This is the start of the 4th and final week on the Quest for this month. 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. Work got in the way last week and I only got out for a run once. So I am failing miserably. I'll do better this week.
We really have to push ourselves out the door over the coming few months. 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 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 use a couple of routes close to me. I have a 3.5K, 5K, 7K route. I live on the edge of a town so it is well lit with street lights. For 10K I can do the 7K route and add in the 3.5K route through some housing estates. Be creative and you’ll find a 10K for yourself. Best of luck and happy running.
You are awesome mate and inspire people like me. You're so down to earth and keep it real. You'll do great things my man and I'll sit back and watch you do it.
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 ticked that one off last week.
* Go a little further than that if possible by the end of the month, either 40 mins or 6km
I've continued on, mixing up easy runs, speed intervals (Jeffing runs), and distance extending runs. The longest continuous run so far has been 5.4 km (36 minutes). Due to unfortunate circumstances last week, my 6km run may be delayed a day or so into December.
More important is that I've been enjoying the mix of runs that I have done.
Hello Damien and fellow questers. I’m happy with my quest for the month so far, having got to 10k twice and running my (not) parkruns each week. This week is the start of the speed challenge so I have joined that and am looking forward to testing myself. I am under no illusions that I will beat my 1k PB of 2019, but I’d like to get a bit closer.
I have completely failed to do my strengthening exercises this month, but so far, no repercussions.
I hope you have a more relaxed time this week Damienair.
You are doing great Dexy. Really well done. You have bounced back so well and will soon be stronger than ever. I am going to attempt the speed challenge too.
I am plodding on with my November quests, although they seem to have slowed down this week. Work has been really busy and I am having to force myself out of the door. I really do not like the cold as I find it really painful in my hands and feet, especially my fingers and toes (like they have all been trapped in a door) due to Raynauds.
I have given myself a good talking to and I will try better next week. I have a lovely run planned for Sunday so am preparing for that (and hopefully another bit of bling on the way).
A couple of typical length runs to go to complete my total distance goal.
Yoga is on track, so long as I don't miss more than a couple of days.
Suddenly finding myself doing my focussed tidying/sorting sessions (sometimes these are very energetic up and down stairs, sometimes not) so my goal is achievable - and I can do more than one a day if I need to.
But I still need to use the turbo. I'm wanting to get my son's road bike off it and my own bike on it... and my husband who would need to do the honours has taken the rest of the month off after today (the poor man has not had a full week off work since last Christmas) So there's hope!
Courage mes amis with your Questing! Be kind to yourself if surviving this dark month will be your only achievement but remember what an investment fitness will be for getting through the festive and not very festive challenges ahead.
I’m away with work today. I’ll have been in the car for over 6 hours by the time I get home. So I’m definitely going to go out for a run this evening. I’ll push myself out the door. Hope your Husband enjoys the well deserved break and best of luck on the rest of your quest.
Ah, yes, well ..... Since achieving 60 mins on the magic plan I was intending to repeat the final week but somehow lost a bit of impetus and got distracted and .. I've been out for a couple of reasonable runs but I really wanted to do 60 mins again. So that's my plan for the coming week. Happy running everyone 😄
Happy to report everything is going well on my return to running. After last week's confidence building 25 minute run along the canal bank, I have returned to my old local pavement route for the Week 7 runs.
Maybe all the deep breathing I'm now doing during the daily yoga practices with Adriene is helping, as I am quickly finding that comfortable relaxed easy breathing when I run. Week 7 runs 2 and 3 done, and no longer missing the walk breaks!😏
Still keeping up the strength and conditioning exercises three times a week, the niggle in my right knee has settled again, I still have plantar discomfort in my right foot all the time, but running is not making it worse.
Almost the end of the month and we haven't had any alcohol, but Mr BBr ordered some wine ready for Xmas yesterday, so I will need to summon some willpower when that arrives...
Onwards and upwards I can see the graduation podium in the distance again now.
Fantastic and very well done on your return quest to 5K. You are doing great and will be finished in plenty of time for Christmas. I think the plan gets a little easier beyond the walking breaks. Enjoy Week 8 and Week 9. Happy Running and hide the wine.😀
Hang on in there damien, it is harder this time of year for so many reasons.
As for me, I've equalled my October mileage today which is good, hoping to add on a few more miles before the end of the month. Up to 345miles on LeJog5, hoping to reach the halfway point by the end of the year.
I'm keeping going with my garmin HM plan - for some reason the distances have dropped in week 2 (longest run last week was 13k, this week 9k) despite not marking any runs harder than moderate last week. I'm hoping it will start to make sense soon!
I've been having a few digestive issues during my longer runs so am going to try being extra careful about hydration and leaving more time between meals and running. Might also try to cut back on caffeine as my stomach seems not to like it.
