Welcome to a brand new month of questing! I’m so excited to be hosting. I love February when Spring is springing and the birds are singing. The perfect time for setting new goals.
Things are feeling great for me at the moment. All the injuries are healed and I’m back in a groove with the running. My Quest is to keep up with my HM plan ready for April’s race day. That will mean a long run, a faster run and a chilled out easy run or two each week. Lots of time with Coach B! Last month, I really focussed on stretching properly after each run and I’ve massively noticed the difference that’s made. That’s staying as a goal and I’d recommend it if you’re a bit hit and miss like I was! I’m also going to try and add in a weekly yoga session now my wrists can (hopefully!) manage it.
So how are things going for you? What will your quest be?
For any newbies, here’s what it’s all about:
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.The Quest takes one calendar month. You can join at any point during that time.
You need to be a C25K Graduate before joining the Quest. The reason for this is that pre-graduation your week is very much structured according to the C25K programme, and 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 strength and flex exercises to your weekly routine
This is a personal challenge, so it's completely up to you!
If you want to join, all you have to do is comment below with something like: “I would like to join the quest”, or, “count me in! I would like to...”
I can’t wait to see what your goals are and cheer you on!
MissU 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
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MissUnderstanding
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Hi MissUnderstanding, great to hear you are fully back on a running plan with new goals.I would like to join the February quest , my plan being to complete my first 10k run sometime this month. Until today I was thinking this would come fairly soon but following a full day gardening including digging the veg plot I seem to have aches in all the muscles opposing the running muscles is the best way I can explain it!!!
The second part of the quest is to maintain my pace (slow) to come in comfortably under 90 minutes, the cut off time for a future possible event.
Meanwhile I need to gently work the aching muscles back to the comfort zone then think about the exercises needed to strengthen them to avoid a repetition.
Hi CBDB, Gardening was a tough call, but the weather was a needs must, and I carried on all day and abandoned the planned afternoon run. I've never had such muscle ache from digging before and it was very easy this year. I can only think that running has done something to my muscle action that contradicts with digging. 🤪 I need to find the right SandF exercises but I'm struggling to work out which muscles I need to work on!There are several events open to me on the weekend a year on from my stroke, if I'm ready I'll probably go to Milton Keynes but there is also an informal fun event called the Red Rum event too which you can keep going until you choose to stop.
I cycled one Sportive before my stroke and it was fun getting the glitter, not least because they are so individual. I think the t-shirt is a fun thing too! I can't wait to earn my first Parkrun top!
10km running from my first minute last April week 1/1 C25K is a massive achievement for me and I've loved every minute since. 🏃🏃🏃 Cryptogenic strokes offer no ongoing support other than medication, you just have to wait for the next one! Not good for the mind and unfortunately the fear gets to too many people who are left hanging.
I can't shout out loud enough for C25K, Parkrun, running and of course the various forums on Health Unlocked. It's transformative.
Thanks for asking the question, my answers are part of my therapy and diary!
🤔 S&F for gardening. You are giving me some ideas, which I will need to look into! Wouldn’t it be nice to have some “Yoga for gardeners” session? I bet YWA has already, but I must look into that topic! It might inspire me to do a bit more gardening! 🤣🤣
Milton Keynes (I hear it’s beautiful), Red Rum, Sportive, and a Parkrun top all sound absolutely brilliant. You’ve got a stash of motivational goodies, there.
And I concur with the health services and GPS sometimes forgetting how massive the impact of just being active can be. It has also been transforming for my own health.
Gardening can be exhausting, especially at this time of the year when the ground is so heavy with mud. Maybe that’s just my borders! Take any recovery days that you need. Perhaps think if it as useful strength work or cross training!
I’m sure that 10k is within your grasp. I bet it won’t be long before you’re asking for a new badge! I’ve found that I’ve done best when I’ve focussed on increasing distance super slowly. The pace has gently crept up as I’ve either gone a little further or got more experienced at covering the distance.
