Almost out of March.... and into April...the weeks are whizzing by! Spring is most definitely in the air!
I have more or less kept on track with my goals......How are the rest of you doing? Weather is set fair for many of us as we head into our runs and races.
What the Quest is;
The Quest takes one calendar month . You can at join any point during that time.
The aim of the Quest is to help you find a focus or goal that you would like to achieve by the end of the Quest period.
I ask that you will be a Graduate to join the Quest. The main reason I ask this is that while you are completing the programme, your plan is very structured so I wouldn't want the Quest to interfere with that.
Most popular goals are:-
To run three times a week
To slowly increase distance
To train for a specific race
To add In Stretch and Strength exercises
As you can see they are personal to yourself and it's totally your own choice. So if you want to join, all you have to do is put;
I would like to join the Quest, or, count me in and then, I would like to. ..............
Each week in March I shall put up a new post...it is important that we get together and we can chat, support and encourage each other, and generally just see how we are all doing.
At the end of the Quest, there will be a certificate that you can download to keep should you wish to.
Stay safe, stay healthy and stay running x!
Oldfloss, Realfoodieclub, Millsie-J, Ju-Ju and Roseabi x
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Oldfloss
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Last week was amazing! I ran every other day, getting 4 runs instead of 3, including a 14k run and getting me ahead on my HM schedule (which is important since I'm getting into a busy time at work which may mean some lost runs. It's nice to have a cushion). I also managed to do a session on the elliptical and 2 core strengthening sessions.
This week, I got my two 10.5k runs in (including my second fastest 9-13k run yesterday, only 9seconds slower than my fastest. It was supposed to be a build-up run at quite a slow pace, but I've just been running whatever is comfortable and was so pleased with the time when it was all said and done!). I should get my 3rd run tomorrow morning and then am heading out to my friend's place at the lake for supper so we'll go for a little hike in the hills if the trails are dry enough - that'll be my crosstraining activity for the week, plus I've done some hip strengthening exercises I found on trailrunnermag trailrunnermag.com/training... that I've been combining with my piriformis stretches and exercises.
We're finally in full-on Spring around here so am thoroughly enjoying getting outside running through and around the puddles. There is still some snowbanks out there but it is getting easier to run outside again. Unfortunately my favourite long-run pathway route is flooded in too many spots to run any sort of distance (found that out the hard way yesterday resulting in me zigzagging all over town in areas I don't really know but somehow managed to make it back to the area my car was parked at 10.5k) but will hopefully be dry enough to do my 17k run in a couple weeks 🤞
It sounds like you had a great weekend! I'm so glad you were able to go support our dear Floss on her HM and meet some other forumites! The rest of my weekend was great! I got out to the lake and did a long walk through the campgrounds but didn't get up into the hills - next time! It is just so nice to get to the lake again, even if it is still mostly ice covered. Lots of laughs with friends, though. My stomach hurt from laughing so much 😂. We're back into some cool weather again with intermittent flurries, but still feeling really Spring-like. I'm looking forward to my next run 😊
Unfortunately, my week has since been turned upside down and I haven't run since Sunday but Iwill definitely get a run in tomorrow. I could've made time late last night to force a runnin, but my feet were cramping and I was so exhausted I figured another day of rest was more important.
Hi Floss 🤗 First things first "Best of luck!" with your HM tomorrow!! 👊🏃♀️ Wow that's come round quick 😱 Since booking my place on the 10k in May I've been committed to my 3 runs a week, which is the intention for next week along with increasing by 0.5k each week - along with daily stretches and glute exercises which I desperately need to do. Infact it's essential if I'm going to get through this 10k! Motivation 👊🏃♀️
Well I seem to have kept on track with my March Quest. This last week was a 7k, 4k and 5k at Parkrun today. So I’m on schedule to reach 10k again at the St George’s Day run, along with UpTheStanley and Coddfish and Mr Coddfish
Have spent March building up distances ready for the London Vitality 10k in late May. This week was my second 9k long run of this training block, and it will be 10k on Wednesday. I haven’t run 10k since October 2017 (getting injured shortly after the Great South Run 2017 seriously impacted 2018). After that I get a second Wednesday 10k, then an enforced break for a river cruise. Soon after that, as Dexy5 says, it’s the St George’s day 10k. It’s then through to the Vitality 10k and onwards to the 2019 Great South Run so I have to crack 10 miles again.
You are doing brilliantly Coddfish, you’ll be wearing those new running shoes out pretty quickly at this rate.
My quest is changing as March comes to an end. I have been consolidating 10kms with the idea of increasing distance next year for a HM. However, I am increasingly drawn to the idea of trail running. I am lucky to do almost all of my running on forest trails and my regular 5km at work is on a soft path by the river. My 10kms have been mostly road races but you know, I'm getting tired of running on concrete, sometimes with traffic on one side of the road, almost always with 100s of runners. I run faster in races but to heck with that.
Maybe it's because of springtime but i want peaceful runs. So my new quest will be a non quest - slower, hilly, forest trail runs. I am loving, loving, loving my core strength classes. They are such fun and so challenging. I rarely have a non aching body as a result I love my Pilates and want to do much more stretching of my upper body as I have such limited movement there. Apologies for the pondering post folks. I had no idea that running for 1 minute at the beginning of C25K with take me on such a journey.
Listen to the call of the trails.....and you'll never look back 😊. Have you checked out if there are any trail races nearby? That'll keep you on pointe.
