Chuck Norris Challenge (Part 1)
How often do/did you race? Once a week? Once a month?
How about every day?
For two weeks?
Welcome to the Chuck Norris Challenge!
I don't know exactly how this event was dreamed up (or why) but with all of the race cancellations and amidst the plethora of virtual events that have popped up, this one stood out.
THE CONCEPT
The concept was one of speed and durability. For two weeks, race against your watch every day. It was like a daily time trial. No pausing the watch.
The Distance
- Week one: Monday-Sunday with this progression: 5K/10K/15K/20K/25K/30K/35K.
- Week two: Monday-Sunday, laddering down from 35K.
The Rules
Each day, after completing the distance, your time was entered into a spread sheet with made two calculations:- Adjust for age and gender.
- Assign points based on adjusted time 1st place = 1 point; 2nd place = 2 points, etc.
So how could you win?
- First, complete each day. Failure to complete a day resulted in a DNC (Did Not Chuck) and the end of your participation.
- The winner is the person with the lowest score at the end of 14 days.
So to sum up, The Chuck Norris Challenge was essential two weeks of time trials.
Knowing that I rarely run so little in a day, and that I would get about 24 hours of recovery, I figured I'd take the day hard. I have a loop in my neighborhood that is about 1.1 km and has minimal traffic (so I could run in the street with minimal danger). It's not completely flat; it has a long slight uphill followed by a long downhill, but it really doesn't impact speed much.
It went just about how I'd planned, probably an 85-90% effort. I didn't feel overtaxed; I felt comfortable the whole way. As far as 5Ks go, this was definitely the fastest since my college days. That's a good sign for things to come.
Total Time: 18:03 (PR)
Daily place/points: 2.
Total Points: 2
This was a rain run. Again, it wasn't a long distance compared to what I usually run, so I felt like I could take this one out at a good clip. It went better than I expected; I ran a negative split and ended up with another PR at 39:02.
The positive of this day is that it was cool enough to wear a shirt. The negative, however, was that the rain weighed it down, and I ended up chafing. Luckily the next few days warmed up enough to go shirtless and heal up.
Total Time: 39:02 (PR)
Daily place/points: 3.
Total points: 5
This third day was taken hard again, though harder than I had intended. A local runner who was also in the competition (but the 7-day version) asked me to introduce him to my route. I happen to live right next to one of the flattest areas in all of Fayetteville, so it's a prime area to run when you want fast road times. He came over a little before noon, and we took off, warming up on the way to the "race track".
My buddy's plan was to go out at a pace a bit faster than I was planning. It didn't feel great at first, and I wondered if I'd be able to hold on. Eventually my body settled in, and I ended up running the second lap faster than the first (a negative split). Not bad for day three.
No shirt chafing today, but I ended up with a sunburn. That's what happens to us pale folk who usually run in the early morning, pre-dawn hours.
Total Time: 59:42 (PR)
Daily place/points: 2.
Total points: 7
Given that I'd run three PRs in three days, this is the day strategy came in to play.
A few months ago, I ran 20 miles each day for five days. They weren't races, but they required dialing in daily. Thus, I assumed my strength would be the long days to come. To prepare, I decided to take this day easy. Well, easier.
I walked over to a buddy's house (also in the competition), and we ran at about 5 min/km pace (8 min/mi). The wind was blowing pretty hard from the south, so we ran a long east-west loop that let us avoid the wind. After several three days of running fast, it was a nice break. And it was gorgeous morning, too. Great conversation, beautiful weather, and an easy run: It doesn't get much better than that.
Total time: 1:37:42
THE COMPETITION (Week 1)
Day 1 - 5K (30 Competitors)
Knowing that I rarely run so little in a day, and that I would get about 24 hours of recovery, I figured I'd take the day hard. I have a loop in my neighborhood that is about 1.1 km and has minimal traffic (so I could run in the street with minimal danger). It's not completely flat; it has a long slight uphill followed by a long downhill, but it really doesn't impact speed much.It went just about how I'd planned, probably an 85-90% effort. I didn't feel overtaxed; I felt comfortable the whole way. As far as 5Ks go, this was definitely the fastest since my college days. That's a good sign for things to come.
Total Time: 18:03 (PR)
Daily place/points: 2.
Total Points: 2
Day 2 - 10K (30 Competitors)
This was a rain run. Again, it wasn't a long distance compared to what I usually run, so I felt like I could take this one out at a good clip. It went better than I expected; I ran a negative split and ended up with another PR at 39:02.The positive of this day is that it was cool enough to wear a shirt. The negative, however, was that the rain weighed it down, and I ended up chafing. Luckily the next few days warmed up enough to go shirtless and heal up.
Total Time: 39:02 (PR)
Daily place/points: 3.
Total points: 5
Day 3 - 15K (30 Competitors)
This third day was taken hard again, though harder than I had intended. A local runner who was also in the competition (but the 7-day version) asked me to introduce him to my route. I happen to live right next to one of the flattest areas in all of Fayetteville, so it's a prime area to run when you want fast road times. He came over a little before noon, and we took off, warming up on the way to the "race track".My buddy's plan was to go out at a pace a bit faster than I was planning. It didn't feel great at first, and I wondered if I'd be able to hold on. Eventually my body settled in, and I ended up running the second lap faster than the first (a negative split). Not bad for day three.
No shirt chafing today, but I ended up with a sunburn. That's what happens to us pale folk who usually run in the early morning, pre-dawn hours.
Total Time: 59:42 (PR)
Daily place/points: 2.
Total points: 7
Day 4 - 20K (30 Competitors)
A few months ago, I ran 20 miles each day for five days. They weren't races, but they required dialing in daily. Thus, I assumed my strength would be the long days to come. To prepare, I decided to take this day easy. Well, easier.