I'm almost there, I did fork and weed the top and prepare for planting, not a dig. It's raised too so although a bit clayey, it has drained. It was very poor soil 6 years ago but it now has a lot more structure and organic. Because it was 'easy' I did the whole plot, just a few carrots and parsnips left, but I also did the fruit border and flower border too. Felt good all the time, just got a left hamstring/glute issue the next day, exacerbated by walking not actually running but it's just uncomfortable although improving. TMI I know but I'm actually with you on no dig! My 70th year has somehow become a tipping point for all the wrong things - taken me by surprise.
I know what you mean…it’s easy to get focused on a job! I cleared a bed the other day, and really felt my hamstrings the next day! I gave up kneeling when I was getting persistently ‘niggly’ knees…so I just bend forward…I’m very good at forward folds in yoga 😂
Thanks and you’re very welcome here! Getting out and running/walking is such a pleasure when the weather is nicer than it was before. I’m really appreciating being able to get down the street without worrying about ice. I’m sure you’ll have some wonderful fun this month enjoying your walks and runs. Good luck questing! 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
It's being milder and lovely to get out, I walked to my daughter's yesterday evening because she didn't want to go far and had a little run on the way, I don't often go out in the dark and it was lovely
How are the legs doing? It sounded like an absolutely epic run yesterday. Hopefully you’ve had a good day of recovery from the HM, and all of the other RED January runs! 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
The legs are fine. They were a bit tingly, which suggests repair was happening, but no problems.
I'm not going to rest on my laurels, but intend to keep going. I did a short (12 minute) run late this afternoon and my legs actually felt better for having done it.
So my Quest this month is to see how well things go continuing to run every day, while being as sensible as I can.
Good morning and happy February everyone. My quest for this month is to build on January. I’m heading for the LM in April. So this month is about consistency and increasing distance.
I also love spring and enjoy looking for something new on every run that tells me it’s coming. A bud a bit more open, a daisy in the grass, increasing bird song, just makes you feel so alive!
Welcome to the quest! London Marathon!!! Excited for you and massively jealous. Really good luck.
Increasing distance slowly and steadily is a great goal to have. Are you following a particular plan? Consistent running is such a good goal too. I think if we can nail that at any distance, even short ones, we’ll make progress. Really good luck to you. Hopefully we can report back on those buds starting to bloom. I spotted some daffs on their way up in the garden this morning. I thought they were lost over the winter but they’re back. That made me smile. 🌼🏃♀️🌸
The marathon is a roll over from 2020…but I’m 3 years older and feeling the panic! I did 2020 virtually in the October with family and friends, even one of my grandchildren running a section. It was lovely but not the ‘real’ thing. Since then I’ve been very haphazard and not consistent at all!
So I wanted to do it in April as it’s my birthday 6 days after the run. I say run, more a jeffing shuffle…but as long as I get to the finish line in one piece that’s all that matters!! 🤞🤞😍
Jeffing is a great way to get round. The atmosphere will be amazing. However you get over the line, it will be a massive achievement. Your virtual version sounded wonderful with the grandchildren involved too. I bet there will be lots of special memories from that version, even if it wasn’t the real thing.
Count me in the Quest please. Had to stop running completely in October last year and only recently restarted. Objectives for February:
- 20 minutes continuous running
- 30 minutes continuous walking
- walk for 5 minutes with weights of 15kg and other exercises of physio.
I can already do 30 minutes walking in 2 segments the same day and can do 10 minutes of continuous running. I have to do physiotherapy exercises which in total take about 50 minutes per day but are not done every day.
Great quest goals! It sounds like you’ve chosen something challenging but achievable-the very best sort of goal!
I’m intrigued by the “walking with weights of 15kg”. What sorts of weights are those? It sounds like really hard work but I’m sure it’ll do you a lot of good. Physios are great people to have involved in any recovery from injury and they know how to challenge us!
