RunningAHEAD - Topic: The 31st! Last day of the month runs . . . .

Craneium

posted: 1/31/2008 at 12:04 PM

Mary, glad to see the new Garmin is working fine. Holly, DW took up rock climbing last year at the tender age of 47, most active people I know enjoy it once they get past their initial misgivings. Perhaps Dark Horse can start a wimmin on the wall climbing group.

evanflein

posted: 1/31/2008 at 12:30 PM

Well, given the tone of today's thread ("...at my age...") I think this article from the New York Times is appropriate... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/health/nutrition/31BEST.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th Hope that doesn't make the page too wide... Holly, give the rock climbing a try! Our student rec center has a climbing wall, and my kids got certified on it. I will quickly tell you that I have no interest in it, whatsoever. And I sure don't know how you find the time to do those long mid-week runs. There's no way on earth I'd get up early enough to do that... Having to be at work at 7:30, I sleep till 5:45 and need every minute! Sometimes I think I should be increasing my miles more like some of you, but I think it would just invite personal injury and family dischord. I seem to do ok on the mileage I do, so will resist the urge to get swept up in the "gotta do more" mania. Bleh. On that note... will go to the gym tonight again with DH after work. Goal is 5 EZ on the treadmill with the mean incline setting (1% on that thing is like 3% on mine at home!!), and then some weights. While this carpooling thing is a drag, it is getting us to spend more time together doing stuff, so that's a good thing!

enkephalin

posted: 1/31/2008 at 12:32 PM

Holly- good luck with the rock climbing - you are in great shape for it - i believe it relies mostly on your lower leg strength so it'll be a breeze for you. I had a panic attack once climbing down a grotto, so Everest is out for me. Wink

Wondering how dg's recovery is coming along. How much can you run now dg_? My shin just gets better every day. Today no pain at all although it hurt a bit during the night. I still see a thickened area on the shin. I'll be doing toe taps regularily from now on. Luckiily I don't have time today to run, so it enforces another rest/healing day. Interesting discussion yesterday on tempos and such. Gave me some ideas on how to mix it up. Yesterday I was angry at my DD for making a mess with some stuff I'd asked her not to touch. Anyway, normally she would react to getting in trouble by screaming, punching or spitting. What she did instead was draw a picture with this label, written in the no-space style typical of Kindergarten writing "momisapoopoohead". The accompanying picture was of a frowning big person (me) underneath an abundantly pooping small person (her) beside a laughing medium sized person (her brother). I commended her for using a non-violent artistic medium to express her anger. sigh Good runs and stuff everyone!

"During a marathon, I run about two-thirds of the time. That's plenty." - Margaret Davis, 85 Ed Whitlock regarding his 2:54:48 marathon at age 73, "That was a good day. It was never a struggle."

evanflein

posted: 1/31/2008 at 12:46 PM

Enke that's funny, and good news. Reminds me of when my oldest was about three or four... and the worst thing he could think of to call you was a "poopy diaper." Once he was so mad for being sent to his room (both mom and son in bad need of a time out), he turned at the hallway and pointed at me, saying, "You... you.... you... Poopy Diaper!!" I told him "5 minutes" and when he was gone just totally cracked up. How'd you hurt your shin? Seems like more of an impact bruise than shin splints...?

