Hello lovely running people and welcome to Week One of the August Quest!
🙂 I hope you all managed to find some cool shady places to run over the last few days. It has certainly been pretty hot here in the south and much as I like a little sunshine☀️, I am definitely more of a cold, windy weather runner!
💨🏃🏽♀️
This is my first time hosting The Quest, so please be gentle with me while I find my feet! I have much to learn, I'm sure, but I bring plenty of enthusiasm, lots of running shoes (!) plus a fair few miles and am really looking forward to hearing about your running journeys as we set off on another month of adventure!
I am currently enjoying having a little extra time to dedicate to all things running related before we all return to school in September.🤞
I know many of you will have taken part in the Quest before but for those who are newly arrived on the Bridge Forum, the next bit is just for you....!
What is the Quest?
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.
This Quest will run all the way through August.
You can join at any point during that time.
Some popular goals are:
• To run three times a week
• To slowly increase distance - maybe you are following ju-ju's Magic Plan?
• To add Stretch and Strength exercises to your weekly routine
• To improve pace
• To try out some new running routes
It's completely up to you - set yourself an achievable goal and have fun with it!
NEED SOME INSPIRATION? Take a look at Iannodatruffe's wonderful What Next? guide for C25K graduates:
Fabulous post, and a great start to August. For me, I want to get closer to my pull up goal, increase the time on my hands for my handstands and also work on my pace a bit. Thanks for the opportunity to focus the on the goals.
Hi ju-ju - what a great set of goals! Funny, but I have been thinking recently that I really neglect my upper body strength! I imagine pull ups and handstands are great for this? 💪Handstands are probably out for me at the moment though, as I'm prone to positional vertigo, which for me is triggered if I do too much up-side down yoga type stuff!😜 Bit of a shame as I "rediscovered" Yoga during Lockdown but now have to be really careful which positions I do!
Hi Sandraj39. Thanks for running the quest. My initial August goal is to finish JuJu’s brilliant plan (2weeks left) and find a 10k virtual distance with a suitable blingy medal, and to keep on with planks every day I don’t run😀 My second goal is to get to 5k in 31, currently at 31:43- then maybe in September I can get that FINAL minute off!!
No better goal than the Magic 10 and just 2 weeks left - which is very exciting! Running your first 10k is a very special milestone and I think it's a great idea to look for some virtual bling to celebrate the occasion!🤗🏅
There are lots of sites out there but I've popped a couple of links below
I did a Great Run Solo monthly challenge recently which I really enjoyed and I loved receiving my bling at the end of it! 🏅😍 They do a couple of individual challenges but at 7k and 7 miles, annoyingly not quite right for a first 10K. Let us know what one you decide on as it's always good to hear of new virtual challenges.🙂
Good luck with those planks too - it's so easy to neglect our core - and I reckon that's all going to help as you bring that 5Ktime down even more! 🙂
My August quest is to complete the 4 week running plan I created today. Although I’ve been exercising daily, it’s time to get back to running regularly too!!
The quest is on!! Day 1 complete! ✅
Good luck to you and all you brilliant Runners!! We can do it!! 💪🏽❤️
Hi again, Fabulous! 🙌🏼🙌🏼 Sounds perfect and we know that your motivation is back and you are raring to go! Good luck and don't forget to keep ticking off that calendar!✔️🙂👍
My quest for August is to build strength in my glutes by religiously doing the exercises recommended by my physio. I am still going to consolidate at 5k/30 minutes throughout August by running twice a week, hopefully making it to 3 times depending on work commitments. I have been advised not to increase my distance at the minute. I really wanted to start Bridge to 10k this month but this will have to wait. I think it is currently more important to work on my weak hip muscles at the minute which will give me the strength needed to be able to run while reducing the likelihood of me joining the IC if I continue as I am. This all appears to stem from a back injury years ago in my nursing career and although regular chiropractic sessions and yoga have helped I didn't realise that I had residual weakness around my left hip.
Alongside this I will be doing my online yoga sessions 2-3 times per week and combining this with more strength based training.
I have also joined a challenge on Strava to walk 50k throughout August.
My overall aim is to get fit before I hit 40 in a couple of months.
