January 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

AlphaHowls · January 2023

@quilteryoyo wrote: »

Welcome @ptabibian ! Is that 500 miles on your ticker your goal for the year? You may already know this, since I don't know how much you are currently running, but don't increase your mileage too fast or you'll risk injury. Are you using a training plan to get ready for your half? Will this be your first? @Alphahowls gets up at 4 am, I think. Me? Nope. I am not a morning person.

Yes indeed! I get up at 4 AM to get started. Sure was nice during the week off that I did not have to get up some mornings. *sighs* Back into the grind tomorrow!

kgirlhart · January 2023

I'm curious for those who run first thing in the morning. How long are you up before you run? I usually get up around 4:30 but it takes me about an hour to have a cup of coffee, use the restroom, put in my contacts and get dressed. I am not naturally a morning person, so it just takes me a while to wake up and get moving.

SummerSkier · January 2023

back to the grind here tomorrow also. Already set my alarm and plugged my flashers in since it will be dark for another month still.

@kgirlhart the same. I need an HOUR after I get up before I am mentally and physically able to go out the door to run. I am a morning person but my body needs that coffee and time awake.

I had 4 days off and I only managed to sleep in an extra hour for most of them. I still like to run early as the sun is coming up. Something about that sky.

Good question

martaindale · January 2023

kgirlhart wrote: »

@martaindale Have you posted a link for us to track you yet?

Runner tracking doesn't seem to be up yet, but I will definitely post it as soon as I get it. I can't remember if I usually see it ahead of time or if it was something I usually get at the expo. Either way, would be Wednesday at the latest. I would love it if you guys followed along!

kgirlhart wrote: »

I'm curious for those who run first thing in the morning. How long are you up before you run?

I need 45 mins to an hour too. The only exception is when I am squeezing in a 3 mile before I have to be at work. Those days it's up at 5:30, out the door by 5:45. Anything longer requires a bit of food and caffeine.

martaindale · January 2023

@Fit2btied2016 Good job getting out there and doing something. Sometimes that's all we can do. I am glad you are feeling relief and hope it helps you move forward in healing.

Dawebberz1 · January 2023

Hi, my 2023 goals are to exercise more and portion control my food. I also want to do another 10k. I have been striving for 3 runs a week, which range from 2-3 miles each time.

tarun_yadavA · January 2023

@kgirlhart I'm a morning (empty stomach!?) runner too... I need about 90 mins.
Pint of water, Chai, drop my youngest at school, bathroom, log in to work... And then go.

(One of the reasons why I'm a bit iffy about running a full marathon. Aside from a couple of 'rogue' exceptions, literally everyone -virtual or known- is saying I need to eat something before long running. I would need to figure out how to make that work)

eleanorhawkins · January 2023

tarun_yadavA wrote: »

@kgirlhart I'm a morning (empty stomach!?) runner too... I need about 90 mins.
Pint of water, Chai, drop my youngest at school, bathroom, log in to work... And then go.

(One of the reasons why I'm a bit iffy about running a full marathon. Aside from a couple of 'rogue' exceptions, literally everyone -virtual or known- is saying I need to eat something before long running. I would need to figure out how to make that work)

I need an hour from alarm to out the door to run, too. In my case it's 2 mugs of coffee, something to eat if it'll be more than an hour or so, bathroom.
@tarun_yadavA start working on it now. You can train yourself, and especially your stomach, but it takes time and consistency and lots of experimenting. Start off really small, like with one bite of a banana or bite of toast or something, and very gradually work your way up. Having said that, you're fast and run on roads so you probably could do a marathon on a slice or two of toast first then a few gels during. OR come run trails and we'll teach you to run down hills with a slice of cake in one hand 😈
ETA: also, sorry but it's too late to be iffy about it, you have inadvertantly committed to it now and we're all witnesses! Go find a plan and a race :-p

YvonneB01 · January 2023

My goal is to walk and hike 1,000 miles like I do every year.
In addition to it, I finally want to run a 5k. I walk 5k, 10k, and half marathons and hike between 10-35 miles, but I have never run any of these distances. Because of my severe asthma, I have never tried to run.