Really good luck to you and I’m looking forward to reading your updates 🏃♀️💪❤️
The weights are adjustable dumbbells and it is a physio exercise for me to strengthen the legs. I hesitate to give details of physio exercises as I know that they are very individual and one exercise right for one person would not be right for someone else.
Ohhh I can't wait for Spring to spring! Easter is my favourite time of year, but that's still a few months away so need to focus on consistent running to get me through!!
One quest for this month: consistency. I'm not currently training for everything, which is always a bit of a danger for me to slip off the wagon. So I'll keep it simple, run 3x per week either 4 - 6K per run.
Running consistently is just the best goal to have. When I was coming back from injury I committed to going every other day, just for short runs, and it was absolutely brilliant. I’ve always rebelled against that sort of routine before but it really got me back in the swing of things. I’d suggest considering ditching having a minimum goal for your run. Any run is a good run. Sometimes having a short one is better than no run if you haven’t got time for 4km. It’s totally up to you though! Perhaps I’m biased because I absolutely love a quick 15/20 minute run and I’m not anywhere near fast enough to cover 4km in that time! The great thing about running is it’s so easy to personalise how you do it to fit with what you enjoy most.
I should be able to finish my come-back plan this month and then start again on a 10k plan. That would get me back to running with our favourite coach, Coach Bennett of NRC fame. (I also must not forget to fix those blooming links in the 10k pdf document I made)
And with rowing, just keep it rolling 4-5 days/week via a return to the RowAlong 30x30min series. It will be interesting if my times have improved, as this will be the 4th time I'm rowing this series of 30min workouts, which cover the equivalent of all sorts of intervals, hill sprints, recovery sessions and fartleks, but all on my indoor rower.
And in S&F and Active10: do my regular stretches and fit some walks in. Aim is to do at least 12 min of active walking or exercising every single day. I'm good in terms of the amount of minutes I do, but there are always some recovery days where I do nothing at all. So getting some 12 min walks into those, that would be great!
So in short:
🔲 RUNNING: finish come-back plan and start NRC 10k plan
🔲 ROWING: revisit RowAlong 30x30
🔲 ACTIVE10: Walk on days where I don't run or row
Here’s to February! And to your Marathon and my 10k training! We got this!
actually, I’m not sure if the broken links are a problem from the NRC end. I’ve found I can’t pull up my “downloaded runs”…I get the screen below, and if I click on this link, it just takes me to “all runs”…
🤔 huh! Strange. I might dig into that a bit to get ready for when I switch to NRC again. I haven’t used it for a few weeks, as I was jeffing my way back.
I wonder if it’s because the app is about to update with the new monthly playlist. I got the January power up badge yesterday and apparently there’s going to be a new one dropping any time soon. I do find the app a bit glitchy in general but it’s worth it for coach b!
Thanks! It’s a trail HM which is new to me and it’ll only be my second ever HM event. The location is going to be lovely. I’m excited and a little bit nervous. I think that’s pretty standard!
Your quest goals sound really well thought through and achievable. You’ve been so patient coming back from your injury. I’m sure you’ll have loads of success this month! Happy to share our favourite coach with you!!!
I’m not a rower but have enjoyed reading about yours-I had no idea that there could be so much variety in the types of workouts you could do. Obviously it makes sense now you’ve said it but I’ve never given it any thought beyond getting on the rowing machine at the gym and going for a time or distance!
yes, the variety of indoor rowing workouts was an eye-opener. But so was discovering NRC Coach Bennett’s diversity of different ways to do a running workout.
Looming forward to - in time - reading about your trail HM! I’ll be waving the Pom Poms from the virtual sidelines!
That NRC app has been the best thing for my running since c25k! Absolutely brilliant. Coach B is a cheesy genius. Totally nailed the importance of the easy run for me.