Hi - great to have you on board! What struck me most about your post was your runner's mind!👍😀 It is so easy to focus on one target and forget that we have to put in the groundwork to get there safely. Time on the injury couch is tough...and you're right about the impact of old injuries. I had a bout of sciatica a few years ago which left me with nerve damage in my left leg. 😞 Getting back to running took time and a lot of patience and left me with a tendency to IT band trouble and runners knee. Like you I had to address the various muscle imbalances (and find my perfect running shoes!) to really make progress. Lots of glute and hip exercises here too, which I now work out through my hill training!👍
Good luck with your Quest - lots of great exercise there to keep you busy! Whose Yoga do you follow ? I love Yoga with Adrienne😍.
Keep that focus and you will definately end up a stronger runner - and the Magic 10 will be yours!💪🙂
Thank you for your support. Hill work is hard work. My local parkrun course and regular running route is on the site of an old coal mine in the local country park (read hilly and uneven ground). Even though I have run the route several times it never gets any easier. I ran this route early this morning and noticed a difference with my legs as they didn't seem to tire as easily.
I usually go to yoga classes but due to lockdown my yoga teacher videos the class and puts it on YouTube so I just tend to do his classes. He does a full class, a 20 minute class and various meditation and bonus classes. He teaches pranayama yoga focusing on using the breath to move between positions. It is probably slower than a lot of the flow yoga sessions that I have seen so doesn't make me dizzy.
Hi Sue, sounds as though you have got a great running routine going there - three runs a week always works well for me too. 🙂 And well done on those weekly totals - very impressive!
Good luck with this month's goals. I said earlier to ju-ju that I tend to neglect my strength work (upper body mainly) - going out for a run is just so much more fun!😉😀 Maybe this should be one of my goals next month..🙂
I love the title for your first go-round as QuestMaster!
I'm going to aim for holding pattern pretty much for August, but I'm going to chuck in a few things here that I have notionally had as off-forum goals month after month with no progress to see if a bit of public accountability does the trick.
So...
1) Keeping up with finding new walking and running places and views (which obviously gets increasingly challenging)
2) Increase average daily step count for the month (over June's average as July's came in behind, oops)
3) 2 runs to be 5k+ (was tempted to up it from July but looking at what else is going on this month...)
4) 16+ days yoga practice (ie 'more often than not')
Hi GoogleMe - I absolutely love goal number 6!😂😂 I like tidiness but get so caught up with other things that I never quite feel on top of all those little jobs! My cupboard under the stairs is desparate for a good 'sort out' but would most definitely take more than 15 minutes!!😱
A lovely set of goals, which we know you can achieve💪 - finding new places for running and walking can be hard sometimes but a new route can really ignite our running. I usually run very locally but last week we drove about 20 minutes to run at one of my favourite places. It was hilly and hard work but we loved every minute of it because it was somewhere we had never actually run before ( many walking memories from my younger days though!).
The rationale behind the 15 minutes is to avoid getting into one of those massive pull everything out... and then run out of time and steam and shove everything back in again... scenarios.
Hi and welcome aboard! I take it that's the Matt Fitzgerald book? I bought it a couple of weeks ago as this is something I am keen to explore too, so I'll be really interested to hear your thoughts as you are one step ahead of me!
I see that there was an article on the merits of 80/20 running here, too.
Thanks Sandra for the article and the cheering on. Yes it’s the Matt Fitzgerald book. I’m keen to read it as I really would like to run longer distance one day without injuring myself, I completed C25K in April and ran 5K three times a week before starting Ju Ju’s magic plan. I’ve had two tendon injuries already so keen to avoid that as I’ve fallen in love with running. I started off wanting to run a sub 30 minute 5k and now just want to run longer and be injury free as much as possible 😊
I have had my fair share of injuries too - so hopefully an example that it happens, we take time out - work on our weak areas and come back stronger! Good luck with your quest! 🙂
Hi Sandraj39! My August quest is to continue with Juju's magic plan (timed rather than distance) to get back to running for 60 mins after an injury, and to stay injury free. I feel accountable now I've committed in writing, as I am inclined to just do random runs, with no sense of how far or for how long I am going to run! I din't want to be a slave to a plan, so just need to convince myself it's my own plan! Seems strange, but psychologically it helps!