I walked over to a buddy's house (also in the competition), and we ran at about 5 min/km pace (8 min/mi). The wind was blowing pretty hard from the south, so we ran a long east-west loop that let us avoid the wind. After several three days of running fast, it was a nice break. And it was gorgeous morning, too. Great conversation, beautiful weather, and an easy run: It doesn't get much better than that.
Total time: 1:37:42
Daily place/points: 7
Total points: 14
DNC: 1
This is where the long haul began. This is also the day everything almost fell apart.
I woke up in the morning to an impending lightning storm. I made the decision to wait. It was a bit awkward all day. I knew I needed to fuel, yet at the same time, the storms just kept rolling through. I was left eating sparingly, always thinking, "I might have to run in an hour".
Finally it seemed a window opened up in the afternoon. It wasn't a guaranteed window; there was still danger of more storms, so I ran on a 1.3 km loop in my neighborhood, just in case I needed to bail and go home. (There was lightning nearby once, but never again.)
It was a hard run; the wind was blowing like crazy, and on the uphill part of the loop. The video below does not do justice to how bad it was. It was blowing so hard that the rain stung as it hit me, and I swear there was one stride during which I didn't move at all. But I had adrenaline on my side, but I ran a negative split again and nearly finished with another PR (not quite, though).
Total Time: 1:45:52
Daily place/points: 3
Total points: 17
I wasn't expecting much from day six. Because I had to wait so late to get my run in on day five, I ran this morning on short rest. And considering I ran another PR, I assumed my legs would be a bit fatigued. They were, but mostly they picked up right where they had left off.
I didn't really want to think so much on this day, so I just ran the same 1.3 km loop from the previous day. It had some hill, but it also went by my house. It was good for pacing and good for tossing water bottles and such when I wanted to hit the last few miles harder. Again I ran negative splits, and I set another PR. Crazy!
This was also a difficult day for many competitors. There were five DNCs today, which would end up being the biggest one day drop in the competition.
Total time: 2:08:21 (PR)
Total points: 14
DNC: 1
Day 5 - 25K (29 Competitors)
This is where the long haul began. This is also the day everything almost fell apart.I woke up in the morning to an impending lightning storm. I made the decision to wait. It was a bit awkward all day. I knew I needed to fuel, yet at the same time, the storms just kept rolling through. I was left eating sparingly, always thinking, "I might have to run in an hour".
Finally it seemed a window opened up in the afternoon. It wasn't a guaranteed window; there was still danger of more storms, so I ran on a 1.3 km loop in my neighborhood, just in case I needed to bail and go home. (There was lightning nearby once, but never again.)
It was a hard run; the wind was blowing like crazy, and on the uphill part of the loop. The video below does not do justice to how bad it was. It was blowing so hard that the rain stung as it hit me, and I swear there was one stride during which I didn't move at all. But I had adrenaline on my side, but I ran a negative split again and nearly finished with another PR (not quite, though).
Total Time: 1:45:52
Daily place/points: 3
Total points: 17
Day 6 - 30K (29 Competitors)
I wasn't expecting much from day six. Because I had to wait so late to get my run in on day five, I ran this morning on short rest. And considering I ran another PR, I assumed my legs would be a bit fatigued. They were, but mostly they picked up right where they had left off.I didn't really want to think so much on this day, so I just ran the same 1.3 km loop from the previous day. It had some hill, but it also went by my house. It was good for pacing and good for tossing water bottles and such when I wanted to hit the last few miles harder. Again I ran negative splits, and I set another PR. Crazy!
This was also a difficult day for many competitors. There were five DNCs today, which would end up being the biggest one day drop in the competition.
Total time: 2:08:21 (PR)
Daily place/points: 2
Total points: 19
DNC: 5
This is the day the challenge got hard, at least for me. The mileage was never going to be the biggest factor for me; I've done lots of 80-100 mile weeks. But the repeated high intensity was getting to me. I probably hadn't been refueling enough, and I woke up ravenous. I at a pop-tart and a large bowl of pasta before this run. I also really started feeling the intensity in my joints, especially in my right ankle/foot. Even my morning warm ups began to be painful as I tried to knock the stiffness out of my ankle and hips.
The run itself was OK. I was no longer running sub-7 min/mi pace, but I didn't expect to be at this point in the competition. My average running pace was actually closer to a 7:06, as I had to take a "bathroom break" during mile 5, which added two minutes or so to my overall time. As is my habit, however, I ran the second half faster than the first. Unfortunately, this was also the day a slight cough I'd been having started to creep into my run. It was only a minimal occurrence today, but it would become a more significant impediment in week two (foreshadowing).
Total time: 2:37:24
Total points: 19
DNC: 5
Day 7 - 35K (24 Competitors)
This is the day the challenge got hard, at least for me. The mileage was never going to be the biggest factor for me; I've done lots of 80-100 mile weeks. But the repeated high intensity was getting to me. I probably hadn't been refueling enough, and I woke up ravenous. I at a pop-tart and a large bowl of pasta before this run. I also really started feeling the intensity in my joints, especially in my right ankle/foot. Even my morning warm ups began to be painful as I tried to knock the stiffness out of my ankle and hips.The run itself was OK. I was no longer running sub-7 min/mi pace, but I didn't expect to be at this point in the competition. My average running pace was actually closer to a 7:06, as I had to take a "bathroom break" during mile 5, which added two minutes or so to my overall time. As is my habit, however, I ran the second half faster than the first. Unfortunately, this was also the day a slight cough I'd been having started to creep into my run. It was only a minimal occurrence today, but it would become a more significant impediment in week two (foreshadowing).
Total time: 2:37:24
Daily place/points: 2
Total points: 21
DNC: 1
Total points: 21
DNC: 1
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