This is the start of the 3rd week on the Quest. Hope everyone is doing well and getting on OK with their own Quests. I must be honest and admit that I am not doing great on mine. I have been struggling a little lately. But I was at a Physio today and hopefully that will help me out. I ran last Tuesday (5K) and I did a 7K run on Saturday. So I am not doing my 3 runs or 10K. So my Quest for this week is 3 runs and I'll attempt a 10K. My food intake is good and I am slowly losing my little COVID belly. So that part of my Quest this month is going well.
Be careful out there everyone. Evenings are dark and there are a lot of rotting leaves on the paths which can be slippy. We really have to push ourselves out the door over this coming month. Cooler weather and rain will be tough but we can do this. I enjoy running in this weather, well, most of the time. I sometimes dread leaving the warmth of the cosy house, but I love the feeling of coming back in the door after that run, having a warm shower and a guilt free day or evening. I have a couple of personal quests which I want to set myself over this month.
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 November.
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:
I love the leaves (because I'm not on pavements) but dirt paths can be perilously slippy just now.
My Quest was looking rather too baggy, but I sense things are looking up in the last few days. Got over the half way mark with my overall running distance goal and back in the yoga after a few days off. Still need to get a serious grip on those elusive tidying sessions and the turbo continues to wait patiently for me...
Hi d - I tried to put your name in but autocorrect keeps changing it to Damien Sir! so please excuse the abbreviation...
I’m doing reasonably well as I did 3 runs again this week and chose Coach Bennett’s 1 hour run - prompted by lots of positive comments - for my long Sunday run. Downpours and the gremlins caused me to run much later than I like but it went ok and I did enjoy the weird calm feeling which I have been reliably informed by Mr JB is confidence!! Eh? Whatever next!!
I also uploaded my shorter runs to (not)Parkrun and was rewarded with a PB! Very pleased. I also now have a routine for uploading my mileage to LEJOG6 - am very chuffed that (together with my long-suffering dog) I have travelled over 200miles!
Predictably no progress on stretching or exercises but once I’m past my scary work deadline this Friday I will try to focus on that... I suppose!
Very well done on all your running and on your (not)parkrun PB. You are doing great. You can call me anything at all. D, d, damien, Damien, damienair or Damienair. It all works. Happy Running and well done again.
Hi, I've just completed JuJu's magic plan time version, whoop whoop! I also used coach Bennett's One Hour Run which I really enjoyed, and I enjoyed the run! Onwards!🏃♀️💥 Quest for the rest of the month is to consolidate on this and think about working towards 10k oooer!
My aim of running one longer run each week has been a failure so far. Somehow I just don't seem to want to do more than 5k at the moment. I did manage a unintentional 5k PB on Saturday, by over 2 minutes, when my intention was a slow relaxed 6 or 7km. I'd love to get back into the woods for my runs but it is a mud fest at the moment with all the rain. The colours are wonderful though right now.
Strength and flex cross training has also yet to materialise, but I tried an introductory yoga class today. It was hard and I really need to work on my flexibility.
I've been getting a bit of discomfort in my left foot after running recently. A bunion seems to be getting worse, so maybe a visit to the podiatrist is warranted.
Hidden of course, you are so right! I've told people on here myself not to use the "F" word so I should really practice what I preach. And especially after my post last week about World Kindness Day and being kinder to ourselves.
Yes I recently treated myself to a pair of trail shoes designed for soft ground. I've used them a few times and they are great.
I've lived here for 26 years and never seen it so wet over there. The woodland streams are running like rivers and overflowing in places.
The biggest problem is the path that leads down into the woods from the houses. It is churned up so badly by mountain bikes it's a struggle atm even in full length wellies. We desperately need a couple of days without any rain so things can dry up a little.
Well done again on your 5K PB. That is fantastic. I am the same. I don't feel like doing the longer runs either. My Physio instructed 2 days rest after the session so I will do a 5K tomorrow. I might do my (not)parkrun on Friday and then do a long run on Sunday.
This week I completed Wk6. R2 was on my local pavements, having extra rest days because of a slight knee niggle. Today I headed out for R3 the 25 minute one, along the muddy canal bank, a bit nervous, but I needed have been because it went brilliantly. I loved it and was never struggling for breath or wanting to stop.
