May 2015 Running Challenge

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  • johnsonnelly
    johnsonnelly Posts: 103 Member
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    I completely bombed April because of a huge house remodel undertaking. May has a 10 day vacation, my birthday, and a holiday in it so I will set my goal for 62 miles and hope that I make it this time! I have a question for everyone. I have noticed several people who run between 4-7 miles on average and then bust out a random 13-14 miles. What is the trick to being able to do that?? I have been running for over a year now and am lucky to make it 5 miles on a "long" run. I think that I am doing something wrong? On a normal month I run at least a 5k most days of the month. Any insight would be great!!
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,388 Member
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    @johnsonnelly - I try to get in a long run once a week. When I was running 2-3 miles as my normal run I tried to go for a long run of 5 or 6 but would typically take a walk break or two as needed. Over time I have just pushed the distance boundary on my normal runs as time (work) allows. As they increased I also increased the long run distances. I also kept the pace on those longer runs slow as I added in distance and less breaks. I still keep the pace slow as the goal for me on the longer runs is to build endurance, with that my pace will improve too.
  • missmelis98
    missmelis98 Posts: 31 Member
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    I will join. I am a new runner just starting out so mine is a run/walk combo for now. Aiming for 50 miles this month.
  • rrayperkins
    rrayperkins Posts: 1 Member
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    I like the idea of a challenge. I am going aim for 40miles
  • htimpaired
    htimpaired Posts: 1,404 Member
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    New to the group, in for 52 miles if my leg will cooperate.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    edited April 2015
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    johnsonnelly wrote: »
    I completely bombed April because of a huge house remodel undertaking. May has a 10 day vacation, my birthday, and a holiday in it so I will set my goal for 62 miles and hope that I make it this time! I have a question for everyone. I have noticed several people who run between 4-7 miles on average and then bust out a random 13-14 miles. What is the trick to being able to do that?? I have been running for over a year now and am lucky to make it 5 miles on a "long" run. I think that I am doing something wrong? On a normal month I run at least a 5k most days of the month. Any insight would be great!!

    Check out a 10k training program. Or maybe even a 10k to half marathon since you CAN do a 5 mile run...but might also be best to start off easy (better safe than sorry).

    The idea is to have a number of short to medium runs to keep building your cardio capacity and musculoskeletal strength with those added miles, and a weekly long run to build endurance on top of all that. If 5 miles is the most you can pull out, then make that a long run, and try 2 mile runs 2 or 3 times during the week between those. Slowly build mileage week to week (one extra mile per week max, from either short or long runs). The long runs are a hard workout (of course) so you limit those to once a week and usually have a day of rest or cross training following a long run before starting back up again with short to medium runs.

    That's the very basic view of it. But don't try and do only long runs. I tried doing long runs every 3 days (2 days rest between them) and only made it about 2 weeks. That really wore me down.
  • Daisy471
    Daisy471 Posts: 409 Member
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    Haven't put together a plan for May yet, but I have a 25k in early May and a half in early June. I'm guessing 90 miles, maybe 100.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    edited April 2015
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    johnsonnelly wrote: »
    I completely bombed April because of a huge house remodel undertaking. May has a 10 day vacation, my birthday, and a holiday in it so I will set my goal for 62 miles and hope that I make it this time! I have a question for everyone. I have noticed several people who run between 4-7 miles on average and then bust out a random 13-14 miles. What is the trick to being able to do that?? I have been running for over a year now and am lucky to make it 5 miles on a "long" run. I think that I am doing something wrong? On a normal month I run at least a 5k most days of the month. Any insight would be great!!

    @johnsonnelly To add on what @shanaber and @grimmeanor said. Some things about the long run. Make sure your long run distance makes up only 25%-33% of your weekly distance. So If you want to do say 10 miles for your long run then your total weekly milage should be somewhere between 30-40 total miles (closer to 40 the better). If not, then try adding miles to the rest of your smaller runs (or add another day of smaller running) before you try to run that bigger long run.