Hi Roxdog - well done for committing to the plan 👍...your plan😉 and a great choice. I hope it helps and we can all keep each other on track, I'm sure! I also find that I am far more likely to stick to a goal if I share it with others. Good luck this week - we are all rooting for you!🙂
Hi Sandra, hope you enjoy your month hosting, I always get so many ideas from reading other people's quests... way more than I would ever have time to actually do 😅
So for August my goals are to significantly increase the strength of both, but particularly my weak left glute through doing the exercises from the physio. I ran my first 10k at the start of July but due to the niggly bum problems the furthest I've run since is 6k and that was this morning so would like to run another 10k by the end of the month. And finally I'm going to do some hill work. I actually quite like running up hills but the most incline I've managed on a run due to the topography where I am is about 60m. So my plan is to pick a hill and keep running up and down!!!
And completely forgot to say 🤦♀️ 7 weeks ago I cut out sugar from my diet, other than some very dark chocolate when in need 😉 it's been going well but in the last week I've had chocolate of the non-dark variety a couple of times so my 4th and final quest for August is to re-establish the no sugar
Hip and glute work is definitely featuring here this month - I think that probably says quite a lot about how important it is! My favourite exercises for these areas are glute bridges, clams and side leg raises but now I have "embraced" hills more, I have really noticed an improvement in my strength. For the last three weeks I have been doing hill repeats once a week - hard work but very satisfying - so I hope you get a lot from your hills too!
Good luck with the 'no sugar' goal too - another one we should all be doing! As you say, so much to learn from each other! 🙂
Of course - I use a grassy hill that is part of my local Parkrun course, and one that I find quite a slog when running the whole thing! After a 10 minute 'warm up' run to get there, I basically run up the hill for 30 seconds before jogging back down and recovering (sometimes a short walk) before turning and going back up again! I try to run at as fast a pace as will allow me to push myself more than usual but also get through 8 repeats! The first time I did it, I started with 6 reps and then had a gentle 5 min jog before the final 2. I think 6 would have been plenty! I hope to gradually increase my pace on the hill and also the time of the intervals (40-50 secs). Hope this helps. 🙂
Great goal and very wise to recognise when a niggle needs resting. 👍Hope it settles quickly...and the weather is going to cool a little too! 🤞
I am sitting here wondering if I'll be able to run tomorrow actually - we're building two alcove cupboards and all the bending, lifting and crouching into corners has aggravated my back...ice, ibuprofen and fingers crossed!
Oh it seems like a bit of a commitment writing this down! Anyway here goes..
1) I will continue to work on my version of the Juju's magic plan ( for time) I've amended it as my I'm only running twice a week otherwise I keep getting leftkneeniggles. If all goes to plan 🤞by the end of August I should be up to 50 minutes.
2) One of the things I wanted to do when I started my C25k journey back in February was to run in different places but due to lockdown this hasn't happened. So now we have a bit more freedom I want to start to explore running in different places.
Hi dijep! Good luck with your running plan - I know how hard it is to set goals when you have a niggle. I had a niggly knee (IT band) on and off for a long time myself. For me, hip and glute exercises helped, along with finding my Magic shoes!👟✨ I think there are some good NHS knee exercises which you can search for too...personally, I can't "lunge" 😫 however good it's supposed to be for me! As for squats😒 - sumo squats are ok, straight legged squats..no! I think we all have to know what works for us don't we?
Fingers crossed you can work towards that goal but listening to any niggles is important too - so we always say listen to your body!
Exploring new routes is definetly a great way to give your running a boost - something I am trying to do more of too.
Hi Speedy ! What a shame about your Strava 100K challenge - although still a very impressive monthly total, I imagine! Seems as though this 80/20 training is very popular right now. I am really interested in seeing how people get on with this.
Well done for joining the Half Marathon group too - I haven't quite signed on the dotted line yet as I am focusing on my hills and speed at the moment. However, I know as the weather cools I tend to enjoy running further, so watch this space...! Here wishing you a great weeks running! 🙂
I'm not convinced about a half marathon in August, but I'll give it a go (as you can tell, I'm not overly competitive). I thought it would be nice to do it by my first runniversary in September.
80/20 is already reaping benefits. My only complaint is that the 20 seems to come round more often than I'd like. 😉
Hi! This is my second month as a member and I love reading everyone's quests!
I've just done week 4 of the magic plan with my first 8k yesterday so I SHOULD be questing that magic 10k this month BUT my parents arrive tomorrow for 2 weeks holiday so I not sure if I'm going to get all the runs in. I'm reluctant to push myself to do the long runs if I've been skipping the shorter ones...And I know I really need to work on strength.
So my goals are:
Keep going with the magic plan
Do yoga and planks as much as possible when I can't run
Sneak runs in whenever I can no matter how short to keep up the habit!