Dark Horse

posted: 1/31/2008 at 2:05 PM
modified: 1/31/2008 at 2:14 PM

OK, I just want to vent about how annoyed I am at the middle school Dark Colt attends and the high school Bucking Bronco attends. While I was away on deployment, both of my boys' grades sank into the basement. They are just as smart as they ever were, and their standardized test results are as high as ever, but their school grades are lousy now. I could go on and on, but I will limit myself to only ONE thing that annoys me about their schools, out of many things that annoy me. Bucking Bronco is a high school freshman taking Honors Physics. He thinks he understands things pretty well, and after every quiz he would tell me he thought he did well, but somehow he approached the Midyear Exam with a C-/D+ average. I don't know how this can be, but part of the problem is surely his writing, which is extremely small and hard to read, and seems to drag down his grades in every class. Anyway, I kept on his case to make sure he studied hard for the Midyear exam. The Midyear exam results came back, and he got an 81, which I am told by the school was one of the highest grades in the class, which is an Honors class. So what is his midyear grade for the report card? "C". Whaat? He gets one of the highest scores in his Honors course on the comprehensive Midyear exam, and his overall grade is a "C"? The school tells me the Midyear exam counts only 20% of his grade. I said to them, "So if he gets a PERFECT SCORE on the Final exam for the whole year, demonstrating total mastery of every topic, maybe you will raise his grade for the year to a B-minus? That would make a mockery of your grading system." I don't expect him to make a perfect score on his Final exam for the whole year, but this averaging thing makes no sense to me. Either you know the stuff or you don't, and Midyear and Final exams should be the gauge of whether you know the stuff. When I was in college, I was screwed the opposite way. I had a "B" going into the Final, but did no studying and got a "C" on the Final exam. My final grade for the course was also a "C". I approached the graduate student assistant for the course, and complained: "Shouldn't I get a B-minus or at least C-plus for the course?" He said, "No, your exam just said "C" to me." OK, fine, I didn't care enough to argue the point over his head. I felt he was at least morally right. Now my kid is getting downgraded the opposite way: they're saying his exam has to be averaged with the other grades on quizzes and homework. It feels good to complain once in a while. Tell you what, if I ever become a teacher, I'll give my students more than one way to get a good grade. If they bust their butts studying and get a good grade on the final demonstrating mastery of the material, I'll give them a good grade for the course and not penalize them for earlier struggles. Dark Horse

I'm a dark horse, running on a dark race course.

Holly S.

Marathon Maniac #957

posted: 1/31/2008 at 2:35 PM
modified: 1/31/2008 at 2:35 PM

Erika – Nice article. I especially liked this: “one man took up running at 62 and ran his first marathon, a year later, in 3 hours 25 minutes.” I simultaneously thought, “Good job!” and “grrrrrr...” Big grin

Re MLRs - My deal with DH is to disrupt the family schedule as little as possible with my running, so the longer the run, the earlier I get up. I’m getting up at 4:00-4:10 am now on Tues and Thurs to get in my MLRs (I get up at 5:30 on my non-running days). The key is to get to bed by 9:30pm. I do this even on weekends these days. This Sunday I’ll have to be running by 4:30 am to get my scheduled 20-miler in before church. PDR has me beat for early rising, though... Smile

What I don’t understand is how you can do your runs AFTER work. By then, I’m starving and tired. I race home and fix/eat dinner, and then I’m just tired. Of course, maybe that's just because I was UP AT A RIDICULOUSLY EARLY HOUR RUNNING, or something like that... Big grin

Enk – you HAVE to keep that picture. Big grin

Dark Horse – re climbing Mt. Everest – I thought you said you were afraid of heights?

Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."

Dark Horse

posted: 1/31/2008 at 2:40 PM

Quote from Holly S. on 1/31/2008 at 2:35 PM:

Dark Horse – re climbing Mt. Everest – I thought you said you were afraid of heights?

Holly, I am, but I try not to let it get in the way of things I want to do. Dark Horse

I'm a dark horse, running on a dark race course.

Tramps

posted: 1/31/2008 at 2:57 PM

Evanflein, that's some very provocative stuff in that article. I wish they had more details about what, exactly, this is based on. It would seem to contradict much of what is conventional wisdom such as... ---“You have to make training as intense as you can.” ---When you have to choose between hard and often, choose hard, said Steven Hawkins, an exercise physiologist ---“High performance is really determined more by intensity than volume,” he added. ---Dr. Hawkins, who says he no longer runs competitively, adds that he tries to put his findings into practice. “I run a couple of times a week and I try to make it as fast as I can,” he said. “I’m not plodding along.” ---if your workout didn’t hurt, you didn’t work hard enough, ---------------------- DH--sorry to hear your kids' schools are a frustration. I don't know the situation, of course, but from a teacher's perspective two things come to mind: 1. it's usually impossible for a single exam to accurately reflect mastery of material. There's only so much you can cover in an exam; almost always, much more has gone on during a semester--thus the importance of other projects for an overall grade. 2. tests don't necessarily reflect what kids know. Some students never learn how to take tests; they know material but don't manage time well, get nervous, etc. It's really quite striking. Again, that's why final grades are usually based on more than a couple of exams. (It's also why kids who can afford coaching can inflate SAT scores significantly in just a few weeks; they're not any smarter they just learn how to take tests effectively. At the college level, many instructors face students who have mastered test-taking, while learning very little. Such students struggle when they face assignments that call on them to actually do something, rather than fill in a multiple-choice test.) The idea of "more than one way to get a good grade" is very consistent with most contemporary pedagogy. Unfortunately the obsession with standardized testing at lower levels--which has crept up to the university level to some extent--totally undermines that.

