Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Back to reality + a very hot event

Normal-ish week for me, but Scott traveling all week so no early morning runs...which I guess means it's not a normal week at all lol.

Monday
Did: 3.15 mi @ 8:16/mi avg
Temps close to 70 degrees means I felt like I was flying! Ran around Cleveland park after dropping off D at camp before diving into the post-vacation work insanity. 

Tuesday
Did: 6.27 mi @ 9:22/mi avg
Whewwww the heat got to me during this late afternoon run! Stayed late after work to run with the Rockers Run Club and got a 5k done beforehand to make the #10kTuesday total. The run theme was America, so I decked out in my red, white, & blue. 


Wednesday
Did: 40 min yoga + 1 mi run
Back was hurting from...not sure? Sitting all day in the office, perhaps. Anyway, did some yoga and it seemed to help. Got the 1 mile done around the neighborhood. It's hot out!

Thursday
Did: 3.2 mi @ 8:45/mi avg
Cross country trails at work today, again super duper hot. Ran in toe shoes because I forgot my regular shoes. 

Friday
Did: 27 min strength + 1.75 mi treadmill run
Work gym and a little treadmill run to finish. 

Saturday
Did: Carolina Reaper Challenge - Marathon Relay

Sunday
Did: 2 mi @ 10:10/mi + 1.8 mi hike
Went to Conestee Nature Park with the fam, did a short solo recovery run then a hike with everyone. Nice way to recover after yesterday's ridiculousness in the heat!

Race Report: Carolina Reaper Challenge - Marathon Relay

So this came about as kind of a random thing based on a group text of "hey anybody wanna join a relay team at the Reaper in a few weeks?" to which I, of course, said "sounds awful, I'm in!" 

What's the Reaper Challenge?

It's a race on one of the hottest days of the year. The format is a ~2.62 (ish) mile loop that you run or walk starting every 45 minutes. You can run as fast or as slow as you want, but you must start the next loop on schedule. The number of loops is based on the event distance you signed up for, ranging from a 50k (12 loops) to a 10k (2 loops). These are all done by an individual, but there is a relay option for the marathon (10 loops) where you can split the run between 2-4 people. 



Our team was 4 people, so we had 10 loops between us all. I met 2 of our teammates (Bethany and Garrett) for the first time at the event, then had my friend Megan who was able to join our team at the last minute! Bethany and I each ran 3 loops, and Garret & Megan each ran 2 loops. I was the second runner which meant I ran the "anchor" leg to finish the race which was fun!

We got there plenty early, set up our tent area to get as much shade as we could, and cheered on the 50k runners while we waited for our event to begin at 10:30am. 

My first loop was at 11:15, and I knew things would only get harder and hotter throughout the day so I pushed the pace on the first one. Ended up with 20:26 (7:53/mi) for the total time, and boy was it warm! The course didn't have much shade at all, so I made sure to keep myself in the shade between loops.

I waited until after my first loop to crack the first beer.


Second loop was at 2:15, by which point it had warmed up significantly. The sun was beating down, minimal air movement, minimal clouds. I slowed it wayyyy down on this one - 23:41 (9:06/mi).

Played rounds of Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza for entertainment between loops.


Third and final loop for me and for the event was at 5:15, and there was thankfully a lot of clouds that had rolled into the area (afternoon storm pending). Minimal sun made this a much more pleasant loop (vs. the 4:30 loop which was incredibly awful for everyone - super hot and sunny). Ran a 22:27 (8:40/mi) and was super excited to be done.

3/4 of the team + our mini mascot cheerleader

Hand-carved medal

Overall this was a super fun event and I'm looking forward to the next one of this style! They run a sister event to this one in January (same format/course) called the Snowbird Challenge... seems like that would be much more pleasant vs. the ridiculous July heat, but obviously cold brings some different challenges!

Monday, July 10, 2023

Vacation Week

Starting out the week at the Lake House, followed by a few days at Myrtle Beach before heading back to the Lake for a night then home at last on Saturday afternoon.

Monday
Did: 4.13 mi @ 9:01/mi avg + 6.86 mi mountain bike ride
Ran on Lake Road in the morning for an out-and-back 4-miler. Later morning we headed to Sesquicentennial State Park for a family bike ride on the trails. Walked around with the pup afterwards while D played on the splash pad. 

hilly Lake Road

very sandy trails!

