Welcome to Week One of the September Quest……….the Search for an Indian Summer.
The season of misty mornings and sunrises that you can wonder at, without having to get up at silly o'clock, is rapidly easing aside the oppressive heat experienced by many over the summer months.
It is my favourite time of year for running and I am so glad to be off the IC and working my way carefully through C25K again. Six years on from the first time, I am being ultra cautious, so as to slowly and gently condition my knee to running. The difference now, apart from being six years older, is that I am integrating far more strength training into my regime and I am using the C25K app for the first time.
Being in the middle of Week 3, I can totally identify with all those working their way through the amazing, life changing programme that is C25K.
So what is the Quest all about?
It is apparent from many of the posts that we reply to, that many feel a little lost after Graduation.
It is tempting to move on too quickly after Graduation, and quite a few folk feel that they take backward steps or are doing something wrong when things don't progress as they think they should.
This is a terrific place to find the advice you need, read other folks' goals, and to encourage each other as you move on to the next running adventure. Listen to some of the seasoned Graduates too, they are a bit further on in their adventures and may be able to give you more in-depth information
So please feel free to join in if you have graduated. We will be running these Quests every month, updating weekly, so don’t worry you can join in any time after Graduation, it doesn’t matter when it is even if it is just for the last week.
Also please join if you have graduated and are on the IC, We have found reading and supporting other runners when we are on the IC helps to keep motivation up and helps to still feel part of this community so if you are on the IC put your name down, we will support you all the way back to your first recovery run.
Here is the explanation of what the Quest is.
WHAT THE QUEST IS:
The Quest lasts for a calendar month
You can join any time within that time.
The main 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.
We ask that you are a GRADUATE.
The main reason we ask this is that while you are doing the programme your plan is very structured, so we wouldn't want the Quest to interfere with that.
The most popular goals are:-
To run three times a week
- Different distances maybe and with 30 minute runs in there
To slowly increase distance
To train, ultimately, for a specific race
To add In Stretch and strength exercises
As you can see they are personal to yourself and it's totally your own choice.
Every week we will pin a new post where all the members of the Quest can talk about how things are going.
Our advice to you, is to make your goals achievable, as it is very easy to get discouraged if you aim too high. It is better to aim a little lower and feel great at the end of the Quest and add some more in for the next Quest. Motivation is at its best when you feel a sense of achievement through something you are trying to do and becoming part of the Quest may help you commit and be more accountable.
For me, the aim is to make sure that I do strength training on at least three non run days per week……...what will you do?
And why the Search for an Indian Summer?
Well, we are looking for that extra little addition that transforms the whole experience.
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IannodaTruffe
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For me is to continue running 3 x per week which I have done since the very start and maybe add some distance slowly to one of my runs . Also to make sure I stretch after every single run . 😊😊
I have stretched after every run since Week 1 six years ago and my physio mate agrees that it pulls out contractions and tensions in muscles while they are still warm and supple, improving blood flow and recovery and avoids carrying them into the next run.
Hi - I'd like to join too. I graduated a few weeks back and have been repeating the Wk9 run on alternate days since then (can't let go of MJ quite yet).
I'm abroad at the moment, until the end of September, and when I get back to the UK I think my ambition is to do Park Runs and come not quite last... I've looked at the times for my local run and the slowest people seem to get round in around 47 mins. So maybe a realistic goal might be to manage a flat 5K in 45 mins? I'm really slow!
As a first step, I think actually knowing how far I've run might be useful. At the moment it's all a bit approximate and I don't really know how far I've walked vs how far I've jogged. So maybe that's the first actual goal - sort out a digital run-keeping app. I've just used the Apple distance/step counter so far and probably need something more detailed.
Does that sound reasonable? Apologies for long message - it's been useful thinking it through, even though it sounds simple.
Until you know exactly how long it takes you to cover 5k, it is probably unwise to set any time target. Once you do have a time you can set the target of reducing this, but do keep the targets realistic. The recommended way is to spend 75-80% of your running time at an easy conversational pace, to build stamina, then push hard, using intervals or fartlek, for the remainder.
