April 2019 Monthly Running Challenge
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falmouthfan wrote: »Hi, just about to get started on getting fit again and need some inspiration to get me going. I would rather count minutes run rather than miles covered at least to begin with. I there a challenge for that?
In any case I am signing up for 150 minutes of running in my first month. Now that I have said it, I will have to do it
@falmouthfan tracking minutes is every bit as appropriate for this thread as tracking distance. In this thread you set your own rules for what you track and do it your way. We're all here to support you. Welcome!11 -
I have a HM race on the 13th, so I'll have a small taper for that, and then at some point I'll have another week of being on-call, so I reckon maybe somewhere in the region of 220 miles for this month.13
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I'm in for 85 miles in April. Monday's are rest days so I will have to wait until tomorrow to start.
Monthly questions:
I don't follow any particular diet. I just eat whatever foods I like in amounts that meet my calorie goal. I have found over the years that restrictive diets do not work for me. I don't think I would ever be happy eating low carb or doing Keto. Nothing will make me crave a food more than telling myself I cannot have it. I lost ~80 pounds just restricting calories. (I actually was only restricting calories for the first 60. Then I started running and I have had to make a conscious effort to eat enough because the last 15-20 pounds I was not actually trying to lose.) I do try to make sure I get enough protein. I never have trouble getting enough fat and I don't pay attention to carbs at all. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, but I also eat candy and fast food and some processed foods. I have at least some chocolate almost every day. I don't have a problem with potato chips. I eat them occasionally, but most of the time I don't think they are worth the calories. Cookies and cakes are harder for me to moderate, so I just try to get single serving packages. I usually run mostly fasted. In the morning I have coffee (with sugar and half & half) before most of my runs. I might have some crackers or toast before a long run or race and I will use energy chews during a long run. If I run at lunch or during the afternoon I just eat as usual during the day. I have only done a couple of HMs and I sort of carb load, but not really. I just usually eat pasta the night before a race. But I have pasta a couple of times a week, so that isn't really any different than what I normally eat.
I've never been one to do a lot of April Fool's pranks.11 -
Thank you ALL very much for the monthly question input (@elise4270,@rheddmobile,@avidkeo,@eleanorhawkins,@noblsheep,@Squish815,@quilteryoyo,@7lenny7,@kgirlhart)!
I 100% agree that cutting out an entire food group is not realistic, at that is not my desire. I just want to significantly reduce the amount of processed food (and specifically carbs) that I take in a day. My average has been between 170g - 230g per day (my calorie intake is usually less than about 1400). I have been concentrating on reducing that in the past 6 days, and have been in the 60g - 90g neighborhood. It is hard, but I have been staying away from the cracker snacks, oatmeal
, high sugar fruit,etc. I have never been a consumer of soda, sweets, chips, candy. So really my only 'junk' food is crackers, bread, rice, high sugar fruit. Reducing those, and increasing consumption of meats and cheeses SEEMS to have reduced my hunger between meals. But am going to see if it can also reduce my 'bloated' feeling.
Thanks again y'all! This is such a supportive and informative group!6 -
I'm in for 40 miles this month! Hello spring running!!
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@Scott6255 Why such a low calorie goal? Aren’t you already at normal BMI? And a pretty good sized male?1
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I'm in for 25 miles this month! Just made 20 miles in March and my goal was 25. Not too far off.
Mar 2- 2mi
Mar 5-2mi
Mar 6-1.8mi
Mar 16-1.9mi
Mar 18-2mi
Mar 19-1.9mi
Mar 20-2mi
Mar 23-1.9mi
Mar 28-1.9mi
Mar 31-1.0mi4 -
@rheddmobile I don't know, that just what a day works out to be. I don't consciously restrict calories per se, just try to eat responsibly. I am on the smaller side of a 'good sized male' (5ft. 4in., 128 lbs.) But as I age, the gut expands
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No run yet in April, but I did go to the chiropractor this morning for my sore left hamstring and hip. I was fairly stressed out during the appointment and felt like I was on the edge of another panic attack until I realized something - I’m embarrassed about asking for help with this. As a person with social anxiety, embarrassment is my kryptonite, and while this isn't the only stressful thing going on right now, it's certainly a big one.
I’m not sure why exactly I'm embarrassed about this, but just identifying what I was feeling made me feel a little better. Maybe I feel like I’ve overreacted by worrying about it and taking a week off of running and lifting, maybe I feel like I’m not “really” an athlete so I don’t deserve to complain, maybe I’m worried that I caused this by racing the day after a massage or by getting out the habit of doing the strengthening exercises the chiropractor recommended when I went in with knee issues a year or so ago. Maybe some of all of the above.
