miles but hey 10 miles done. (Pretty much did nothing the rest of the day)
It's been a good start to the year, so far. My two big events were the Cape Fear Badwater 50 mile in March (1st 50 for me. It went well and I learned a lot about what happens beyond a 50k.) and a 21k Spartan, obstacle course race last weekend (13th overall, 1st in age group. Awesome event.). I'm training for another 50 mile event in September and keep eyeballing a 100 mile for late October. I haven't committed yet but am training as if I was doing it. I'm planning on a training run on the 100 mile course for my birthday the first week of June and will make the call on whether to jump in then.
Wow! So tell me about your first 50 -- what prompted you to sign up, and how did it go? What was it like running that distance? (And was it 50K or 50 miles?)
The Spartan races introduced me to trail running about 3 years ago and once you get on the trails you start meeting people doing crazy long races. I met someone last year who had done Badwater 135 (135 miles!) and she told me about the 50 mile option that is in North Carolina where I live. I did a couple of 50k races last year so I was excited to take the next step up to a 50 mile distance. Nutrition could have been better as I was only using liquids/gels and it felt weird during the last 10 miles or so to be on effectively an empty stomach. I also experienced core (especially lower back) fatigue so have added more core workouts into my training.
No, but a buddy of mine just tore a ligament in his knee and he's having surgery to repair it this week. I know it’s been excruciating for him — he tore it playing tennis 🎾
I started training for the London Marathon at the end of last year. Lost close to a month beginning in late January due to a bout of Covid. When I ramped up mileage, my upper back started giving some problems. So, the training cycle didn't go as planned and my marathon was a lot slower than I had hoped. My back was painful from mile 6 on. Good news is I finished and London is a well done race. So, after taking stock of where I am, my plans are to work with my PT to get this back issue under control and in June start training for the NYC Marathon. Hopefully I will get to that start line stronger and healthier than I was for London.
Possibly. Swimming does strengthen the back, so it could be helpful. I will speak to my PT about it but will initially do whatever exercises she prescribes for me. I’m prepared to work on this fairly aggressively. Swimming might be good for maintenance once I get it strengthened up.
It was a great race! Very well organized and amazing crowd support pretty much the entire route. I really enjoyed my time in London and would love to return in the future. My husband ran as well and also thought it was a good event. It's near impossible to get in via the lottery, so we ended up going with a tour operator so that we could both run. We chose Fitness International Travel and they were amazing! If you decide to run a marathon, London is a very good choice.
That's good to know! I just happened to see a news item about the signups for the 2025 London Marathon -- they're up by almost 50% over this year!! That blew my mind -- there really must be a lot of momentum building around the World Marathon Majors. Great to see, especially after the 2-3 years after Covid.
London is very popular and very hard to get into unless you want to run for a charity. They allocate a much higher number of bibs for charity runners than they do for lottery entrants. But then their "thing" is being known as the one day event that raises the most money for charity. And they strive to break their own record every year. Of the 840,000+ lottery entries they received, less than 200,000 were from international runners. The rest were from the UK, so they get a ton of support within their own country.
After a pathetic winter of barely any training, I signed up for a 10k with my 16 year old. When I got to the race it was much hillier than I expected. I was untrained ( shame on me). At mile two, I wondered “what was I thinking ?” But I finished. First in my age group! Full disclosure, I was the second to last person to complete the race in all groups but I pushed through and completed it
What’s important is you finished. Did the Wisconsin half on 5/4 … at Mile-3, commented on lady’s pigtails and how I raised two girls and never learned to braid their hair. Learned it was her first half and we stayed together and finished together. Looked up the results and found she beat me but 3 seconds, having started after me!
So far, the year is on track. My plan has been for a 5 or 8 or 10k each month to keep me honest about training. Training is 2 strength sessions per week and 2 or 3 5 or 8ks per week. Next run is an 8k trail and hill run in Virginia Beach first week of June (right after Memorial Day) in honor of our fallen heroes.
I do a full body workout using 16 of the resistance machines at Planet Fitness. One day consists of 3 sets to failure, with 1 minute between sets and 2-3 minutes between stations. The other day is my “speed” workout with one set per machine of as many reps as I can do, with no breaks in between.