It’s about eight weeks to go. 15km this weekend which is a bit intimidating but I’m sure is doable. I know I’ve done it before. Keep those pom poms on stand by!
Hi 👋 MissInderstanding & fellow questers. My January quest was to get back to 10k by the end of the month. Well I was at 9k and Covid got me 😏. It wasn’t too bad, just like a rotten head cold. It certainly was nothing like the bout I had pre- vaccinations but it did stop me running and getting that 10k. So here I am again, building up to 10k by the end of the month. I usually run outside on Fridays as it is my day off but I’ve got to work this week to make up the work I missed being off sick, so perhaps Saturday morning. Anyway I’m only heading out for a slow 5k loop around the block to see how I feel. It’s going to be glorious being out 🏃♀️😁
Oh poor you! Covid has knocked a lot of people off course here. You’ll get there. Just take it slowly. My standard come back run is a fifteen minute slow jog with permission to slow to a walk if needed. See how you go with that 5k. That sounds quite ambitious to me but we’re all different. Look after yourself ❤️
I’m sure over this month you’ll get that 10k. That’s a great goal to have. Rooting for you!
I am late to the party, on my 11th (11th!) Runniversary, keen to build on the goals I had last month with Mummycav
I'm going to keep in my goals of using hand cream most days and using foot cream most days even though that went really well last month and I may have the habit already embedded. I feel as though I need some goals that I can be very confident of bagging come what may. It's been really interesting to do, a way of 'checking in' with myself.
I achieved my run a week last time so I am going for that again... plus one more run. I'm aiming for 'yoga most days' again but unlike last time I am going to count up and keep a record and only 15+ days will do!
My mission to lose the Christmas weight... well my goodness... let's just say that is a goal to carry forward into February.
Finally, and this is a tentative one, I am thinking about the 12 minutes a day walking challenge over on the Active10 forum. I missed out yesterday, for good reasons, and it's quite tentative.
Happy runniversary! Wow-11 deserves a special celebration. Super impressive! I forgot to thank Mummycav for last month’s wonderful quest hosting. It set me up nicely with goals for this month and it looks like you too!
Losing Christmas weight is hard. We’ve had treats around all month. Finally nearly finished them which will help! Good luck with that goal. I love the using hand cream/foot cream one. I might nick that one next month!
Oops I nearly missed this, in fact I'm pretty sure I missed the last week of the January quest 😯I'm glad to read that you are feeling better and feel able to get back to your HM training. I can't quite embrace February as we always seem to get some really bad weather, but at least the days are getting longer and things are starting to grow again.
Anyway to my quest...
** I really enjoyed January YWA but have always struggled to keep to the daily practice going in February. So this month I'll try to keep it up but I may switch some of the longer sessions with a Pilates practice instead.
** I need to keep up with the twice weekly physio exercises.
** I want to get back to running two 10ks a month but as February is a short month and I know I'm sometimes still having to persuade myself out the door I'll settle for one 10k
Don’t worry-you’re not too late. Great to have you here! It’s never too late to join the quest! I’m with you on February-hit and miss with weather but at the moment I’m just pleased that the ice has gone.
Aiming for one 10k sounds like an achievable target. Physio exercises will hopefully support the running too. It’s amazing how difficult those exercises are to squeeze in around life. You’ll nail it I’m sure! Really good luck ❤️
Thank you very much for hosting (and thank you Mummycav for keeping me in check last month).
I've been struggling with various injuries over the last year or so, but my knee is the biggest problem at the moment.
Physio has given me exercises, has mentioned the dreaded injection word (which I am not going down that route) and to work on C25K again but taking it easy. This time I've done it on the dreadmill as I can control the terrain, speed and bail out if I need to!
I'm now at W5R3 (tomorrow) but in typical fashion the old knee is playing up. I've done some strength work today and am hoping tomorrow it will be ok to run on.
So my quest this week is to get stronger knees, keep building in strengthening work and to carry on with C25K.