Try using Strava to measure your distance and speed. I find it very motivating because you can see even small improvements. I am another slow runner. My first 5k a few months ago came in at 46 minutes and I have chopped about five minutes off that time just by regular gentle running. Good luck!
I’m attempting Ju-Ju’s Magic Plan, but my September goal is to keep a training diary.
Can I just add how much this forum is helping me through my interior monologues about inability? Thanks so very much for all the time the Admins put in.
A training diary, especially one that includes how you feel about each run, can give you a perspective on your progress that will be useful to look back on.
We all have to constantly challenge ourselves about self imposed limitations and I believe that C25k has been a launching point for many in their realisation of their own physical abilities.
My target for this week is to run at least twice (preferably 3 times, but I'm being realistic in that the first week or two of the school year as a teacher never stick to the plan!).
Hi - I'm also back on C25K (again) after being on the IC... starting W4 tomorrow... Although older this time round, I know it is achievable IF I can avoid re-injury - so... my quest is simply to try & maintain the stretching & strengthening exercises I've set myself... I've really missed the running 🏃
Week 3 of C25K almost feels like running again.......I can hardly wait for W4.. I am normally a bit random with my strength workouts, so this is good discipline for me and will hopefully build a habit.
Goodness that was beautifully poetic and inspiring as usual. It certainly is an amazing and life changing programme and that is a gorgeous picture. Autumn is my favourite time of year too. Glad you’re back on track yourself after the IC.
After 9 months in the attempt and just sneaking into August graduation yesterday with 3 hours left, this Quest is very timely. My long term plans are to get to full 5K, then parkrun, different routes & paces, and within the next 2 years rerun my favourite 10K route along the Regents Canal after a 30 year gap
My immediate goals for this month are:
Continue to run 3 times a week
Run in at least one different location
Do strength exercises consistently, not just now & again – due to a serious car accident as a child I know one side is weaker than the other and needs special attention
I love this photo. I always find your posts inspiring and have done since I first joined. I am in the midst of training for a marathon but I am happy to join this quest. I need to commit to my strength training too but I also want to remember to enjoy running for running too.
I have to admit the photo is not mine, but it exemplifies autumn mornings to a tee.
My aim is to inform.........if I inspire, that is a bonus.
I have never done a marathon but do know that working through a training regime can very easily rob your running of all its pleasure, so remember to throw in some runs in lovely new environments to keep the fun factor present.
Quite a few of us are committing to strength training and it can only help. What exercises are you following?
It's been such a long time since I last visited the group. Unfortunately I seem to be grafted to the IC. I have since learned that the troubles I began to experience during my Week 8 and throughout my Week 9 as I graduated C25K were as a result of a trapped nerve in my neck at C3/C4 level. An MRI has also revealed that I have further issues that will need rescanning at a later date. In the meantime I have been receiving Chiropractic treatment and I am due to start physiotherapy this month.
I would like to join the September challenge as a means to help find my focus and begin to nurture the self-love that I seem have relost since finding myself unable to continue with my training.
I wish to challenge myself to check-in with the group 3 times a week and return to Yoga classes on Fridays. This to me after such a long time being lost-at-sea in the black hole of my mind is quite a big thing because it means making the commitment afresh like I made at the start of my C25K journey.
I look forward to reading everyone's posts and hopefully supporting you all again.
Having been on the IC for five months I can sympathise with your situation. My involvement with this forum has kept me hopeful and determined to get back running and a sympathetic physio has been a great help, stating that had I not been a runner she would have discharged me already, but she is going to do all she can to get me running again. It is great to have people on your side, and we are now rooting for you.
I'm up for the quest too. I graduated some time ago but never really managed to consolidate & then had an injury that took me out of action for nearly 2 months. I'm slowly getting back into a routine but have lost a lot of fitness & stamina. I think the quest will help me focus. My target is to be running for 30 mins 3 times a week by the end of the month. If I can do one 30 min session this week I'll be chuffed. Good luck fellow questors!