Think of all the Swiss mountain hikes we will do as mini hill work so I don't get frustrated if not running! 😉
Hi Netcadet and welcome to the team! Great goals and good to see the yoga and planks in there too. 👍Well done for getting up to 8K on ju-ju's Magic plan - so nearly there 🤞and you will have a good base of fitness even if you do have to miss a couple of runs. It really doesn't matter if this means you take a bit longer to hit that 10K - afterall, this running's for life isn't it, so what's the rush?🤷♀️😀
Good luck and enjoy walking those hills too - great strength work! 🙂
Hi and welcome to the quest! Love your profile picture by the way - cats always welcome here!🙂
Good luck with your goals for the month - getting into a good routine that suits both our bodies(!) and our lives is so important. I seem to function best on 3/4 runs a week (sometimes I need that extra day after a long run!)
If you are wanting to explore pace a little, have you heard of Fartleks (sorry, that always makes me blush a little😳😉). It's actually Swedish for 'speed play' and put simply, means picking a landmark of your choosing up ahead and then running at a faster pace until you get there, before slowing again to recover. It's a great way at improving pace whilst also feeling in control - you can pick how far away the landmark is ( I suggest keep it short to begin with) and also how many repeats of this you include in a run. 🙂
Reading the goals here has made me re focus on my goals. I completed the timed version of the magic plan early in July but since then running has been hard. I think this is due to two main reasons so they are becoming my goals this month.
1. To drink much more water during the day. My calves fatigue quickly during a run when I'm not well hydrated.
2. Eat more sensibly and nutritiously. I've let my food intake slip. Lots of sugar mainly at night when the munchies hit. So I feel sluggish and weight creeping back. My trouble is I've got into the mindset of a reward or comiseration snack when I've run🥴.
3. If I can get those two goals sorted I may manage to finish the distance version of the magic plan. I'm sort of stuck at 7k.🤔
Hopefully those goals are realistic and at the end of August I'll be returning to work much more secure in my running practice. 🤞🤞
Welcome aboard! 🙂 A great choice of goals I think - hydration and nutrition are so important and yet so easy to neglect.I am better at hydration these days but snacking🍬🍪 (and not getting enough sleep!😴) is my downfall! Like you, I tend to reach for the quick fix solutions far too often.😳
Here's hoping you are also able to move forward with the Magic Plan - have you tried dropping your pace on the longer runs? It can make a huge difference but oddly, can take a bit of practice too!
Don't know if it would help but I was forgetting to drink when I stopped work. Then I got myself a large water bottle (750ml), I aim to drink empty it by lunchtime then refill for the afternoon. Plus other drinks that It's normally have. I tend to carry it about with me especially when in the garden. Although I am wondering if the neighbours think it's actually filled with G&T 😊
A few weeks condolidating is always good at the end of Couch to 5K but I do think that it's great to have a few short term goals to focus on. I get very enthusiastic sometimes, wanting to try new things without always stopping to think about where I am actually going with it(!) and what I want to achieve! 🙄 I think progress is achieved in a slightly more structured way!
It sounds as though you are going to be lucky to run in different places. Have you had a look at Mapmyrun yet? It might be helpful in looking at new running routes which others have already logged.
Good luck as you start ju-ju's Magic Plan - a great program for bridging to 10K and really popular on the forum. Looking forward to following your journey! 🙂👍
Hello! This will be my first quest. I would like to run 3 times a week. I have let it slip recently and only been going once a week. I can see how I’m loosing my pace. So would like to build it up again. And I’m sure a more regular practice will help.
Welcome - great to have another Quest member on the team! 🙂
Getting in to (and staying in) a good running routine can be tough sometimes. I am sure most of us have let it slide at some point, for a myriad of reasons! Finding a good pattern that suits you, will definitely help your running though, so it's a great goal to focus on, I think. I know I run much better and far more consistently when I am out there at least 3 times a week. 🏃🏽♀️
To get you back in to that routine - you could start off by keeping those additional two runs a bit shorter? Don't worry too much about your pace either - that will pick up naturally again as you re-establish your fitness. You'll be surprised at how quickly it returns.
Also, arm yourself with responses to those inevitable 'gremlins' 😱😈 that will tell you your too tired, or it's too hot or you have far too much to do! We don't listen to them - we pull our running shoes on anyway and go!!🤞
Getting back from a run that was hard to set off on, is its own reward too - and the first step in re-establishing that routine.
