January 2020 Monthly Running Challenge

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  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,951 Member
    Thanks for setting us up @Elise4270 . I'm in for 100 miles for January. I'll have to go back and look at my goals for 2019 and set my goals for 2020 in a bit.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    Hi all. I am joining you running folks fresh n rosy (eyed). Running goals are starting from a place I was sitting at a long ways back - feels like I lost a game of snakes ‘n ladders!
    Registered RTY2020, and if I do well enough I will sign up for a hometown HM in May. I am a walk/run kinda gal so steps/duration is my thing cuz the distance naturally racks up when I do the time. Here’s to a year of healthy bodies and fitness adventures, one month at a time. 🤗

    We have teams if you are interested in joining
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    Hi all. I am joining you running folks fresh n rosy (eyed). Running goals are starting from a place I was sitting at a long ways back - feels like I lost a game of snakes ‘n ladders!
    Registered RTY2020, and if I do well enough I will sign up for a hometown HM in May. I am a walk/run kinda gal so steps/duration is my thing cuz the distance naturally racks up when I do the time. Here’s to a year of healthy bodies and fitness adventures, one month at a time. 🤗

    Welcome!
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    Thank you for getting us going for the new year/new decade @Elise4270!

    Updating on teh goals I wrote down for the year in the January 2019 thread:
    1. Race every month of 2019 - Did not accomplish - I did not race in February (back injury, DNS scheduled race) or September (just didn't, I guess). But I did run 22 races total for the year including Spartans and running races.
    2. Successfully finish Spartan Race - YES! And then did 7 more!
    3. New HM PR - closer to 2:00 - NO, did not beat my PR this year
    4. New 5k PR - Also no.
    5. Run a HM in another new state - YES. Two of them, Iowa and Missouri.
    6. Decrease average running pace - MAYBE? A little hard to say because of Spartan races in there and more trail running. Overall I think so but not a huge change.
    7. Real pull-up - YES! But still working on being able to do more than one strict pull-up at a time consistently
    8. Handstand - NO. Never really attempted this. It was a spur of the moment goal. Maybe I will try this year.
    9. Try rock climbing - YES! Loved it, doing it every week now.
    10. Do more yoga - Maybe not more overall, but have done yoga fairly often over the course of the year.
    11. decrease body fat, increase muscle - Not sure about this, should do the body scan at the gym again. I feel like yes, but abdominal area is tough.
    12. don't give up = I would call this a yes.

    I'm still thinking about 2020 goals, but I feel like my focus has changed a lot over the year. I'm less into speed and PR attempts and more into new challenges maybe? I see more hiking, climbing, trail running, and Spartan racing with maybe fewer road races.

    January goal - January can be a dicey month but I'll say 100 miles

    Dang. I say you did great! Well done!
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    edited December 2019
    Here are the teams If you are in the fence about joint joining a RTY team for a minimum of 25USD through RTE.
    Anyone?

    Team A
    1. @adampeart 1000 miles
    2. @seestephierun 800 miles.
    3. @VanVanDiane 300 miles
    4.
    5.
    Total 2100.

    Team B
    1. @Camaramandy648 1300 Miles
    2. @hamsterwheel6 1000 miles
    3.
    4.
    5.
    Total 2300

    Team Bad*ss
    No1! @eleanorhawkins 2020 Miles!!!! 👍

    Team C
    1. @kgirlhart 1000 Miles.
    2.
    3.
    4.
    5.
    Total 1000. Need 1020 miles

    2020 R.I.O.T
    1. @shanaber 1000 Miles
    2. @elise4270 100 Miles 🤫
    3.
    4.
    5.
    Total 1020. Need 900 miles

    Team E
    1.
    2.
    3.
    4.
    5.
    Total
  • noblsheep
    noblsheep Posts: 584 Member
    shanaber wrote: »
    noblsheep wrote: »
    @Elise4270 Thanks for setting us up!

    The plan wants 170 something kms for January, setting my goal at 140km because winter AQ is awful and I need some wiggle room.

    I didn't set any goals last year! Buahahahaha.