    The other thing is, your pace may be too fast for your long run. You will want to make sure it is an easy conversational pace. That means you should be able to hold a normal conversation with a running partner the whole time without gasping for breath. If you can't, then slow it down. If you run alone, try reciting your ABC's or sing the Happy Birthday song over and over out loud as you run. If you are gasping for breath, slow your pace down.

    And if you are adding total weekly miles, do it slowly. Add only 1 extra mile (then what you did last week) per week. It takes time to build up your mileage safely. And as the summer heat approaches, it will get even harder.

  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    karllundy wrote: »
    SonicDeathMonkey80 wrote: »
    120mi, through May 17th

    What's May 17th? Did I miss something?

    My mileage is subject to the 3-week blocks of training my coach gives me. It's also going to be slightly lower this summer because I'm training for 5K's and a 10 miler. And I'm ok with that because summer running just sucks :p
  • rockinrodders123
    rockinrodders123 Posts: 22 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Failed miserably in April due to a holiday followed by illness but I'm going for 100km in May


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  • MaggieB_1993
    MaggieB_1993 Posts: 1 Member
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    Just getting back into running, so I'll start with a realistic goal. Thanks for doing this!

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  • halfrunnerJ
    halfrunnerJ Posts: 7 Member
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    I am new to the group. I am aiming for 50 miles this month.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    5hoodie wrote: »
    Just starting out running. My sister and her husband love it. I have yet to find the "fun" in it. I am hoping this will help keep me motivated to work past the initial pain and learning curve. My goal is 25 miles. I am not planning to count the walks that I take to help my mom with her fitness goals. Thanks!

    @5hoodie Stick with this group and I am almost positive you will find running a little bit more interesting. :-)

  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    OK all, if you have not signed up for the group page, I encourage you to do so. Please join here:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/21182-monthly-running-challenges


    I just started a new thread under announcements that I would like everyone to participate in. It is called, Where Are You From? And the short cut is here:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10151108/where-are-you-from

    What it says, "I want to see how many from the group live near each other? Meeting fellow runners makes it more fun and encourages you to stick with it. It also gives you accountability just like this virtual group aims to do. Maybe a few of you guys that kind of live near each other could agree to sign up for the same race and meet up before or afterwards. Or maybe if you live really close, you may have just found yourself a good running partner."

    So put down where you are from. Check back in a few days and reread what everyone wrote. Find some new friends that live nearby. Be an encouragement to each other.

    Also, check out the amazing stories that people wrote in "Introduce Yourself". If you haven't checked it out lately, go back and re-read it. Here is the shortcut:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1269030/introduce-yourself

    Also a lot of good reference material that I have been adding. If you have a question about running or nutritian, look here first. Or if you have a good article you think everyone would enjoy, add it to the list. Look for it here:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1269023/running-related-sites-and-references


    Stan




  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I joined the group- I'd like to be a "runner- lite" because you all know me- barely running and ish... but here I am- trying to get it in. Bestie and i are still hashing details for a competition- but I'm thinking I'd like to have one to keep on track for running.

    Anyway- I'm aiming for 40 again- even though I also failed miserable in April- I think 40 is a reasonable goal damnit.

    so 40 it is!!
  • Timby1
    Timby1 Posts: 294 Member
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    I'm in and going to shoot for the 100 again.

    @cooter_mom --- you're awesome and I think welcome here no matter what!
  • tallfishfarmer
    tallfishfarmer Posts: 2 Member
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    First time running since 2009.


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  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,660 Member
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    In.
  • JennieMaeK
    JennieMaeK Posts: 470 Member
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    My first running challenge. I'm aiming for 60 km.


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  • corinne1977
    corinne1977 Posts: 144 Member
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    Well, I didn't make my goal for April so I'll try again.
    85 miles in May

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