Thankyou! Wonderful reply ❤️ I don’t run at all if it’s too hot. I had a really horrible run on a warmer day and it really put me off. I will try not to use it as an excuse again. 2 shorter runs too is a great idea, I’ve shrugged that off for some reason. So I shall enforce it this week. Have already done my 5K. So will do the other two as 39 mins 😉👍🏻
Consolidation is a great time to enjoy those regular runs and let new running legs become more established. I loved the new freedom to explore different routes and trails and started to see a natural improvement in my strength and pace.
Good luck with the podcasts and let us know how you find them. I didn't use them myself but following an injury at Week 8 of the program, I took quite a cautious approach to these things! 😳
Enjoy your running and fitness this month - some good workout goals which will all help make you a stronger runner - ready for that 10K assault in September... 👍🙂
Thanks so much for starting this thread! And best of luck with your first Goals of the Month thread.
My goal is to be able to run 50 minutes by the end of August, using the runs of the Magic Plan as my weekly guide. Next week I will aim to do 1 x 44m as my long run, and then depending on how that goes, the following week I will try for a 50.
But I'm going to take it slowly and carefully, and not be scared to slow down, do shorter distances, if that's what my body is telling me (I abandonned a run at 38 minutes yesterday, which was absolutely the right thing to do, and still a good run, but it shook me a little and made me realise that my body will always tell me if it's not yet ready to push on.)
Welcome Foxglove2! Good luck with your goal to build up to 50 minutes of running by the end of the Quest! You sound as though you are doing lots right - listening to your body and making good progress. 👍🙂
Over the last few days, I think the hot weather has had an impact on many people's running (roll on autumn!🙏🙂) as do so many things of course, including hydration, diet, sleep and how we feel emotionally.
Occasionally though, we just get 'one of those' runs' and we really don't know why! I always think that these are the runs which make us stronger mentally💪 - we learn to either stop ( and regroup!) or slog this one out believing that the next one will be kinder! Sometimes an extra rest day can make all the difference.
I finished C25K in June and just about managed 3 weeks of consolidation runs before starting a challenge to run 50 miles in July for The Children’s Society . Starting as a great personal challenge I made a nice steady plan which gave me rest days and running 3-4 miles each time, but then it got even harder when I had to self-isolate for 2 weeks in the middle! So after almost 10 miles of running in the garden while stuck at home (not ideal but needed to tick off miles) I had to do 18 miles in the last week (4 runs) at the end. My little leggies were very tired by last Thursday!
Pleased to say I did it but after a couple of day’s rest I now need a new challenge, so I’ve just started Ju-Ju’s plan with a 2.5km run yesterday. I actually found it quite tough, even though had been running well over 4 miles each time last week.
Look forward to seeing what everyone else is doing, and anyone else starting the 10k plan this month?
Wow - that was quite a busy July you had Redder37, despite the 2 weeks of self-isolation!😮 No wonder your legs were tired at the end of last week! Well done for completing your charity Challenge all the same - what a star! 🌟👏👏💪
So glad you have joined our Quest! 🙂 As usual, we have a great variety of goals this month and there are certainly a few others who are starting or continuing with the Magic Plan. Hopefully you can al cheer each other along! 👏
Well done on achieving that 8.5K through ju-ju-'s plan🙂 - a great distance!
Pace is a funny old thing - there is a running quote that I love....
"A 12 minute mile is just as far as a 6 minute mile" - important to remind ourselves of this...we are all runners, whatever our speed.🏃🏽♀️🏃🏻🏃🏽♀️🏃🏻🙂
I was replying to another quest member who also wants to work on their pace and mentioned using Fartleks.😳
Despite the dodgy name, this may be something you could experiment with - when your knee is better. It's actually Swedish for 'speed play' and put simply, means picking a landmark of your choosing up ahead and then running at a faster pace until you get there, before slowing right down again to recover. You get to pick how far away the landmark is ( I suggest keep it short to begin with) and also how many repeats you include in a run. 🙂 I sometimes do this on one of my runs during the week - it's fun and not too pressurised and I can adjust how much I do depending on how my body feels on the day!
I'll be honest, sometimes I go out planning to do a couple of Fartleks every kilometre and then completely forget after two and carry on with my run as normal!🤣 🏃🏽♀️👍 Make sure the rest of the run is at a slow or 'easy' pace.
Anyway, here's hoping your knee settles soon - I have had knee niggles myself so I know how frustrating it can be.