Be safe. Be kind.

BTY

posted: 1/31/2008 at 3:11 PM

4 miles along the Hudson River this afternoon at lunchtime. 38:30 or so, ~ 9:40 pace. Feeling thankful that the weather, while not IRC, has at least allowed me to run all month with no cancellations due to ridiculously cold temps. Today it was 24F, but sunny. Not bad at all. bty

Holly S.

Marathon Maniac #957

posted: 1/31/2008 at 3:33 PM

Hey, guess what? I just realized that this month has been my highest mileage month ever! (228.8) So why am I GAINING weight? Angry

Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."

Dark Horse

posted: 1/31/2008 at 3:45 PM

Quote from Holly S. on 1/31/2008 at 3:33 PM:

Hey, guess what? I just realized that this month has been my highest mileage month ever! (228.8) So why am I GAINING weight?

Holly, This must be a record eating month for you, too. Dark Horse, ever helpful

I'm a dark horse, running on a dark race course.

wildchild

Carolyn

posted: 1/31/2008 at 4:01 PM

Erika, interesting article. I'm glad there's hope for us "at our age". Holly, rock climbing's fun. My DH used to be a serious rock climber, and I used to climb quite a bit too. Climbing outside on a cliff is more fun than inside at a rock gym, but you need more gear. Inside is good in the winter, though. ~~Poopyhead~~ Enke, your daughter sounds spunky! In her picture, she was pooping on you??? Shocked

Dark Horse, in my DD's geography class last semester, she didn't have to take the midterm because her total grade up to that point was over 95%. I'd never heard of that kind of arrangement, but her teacher said he'd automatically assign her a 95 on the midterm. She was the only one in her class that didn't have to take the test. I think a midterm or final is important, but the whole grade needs to reflect the student's work and participation for the whole semester too. I ran 5.3 miles at lunchtime. The sky is blue, the wind is gentle, the sidewalks are mostly snow-free, and its 30 degrees! The only downside is that I stepped in a puddle of slush that was deeper than it looked, and I got my foot soaked. Brrr! I, too, had my highest mileage month ever, 111.3 miles, and I'm not gaining weight. Yes

(Sorry Holly!)

_{I hammered down the trail, passing rocks and trees like they were standing still.}

btb1490

posted: 1/31/2008 at 4:01 PM

Quote from Holly S. on 1/31/2008 at 3:33 PM:

Hey, guess what? I just realized that this month has been my highest mileage month ever! (228.8) So why am I GAINING weight?

I was just reading somewhere that it's pretty hard to lose weight during marathon training because while your body is burning all that fat, it counteracts by wanting to hoard more of it. This was on the internet, so it must be true. Congrats on the mileage PR!

Running the 2016 Boston Marathon for Children's Hospital

mcsolar99

posted: 1/31/2008 at 4:02 PM

8 w/4x1mi, 5:59avg, 3:00 rest. finally under 6, been a long time. last one 5:44. dark horse: yes. err, on second thought... how well does this guy know you? if he can't recognize you by sight, i'll go in your place. you'll have to teach me some chess...

Tramps

posted: 1/31/2008 at 4:04 PM

Quote from mcsolar99 on 1/31/2008 at 4:02 PM:

8 w/4x1mi, 5:59avg, 3:00 rest. finally under 6, been a long time. last one 5:44.

Nice run!

Be safe. Be kind.

Masters Running

The 31st! Last day of the month runs . . . . (Read 515 times)