Hey fitness freaks....and wannabe freaks. Time for the November installment of the fitness challenge. To try to be more inclusive and get more participation, I'm going to open things up in a new way.

The point of this challenge is to set a goal for yourself for the month of November. A fitness goal which will be challenging.....slightly more than you know you can do, more than you did last month. The goal needs to be a concrete measurable goal. The goal can be miles run, walked, biked, swam, ellipted or paddled....or a combination of all of them. But it can also be a goal of hours of exercise. 30 hours of exercise in a month is a challenging goal for many people. It can also be a specific exercise if you prefer....like 3000 squats and 1000 push-ups. Whatever it is, make it challenging, not easy. As I always say, growth and comfort cannot coexist. You want to be slightly uncomfortable. The goal should challenge you...make you slightly nervous as to whether or not you can reach it. Then....GO FOR IT!

Introduce yourself and spell out your goal for the month. Then come back here everyday or as often as you can and update the group as to your current progress toward your goal. Whether or not you make your goal is not the point. The point is to push yourself just a little further than you thought you could go.

I'll start. I'm only 4 weeks post op from my TT so not back to 100% yet, but I anticipate getting stronger as the month goes on. So my goal for November is to walk/run 60 miles. That's double what I'm going to do this month, so a challenging goal. Wish me luck.

Please join in and get moving.

Thanks Butter! This is what my PT told me to do.

That stretch would certainly help if the pain is caused by tightness in the quadratus lumborum, which most definitely can refer pain to the hip as well. There is always more than one possibility.

For those of y'all having hip pain....as an LMT I've dealt with this frequently. Bad sitting posture leads to tightness in the gluteus medius which of course leads to pain. But it's very easy to stretch out, increasing flexibility and relieving pain. Also, focus on not letting your knees splay out while sitting or lying. If tightness is causing the pain this will help. It can't hurt. Here's 2 good stretches. Start with the first and advance to the second when comfortable doing so.

What's an LMT?

Licensed massage therapist.

My hip is killing me too! Is this just a "new runner" thing? