My First RAWR Month Take Away
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btsinmd
Posts: 921 Member
So I'm set to fulfill my RAWR goal for April 7-May 6. I will have no trouble getting the running in today and tomorrow.
It was both a good and a non so good goal choice for me. My goal was 30 active minutes each day, which didn't seem too hard. I did alter it before the start and allowed myself to do 12K steps instead, and used that one early on, but it wasn't really necessary I have found. I also found that I really should have given myself a rest day or just a different activity day. It turned out, as I suspected, that only running was able to count as active minutes according to the pedometer I have. This meant that to get the 30+ active minutes I must run for at least 30 minutes every day. This past weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday, I could have easily just done the 12k steps, but ran anyway because I had a streak going.
Some impacts:
- I did not increase my long run because I really physically couldn't
- I got in more miles running this month than I had ever done in any month in my life, but at least 50% of the runs, once I got to 7 days a week, were about 2.5 miles which takes me a bit over 30 minutes.
- I would rather have done two longer runs in the week than three 2.5 mile ones and I know that now, but probably wouldn't have done the two longer runs instead without having to do the shorter ones so often. I went from running 3 times a week to running 7 times a week by the end of the month. I now know that 5 or 6 days a week really is doable for me.
- I found places where I could run when it was dark later/late at night and still feel safe.
- I really can run even when everything seems stacked against it.
- I think that some of my runs were really poor quality, very slow, even for me, runs of only 2.5 miles. Done just to get them in. Good? Bad? I don't know, but I did do them.
- One rest day from running a week is sane.
I'm going to keep up with the running, but aim for 5 to 6 days per week now and try to make the shorter runs of better quality, as intervals, farklets, or hill workouts.
It was both a good and a non so good goal choice for me. My goal was 30 active minutes each day, which didn't seem too hard. I did alter it before the start and allowed myself to do 12K steps instead, and used that one early on, but it wasn't really necessary I have found. I also found that I really should have given myself a rest day or just a different activity day. It turned out, as I suspected, that only running was able to count as active minutes according to the pedometer I have. This meant that to get the 30+ active minutes I must run for at least 30 minutes every day. This past weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday, I could have easily just done the 12k steps, but ran anyway because I had a streak going.
Some impacts:
- I did not increase my long run because I really physically couldn't
- I got in more miles running this month than I had ever done in any month in my life, but at least 50% of the runs, once I got to 7 days a week, were about 2.5 miles which takes me a bit over 30 minutes.
- I would rather have done two longer runs in the week than three 2.5 mile ones and I know that now, but probably wouldn't have done the two longer runs instead without having to do the shorter ones so often. I went from running 3 times a week to running 7 times a week by the end of the month. I now know that 5 or 6 days a week really is doable for me.
- I found places where I could run when it was dark later/late at night and still feel safe.
- I really can run even when everything seems stacked against it.
- I think that some of my runs were really poor quality, very slow, even for me, runs of only 2.5 miles. Done just to get them in. Good? Bad? I don't know, but I did do them.
- One rest day from running a week is sane.
I'm going to keep up with the running, but aim for 5 to 6 days per week now and try to make the shorter runs of better quality, as intervals, farklets, or hill workouts.
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Replies
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That sounds like a whole lot of learning. I had a similar experience with Jantastic. Even though there are things that probably would have been better done differently, pushing beyond your boundaries has given you a different perspective on your constraints.
My Take Away:
I need to spend about 50% of my exercise time building the mechanics to do the movements. Which means I need to devote a little more time.
I need to come up with "daily focuses" for stretching, so that I'm stretching through the day. I also need planned stretch days.
I need to commit to at least 15 miles per week running until I do my 10ks in June. Then I need to start building in 20.0 -
I went with a calorie goal, and there have been a few days where the RAWR challenge has kept me from a snack attack. Having said that, if we end up doing another one I will likely do something fitness based.0
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I failed. I couldn't keep my tracking going. I caved under the pressures of too much life. But...that doesn't mean I won't dust myself off and try again. The good news is, eventhough I didn't keep up with tracking my calories, I did maintain my current weight exactly thoughout the period. So I succeeded in result, if not in execution.0
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That's really interesting Donna. My Fitbit counts brisk walking as active minutes so I am able to get in at least an hour just by walking to work and walking my dog.
My challenge was calorie based as I was injured, it was tough as there were days I burned a lot of calories but couldn't go over 2000 calories gross, I think there was one day my net calories were 490! Now I am (relatively) injury free I hope to concentrate on my fitness.0 -
I failed. I couldn't keep my tracking going. I caved under the pressures of too much life. But...that doesn't mean I won't dust myself off and try again. The good news is, eventhough I didn't keep up with tracking my calories, I did maintain my current weight exactly thoughout the period. So I succeeded in result, if not in execution.
I would count that as a stumble not as a failure. You've had a great track record for months.0 -
That's really interesting Donna. My Fitbit counts brisk walking as active minutes so I am able to get in at least an hour just by walking to work and walking my dog.
My challenge was calorie based as I was injured, it was tough as there were days I burned a lot of calories but couldn't go over 2000 calories gross, I think there was one day my net calories were 490! Now I am (relatively) injury free I hope to concentrate on my fitness.
Yikes. Let's not do gross calories again.0 -
i really appreciated the focus. I came home tonight bone tired, mostly a result of jet lag from having been away for five days. My goal, though not stated quite like this, was 5000 steps per day, minimum, and three days where I achieved 10,000 steps. I was successful at this. And I pushed myself to make the 10,000 on days when I was closest to doing so, even though I was sometimes exhausted, like today. I liked the accountability. If I were to do anything over, I might set the goal as 50,000 steps per week (I think some programs suggest a minimum of 70,000), and then let things sort themselves out. While there were advantages to having a daily minimum, I didn't really like that I couldn't balance things out over the week, rather than having each day needing to be achieved. Still, it got me out there walking, and that was definitely good!0
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It kept me running. I like running outside, just not on the dreadmill. It bores me to tears. All I do is stare at the counter. It kept me doing it. Now that the weather is consistently 50F and slightly over, my lungs can handle out of doors. Yay!
It also forced me to get back into good habits after a long winter of hibernation.
All good things. Wouldn't mind continuing this each month. Different goals each month. It'll help fine tune things, too.0 -
This was the first time I have ever done any kind of challenge before. I also really liked the focus it brought. I think consistency is really the most important thing, because everybody has off times, but the people who stick with things consistently always succeed.0
