The Running Thread—2023

[sky13]

December 2023
Distance run 77.26 km (48 miles)
Total runs 17
Average distance per run 4.54 km (2.8 miles) - this is the highest this year and up from 3.64 km in November
Average pace 6min46s/km (10min50s/mile)

December was great for me, running-wise. I was really worried about running progress at the start of December as I caught COVID and couldn't run for a few days, but thankfully this COVID experience (my second) was really mild. Was negative and asymptomatic by day 6 and went running. Was planning to take it really easy, but the run just went so well that I just kept running until I hit a 5k!

And I spent most of December getting really used to the 5k distance and that was most of my runs (13 5ks in total). Really happy about this as it's been a long time since I've been regularly running 5ks. Have had to do a lot of my running on the treadmill as it's just been so rainy where I am the entire month - very grateful that I have a treadmill to run on when the weather is bad!

The main downside from December running is that I'm starting to get some mild aches relating to knees/joints/bunions after running, so probably something I need to keep an eye on next year.

-----

As for 2023...
Total running distance this year is 591 km (367 miles).
Total runs 259
Average distance per run 2.28 km (1.4 miles)
Average pace 6min43s/km (10min45s/mile)

Since around May I've maintained approximately the same average pace (averages for the months of May-December are 6min24s-6min53s/km) while increasing the distances I've been running, so quite happy about this.

My longstanding running goal is to run an average of 1 km/day over the year (total of 365 km in the year), and my longstanding stretch running goal is an average of 2 km/day over the year (total of 730 km in the year). So I met the 1 km/day goal but not the 2 km/day goal. But I did meet an intermediate goal of 1 mile/day!

Hoping to keep running (and run more) in 2024. I've already bought 2 new pairs of running shoes in the sales to standby for when my current pairs need to be replaced!

 

[SheHulk]

December Running
Total Distance: 103.2 mi
Average Pace: 11:30/mi

Missed a few training runs this month, for the Disneyland Half, due to traveling and helping pack DS up for a move. I've mostly been sticking to the plan though.

2023 Running:
Total Distance: 1185 mi

Pretty funny, looking back on my Garmin records, I am pretty consistent year to year: 1185 mi this year, 1145 last year, 1200 the year before that. Seems like no matter what my goals are, I wind up being pretty much the same in mileage, year to year, the past few years. Even though I have felt like I've been dragging this year, and I missed a few weeks of marathon training this fall due to injury, overall I guess I'm not so far off, even from the past few years which I thought were great for running.

No runDisney races in 2023... only PR was at the Broad St 10 miler. I also ran the Chicago Marathon, which was a ton of fun, even if my training cycle was not ideal due to injury. I also ran the Philadelphia Half in November but I probably should have skipped it, to be honest. I was still recovering from Chicago and just wasn't feeling it.

Looking ahead to 2024... Making up for no runDisney last year with the DL Half in January and Princess Half in February! Finally getting that Coast to Coast medal after no DL races for years and years.

 

[Bree]

We ain’t gonna talk about December mileage

It’s nearly 4:30pm and I still haven’t had a moment to myself today and going to have to skip my 12 miler.

 

[Guidman]

December Running
167.19 miles
7:48 avg/mile

Missed a few runs at the beginning of the month with a quick trip down to Disney World/Universal but December's always just trying to maintain a base through the month.

2023 Running
2,257.52 miles
7:47 avg/mile

Lowest mileage of the past four years but that's probably a good thing and still was in the range I was hoping for this year (2.2K-2.4K). Finally, this past month my Achilles tendinitis issues have pretty much subsided or aren't nearly as annoying on runs anymore. Hopefully I can keep up with the strength exercises with PT prescribed and try to incorporate additional lower body ones as well.

 

[RuntheMouse]

December totals:
miles: 141.44
avg pace : 11:37

2023 total miles: 1277.8

Really proud of this year. Ran more than I had hoped for and am far better trained for MW this year than last. I know this will be my last marathon so I’m planning on leaving it all out on the course.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

December running
71 miles
10:00 min/mi average

Only race this month was a local donut 5k, which included 2 stops for donuts!
Finished the year with 853 total miles.

 

[LorrieAnn5]

December 2023: Activities: 23 Distance: 100.01 mi Time: 17:32:35
Another consistent month running, almost to the end of the Disneyland Half Marathon training plan. This morning I had a picture perfect training run: easy 40 minutes, negative splits, great cadence, aerobic heart rate zone, Garmin Vo2 Max went up to 50 (highest I've ever had!) It was chef's kiss!!! BUT then this evening I realized that I had run 98.97 miles this month so my DD encouraged me to run a mile! I was in winter boots, long coat, and in the dark, but I got it done. So finishing this month with 100 miles!!!