I'm still doing my strength and conditioning exercises which should sort this knee out and the daily yoga with Adriene.
Not drinking alcohol this month so saving a few calories there, and maybe sleeping better.
I continue to follow my plan for this month. My goals this month were:
* Get back to running 5km at some point this month without getting injured again
I did that on Wednesday 11th, in a time and effort that I was very happy with. I have had no problems with the ankle.
* Go a little further than that if possible by the end of the month, either 40 mins or 6km
I've a flexible plan to increase each run by the equivalent of about 7.5% per week using a mixture of relaxed no-target runs, Jeffing runs and simple distance runs, with a hope of reaching 6km by the end of the month. If I don't make that target for one reason or another, that's OK.
I'm taking an extra rest day tomorrow: upset tummy.
Hope your upset Tummy is better. Well done on your 5K and best of luck on your Quest. Yes wise to add distance slowly. When I did 10K the first time I added 500 meters onto one of my runs each week. Happy running.
Hi damienair and everyone. My aim was to try and do a longer run by the end of the quest, maybe 35 mins, as up to now I've been mainly running a 5K twice week, and the Speed podcast once per week. So one day last week I did the Stepping Stone podcast which was approx 31 mins, then yesterday I did the Stamina podcast which was approx 34 mins. I still ran 5K but it was nice to do a slightly longer run and enjoy the feeling of it and not flog myself silly trying to get a good 5K time!
Very well done. Yes sometimes it is lovely to slowly add distance and time. When I started training for 10K i used to add 500 meters each week onto one of my 5K runs. I just made this a longer run. I just added onto it each week until I got to 10K. Happy Running.
I didn't do too well on my running last week. I only managed 1 run last week. I aim to run 3 times this week. I'm going to stick to shorter 5k runs this week as my legs have been feeling tired recently.
I am trying to build on my strength on my non running days and am trying to practice my yoga twice a week.
I am continuing to progress on LEJOG 4 and have just made it past halfway.
Hi Damien, I have had to adopt another quest for November, due to injury I am not running at the moment. Spending my time cycling to maintain fitness and doing lots of strength and flex. Hoping to get fully fit soon.
Hope you recover soon. At least you cycling will keep you fit and healthy. I was at the Physio myself yesterday. Preventative maintenance and sorting out a little lower back niggle.
I have managed to run 3 times a week for the last couple of weeks now. I’ve found a 20 min treadmill NRC run that I enjoy. That’s made things easier with work and stuff. I completed JuJu’s timed plan week 1 last week and felt good so I’m on track for completing week 2 this weekend. I’m just thankful that I have no injury niggles and I’m managing to squeeze in some running as work is crazy 😜 Can’t say I’ve noticed a national lockdown this time around 😏
Hi Damien, I managed my three runs last week, 1 in search of new routes. Didn’t really enjoy it as there was too much road work with speedy traffic, no pavements. The part I did enjoy was down a narrow path but pretty muddy. That was 6k, Laura’s speed podcast Wednesday , and not (park run) Saturday trying to improve my 5K PB on which I Failed!Also did two 4K Nordic walks in between. Looked into some strength exercises, which I intend to incorporate along with the runs. Happy so far🤗
You are doing great. I have resigned myself to waiting for parkrun to return before I start chasing PB's or trying to get faster again. With your running you are doing way more than me, so really well done. Happy Running.
Hi everyone, my aims for November were to consolidate on achieving my first 10k, maintain running a weekly 5k and to start some strength training in between.
Well this last week has been a total fail on the strength training 😩 so enough said about that.
I did manage to run my second 10k 😊 which felt so much easier than the first and was a lovely run. I also ran a 5k on a completely new route with a couple of big (for me!) hills, new routes were also an goal for me.
So 2 out of 3.
Must try harder on the non run day.... But why is it so hard to get motivated??
Thanks Bluebird. I did start doing that but for me it obviously didn't help!
I find it hard to keep a routine of exercises. I do a live zoom yoga class every week and I've had spells where I've done my own yoga practice daily. I also had several weeks where I was doing HIIT several times a week. I think I perhaps get bored... Or perhaps that's another excuse 🤣
- to continue to run every other day where possible, or 3 x a week. ✅
- I’m starting Ju Ju’s 10K Plan tomorrow with 10K goal by the end of the year
- work in progress, week 4 and 8K on Sunday, on track with my quest, loving the longer runs ✅
- I want to increase my 5K time to sub 40 mins, currently 40.36 (down from 41.35 4 wk1 ago).