A couple of hours after the appointment my hip is feeling better, but I do wish that either the massage therapist or the chiropractor had taken a little time to talk to me about it, if only to reassure me that I didn’t do something wrong or overreact, or tell me that I did so I can correct that in the future. This particular clinic is generally very quick turnover, which I usually appreciate, but a little reassurance would have been nice today and I didn’t have it in me to ask.
I did ask if it was okay to get back to running and lifting and the chiropractor said yes, so I’m going to try both either this afternoon or tomorrow and see how that goes. Fortunately the vet visit this AM went pretty well and kitty seems to be on the mend. Unfortunately my husband has come down with something, so we’ve traded one barfing mammal for another. So it goes.15 -
@rheddmobile I don't know, that just what a day works out to be. I don't consciously restrict calories per se, just try to eat responsibly. I am on the smaller side of a 'good sized male' (5ft. 4in., 128 lbs.) But as I age, the gut expands
Hehe. 1400. Sorry its "funny" to see a guy have to eat so little when they usually eat so much more than the opposite sex.
I have to set mine intentionally low, because I'm a food liar... If you're runs suffer, dont be afraid to tweak it.5 -
Jumping in to share some exciting (for me) news!
I've taken to weighing daily since the beginning of Feb - so much better and its interesting where my fluxuations actually happen. For example for the last couple of months I've gained a little right before I ovulate, then drop off dramatically just before my period. The complete opposite of what I would have expected. I'm really good at ignoring the daily weight and just looking st the trend - until this morning...
I started this particular weightless journey in January 2016 (I was a typical yo-yo dieter for YEARS, losing and gaining the same 10kg/20lb). I was obese, with a BMI of 33. Today, for the first time in my entire adult life, I am not obese, I am not even overweight. This morning my BMI is 24.8!!!!
I have been overweight or obese my entire adult life, from at least the age of 17. Now I'm running most day, have done a HM, am training for another and all my health markers are perfect!! My next goal is to lose the last little bit to get down to closer to the mid range of healthy weight for my height so I have some wiggle room. Yes I'm well aware that my weight may well bounce back up tomorrow, but for today I'm taking the victory!!!
I'm so so happy!
*yes I know BMI is a crap metric but given I'm an average person, it's a good one for me to use in this situation.25 -
01/04 1.73 miles - I'm going to give the April streak on RTY a go.
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I'm aiming for 100 miles this month.
1/4- 4.3 miles
Total -4.3/10010 -
I'm going to try to run 60 miles8
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@Avidkeo YAY THAT IS SO AWESOME I'M YELLING IT!!!!
@Scott6255 Wow I really feel for you. I'll stop complaining about mine being so low and blaming it on being a small woman after reading that. I have however (may or may not be helpful or of interest but I'm throwing it out there) found that I've been able to increase my maintenance calories very very slightly since I've started strength training religiously 3 days per week. I've gone from 1350 to 1450 and that extra 100 makes me a much happier person :-)
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@rheddmobile I don't know, that just what a day works out to be. I don't consciously restrict calories per se, just try to eat responsibly. I am on the smaller side of a 'good sized male' (5ft. 4in., 128 lbs.) But as I age, the gut expands
Ah, you’re smaller than I realized. Still, 1400 is lower than the lowest MFP will recommend for a man, no wonder you’re hungry!
I pulled a running related April Fool’s joke on my husband, told him we were changing up our run today based on me signing up for a marathon in the Grand Tetons which would require us to stop by the running store for breathing masks in order to practice our running at altitude. I couldn’t maintain a straight face but since he was half asleep he bought it for about five minutes.13 -
@Avidkeo YEAH!!!! That's fantastic!
@MegaMooseEsq Glad your hip and hamstring are feeling better, that you avoided a panic attack, and that you were cleared to run! All great things. Sorry the DH is sick. Glad the kitten is on the mend.5 -
4/1 R=2.25 miles W=1.7 miles
At 52°F, today was a little chilly compared to Saturday's 72°F. After the walk, I started to come in and run on the treadmill...my ears were cold! But, I'm glad I opted for outdoors after I finished. I did run multiple laps on my driveway today, which is a little bit of a harder course than running out the road. I decided to sprint on the hill that is hardest for me, instead of running slower than I can walk and wishing I'd just get to the top! At least I got there faster.
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Oh boy, already 4 pages in on the first of the month, lol.