How are we in August already, it seems this year is racing by!
Can I please join the August quest @Sandraj39 ? I want to aim for more consistent runs, if that's such a thing. I've been consolidating for a few weeks but seem to have hit an odd patch now where 1 run will be fantastic, I'll feel strong and confident, and my stats are great, but then the next run (or 2/3!) will be real stinkers where I struggle to get any kind of rhythm and end up having to cut the run short.
I don't need to do a full 5k each time I run, but if I do a shorter one, I want it to be because that's what I've planned, rather than just because I couldn't go on. So I think I'll plan in something like a 2.5k, a 3k and a 5k each week. My pace is usually around a 6.34 so I'd like to improve on that if I can.
Those first few weeks after graduation can be strange - our bodies are still getting used to the regular 30 minute runs 🏃🏽♀️so consolidation is important but there's also the loss of whichever lovely celebrity guided and motivated us through nine weeks of the programme!!
Good luck with finding a consistent routine and pattern to your running - it will really help you progress. 🙂You could try keeping one run as your faster run and then purposefully keep your pace down in the other two, to allow yourself time to build up that endurance.
After several years running and a few injuries, 🤦♀️ I have only fairly recently, learned to appreciate the value of those slower runs!
Have a fab month of running - and look out for next week's post, where we can all share how we are getting on!
Hi Sandra, please may I join the Quest, the title made me smile, very apt watching here from the IC....
My goal is to break free of the injuries that have been plaguing me all these months and to be able to do the run/walk rehab I'm desperate to begin.
After another setback, I am back to the strenghening physio and daily yoga. I will begin impact when my ankle is a little more stable. My next physio is a face to face on 12th August.🤞
It's lonely on the IC as you know, the Quest helps a lot to make me feel accountable and included...
Hi Bluebirdrunner - you are very welcome!🙂 Yes, I guess the Quest title will have taken on a very literal meaning to you - but so glad you are still checking in with us and I will be sending extra healing vibes your way, of course! 🤞🤞🤞
Yep, I have been there on that injury couch (and on a couple occasions for far longer than I would like) but hope that stories like mine help others not to give up on getting back to running. I also saw my husband struggle with a knee injury which kept him out of running for even longer - he is back charging up and down hills now at 57, so another positive little story.
Good luck with your Yoga and strengthening work (whose Yoga do you do? ) and I hope your next physio appointment goes well too!
I love Adrienne 😍 - beautiful lady with a beautiful soul! I did quite a lot of her sessions earlier in Lockdown but ended up getting positional vertigo with all the upside down positions!🤣 Not nice...so I've had to be very careful since!
Hi Sandra I'd like to join the August quest. I finished the 60 minute version of the Magic Plan and then picked up the distance version. I'm now on the final couple of weeks.
Goal 1 is to get to 10k this month.
Goal 2 is to work on strength, which I've really neglected. So I'm going to try Juju's planks and strength and flex on non run days.
I've started back at work today so I'm going to try to stick with 3 runs a week but I know that they might slip back to 2 as work ramps up. Probably the most important thing for me is to establish the habit of doing strength work on non run days.
Welcome aboard Fionamags! Your goals sound perfect to me - I think it is often as we start to run further that we realise we need the strength work too, so very sensible to crack on with it now . Best of luck with that, as well as hitting the Magic 10 - another great milestone! 😀 👍
My goals are to get back to strength and flexibility including making sure I do dynamic stretches pre runs. Also to get to 9k on the magic plan (my 10k will be September).
I did my 7k today and so looking forward to getting closer to double digits
Brilliant - good to have you on board! Good luck with your goal. Have you decided how you are going to Bridge to 10K? Many people here use our lovely ju-ju-'s, Magic Plan but "other plans are available"! 🙂
Best of luck with your Quest!💪🙂
Hi Sandra 😊. It's lovely to have you hosting this month's quest. Please sign me up too.
I'm working on the timed version of ju-ju's Magic Plan and have just finished week 5, so .....
Goal 1🏃♀️ - to run for 60 minutes by the end of August
With one thing and another I have let my regular yoga practice slide over the past few weeks, so .....
Goal 2 🧘🏼♀️- to do yoga at least three times each week.
I am really loving seeing the host of different goals that everyone is working towards - what a busy bunch of runners we are! 🏃🏽♀️🙂🏃🏻
Good luck as you work through ju-ju-'s Magic Plan - it's so popular and we will all be waving our virtual Pom poms to help you hit that 60 minutes of running! 💪
I've got a proper jumble of targets this month .....