Glad you’re seeing a physio. They’re such brilliant professionals. Maybe if your knee doesn’t settle it might be worth another visit? I’d have a very low threshold for postponing week 5 if your knee doesn’t feel totally back to full power. Hopefully the exercises will do the trick over the longer term. Really good luck with questing!
I'm very lucky with my physio - he has been part of the physio team for the commonwealth athletes for the last few years so has a very good understanding of sports injuries!
I have done W5R3 this morning but have gone out on the road. Although the knee was fine (just) I know the hills we have where I live was starting to aggravate it so will be back on the dreadmill for W6 and then off to the local track for the longer runs. The flatter terrain is definitely better suited to me so going to have to search out some alternatives (might see if trails are any better although it will be hilly again).
Anyway it was lovely to be out and thankful for some sunny dry weather.
Hello MissUnderstanding , thanks for hosting this month's Quest.
My simple Quest is...run more than last month.
Thanks to a nasty bug I wasn't able to get out for 2 weeks of January. I only managed 5 runs, a total of 22.65 km. So if I can do 6 runs and run 23km I've succeeded 😁
Having said which, I haven't got off to a very good start. We decided to have a few days in France, total spur of the moment. I carefully packed my running gear and all my changes of clothing into a small suitcase. We were staying on our boat the night before we caught the ferry as this meant we were only 25 minutes from Newhaven so I packed an overnight bag as well. When we arrived at the boat I discovered I'd left the suitcase behind, so no runs for me until Saturday at the earliest. Unless I borrow my husbands trousers or run in the pair of tights I picked up in Asda as a substitute for the thermals I left at home 😱
I’m sorry I must have read your post while doing something else and forgotten to come back and reply. Great goal-that’s one I’m aiming for too. I wasn’t that far off a milestone round number last month and I’d love it if that popped up this time. Really good luck to you!
What a pain about your suitcase. Really hope you found something to wear and have had a lovely time away. New quest post just gone up. Hopefully see you over there!
Hi there MissU! Thanks for hosting this month’s quest, and thanks to Mummycav for January👏🏼
So more of the same for me…and mostly being kind to myself, and not putting on too much pressure on myself by being too prescriptive.
So keep on running 2 or 3 times a week. I ran 10k on Monday, but the NRC10K plan still has 3 weeks (15 runs) left in their programme…so I’ll stay with it as I’m liking the variety of runs.
Walking…I’m trying CBDB ’s February Challenge on Active10…a 12 minute daily walk.
S&F…YWA most nights…I sometimes give myself a night off…so haven’t finished January yet (5 to go!). I do my own little home workout most days too…
So again…no pressure…as a minimum, something active everyday, be it a run, walk, yoga, workout…or just 10 Active minutes, or 12 x 250 steps/hour on my Fitbit.
I managed a RED January with the above, hoping to do the same for February! 🤞🏼
I thought I’d replied but it’s not here! Sorry!!! Great goals-especially about being kind and not too prescriptive. We all need that in our lives. See you on the new thread-this week’s post has just gone up.
I would like to join in. I have just started following Ju Ju’s Magic Plan to get to 10k. I finished C25K last May, did my consolidation and began building up distance slowly. I had got up to about 9k by October but the bad weather and some illness plus visitors meant I lost ground from mid December on. Having read all the advice, I think I was going for too many long runs and not varying it enough so I have decided to follow this plan. I have completed week 1 and will be doing the short run of week 2 tomorrow. I have osteoarthritis in my hips and feet and need to take it easy or I suffer the next day. Can’t believe how far I’ve come in a year though. I am also hoping to do my first Parkrun this month.
Fantastic! I did juju’s plan and it’s a really good one. Winter has been tricky for a lot of us with illness, injury and general life. It’s great to pick things up again with the sunshine and nature bursting back into action again. Have a good week!
We’ve got a new quest post as of about ten minutes ago! This one will go quiet and chat will carry on over here…
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