Family bike ride

Pup 🐾

Tuesday
Did: 8.05 mi @ 8:56/mi avg + 55 min lake kayak (~5500 m)
Lots of good activity today on the 4th! Started out the morning with an 8-mile run of the Rolling Hills loop. Did it the reverse direction I've always run it, and I think I like it better - gets the long hot busy road done earlier with the sun at my back vs. ending with it + sun in the face. Finishes with more hills, but those are pretty constant anyway so it makes little difference.
Blue & Red 💙💖🤍

Long roads

Lake Views

After I got back and recovered with some breakfast, hopped in the kayaks and went with my brother to his self-claimed "island" of Mattistan. Since the lake levels are so low, the island is much larger than usual. Also discovered a small island nearby that isn't normally visible... named it Bethistan. 



Mattistan




Wednesday
Did: 2 mi @ 9:24/mi avg + 1.2 mi ruck walk @ 17:33/mi
Short out and back run followed by a ruck walk.

Thursday
Did: 1.5 mi barefoot sand run + 1.5 mi barefoot sand walk
Ran barefoot on the dry sand of the beach - goal was to make it to the pier and back but only made it one way before I decided I'd have to walk the rest of the way back. Man that is hard, and 3 days later the arches of my feet are still sore!

Friday
Did: 7.17 mi @ 8:45/mi avg
Found the East Coast Greenway wasn't far from our hotel, so I ran up to it and did an out-and-back run in the morning before we hit the beach. The first part was just a wide sidewalk next to the highway, but eventually it dipped away from the road and amongst the trees which was much nicer! Looped through a spur through a neighborhood around their retention pond before heading back. Super muggy and hot but felt good to do a longer run!

Baby duckies!


Saturday
Did: 3.3 mi @ 9:01/mi avg
Back at the lake for one more night, did a Lake Road run before we packed up and headed home.


Sunday
Did: 4.8 mi hike + 1 mi run
Took the kiddo and pup to Oconee State Park for a hike on the Hidden Falls trail. The SCTrails.net site claims this is a 2.1 mile (each way) out and back trail. However, the sign at the trailhead in the park says 2.75 mi to the falls from the parking lot. That's....quite a difference. We made an attempt anyway, but had gotten a later start than we'd planned (because life) and didn't have a full lunch packed with us (we did have snacks and plenty of water). However, at 2.4 miles we came upon a downed tree across the trail that would have required a little under/over sort of shimmy... but then I saw it was warming with bees. 😳 So we decided not to risk it and turned back. A little disappointing but we did get to see a smaller waterfall along the way, and enjoyed a morning in the woods. Plus, it was the pup's longest hike yet!















....someday... 😊

Ran a mile around the neighborhood once we made it home. 

Little over 27 miles for the week - not too bad for being on vacation!

Sunday, July 2, 2023

How is June over already??

Uhhhh... feels like summer is half over. 

Monday
Did: 1.7 mi run + 15.5 mi bike ride @ 13.3 mph + 1 mi pup walk
Decided on a pattern to run in the neighborhood before I headed out today, so that made it a little fun!
Rainbow-ish? 🌈

After lunch, got in a road bike ride with Scott!
Evening walk with the pup after dinner. 


Tuesday
Did: 6.46 mi @ 8:12/mi 
Track Tuesday this morning. Did 4x 1000m but felt pretty sluggish, probably not enough food to fuel the activity-filled past few days I've had. Still great to get out early and run in circles!

Wednesday
Did: 1.5 mi @ 8:44/mi avg + 9 min ruck strength + 1.6 mi pup walk
Run around the neighborhood before a ruck strength workout (3x 10 each pushups, squats, situps, step-ups). Evening got in a pup walk.
Ruckin' it

Thursday
Did: 5.5 mi @ 8:30/mi
Lakeview Lollipop before work - good to get it in before the heat!

Friday
Did: 30 min strength + 2 mi @ 8:45/mi
Half an hour in the work gym before running the perimeter loop on the cross country trails. 

Saturday
Did: 8.35 mi @ 9:33/mi
Morning run from the house, caught a beautiful sunrise before hitting the Green Valley hills.

Sunday
Did: 12.4 mi mountain bike + 2.7 mi trail run
Traveled to the Lake House on Saturday, so in the morning we went to Harbison State Forest for a bike ride + a short trail run. Good heat training - man it's humid and hot here!
After being parked in the direct afternoon sun 😳



Broad River