April 2019 Monthly Running Challenge

noblsheep · April 2019

0401-5k total-5k, goal-100k

First run of the month done. Took forever to warm up. Felt great once that happened, but by then I was almost done.

Glutes are still sore from the mountains on Saturday.

Re: Keto. I'm doing a kinda-low-carb diet, which means I don't actively include so-called staple food in my prepped meals. Anyone who ever lived in Eastern Asia can tell you that here, it's not a normal thing to do. So my colleagues give me Looks. But I've found it helps greatly with post lunch drowsiness, and I'm not trying to eat everything in sight by 5pm. That said, I still get plenty of carbs through stuff like potatoes and fruit, and dare I say it hasn't impacted my running much. The runger tends to be very much carb-directed though.

Edit: A colleague just walked by with layer pancakes with sugar and sesame butter. Now the smell is trying to kill me.

Squish815 · April 2019

Hello everyone, happy April!

I'm setting a small mileage goal for the month as I know the time I'll be free to go for a run will be patchy (new nephew, mum still healing from an ankle fracture, best friends wedding where I am a bridesmaid annnnd overtime at work is from about now until the end of May). SO my actual goal for April will just be to run a total of at least 5 miles a week which means I am aiming for at least 20 miles for the month. This means even if I can only fit my runs in on the treadmill while at the gym, I can hit my goal!

Scott6255 wrote: »

I'll go ahead and pose a group question.
It may have been asked before, but at least not recently that I know of. As I have admitted recently, I am addicted to carbs. So in that vein, I am wondering...

How many of you have Keto or low-carb lifestyle? How has it benefited (or harmed) your running / day-to-day life?

I do not, but that's because I also have an addiction to carbs! I also find I feel fuller on carbs and protein so I don't see the point of reducing the amount of carbs I eat. I can only imagine how much of a grump I'd be if I had to reduce the amount of bread I ate...

polskagirl01 · April 2019

March Totals: 214.2 km run, 34.7 km biked or hiked
Goals: Run 100+ miles DONE!
Stay healthy & keep up with marathon training plan DONE!
April Goals: same as last month. 6 weeks to marathon!!!

4/1 - 5.7 km dirt track ([email protected] w/350 recovery)

Played it safe and quit early. Aches & pains weren't bad enough to stop today, but I felt it might've been enough to stop this week's 20-miler if I pushed it today. I want to run that marathon in May more than I wanted to check off this week's speedwork.

The snail is me attempting to avoid injury by sneaking past the hungry chicks.

Elise4270 · April 2019

eleanorhawkins wrote: »

Avidkeo wrote: »

Re: monthly question. I'm pretty anti diet. I kinda go with the calories in/calories out philosophy. I've lost about 50lb in the last 2 years just by eating less and moving more - an aside, that answer ticks off a lot of people who want to know my 'secret'.

Things like Keto etc are just another way to reduce calories. Frankly I think you do you. If Keto works for you, yay! That's awesome. But no, it's not a wonder diet that will cure society.

This is also me almost entirely. I couldn't restrict carbs if I tried, I pretty much run for carbs! If I don't get a lot of carbs I'm a miserable grumpy *kitten*.
My main nutritional Achilles heel is crisps, I did have to rule those out completely as I'm incapable of self-control when it comes to then. My favourite dinner after a bad day at work (which was pretty much every day) was a cheese sandwich (read half a baguette) and half to three quarters of a family pack of crisps. Then I told people I didn't know why I was fat cause I really didn't eat very much :-O
Now I will sometimes (maybe a couple of times a year) allow myself an individual pack when I need a treat and I can fit it in my calories.

Great point here @eleanorhawkins ! Ive also found that certain food behaviors were why I fought the weight up and down. For me it was nachos. Everyday, nachos. Then I’d lie to mfp because “no way that had that many calories “. And pizza, and I gave up my 5 pie November .

So excellent share. Some of us may benefit from just taming a few foods rather than something so drastic. Unless you have a health condition. I know @midwesterner85 also uses low/no carb to control blood sugar. I commend the dedication you guys make with this. @rheddmobile guess I never caught that you were also in a similar boat. I just have to watch certain food for migraines and gi upset.

I’m not against keto/low carb at all. It can be a good way to start a change. Just be careful. I think of the dirty keto diet now when I hear keto. That can’t be good.

ETA here’s the nutritional runners support group if anyone needs/wants support. Or just want so support others. Or creep. We accept everyone.

ddmom0811 · April 2019

What out for April Fool's jokes today. I'm trying to think of one for my students. A few years ago I got a joke over on a class and they were freaking out. I told them that there was a miscalculation on school days because we thought exam days (1/2 days) counted as full days and they don't. That the school is now one day short for the state required days and that we were going to be making up a day of school on a Saturday. I acted furious about it, like I did not want to teach on a Saturday, this is outrageous, etc. I don't know why they believed me but they were so mad. It was first period and they were probably still asleep - LOL. One boy said "well, I am going to be sick that day" in an angry voice. When they asked me "what Saturday is it?", I said it will be on April 1st. Then someone said "but, that's today" and then they realized it was a joke.

Anyway on to April goals.
70 miles. I did 78 in March but I expect to be cycling more so that cuts into it.
I hate not running on the 1st but the 68 miles on bike yesterday did me in.

April 1 -

nothing yet

0/70

Elise4270 · April 2019

Hahaha! @ddmom0811 that’s spectacular!

Monthly question #2
Share an April fools encounter you had!

Me? Every year in grade school I’d say, “tomorrow’s my birthday” no one ever believed me. Tomorrow is my birthday. I’m not a great prankster.