Looking back at 2023...
In Fitness.....In August, I started training for a 10k to get POT for the Disneyland Half Marathon which resulted in a PR of 56:13. In October, I started training for the half marathon and have completed 14 of 16 weeks of training with 5 runs per week. This is by far the most I've ever run in my life (602 miles this year). I basically swapped my time strength training for running. See the chart below. ("Other" in the chart is mostly jumping rope which I gave up in the fall when I read that Galloway doesn't recommend it for runners.)
In Theme Parks.....This year brought us to Parc Astrix (Paris) for Toutatis which is in my top 2 roller coasters riden in my life, and to Disneyland Paris for my second visit. We finished the summer in Dollywood where we really enjoyed Big Bear, Wild Eagle, and I bravely went down Fire Tower Falls at the water park (similar to Summit Plummet at BB)
In Books.....I read 97 books this year, a large majority of them were audiobooks that I listened to during my runs. Two were about running: Choosing to Run by Des Linden and Slow AF Run Club by Martinus Evans

Looking forward at 2024...
Hoping to START the year STRONG at the Disneyland Half Marathon!
I'm looking forward to getting a more even balance of strength training and running time, or maybe even more heavily tilted toward strength training.
I'm looking forward to jumping rope again!
I have no plans for any races in 2024, but this year has taught me that I can train well for a race if I find one that I want to do.
Happy New Year! ChEARS Everyone!

 

[DopeyBadger]

December Training Summary

Running duration = 33:35 hours
Running mileage = 239 miles
Average Pace = 8:25 min/mile (about 80 sec/mile slower than recent HM)
Average HR = 128 (17 bpm less than half marathon)
Strength Training = 0:00 hours
Total Training Time = 33:35 hours

Training is starting to ramp up for the April marathon I have my eyes on. I just wrapped up Week 18 of 35 in the training plan. Fitness is in a really good place. Practiced some doubles this month because that's going to become a more common staple for the remainder of training. Most miles in a single month since October 2022. Disneyland in less than two weeks, and I feel like I'm in a good place. G hasn't been doing any running, but she has other sports activities so we're not concerned. We've had to edit our Mike and Marty Wazowski costumes to fit the runDisney guidelines. So we spent some time doing that. As well as getting our materials in order for the next set of costumes that she has planned.

2023 Training Summary
Running duration = 277 hours
Running mileage = 1923 miles
Average Pace = 8:38 min/mile (about 90 sec/mile slower than recent HM)
Average HR = 128 (17 bpm less than half marathon)
Strength Training = 53 hours
Total Training Time = 330 hours

From a training perspective, 2023 was a reasonably good year. Fourth most miles in a year. My HM in April was one of my better performances in the last few years. The summer was spent in off-season training mode and focused on strength training. It was a little hard to get back in the running groove in the Fall, but things eventually came together. I'm wrapping up the year on a high note in terms of volume and fitness, and hoping that carries over into 2024.

G and I have decided that we prefer the Disney Halloween party over runDisney. So I have a feeling we'll be focusing our efforts in that direction moving forward for her. The rules are a little more lax on costume guidelines, you get more time, it's more relaxed, you have way more interactions with characters and guests, it's in the afternoon/evening instead of the EARLY morning, and the cost is roughly the same. Since she's really getting into the creative side of cosplay and theater, it seems like this is the natural move. She keeps pushing me to learn new things (like sewing... who would have guessed that I would have picked up sewing enough to make those wazowski costumes). She's got BIG plans for the next set of costumes. They're doing Moana next year for the Children's Theater performance, and I've already had a few requests for costume making. So I fully anticipate that if I'm not running, then I'm costume making when it comes to 2024.









Unfortunately, from a family/work perspective, we're all happy to see 2023 go away. Just took hit after hit all year and it's been trying. So we're trying to live in the present and enjoy the now as much as possible.

 

[FFigawi]

2023 Totals:
Swim - 93 miles
Bike - 3495 miles
Run - 655 miles

2023 was a base year without any really big A races. Looking ahead to 2024, things get serious again with a few races on the calendar culminating with Challenge Roth in July.

 

[dobball23]

December Totals

Running
Runs: 27
Miles: 223.85
Time: 31:21:39
Avg Pace: 8:25

2023 Miles: 1,966.39 (+214.55 from 2022)...disappointed I finished so close to 2,000 miles and didn't get there but that gives me a good goal for 2024!

 

[dis_or_dat]

December totals:
Miles: 113.4
Avg pace: 8:59

Took 2 weeks off after NYC and slowly came back into running but the hamstrings have been hurting.

2023 totals:
Miles: 1329.57
Avg pace: 9:15

Successful NYC marathon with double digit cushion for Boston 2025. Usually I only do one race a year but I’ve got WDW half followed by DL Dumbo Double Dare and then 2 marathons in April! Praying my hamstrings hold up.

 

[Bree]

Ok…got brave and peeked at my December numbers.

December 2023: 99.5 miles

2023 Running Miles: 911.5
2023 Walking Miles: 53.8

 

[nancipants]

Happy new year, everyone! I’m so glad I became active in this board and hope to meet some of you all this week.

 

[jmasgat]

Come Join us in the 2024 thread.....

https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-running-thread-2024.3936814/

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

December 2023: Activities: 23 Distance: 100.01 mi Time: 17:32:35
Another consistent month running, almost to the end of the Disneyland Half Marathon training plan. This morning I had a picture perfect training run: easy 40 minutes, negative splits, great cadence, aerobic heart rate zone, Garmin Vo2 Max went up to 50 (highest I've ever had!) It was chef's kiss!!! BUT then this evening I realized that I had run 98.97 miles this month so my DD encouraged me to run a mile! I was in winter boots, long coat, and in the dark, but I got it done. So finishing this month with 100 miles!!!

Looking back at 2023...
In Fitness.....In August, I started training for a 10k to get POT for the Disneyland Half Marathon which resulted in a PR of 56:13. In October, I started training for the half marathon and have completed 14 of 16 weeks of training with 5 runs per week. This is by far the most I've ever run in my life (602 miles this year). I basically swapped my time strength training for running. See the chart below. ("Other" in the chart is mostly jumping rope which I gave up in the fall when I read that Galloway doesn't recommend it for runners.)
In Theme Parks.....This year brought us to Parc Astrix (Paris) for Toutatis which is in my top 2 roller coasters riden in my life, and to Disneyland Paris for my second visit. We finished the summer in Dollywood where we really enjoyed Big Bear, Wild Eagle, and I bravely went down Fire Tower Falls at the water park (similar to Summit Plummet at BB)
In Books.....I read 97 books this year, a large majority of them were audiobooks that I listened to during my runs. Two were about running: Choosing to Run by Des Linden and Slow AF Run Club by Martinus Evans

Looking forward at 2024...
Hoping to START the year STRONG at the Disneyland Half Marathon!
I'm looking forward to getting a more even balance of strength training and running time, or maybe even more heavily tilted toward strength training.
I'm looking forward to jumping rope again!
I have no plans for any races in 2024, but this year has taught me that I can train well for a race if I find one that I want to do.
Happy New Year! ChEARS Everyone!

The rope jumping? You can skip it.

I will see myself out…

 

[ckb_nc]

The numbers are in
Running 870 miles for the year; compared to 991 in 2022.
Biking 2874 compared to 3400 in 2022.

And I am excited. I set a goal in 2022 to reduce my mileage by 15% - I was like clockwork for years - 1000+running, plus 3500+ biking. And I failed in 2022. Given my longest race was a 10 miler in April, and most of them are 8k or less I do not feel the need to crush long miles. Being in my mid-50s at 56, I am looking at the long game. Running remains the best mental break for me. This is the lowest mileage I have tracked since 2015.

This year I want to add a day of complete rest into my schedule. I fell into a 7 day training calendar during COVID,

I picked up a Peloton in December. Spinning is my go-to favorite exercise; and I found the Peloton experience after riding a bike at a hotel really compelling. I have a bike trainer and have ridden Zwift and Trainer Road for a while. It just never did it for me.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

December 2023 Running Miles: 105.36

2023 Total Miles: 582.38.

Less miles than 2022, but after a 7 days in the hospital wiped out an entire month of running, I am just happy to be headed into Dopey injury free. I feel like my pace is where I hoped it would be although it seems that it rounded into form over the last week or so.

 

[Naomeri]

December running total
64.84 miles in 14h 15m 20s

I was on track to have my highest running mileage month ever, and the holidays completely derailed that.

 

[camaker]

I spent December seeing how much I could accomplish towards Dopey readiness after a largely lost November. I was able to get back up to a 12 mile long run before Christmas obligations hit. There was supposed to be a 14 mile long run the weekend before Christmas, but we ended up having an all day deluge with no breaks to get the run in. Normally I'd run in the rain, but this was just too hard and the temps too cold to be worth it. Then it was off to Dallas to my SiLs for the holiday and I'm not a travel runner, so I missed a couple more. In the end, I was at least able to get back above 100 for the month. Here are the monthly numbers:

December Training Summary
Running Miles: 100.45 mi
Running Time: 20:06:24
Average Pace: 0:12:00/mi
Average HR: 142/min
YTD Mileage: 1,393.18 mi

This was also my lowest total annual mileage in 4 years, so all in all a pretty frustrating year. We'll see how MW goes and then decide what to do in 2024 after that.

 

[huskies90]

December Miles = 148

I did a 2023 summary earlier in this thread. 2023 was a slightly down year mileage-wise but number of runs were in line from previous years.

January Miles = 113
February Miles = 113
March Miles = 116
April Miles = 115
May Miles = 123
June Miles = 112
July Miles = 119
August Miles = 136
September = 152
October = 154
November = 110

2023 Total = 1,511

2022 total miles = 1,619
2021 total miles = 1,622
2020 total miles = 1,777
2019 total miles = 1,656
2018 total miles = 1,673