Still not as consistent as I'd like on the yoga/strength work but have been doing a bit!
Oh, and I'm joining the speed trial so that gives me a new challenge
Well done, you are doing great. Your Yoga may not be as consistent as you would like, but your running sure is very consistent. Very well done. I did my 1K speed challenge yesterday evening. Phew. Happy running.
Hi fellow questers 😊At least this month I've remembered to reply to the post each week, so that's a start.
I did a 5k run which was on a new route, not one I'll repeat except on a sunday, far too busy with pedestrians and traffic. But weirdly it turned into my fastest 5k, obviously I was keen to get home. Next run was a planned long run and I was really pleased to get to 11.25 k longest run yet 😊, would have been 11.5 but I ran out of umph to get up the hill.
As for the strength training quest less said the better ☹️
I finally managed a longer 7k run on Sunday afternoon after several weeks of really not wanting to run more than 5k. Hopefully this is a turning point for me.
I've carried on , although not as frequently as I would like, with the introductory yoga classes. I'm starting to enjoy it a bit more, and feel ever so slightly like less of a total klutz.
I started week 1 of the 1km Speed Challenge today. This is the first time I've tried anything like this and found it tough, but great fun. I smashed my previous PB by 42 seconds so am pretty happy with that.
The discomfort in my left foot has been better of late. If it starts to worsen with increasing run length then I will definitely think seriously about a visit to the podiatrist
I hope your physio appointment went well. Good luck for your 10k
Well done on your 7K. I think 7K is a great distance, it is a good distance to build stamina for 5K and should you wish to train for a 10K you are not a million miles away. Well done also on your speed challenge. I am just in after attempting my first speed challenge this evening.
Well there you go. That is your Quest. This months Quest is almost finished as this is the last week. And there is going to be a break for December with Quests. But in January there will be a fresh Quest. But just because the Quest will be taking a break for December, you can still take part in your own Quest. I'm going to try and run and walk 5K everyday for the month of December. Run one day and walk the next. This is a challenge I have done over the past couple of years in January. But because I will be off over Christmas I will try it for December.
Good luck with increasing the frequency of your runs with the aim of running for longer.
My Quest for November was completed this morning with a 24'17" (not) parkrun, my second best outdoors, following on from Tuesday's 7'16" Mile Speed Challenge. I should probably have allowed an extra day between the two as I was dreaming of sub-24 .... but mustn't be greedy 😀.
Thanks for running this this month, it must put your screen time up something shocking 🙄
Wow. Super running UTS with that 5K time and your speed challenge. Really impressive. My 25:36 parkrun PB seems a million miles away at the moment but once parkrun returns I will be back chasing after that time again. Much like your dream of a sub 24, mine is a sub 25.Congratulations UTS, and well done on your Quest this month. Happy Running.
My November quest (which was basically just to keep running!) is going surprisingly well. I haven't managed 3 runs every week but I have extended my regular runs to 6km so I feel like I'm "consolidating". I'm getting used to cold runs, I've run my first frosty run and actually enjoyed it and we haven't had any rain at all so I haven't had to face cold, wet runs. I'm honestly proud of myself for running through November since I thought I'd be snuggling under a duvet instead!
Brilliant. Very well done. If you can manage to keep going and stay running consistently all through the winter, you will be in great shape for spring. Spring is my favorite time of the year, I love it. And what makes it even better is knowing that the winter running although hard at times made you stronger and fitter, meaning that the spring time runs become more comfortable and enjoyable. Well done again, and you are so right to be proud of yourself.
The 4th week has gone well 😊 I’ve managed 3 runs this week and have literally just finished W3 of Ju Ju’s timed plan 👍🏻. It was cold, muddy, slow and comfortable 😊. I’ve completed my first 1k on the speed challenge too this week. All round a good running week!
I'm wrapping up my November quest now, and it's gone better than I expected. I was hoping to run 60k, and so far I've done 75k. I might try to do another short run tomorrow before work if it's not icy.
Paradoxically lockdown was beneficial for discipline, as it forced me to do more hills than usual and made me feel that I had to stay out as long as possible!
Happy to say that lockdown rules were relaxed yesterday, so I was able to do my first Speed Challenge run on a relatively straight slight downhill. As I'm also allowed to run further again, I've signed up to the Spring HM group over on the Marathon forum, in the hope that my accidental HM last month wasn't a complete fluke.
Hi damienair and all,My quest was to try and do a longer run by the end of the quest, maybe 35 mins. So one week I did the Stamina podcast and another week I did the Steppingstone podcast. And then the last time I posted Damien suggested increasing one of my 5K runs by 500m each week, so this is what I've tried last week and today. So today I ran for just over 39 mins! Thanks for the suggestion, Damien. I might try and carry on with this.
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week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