There's one in 2 weeks time near where my sister lives. It's an evening 10 km from a beach (so a bit of a climb up), then up and down along a cliff path and then a down bit onto a pebbly beach. They talk about waves of runners and waves 1-3 already full. i'm not sure what that is - runners in groups? It's quite expensive which is off putting. So I am undecided for the moment
I would assume that is all they mean. They probably base waves on expected finish times so the speedy mountain goats get out there first. If it is a single track course, it can be so frustrating getting behind slower runners trying to find places to pass. If you are uncertain for this year, maybe just go and see what it is like, as a spectator or last minute volunteer. It might give you a bette idea of what to expect for next year and give you a chance to build up your trail running before competing. You want your first experience to be a good one.
Yes it's a single cliff path track. Good idea about being a spectator. I think i'll find a trail run race for the end of summer and i can aim towards that. Reading up a bit on trail running and I need to have a strong core. I'm working on that with my strength classes. OK, that's a goal for me then !
Runs in forests sound great Paulanoo. We did a parkrun which took us through the woods and it was so soft underfoot. Definitely easier on the knees than pavements. Enjoy your trails. Now it’s getting warmer and drier I’m hoping to get back on the disused railway track where I did B210K long runs.
Confession time. . . It’s been a lousy month. My younger son, autistic and 13, had his placement at his special school withdrawn at no notice at all due to his increasingly violent behaviour; everything has been all over the place and my Quest, both original and revised versions, has totally fallen by the wayside. The Black Dog, which had been backing off, is back with a vengeance, and at the moment everything feels somewhere on a sliding scale between pointless and totally useless.
This may seem like a depressing post, and I’m sorry if that’s so, but the simple fact, the one thing which is giving me courage just now, is that I’m still here. No matter how dreadful it all feels, I’m still pitching up on the forum, chipping in, cheering on, holding on. That tells me that somewhere under all the chaos (not to mention Ethel !) is a woman who still wants to run. I will get back out there. Soon, I hope xx
So sorry to hear about your troubles buttercup. So glad you are here too. You can set a new goal, a new gentle quest. A mini run in the sunshine and fresh air? Keep on keeping on. And checking in.
Sometimes life and all it's chaos gets in the way but we know you'll get out there again, when you are ready. Keep reading, keep posting, keep responding and continue to be kind to yourself. You're right; you are here which means want to run, you haven't given up and we won't on you.
Thank you 😊It can feel very lonely when everyone else seems to be speedy and victorious, but I know I’m not the only struggler around. If it helps someone else to keep going, I don’t mind being last !
You are still here.. and I have no doubt at all that you will come through this dreadful tunnel.
Be kind to yourself... stay with us.. we are here for you at any time... The runner in you will prevail and will survive...
I had a wonderful person I worked with at school.. he was one of the caretaking and maintenance staff... and he once said.. " If there isn't a solution.. there isn't a problem"
There is a solution somewhere, and you will eventually find it.
Huge hug to you my friend.. and know that, even with all your troubles, you ran that HM with me today and you helped carry me over that finishing line xxx
Hang on in there Buttercup, all things must pass. Please don't feel obliged to answer, as this may be an entirely stupid suggestion, given I've no idea of the overall situation and know there are no miracle cures for autism, but is there any chance you could get out for a walk/jog/run together with your son? Does he like following plans / keeping records?
Sadly he’s a runner in the problematic sense, in that he can suddenly and for no apparent reason decide to abandon the plan and disappear into the wide blue yonder. He’d be an excellent runner if he could focus. One of the reasons I started C25k was to try to keep up with him, but I’m still really slow and his legs are 6 inches longer than mine, with a good few years of growing still ahead !
As to a cure for autism, it’s not a disease - just a difference. I’m autistic myself so I know ! A lot of his current issues are as much to do with being a teenager as with his other difficulties. We’re getting a lot of excellent support from social work and others (especially this forum !) and we will get through this. Thanks for your support x
Last week went well. I completed week 7 of my 21 week HM training. Started with a nice short recovery run (which I needed after a weekend in Ireland with family), then 200m intervals - they really challenge my thighs and finally a 12.5k long run. My longest run to date, I have managed to slow my pace by about 30secs a km which really helps.
I have the luxury of lots of free time so can organise my days around the scheduled runs. Only 2 weeks of that flexibility left and I will be bound by office hours again!!
Just finished my last "questing" run of the month, just a Parkrun on Saturday to come. Needed to be 10k in an hour to meet my declared monthly target, but settled for just getting back to 10k for the first time since early January. So did 4k with Dexy5 in just over 30 mins (7'30" pace), then another 6k in just under 35 (around 5'50" pace, so in my target range). Total time 1 hr 5 mins, back on the Billy Trail on Hayling Island, which made a nice change from Southsea Prom (but still pancake flat ).
With post-skiing recovery complete, it'll be back to sensible progressive targets for April's quest.
Well, so far this week I have run a gentle 5k, and done the new aerobic video posted by Rfc in the Strengh and Flex site. These videos are really good, there are lots to choose from, including belly dancing, pilates and yoga. At last something I enjoy and will stick at, to compliment my running and walking.
I always used to enjoy keep fit to music routines and would pay weekly for classes. Since I started and 'found' running though I haven't been doing it.. these are great.
P.s I have also submitted some goals on the Strength and Flex site😆..including maybe doing a 10k event sometime in the future! 😊xxx
To finish off my monthly Quest I did the Labamba exercise video yesterday, and have had a lovely sunny trot out this morning for a 5k. I ran all the way up the short steep slope today too!
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It's even better now the mud has gone. Have fun exploring! 
Be Awesome in October Quest: week 4. So, time to tell us how it’s going folks 🏃🏽♀️🏃🏻🍁🍂