So far, the year has been good. I'm walking 15 minutes a day for a walking challenge--til the end of May, then onto the PAWS walk which starts June 2, , ,walk for dogs, cats, and wildlife. I do this walk every year--have been since 2015. One 10K in SF in July. Nothing truly amazing. July is tied up with doctor's appointments. I do get the cataracts off in July, which should be an eye-opener! Mostly weeding, raking and mowing. Weather has been hot and dry. looks another week with no rain in the 70s. can't complain! Waiting for our meet-up in the fall. . . one more half set for 2025 on Maui in March. Take Care! :)
I’m trying for 50 states as well any stand outs? I already have Texas, Louisiana and Florida
What a great post. Me… I have a half marathon next Saturday in Maryland. I’m going to South Africa in November planning marathon somewhere warm in the winter and maybe first ultra in the spring. Start ground work on my crazy 2 year old Arab and aside from that I’m sure the Er will keep me plenty busy. Can’t wait to hear from others I wish you all a great summer
My objective is do to another dozen this year … have done 7, another on 6/1 and three more planned in 4th quarter. That makes 11 so I am in search of another one, probably a virtual, to get to 12. Now that it’s hot, I have added swimming to the mix.
I will register for a 10 Mile race this fall. I have been out since February because of a stress fracture in my right foot. I am healed now, so I will be easing back into training, adding hiking and biking, along with strength work and stretching for a more well rounded training cadence. Before I would run and only run.
Glad to hear you're healing, Lloyd -- this is something I need to do more of too, especially the stretching, which I haven't done in a long, long time. (Though I used to do it before every run; I don't really know why I stopped.) Is there any particular routine you follow?
Thanks Terrell! For stretching, I took martial arts in high school, so I try to get back to the full body stretching. I was really flexible, full splits flexible. For strength work, I am also going for full body strength, slightly more focused on legs. I am still working on establishing consistency.
I am finishing up what has been a life-changing year and a bit. I turned 60 in February of 2023, and I am 3 weeks away from finishing my 14th marathon in 15 months. Everything finally started clicking in October, when I ran Chicago, and since then it’s been such a rush.
14 in 15 months … you have obviously onsumed the kool-aid. Stay healthy and hydrated. In South Florida, the 90s are expected for the next week, making tomorrow’s Mother’s Day 5K “ just enough”.
John, this is incredible! (Happy belated b-day, btw!) Were you always a runner/marathoner? Which marathons have you run during the past 15 months? What prompted this "quest," if I can call it that?
I didn't really start running until my late 40s,to stay in shape for fencing. Ran 500 km of races to celebrate turning 50, including my first (and I swore ONLY) full. Discovered I liked the half, so I've run a lot of those. I got back into marathons with Team RMHC for Chicago in 2021, and loved the whole experience. So, when I turned 60, it was time to celebrate with a marathon a month - and you know you just start registering for more and more races. Here's the list:
Cowtown Marathon 2/26/2023 FT. Worth TX
Little Rock Marathon (7:30 pacer) 3/5/2023 Little Rock AR
Green Bay Marathon 5/21/2023 Green Bay WI
Charlevoix Marathon 6/17/2023 Charlevoix MI
Sioux Falls Marathon 8/27/2023 Sioux Falls SD
Chicago Marathon 10/8/2023 Chicago IL
Des Moines Marathon 10/15/2023 Des Moines IA
Route 66 Center of Universe 11/19/2023 Tulsa OK
Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon 12/10/2023 Biloxi MS
Louisiana Marathon 1/14/2024 Baton Rouge LA
St. Petersburg Distance Classic Marathon 2/11/2024 St. Petersburg FL
Little Rock Marathon (7:30 pacer) 3/2/2024 Little Rock AR
Big Sur 4/28/2024 Monterey CA
Fargo 6/1/2024 Fargo ND
So awesome congratulations
Will do Fargo on 6/1 virtually … then off until October.
You've picked some fantastic races! These all sound like great, great runs.
I had a baby in December and ran a half-marathon PR 4ish months later! It was a downhill course, but still. Super gratifying. I feel like I'm set for the year on running achievements 😂
Hi Edith! 👋 I love, love, love this — no qualifiers necessary, it’s seriously amazing!! Not only that you ran that far just 4 months after the baby, but that you PR’d! Just wow. I’d feel done too 🤣
I did my long run after going for labs and blood work Monday. Probably not the smartest thing I've ever done. 🤣 The first 8 mi were great and then suddenly it wasn't, mostly walked the last 2 miles but hey 10 miles done. (Pretty much did nothing the rest of the day)
It's been a good start to the year, so far. My two big events were the Cape Fear Badwater 50 mile in March (1st 50 for me. It went well and I learned a lot about what happens beyond a 50k.) and a 21k Spartan, obstacle course race last weekend (13th overall, 1st in age group. Awesome event.). I'm training for another 50 mile event in September and keep eyeballing a 100 mile for late October. I haven't committed yet but am training as if I was doing it. I'm planning on a training run on the 100 mile course for my birthday the first week of June and will make the call on whether to jump in then.