Hi There....I would like to join the quest. I’ve just graduated and have 3 weeks of consolidation to complete but need to find a new route that would allow me to get to 5K. My current one is 4K and is as far as I can manage to run at the moment.
Routes don't have to be circular, although they are my favoured routes. Have you tried a there and back run.......just turn round at your half way point.
To get to 5k the best way is to increase your duration by a small amount, maybe on just one run per week.
I'm on the IC too thanks to muscles that won't stop spasming! I've only managed to get out a couple of times in the last 5 weeks and I can really tell.
For my challenge this month I just want to get back to doing a bit of running! I'm hoping to start an art class to compensate for some of the relaxation I'm not getting from running too.
I've got a 10k run lined up for November and was due to start Ju-Ju's magic plan but can't right now because it just hurts too much 😞
1) 20km total running (which is going to involve something like twice a week at current pace for 30 minutes - I did 11.3km total in August given the complications of blind dog and avoiding her getting heat stroke)
2) 3km total swimming - I've not been in the water over the Summer holidays
4) 17+ days of yoga practice (ie yoga more often than not), of which 5 sessions as online classes
Hi, I'd like to join the Quest. My aim is to continue my 3 x 30min runs per week, with knee exercises on at least 3 of my non-run days. I'd also like to try a couple of strength exercises I've not tried before, e.g. planks (!) And I'm hoping to do my first parkrun this month, aiming to include my warm up walk at the beginning to help cover the distance. Even if I have to walk a little later on, I intend to run over that finish line 😀
OK I’m in - I think this is just what I need. My aim recently has been to increase my distances gently, running 3 times a week, which is my norm. Plus Pilates for strength training and get on my bike. Might even swim! To one and all, good luck with this, it’s going to be good. Thank you I Truffe, a cunning plan 🙂😎🌻
The sea is less than a mile away, but I don’t fancy it, it’s cold 🥶 and I’m a wimp😂. Pools are OK, though don’t always think they’re as clean as they could be 😱, but i’ll risk it 😂. Happy days 🙂🌻
I don't like pools either which is why I do virtual swims and imagine I am in the river. Did the Derbyshire Derwent, now I am doing the Derbyshire Wye.
There was a recent list of Victorian fiction causes of death and one of them was not having seen the sea for too long.
I graduated in July. I enjoyed the August Quest and achieved my target to run for 30 minutes 3 times a week. I never would have thought this possible. My September Quest is to run 3 times a week and increase distance on one of my runs. I am heeding your advice
that 'pushing pace on every run is the sign of a newbie runner who really doesn't understand their body.'
Firstly thank you for setting this thread up & secondly good luck in your return to running 🙂
My goal is stay off the ic, run a minimum of once a week for now (main aim is x3 again) and run 5k without walking (eventually). I know this will all be gradual and take longer than a month, but managed to do parkrun today, which I’ve missed for a few weeks so a definite step in the right direction 🤗 x
Thank you for this. It's great to have a focus after graduation. I've signed up for a 5km run as part of the marathon weekend here at the end of the month so my quest is to be able to run that distance. My weekly plan is 3 runs a week of different lengths with one taking me beyond 30 mins. I managed 33 minutes today and my target for next week is 35.
I graduated in April and flit between this forum and bridge to 10k feeling I don't quite belong to either. I am going through JuJu's magic plan for the second time trying this time to run the distances and suddenly I am really enjoying it, instead of only enjoying it after i have finished. My quest after a very busy summer where I haven't always managed to get out three times a week is to do just that. I will try to structure the runs around the magic plan but if I can't manage that because of time pressures I aim still to be out there running, three times a week! Great quest and good luck on your own return to running. I don't think I would still be here nine months on from starting c25k without the advice and links you post and the support of other people in both forums! You are all great!
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