I'm slightly amazed to be writing this, but I have just completed my 31st daily consecutive run for January, so that's RED January well and truly done. I must admit I didn't put a lot of thought into this before I started it, I just happened to run on Jan 1st, 2nd and 3rd as a way for trying to make amends for eating too much over Christmas and running too little. I then saw a post about RED January and thought, let's give that a go, let's see how far I can get before I give up.
As my first three runs had all been 5k each, I also decided to try to stick to 5km for every run, which I managed. I decided to completely ignore pace and just run every run at whatever pace felt right for that day, as a result my 5k times ranged between 29 mins and 40 mins, with most around the 31/32 min mark. I think this approach really helped me to stay injury free, plus lots of pre and post run stretches.
I have to say a massive thank you to nowster who's posts on RED have been great. A couple of days when I really didn't feel like running, I spotted that nowster had already run and that gave me the push I needed to get out there. So thanks and well done to nowster who I am sure has completed run 31 by now. (Well done to anyone else who has done RED, if I have missed your posts).
From now on, I am going to take it easy, I plan to drop back down to my normal 3 or 4 runs a week and I am going to start to build up my distance again. Whilst running 5k every day has been great, the downside is I think I have programmed my body to expect to stop at 5k, so might take a little bit of time to build up the distance again. Then I will have to think what the next challenge is going to be !
Written by
Ant50
Graduate10
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Well done! Yes, I have completed the month. I hadn't realised you were doing it too!
So that's 31 times 5km from you (ie. 155km)?
Like you I wasn't sure whether I was going to do it at the start. After the first week or so I realised it was possible. By the second week it had become a habit.
I'd suggest doing some very different run durations and paces to re-train your legs. And some rest days, of course.
Yes, I kept quiet on posting I was doing it until I knew how far I would get. Not sure how you found it, but the first few days were OK, I then felt tired around days 8/9 then it got better again. By the second week in, it just felt like part of my daily routine, but a couple of hard days when I had been sat at my desk all day.
Maybe you approach of mixing up the run lengths was a better one?
Will definitely be doing some shorter runs now, before focusing on distance again and as you say taking plenty of rest days.
Well done on completing your RED challenge!👏 I am full of admiration for both you and nowster ! Would love to try something like this at one point but am worried I would end up injured!🤣 Enjoy your return to 3 or 4 runs a week!🙂
Yes, I must admit I was concerned about injury, but I had been running quite a bit in December so I felt strong enough to do it, but I also told myself that at the first sign of any injury I would stop. Luckily there were none, but definitely had stiff legs a few times afterwards.
Thanks. To be honest, I think not worrying about pace is what made it possible, I just told myself 5k every day whether it took me 30 mins or an hour. I also became very good at stopping my runs at precisely 5k !
Not sure I would quite describe it like that 😂 but there does come a point where you think “I’ve got this far so I’m not giving up now”. I was also thinking it would be much better if it was RED June as opposed to January - not the best month for running !
Huge congratulations Ant50 that's some achievement. It's kind of scary to know that there are 2 crazy people my age here now with yourself and nowster lol. I think it should be renamed MAD JAN 😜.
A great idea on two counts, hopefully the weather is a little better and its three days shorter 😀 seriously good luck with it. Will look out for your posts on progress.
Thank you. I’m going to do the same as you. A comfortable pace. I’m currently running 5K in around 32 mins and I want to get below 28 mins during the Summer. So I’m going to use this to build a good base level of fitness.
I suspect that just by running a relaxed 5k each day your time will improve. I noticed that towards the end of the month my 5k time was consistently quicker. Like you I normally run a 30-32 min 5k, but even without pushing my pace I found I was at about 29 mins, so guessing if I wanted I could have pushed this further. I guess the very regular running improves your pace without you really noticing. If all goes well I reckon you will be well on the way to 28 mins after the month.
Thanks - remind me not to accidentally fall into it next year. Although I must admit that not running today felt very, very strange. Words I thought I would never say !
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
RED January
The January Quest - Run 2 of 3 complete!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🤩❤️
🍎Red January Exercise every day for a month