First is to complete a (not) parkrun each week, hopefully inside my bogey time of 25 mins.
Secondly, now I've got access to a dreadmill again, to increase the proportion of a 5k run I can do at 13kph (4'36"/k). I think I'd got this up to around 2.5k before lockdown, but for this month will aim for 2k, in two 1k bursts. Can't judge pace well enough to do this on the road ...
Thirdly and most importantly, to do what I can to help Dexy5 find her way back to 5k after another spell on the IC!
Welcome to another Quest UTS! I have no doubt you will continue to rack up your (not)Parkruns in times that most of us can only dream of!🏃🏻 You really are so super speedy and I am "proper jealous"!😉
Seriously, good luck with your running this month - your treadmill work sounds suspiciously like you may soon be running them even faster...!
It sounds as though Dexy is headed in the right direction, reading her post yesterday. 🤞- for her continued recovery.
Love this as need some proper goals! Having done the consolidation runs - I want to run that 5k! Not far off and then I want to have started Ju-Ju’s magic plan for 10K. Also add stretching exercises.
I am sure that 5K is not so far away...!🤞Not sure what your weekly run pattern is have you considered using one of your 3 runs as your longer run day. On 'long run' day, just aim to run at a slower ("easy") pace and this should help you extend your distance.
Good luck with your goals and look out for next weeks post too - so we can all check in with how we're doing!
I should have remembered to sign up here really... oops!
August for me will be a continuation of my HM plan, and also some recovery runs with my daughter as she’s now on the bridge (35 minute run done yesterday)
Managed to run today despite having a whole 2 hours sleep last night... but took the decision to swap the runs around, I was supposed to do 5 warmup, 1:20 run, 15 optional run and 5 cooldown, but figured that I wouldn’t have 1:45 in my legs, so did the 30 minuter plus warmup and cooldown... after 40 minutes I was gutted that it was over, felt amazing and could have done it again straight away. Who needs sleep 🤷♂️
Welcome "Quest Master"🙂 - better late than never and very pleased to have you here!
I am seriously impressed that you went ahead and ran on only two hours sleep😴 - even more so, that you could have gone further!
Love the family running too - my 19 year old son has taken up running over the past year but of course I have no chance of keeping up with him on a run... although, do you know what? I might catch him on the hills! 😉
I was looking at the body battery on the watch when I got up and it said 85%... I was considering calling tech support, but somehow it seems it was about right?
I’m lucky that the daughter is back in the slow groove, but at some stage she will get her game on and I’ll be left in a dust cloud!
Your hill work is paying off then? I’m doing plenty of downhills as I was reading my running log and saw that I’d twisted my ankle a few weeks before my HM, so it suddenly hurting on the day wasn’t as unexpected as I’d thought... bigger impacts of downhill work seem to be working wonders, but I will need to start doing some ups again soon!
😂 Yes, the Garmin body battery and Stress rating is a source of amusement in my house too!
As for my hills - all I do know is that two weeks ago I ran a PB on a local 5k route I have been running since I graduated Couch to 5K, several years ago. Not my fastest 5k ever (it's quite an undulating route) but I was so chuffed!🙂 Need to find a nice flat 5K route now...!
Hi Dexy🙂 - and you absolutely will! I know how tough the road back can be sometimes but it sounds as though things are headed in the right direction(?)
Good luck with your physio appointment - 🤞🙏🙏🤞 for you.x
Ok, I've never joined in a quest before, but it's time to put it out there that I'm aiming to get that 10k nailed this month.
I've been following the magic plan, did my first 9k yesterday (actually 9.4 because I'd put on a time-based guided run, and didn't want to stop that a few minutes early) so it's definitely in my sights, but I want to complete the plan reasonably properly!
I'd also like to beat July's total km run - July was just over 40k, most I've ever done in a month.
I do a fitness or pilates class most days, and a few good walks each week, so very rarely manage three runs in a week - in fact that's mostly very deliberate as I discovered during C25K that I do better with more than one recovery day. Which I think means my August goals are a decent stretch, but achievable ...
Great to have you on aboard! It sounds as though you have made great progress towards what I imagine is a very personal goal - I hope we all get to celebrate soon..good luck! 🙂👍
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Move and Make Miles in May: Quest week 1, feel free to join 😎🌸
