Fabulous February

February 2024 in review!

Total mileage for the month: 308.1

• Jan. 29-Feb. 4: 78.6
• Feb. 5-11: 65.4
• Feb. 12-18: 82.5
• Feb. 19-25: 87.8
• Feb. 26-March 3: 40.5 (thanks to Influenza)

We are spelling WILD - can you tell?

Races:

• Feb. 17: Run with the Wind 25k in 1:48:01 for 3rd overall female, 1st masters female, a new single age state record for age 43, and a decent day on a course that it really tough for me.

Trae's going away run

Workouts:

• Feb. 2: Fast finish long run with 12 miles easy, 1 mile at MP (6:45), 1 mile at threshold (6:15), 1 easy to finish. I felt strong on this one!
• Feb. 6: Wild Card Workout of 400 m, 800 m, 400 m, 800 m, 400 m at 5k pace w/ 200 m jogs; 1 mile at 20k pace on the road then jog back to the track; 2 x 800 w/ 400 at threshold straight into 400 hard; 400 w/ 200 at threshold straight into 200 hard. Splits were: 1:31, 3:04, 1:31, 3:05, 1:30, 6:31, 1:40/1:26, 1:38/1:27, 0:47/0:42. We drew sticks for the order on this one, and my portion ended up last again! It went: Sally, Lisa, Casey, me. See January's post for a description of Wild Card Workouts.
• Feb. 10: 16 miles via 4 easy, 3 threshold, 7 easy, 1 threshold, 1 easy. I'd planned to run the Cabin Fever Reliever 20k on this day, but I had a cold all week and opted out. That meant I didn't have a workout planned, but Karen was doing a 5k time trial so I helped her out with that (6:22, 6:41, 6:25) then the others I was running with finished at 14 miles, so I decided to do another threshold mile (6:28). Sometimes it is fun to have those decide-as-you go days! I also wasn't sure how I'd feel so I'd told Karen I'd try 6:30ish but may not be able to do it. I was somewhat congested and weak, and my heart rate was high as it had been all week, but I was on the mend and able to do this okay. I don't think I'd have had a good race so I made the right call on that, though it was disappointing.
• Feb. 13: Wild Card Workout of: 1 mile at 10k, long recovery*, 1200 m** at 10k, 400 jog, 400 hard, 400 jog, 200 hard, 200 jog, 400 hard, 200 jog, 800 at 5k, 1:20 jog, 1 mile Gerinomo run into a 1:00 hill hard, 1:10 jog, 1 mile at 10k. Paces were: 6:11, 6:10, 5:30, 5:13, 5:44, 5:50, 6:35, 6:57, 6:13. *The long recovery was because we jogged into the track after the first mile on the road, but the way we usually go in was locked. We then jogged all the way around the other side and to the starting area only to find that the track was partially snow covered, reasonably deep in some places. Then we hopped the fence with the aid of a chair to get back to the road loop that was clear. **Due to running on the road instead of the track, all distances in meters are approximations, which is why I gave all paces instead of times. We drew sticks again for order on this one and it was: Rebecca, me, Karen, Casey, Sally.
• Feb. 21: Wild Card Workout of: 800 m at HMP, 200 jog, 800 m at 5k pace, jog to road; 0.5 threshold, 10 squat jumps, 0.5 threshold, 10 jumping lunges (continuous), jog to track; 800 m of (200 m at threshold, 200 m hard) continuous, jog to hill; 4 x 1:00 hills w/ jog down recoveries. Splits were: 3:15, 3:05, 3:07, 3:08, 0:46, 0:43, 0:49, 0:43 and hill paces 6:25, 6:20, 6:26, 6:05. We went alphabetical order by last name: Karen, me, Lisa, Casey.
• Feb. 27: 2 x (4 x 400 m) + 2 miles HMP, w/ 200 m jogs between reps & 400 m between sets. I developed a sore throat and shallow cough on Feb. 26 and hoped it was just allergies, but this workout confirmed that I was getting sick. I was super frustrated because I'd just been sick at the beginning of February! My 400s were 1:30, 1:29, 1:30, 1:30; 1:28, 1:28, 1:28, 1:26 and HMP miles were 6:22, 6:39. I was originally going to do 3 sets of 4 x 400 m in 1:30, 1:28, 1:26, but I was feeling pretty weak and decided to stop the 400s after 2 sets and join the tempo crew for the end of the workout. That didn't feel much better but it didn't sting quite as hard, probably because I ran a big positive split. At least I know why I was struggling! Post-workout I felt a lot worse and I skipped my Feb. 27 double, cut my Feb. 28 mileage, and took Feb. 29 off - then tested positive for Flu B.
• Favorite workout: The Feb. 13 one was my favorite, but all of the Wild Card Workouts were really fun!

Spelling WILD again

After the Feb. 13 workout - the one where our
track reps were foiled by snow

Long Runs:

• Feb. 2: 15.1 miles (7:38), with a fast finish, described above.
• Feb. 10: 16.1 miles (7:41), with a split tempo workout, described above.
• Feb. 17: 18.9 miles, including Run with the Wind 25k at 6:56 pace.
• Feb. 24: 18.4 miles (7:47) including Karen's 2 mile fast finish from about 14.2-16.2 (7:02, 6:47).
• Favorite long run: Feb. 24 because I felt really great.

Beautiful sunrise

Fabulous February

Running Highlights:

• Watching the U.S. Marathon Trials plus all of the events that went along with it was an amazing experience! I made the trip with 4 running buddies and we all want to go again in 2028. Details are here.

Galentines Run

Life Highlights:

• My long weekend in Orlando was amazing. We were there Friday through Monday and had non-stop fun. We spent all day Sunday at Universal Islands of Adventure.
• Albani had her winter homecoming dance.
• Albani qualified for the state archery tournament, which is next month in Branson.

Archery tournament at Spokane

Books:

• The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner
• Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
• The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Chasing Perfect: Peace and Purpose in the Exhausting Pursuit of Something Better by Alisah Illian.
• The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer

Theme for the month:

• Fabulous February...although also sickness February because I had two illnesses this month.

Fabulous February

Fabulous February + Chinese New Year