I power walked 10.6 miles yesterday and then 4 miles on the treadmill today. I ran 1.5 of these miles today at a leisurely pace. And I felt okay doing so.

polskagirl01 · January 2023

marisap2010 wrote: »

Happy New Year everyone! Sorry I keep going MIA. Ever since my marathon went poorly, I have been in such a running funk. I feel so much better (health-wise and mental health-wise) when I am running though, so I started following a 10K plan last week that has me running 3-4 times per week. I do have a goal of walking at least a mile on any non-running day to keep me moving. I really hope I will keep it up. I'm also trying to do Les Mills BodyCombat 3 times per week for at least 30 minutes.

Getting in a funk is understandable. I think the post-marathon blues are even worse when we don't get the results we wanted. Your running mojo will hopefully be back soon.

@tarun_yadavA that sounds like a tough reset goal you're doing for January! "Go hard or go home" seems to be your style though, so I'm sure you can do it if you're determined. I'd imagine the first few weeks/days will be the toughest, until you get used to the new routine. We'll be cheering you on! Oh, and you're going to do a marathon. We know it, and you know it. 😁 The details like nutrition will be part of the process. Start small. Toast, fruit, etc... your body adapts to what you expect of it.

tarun_yadavA · January 2023

Good morning everyone! 😊
Got my 'usual' 9K in

@polskagirl01 - Haha. I am seriously contemplating it. I've got to 20 at good pace. Rest is mental I suppose.
@eleanorhawkins - bite of a banana sounds a good plan. Just scared of reflux-y responses further down the line.

Speaking of marathons... Good luck Sarah! @martaindale !!
Let us know how first one goes (that should be a nice gentle ease-in!)

Laurz9191 · January 2023

@tarun_yadavA I completely agree with the others about the marathon! We will definitely cheer you on!

I also used to have serious issues eating before running. This was a big problem in school because we didn’t have our running training until 2 pm and, I ate lunch every day, because I was hungry. Sometimes I REALLY regretted it while I was running but it did help me figure out what my body could (fruits, grains, yogurt) and couldn’t digest (things involving butter and oil - cookies = very bad). What about just experimenting with small amounts and see how your body reacts?

You weren’t the only one overdoing the holidays. I am also on a “hard reset“ hopefully for forever when it comes to alcohol, because I figure why not just not drink at all.

@marisap2010 I also had a bad marathon experience. Maybe it’s the reason I’ve only ever run one marathon. It was in 2005 in Paris and I was studying abroad here in Germany at the time and I was horribly undertrained but I did it anyway. The first half went fine, but the second half…. If I do run a marathon again (maybe next year or the year after), I will make sure I have prepared my body a bit better.

@martaindale I am also so excited for you and your races! I hope it is a great experience!

So today I got in my first run of the year. I was quite sore from going all out in my 10 k on New Year’s Eve and then having a last night of drinking, so I didn’t feel ready to run before. I got 15.1km in. It was a nice run and we are back to having winter again here after our one-day warm weather break, so lots of layers, hat, headband, but the sun did make an appearance

.

martaindale · January 2023

Alright gang, looks like runner tracking is coming online. When I logged in I only see the 10k but the longer distances should be loading. My bib number across all 4 races is 21353 in case you need to input that somewhere.
https://track.rtrt.me/e/WDW-WDW-2023#/tracker/RUMCYTHD/focus

quilteryoyo · January 2023

Sounds like you did great @marisap2010 .

Welcome @Dawebberz1 . That sounds like a sound plan to reach your goals.

Welcome and nice workout @YvonneB01 . I hope your asthma allows you to meet your goal of running a 5K. It sounds like you have an excellent start toward that goal.

Nice run @tarun_yadavA .