So, this will be my first monthly goal in months! I just checked Strava and I ran 39.3 miles in March. So, I am setting a goal of 50 miles for April.
I have a 5k this Saturday and my annual Run For the Wild 5k at the Bronx Zoo the last Saturday of the month! One of my favorite races ever and my 5th year in a row participating/fundrasing! If anyone is an animal-lover like me and wants to help out giraffes, my fundraiser page is here - https://my.wcs.org/fundraiser/1836605
Question of the month: I'm another 'calories in vs calories out' person - I don't deal well with cutting out or seriously reducing entire food groups, lol
2019 Race List
Bill Fortune 5k - 4/6
Run For the Wild 5k - 4/27
Women's Distance Festival 5k - 7/13
South Nyack 10 Miler - 9/8
Marine Corps Marathon - 10/27
WDW Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon - 11/3 (possibly I'm crazy registering for this the weekend after what will hopefully be my 1st marathon, lol)
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PastorVincent wrote: »
News finally starting to report...
https://runningmagazine.ca/trail-running/barkley-marathons-2019-ends-with-no-finishers/
I've got a picture in my head of John Kelly tapping himself out, with that meme that says "He's right, you know". If you aren't enjoying what you're doing, why are you doing it?
(I realize there may be some legitimate answers at times that would cause us to keep going at what we're doing, but it's an important question to ask ourselves.)2 -
@Avidkeo Hooray! I’m also an average sized person and BMI also represents me well - when I was morbidly obese I was sick and barely able to walk, when obese I could walk easily but not run easily, when overweight I could run but not as well as I wanted to. So happy for you being healthy and strong!9
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Just scraped in my 40;miles for March, need to do 50 in April.9
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polskagirl01 wrote: »
I've got a picture in my head of John Kelly tapping himself out, with that meme that says "He's right, you know". If you aren't enjoying what you're doing, why are you doing it?
(I realize there may be some legitimate answers at times that would cause us to keep going at what we're doing, but it's an important question to ask ourselves.)
Personally, I am tapping myself out of that race for the foreseeable future. I mean I do not mind a hard race, but that is just beyond... well, just beyond. 
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When you get that email
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I'm in for 36 miles this month, with a stretch goal of 50.
Question #1: I've followed a variety of diets in the past, using the definition of "a special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons". Never did keto though. I couldn't give up carbs like that. I tried.
My husband and I followed a whole foods plant based diet (WFPB) for about 6 months after his father's heart attack, and I loved it. Then our youngest son and his wife came to live with us when he got out of the Army, and it just became too much work. I had been batch cooking, which meant I didn't do anything but shop, prepare and cook every weekend.
So right now I choose to use the definition of diet that is "the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats". I prefer WFPB for so many reasons, but don't restrict anything at the moment. I'm trying to lose fat by tracking and being mindful of portion sizes, changing my lifestyle in the hopes that it will stick. So far, so good.
Question #2: No April Fools jokes here. My cousin's kids made her lunch today though. She loves toothpaste Oreos.
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Wow, April 1st and already 5 pages. Talk about keeping you on your toes. Needless to say, I did not read the entire thread, so not much to comment. I did catch the great news of @avidkeo. Way to go on the weight loss!
Also, @scott6255 's monthly question. Like many of you answered, I don't do any specific diet but I do eat less carbs than most people because they tend to make me want to snack all day or make me really tired. I think that eating a diet higher in fat and protein has helped my body to burn fat for fuel more efficiently and I think it has helped overall in races. I do carb load for marathons and fuel with carbs during the race. I generally have to ramp my carbs up slowly about 2 weeks prior to my race to avoid too many digestive issues when I try to consume massive amounts of carbs all at once. Most of my carb loading comes from rice, potatoes, gluten free pancakes and fruit juices.
I am in for April, but I have no idea where to set my goal. The first half of the month will be tapering, marathon mid month, then who knows after that. If history is any indication, I will be too sore and burned out at the end of the month to add any impressive mileage. I am going to put my goal at 60, but I am not going to hurt myself to get there!11 -
50? Don't know. I started a 1/2 marathon training plan. I hope to follow it. Three days a week of running. 12/13 miles a week. Yeah, okay, 50 miles in April.13
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@Elise4270 Happy Birthday (its the 2nd here)4
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@Elise4270 Happy Birthday (its the 2nd here)
Thanks!!! I'll take it! Whoo! You have any cake??? 😁6 -
Thanks!!! I'll take it! Whoo! You have any cake??? 😁
Always got cake! I wish they invented a teleport machine. seriously!4
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