    This year, I want to:
    • Work out more consistently. Run 3 times a week, preferably. I need to get out of the mindset that "I need to do exactly the workout prescribed or I'm not going to run", and work toward "even a quick 3km is better than nothing at all". Add more stretching and more running-specific strengthwork into the cycle.
    • Lose 5kg. Right now I'm hovering around 65kg. 60kg is closer to (but still higher than) the upper boundary of optimal racing weight for my height.
    • Eat more carbs. No really. Even before that whack doctor told me it would up my Chi last week, I was thinking about fiddling with my intake because I was getting far more hungry during long runs than back when I was eating whatever I wanted. How to do that while losing weight... it'll be interesting.
    • Racewise, I'm already signed up for an HM and a full in the spring. I'm thinking about a second HM after the marathon. A marathon PR is unlikely, but an HM PR seems possible. Still haven't decided what to race in the second half of the year.

    Doubt I'll do too well on all of them, but doing well on even one of them would be pretty nice.

    @noblsheep - my ortho doctor, years ago recommended Chi running. Essentially relaxing your body and running more naturally. There are books written about it and a website dedicated to it.
    Also when I was having so many problems when running, feeling dizzy, etc. I was referred to a nutritionist who a) increased my daily calories by about 600 and b) increased carbs to be just over 50% of my daily calories (I had been trying to eat way more protein). I have lost weight even while eating more, so it is possible but it does assume you are maintaining a level of activity.

    Yes, I've heard of it but have never tried. Maybe I'll get the book one of these days.

    The Chi in traditional Chinese medicine is a mumble jumble concept that's, basically, the stuff that keeps us animated, pushes forward metabolism, and keeps us from succumbing from every sickness that comes our way. I have no respect for this branch of Chinese medicine, so I was poking fun at the doctor who told me that I needed to eat more carbs to boost my Chi :D

    The plan from your nutritionist seems pretty sound. I'm in a similar position, currently eating far more protein, and in a deficit. I'll try to incorporate a similar approach for a month or two and see what happens. Thanks!
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    Aquarian wrote: »
    I am shyly joining in, considering I am not a runner yet and I am recovering from a right foot fracture. But I will try to walk/ treadmill and jog/run as much as possible.

    My small goal is 100 kms in Jan. let’s see how that goes first.

    Welcome!
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    So I've been thinking this morning and decided that the world is far from perfect, and my current knee issues are likely to be my body telling me it doesn't like the idea of me sustaining my current mileage. I'm considering a few options...

    1. Reduce my distance slightly and stick to this, then increase the mileage a month before race day following the last month of my last training plan: 3 x 5km and 1 x 15km (I'm currently doing 5km, 8km, 5km, 18km and wanted to up the long run to 20km next month)

    2. Dial it back: my target race, the road HM on March 22nd which I'm already signed up for (I'm coming to terms with the fact that a trail HM 3 weeks beforehand would probably be too much) is 12 weeks away so I could cut my mileage right back and start a 12 week training plan now. This would lead to 2 options:
    a. Use the same plan I used last time, ie 4 runs per week
    b. try a 3 run per week plan which spreads the same weekly mileage over 3 runs instead of 4, leaving 2 cross training days and 2 rest days. I would swim one XT day and hike the other.

    Thoughts, opinions? I know I know you're not doctors etc etc etc.

    I would suggest the 12-week plan to get ready for the HM since that is your target race. 3 runs or 4 is a harder question I think could be argued either direction. I would say try one and see how it goes, switch if you need to.
  • Avidkeo
    Avidkeo Posts: 3,190 Member
    Thank you @PastorVincent! Also love your acrobatic squirrel photo.

    Big welcome to the new people joining us!!! Please feel comfortable to jump right in and share, no matter your level or goals. If you run at all, whether slow as a sloth or fast as a cheetah, even if not currently running due to injury, etc, you're a runner and you are among friends!

    Still working on my goals but I thought I'd share this - someone in my run group shared it on facebook so all I have is this jpeg but it might be a fun way to track running/workout days throughout the year. I wish it could be colored in digitally though.

    rtd5uv43xpx9.jpg

    Awesome!

    Though we get a bonus day this year, lol