- Needs work, signed up for speed challenge. I found my pace increasing with longer runs but need some speed training to get a 5K PB
- to focus more on nutrition and see the gains from focused fuel and training.
- work in progress. More porridge, fruit and veg ✅, but celebrated 7.5Krun with Percy pigs 🙈, I know what I got to do though.
- to continue to remember how much I love being a runner, come rain or shine 😁🏃🏽♀️and that I’m doing this for me x ✅
This is my greatest challenge met, I didn’t think I could but I have fallen more in love with running, learning to run in the moment and don’t want the run to end. Loving it!
Very well done. You are really doing great. Keep going and Happy Running. Running during the winter sets you up for Spring and you'll be knocking minutes off that 5K time. Enjoy your journey to 10K.
Well last week was a bust for me. After our blizzard Sunday night, I just couldn't get motivated to do much so my goal of 50 miles run and 300,000 steps this month is out the window. Running in this snow is so hard so distances are low but I'm just trying to get out. I did manage 2 runs and 1 snowshoe trek last week. I went out for a short moonlit snowshoe trek last night and am aiming for 3 runs and a couple more snowshoe treks this week 🤞
Hi there, Not doing too bad on my quest this last week - managed to get out 3 times which was the plan so happy with that, albeit seeming to stick to @ 4K for some unintentional reason but think that's more down to finding a reliable winter/well lit route.
Out early this morning for a nice steady 5K which I really enjoyed, so this week seems to be on track. Might try the NRC 'A Whole Run' again on Thursday for a bit of a longer/further plod.
Give them a go 👍. There are loads to choose from and certainly give me an incentive to keep going esp on a slightly longer outing - I like having someone chatting along the way 🏃♀️
I'm getting out there, only occasionally breaking lockdown rules. I set off down a path the other day thinking it would be great to explore, then realised I was heading out of bounds and already pushed for time. Oh well, another day.
The most I can reasonably (legally) manage is 8k, and I'm throwing in the odd 5k-5.5k if I haven't got the time or inclination to head up the road through the forest. Strava tells me that I've done 52k so far this month, which is better than I was expecting, so 60k is looking do-able, even though I won't be able to run again until this weekend, due to work.
While I'm finding the inability to vary routes monotonous, I guess the upside of lockdown is that it's forcing me to do lots of hills - the typical elevation gain of my runs has rocketed!
Well I seem to be bucking the trend on long runs - on Sunday I went out to do a 12k and was enjoying it so much I ended up doing 16k plus that crucially significant 0.1 that made it 10 miles
Lejog 300 mile postcard also achieved, feels much more like progress to be heading due north rather than mostly east!
Still not doing enough yoga and strength work though, must get onto that.
Oh, and I stopped and restarted my Garmin HM plan - the old one kept asking me to do shortish runs and less total distance which didn't seem right! I think I'd underestimated my weekly mileage. Anyway so far it looks like it will be a bit more in tune with what I'm wanting to run just now, which is basically trying to learn to go slower to go longer. I have also set up the plan with a time goal as this gives me pace guidance which I found really helpful e.g. not rushing when starting out on what became the 10 miler. I am still not sure I actually want to do a HM but I probably will find myself a nice virtual or real challenge for the spring.
Good to hear everyone is still working away despite the weather - even if not quite what you'd planned, getting out at all when the air and the ground are so wet is an achievement!
Fantastic running Blackberrypie ! 👏🙂 If you do decide to take on the Half, there is a new Spring Half Marathon group starting over on the Marathon Running and Race Support Forum...?🙂
More sleep is one thing I am trying really hard to work on! I do think it makes a difference to our running if we get enough sleep! Good luck with the Magic Plan.🙂👍
All still goes well with my Quest to do slightly less and get a bit less tired whilst keeping standards up ....... as reported elsewhere, last week gave me a very satisfactory Remembrance Day 10k for the Poppy Fund in 54'17", while today a (not) parkrun on a different bit of Portsmouth's "coast" produced an on-target 24'45". In between, I also paced Dexy5 to something tantalisingly close to her post-covid 5k PB - had the pace, but needed a couple of brief recovery stops!