I’m with Terrell I would love to hear about it
Wow! So tell me about your first 50 -- what prompted you to sign up, and how did it go? What was it like running that distance? (And was it 50K or 50 miles?)
The Spartan races introduced me to trail running about 3 years ago and once you get on the trails you start meeting people doing crazy long races. I met someone last year who had done Badwater 135 (135 miles!) and she told me about the 50 mile option that is in North Carolina where I live. I did a couple of 50k races last year so I was excited to take the next step up to a 50 mile distance. Nutrition could have been better as I was only using liquids/gels and it felt weird during the last 10 miles or so to be on effectively an empty stomach. I also experienced core (especially lower back) fatigue so have added more core workouts into my training.
just trying to kick the achilles. i need to see a doctor at this point. has anyone had surgery before?
No, but a buddy of mine just tore a ligament in his knee and he's having surgery to repair it this week. I know it’s been excruciating for him — he tore it playing tennis 🎾
I started training for the London Marathon at the end of last year. Lost close to a month beginning in late January due to a bout of Covid. When I ramped up mileage, my upper back started giving some problems. So, the training cycle didn't go as planned and my marathon was a lot slower than I had hoped. My back was painful from mile 6 on. Good news is I finished and London is a well done race. So, after taking stock of where I am, my plans are to work with my PT to get this back issue under control and in June start training for the NYC Marathon. Hopefully I will get to that start line stronger and healthier than I was for London.
I’m in the lotto 😝❤️
I’m the farthest thing from an expert … would swimming help the back? I find it beneficial to keeping this old (74 year) body somewhat limber.
Possibly. Swimming does strengthen the back, so it could be helpful. I will speak to my PT about it but will initially do whatever exercises she prescribes for me. I’m prepared to work on this fairly aggressively. Swimming might be good for maintenance once I get it strengthened up.
I'm nowhere near ready for 26.2, but there's still a part of me that would love to run London someday. How was it?
It was a great race! Very well organized and amazing crowd support pretty much the entire route. I really enjoyed my time in London and would love to return in the future. My husband ran as well and also thought it was a good event. It's near impossible to get in via the lottery, so we ended up going with a tour operator so that we could both run. We chose Fitness International Travel and they were amazing! If you decide to run a marathon, London is a very good choice.
Congrats on getting it done! I was in London last year during the marathon as a spectator. It really was a fabulous event.
That's good to know! I just happened to see a news item about the signups for the 2025 London Marathon -- they're up by almost 50% over this year!! That blew my mind -- there really must be a lot of momentum building around the World Marathon Majors. Great to see, especially after the 2-3 years after Covid.
London is very popular and very hard to get into unless you want to run for a charity. They allocate a much higher number of bibs for charity runners than they do for lottery entrants. But then their "thing" is being known as the one day event that raises the most money for charity. And they strive to break their own record every year. Of the 840,000+ lottery entries they received, less than 200,000 were from international runners. The rest were from the UK, so they get a ton of support within their own country.
After a pathetic winter of barely any training, I signed up for a 10k with my 16 year old. When I got to the race it was much hillier than I expected. I was untrained ( shame on me). At mile two, I wondered “what was I thinking ?” But I finished. First in my age group! Full disclosure, I was the second to last person to complete the race in all groups but I pushed through and completed it
Gave me a new boost
What’s important is you finished. Did the Wisconsin half on 5/4 … at Mile-3, commented on lady’s pigtails and how I raised two girls and never learned to braid their hair. Learned it was her first half and we stayed together and finished together. Looked up the results and found she beat me but 3 seconds, having started after me!
This is awesome, Mombadear!! 🙌 (I once did a triathlon without having trained at all -- I came in dead last, but I finished!) Love hearing this.
So far, the year is on track. My plan has been for a 5 or 8 or 10k each month to keep me honest about training. Training is 2 strength sessions per week and 2 or 3 5 or 8ks per week. Next run is an 8k trail and hill run in Virginia Beach first week of June (right after Memorial Day) in honor of our fallen heroes.
Very nice, David! I need your strength training routine -- what do you do when you strength train?
I do a full body workout using 16 of the resistance machines at Planet Fitness. One day consists of 3 sets to failure, with 1 minute between sets and 2-3 minutes between stations. The other day is my “speed” workout with one set per machine of as many reps as I can do, with no breaks in between.