@Laurz9191 Nice running. Good luck with your hard reset too.

Thanks for sharing the tracker @martaindale ! What time do the races start? Sounded like really early since you said you would be getting up at 2:30 am.

eleanorhawkins · January 2023

@tarun_yadavA that's exactly why you start trying things and training your body now, while it doesn't matter if you *kitten* yourself 🤣
As a general rule before a run, fat is bad, fibre is bad, carbs are good. But again, it's very personal. I cannot tolerate ripe bananas before a run, they have to be a little on the green side still. At first it was a bit of banana, then dry toast... now I'm at the point where, unless I'm doing hard speedwork, I can stomach a couple of slices of peanut butter on multigrain toast or a bowl of oats, banana and greek yoghurt and not bat an eyelid.
I realised this morning that I should be officially in marathon training by now. I guess as I'm running regularly anyway I haven't ruined anything by not thinking about it yet, but I should probably make some kind of sensible plan to follow. Going to have to be creative due to a week-long hiking holiday right when my 20-miler would be scheduled on a generic plan for beginners. I'm not sure, options are move it forward a couple of weeks, though some argue I would 'peak too soon' or put it off a couple of weeks, but that wouldn't give me a decent taper... considering my only real goal is to make it round (fully expect to need around 6 hours, especially as friends who have run it tell me there are more hills than they let on) I guess I don't really need to worry about the peaking thing, and that week away will be a lot of time on feet, even if not running.

tarun_yadavA · January 2023

@Laurz9191 hey, thanks for the tip! Glad I'm not the only one who's (instinctively, at least!) not into eating before running.

@eleanorhawkins - peanut butter toast? Ummm... Will try something less 'chunky' to start with.

Planning a long one on Sat - so may try a bite of banana, or a few grapes maybe to start with

SummerSkier · January 2023

What happened to the Gatorade gel tabs? I like those for an energy boost. Not available anywhere right now? Discontinued?

Teresa502 · January 2023

kgirlhart wrote: »

I'm curious for those who run first thing in the morning. How long are you up before you run? I usually get up around 4:30 but it takes me about an hour to have a cup of coffee, use the restroom, put in my contacts and get dressed. I am not naturally a morning person, so it just takes me a while to wake up and get moving.

I get up at 4:00 am and out of the house and into the car by 4:15 am, drive to the city (sounds so fanciful) and meet friends for a 5:00 am run. I don't eat anything before the run. I sip some water on the drive but not a lot because there are very few public restrooms open at 5:00 am. No coffee for that same reason.

JennieMaeK · January 2023

@quilteryoyo Thanks for the welcome, I'm doing the 12 week beginner 5k plan through Garmin Connect (not the Garmin Coach one). I signed up for a 10k in May, so when this one is complete, I'm going to do a Garmin Coach 10k training plan for that.

Started week 2 with an easy run, it was a beautiful sunny day, but running in the snow is always more challenging. I just keep thinking how easy running will be in the spring, lol.

Scott6255 · January 2023

SummerSkier wrote: »

What happened to the Gatorade gel tabs? I like those for an energy boost. Not available anywhere right now? Discontinued?

Yep, those used to be my go-to. But haven't been able to find them in stores (or online) for probably a year or so. I switched to Honey Stinger Energy chews, or on occasion have used Scratch Lab Energy chews. They seem to work about the same.

@martaindale thanks for the tracking link. I'll try to stalk you when I can

kgirlhart wrote: »

I'm curious for those who run first thing in the morning. How long are you up before you run? I usually get up around 4:30 but it takes me about an hour to have a cup of coffee, use the restroom, put in my contacts and get dressed. I am not naturally a morning person, so it just takes me a while to wake up and get moving.

In the summer I get up around 3:30 or 4:00. Have coffee and small breakfast (peanut butter toast on weekdays, oatmeal, berries, and nuts on weekends for long runs). Get dressed, stretch, potty, etc. Takes me about an hour before I'm out the door.

January 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

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