Running life now confused by Roseabi's latest speed challenge, which will have to be fitted in somewhere each week next month - I'm sure there's a cunning plan to be found
Week 3 already 😮. I’m still doing ok. Work remains crazy 😜 and my legs ache after spending loads of time on my feet and walking up and down stairs in heels (Must rethink my footwear 🤔 The criteria has changed somewhat over the last few months). I’ve managed to fit in 3 runs this week but all on the treadmill. I was too tired both physically and mentally this morning to travel to run outside so I opted to jump on the treadmill in the spare room to complete W2 of JJ’s MP. I chose to run with Mo on NRC recommended by Couchphoenix but carried on a bit further to reach the 39 mins (but did 44 by mistake 😬) Move like Jagger by Maroon 5 bought me home 🏃♀️ Mo was inspirational and his story was moving in places (no pun intended 😏) Would recommend. I’m going to repeat this run (just 39 mins) outside at some point over the weekend when there is less rain and more energy. Hope everyone else is doing ok.
Well done on your runs - yet another NRC recommendation for me to check out! I would very much love to take Mo with me on a run ( although of course only virtually, as the reality would be incredibly frustrating for him...🐢🐇(think tortoise and hare..😂)
So as promised with more energy and less rain I repeated the 39 min run outside to complete W2 of JJ’s MP (again). The weather was glorious! It was bright, crisp and cold at just 4 degrees and much less muddy under foot. I wore a long sleeve T-shirt with my snazzy short sleeved running T-shirt over the top and a light micro fleece as usual, but I also took a wooly hat, some gloves and a rain jacket thinking I’d be cold. Well I didn’t wear any of them and the fleece didn’t stay on longer either! The railway trail was a runners’ highway so early on a Sunday morning 🏃♀️🏃♂️. I was saying hello every couple of minutes! I ran with Paula today (NRC) and enjoyed the story of her rise to elite athlete. Really enjoyed the whole kit and caboodle. W3 of Quest achieved 😊
You're so right Damien - it can be harder getting out the door at this time of year but returning from a cold, dark (and even rainy😱) run can make you feel a little bit invincible, I find! 💪And we all need that feeling occasionally at the moment. Plus I love how my face tingles when I come in to the warm kitchen from the cold!😂
My own quest was a simple one - to run for my mental wellbeing. I've taken my foot off the pedal for a short while and am NOT giving myself a hard time if I miss a run, or don't hit those little targets we have in our heads!
All is good in these running shoes👟 - taking control in this uncertain world!
Would definitely recommend running with Mo. It was a bit cheesy in places but also very moving in parts. It’s great that you are not stressing over missing runs. It’s so easy to make running another thing that you’re striving for. I’m improving at this too. I think I have finally admitted to myself that I am a runner and can simply enjoy it with nothing to prove. 😊
Is it cheating a bit to have managed a Quest without really knowing I was setting out on it? 😜
This is my first post on Bridge to 10k and I’ve not been looking as I felt I needed to be able to run 5k first even though I graduated a little while back.
Well today I did it even though at the start of the run it hadn’t actually been the plan!
With a few more days of November to go, perhaps my Quest should now be to be able to do it again before the start of December 😊
You can join the Quest at any time MinnieMoo55 - so welcome to both the Quest and the forum! Huge well done too on completing your first 5k!💪🙂 It's a wonderful milestone and best of luck in achieving it again - very soon! 👍😀
I managed my first longer run (7k) on Sunday. Maybe this is a bit of a milestone moment as I really haven't wanted to do more than 5k for several weeks now.
I've continued (not as frequently as I would like) with the introductory yoga classes. I'm starting to enjoy them more and feel ever so slightly like less of a total klutz.
I started the 1km Speed Challenge today - never having done anything like this before. I managed a fast - for me - 6.21 which is a PB by 42 seconds. I call that a result 😁
I'm still mildly troubled by some discomfort in my left foot, but it's much improved over the last couple of weeks. If it starts to get worse again with increasing distance I will seriously consider a visit to the podiatrist.
I hope your physio appointment went well. Good luck with the 10k attempt.
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💥🏃♂️🏃🏻♀️ The April Quest Week 2 🏃🏻♀️🏃♂️💥
Remember Remember to run in November Quest week 3. Feel free to join 🕺🏽🎃💥