Tramboman · April 2019

4-1 Rest

April Total: 0k
April Goal: 150k

Next year when you pop in here claiming your December 2019 mileage, what accomplishments will you have made?
Run at least 4 5k races.
Get under 30:00 and a PR for 5k.
Average at least 135k per month, which would put me over 1,000 miles for the year.

Run the Year Team: Five for Nineteen

Scheduled rest day today. Thought about putting 50k for today, followed by "April Fool," but I didn't.

2019 Races:

4-13 Shine the Light 5K (Registered)
6-1 Freedom 5K (Will be off the schedule due to another commitment)
6-30 Strides for Starfish 5K

infinicca · April 2019

New but in. I'm not sure what I can achieve as a goal so I'm setting it for 40 miles in April with a stretch of 50, which seems reasonable? I'm not a daily runner, and of course today it's iced over and snowy out! 😆

I think I did this correctly.

simpletonuk · April 2019

Hi, I've been running ages but it's been a long time since I set a specific goal. So I'm in for 60, if that's alright

PastorVincent · April 2019

For those that were following it... Barkley won again. No finishers at this year’s race. Brutal race!

simpletonuk · April 2019

PastorVincent · April 2019

PastorVincent wrote: »

For those that were following it... Barkley won again. No finishers at this year’s race. Brutal race!

News finally starting to report...
https://runningmagazine.ca/trail-running/barkley-marathons-2019-ends-with-no-finishers/

hanlonsk · April 2019

So, I am still alive. Just really in an antisocial funk. And so haven’t been posting. The first half of March was pretty rough weather wise. Like, to the point that my glimmer of hope/access to a treadmill was cut off due to weather. I realize my access to a treadmill in this town is sketchy at best, but I still decided it was pretty rough when the weather is so bad you “can’t” run on a treadmill.

After the 20th I actually was consistent, but pretty short mileage still, and so didn’t even reach my little goal. I am still upping my goal for April from 30 miles to 40 miles because I’m either going to at least get to that darned treadmill, or the weather might actually turn so a person could *gasp* run outside. And maybe if I’m running more, I will push off my antisocial ness enough to actually come say hi.

In other news @hoshaugh73 did I see bridges to brews on your race list on your March post? My best friend / running buddy talked me into going to Portland with her to see my family when she is there for a conference. Once she knew I was captive, she then signed us up for a race. So, I too will be running (wogging, maybe even walking if I don’t meet above goals) bridges to brews! (This May be the closest I come to an mrc’r in real life!)

quilteryoyo · April 2019

I agree with @Avidkeo. Calories in/calories out is the only way I have found to control my weight - of which I haven't done a very good job lately, but I'm working on it. I too am a carbohydrate addict @Scott6255. I tried the Atkins diet back in the day. It worked for me, but I found it wasn't a lifestyle I could live with. So, I now go with the idea of moderation and don't cut out any entire food group. Now that I know I really need to do better at controlling my blood pressure (due to the aneurysm) I'm trying to eat less salty things. I understand that may be an issue as I up my running distances and it gets hotter. I'll just have to add in some Gatorade or allow more sodium on those days.
@eleanorhawkins Are "crisps" the same thing we call potato chips here in the USA? If so, I have the same addiction and do have to not allow them in the house or they are gone in a flash.
@ddmom0811 HAHAHA! That's the best April Fools joke ever!
@Elise4270 I was never big into April Fools jokes, but every year my dad would say, "Look at those 5 white horses coming down the road." (Yes, we live in a rural area where that would be possible.) Of course, after the first year we knew it was a joke, but it was our "tradition" that we carried on for years.

eleanorhawkins · April 2019

@quilteryoyo yes!

hoshaugh73 · April 2019

I'm in for 80 miles! Last month I beat my 75 mile goal by 1.75 miles, not much, but I was on vacation for a week and didn't track.

Happy running everyone!

quilteryoyo · April 2019

@eleanorhawkins They have been my downfall for my entire life. I can make a meal out of a huge bag of chips and a bowl of dip. Crispy, carby, and salty. My three favorite things in one!

Sparx_81 · April 2019

Hoping April will be kinder to me than march was! Was hit with a viral infection which has completely knocked the stuffing out of me, I've been so tired and slow towards the end of the month!

Plan was to do Kungsholmen runt in Stockholm in may but I'll have to see how quick I fully recover. I'm on week 3 of a plan and I should be on week 5!

In for 80km anyway and we'll see how I go. Still planning to try to get a spot in the Dublin marathon....

falmouthfan · April 2019

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

7lenny7 · April 2019

@scott6255 good question.

In general I avoid any diet which has a name. I try to minimize refined carbs, highly processed foods, and calorie dense foods". I don't completely avoid them, but I try to minimize cereal, crackers, sugars, sodas, juice, cookies, chips, fries, beer, etc. I try to increase veggies, fruits (other than high sugar fruits like pineapple, kiwi, mango, bananas, oranges) and meat. I have no interest in keto or LCHF, but the effect of my strategy has been to lower my carb consumption and increase my fat and protein consumption, but not nearly to the extent of the Keto/LCHF dogmas.

I still have pain in my Achilles today, particularly my left, which has never given me a bit of trouble before. My Saturday run was clearly too much for me. I'll avoid running until I have at least one day with no pain. Hopefully I'll be back at it this weekend though I may have to rethink my back to back long runs planned for the weekend. Thankfully I have enough time before my race to get this sorted out as long as I'm smart about it.

@ContraryMaryMary I know calf raises are something all runners should do on a routine basis, but like most things runners should do, I don't do them very often. I did try a couple of them and after I felt a sharp pain, I quit. No more of that for a while.

April 2019 Monthly Running Challenge

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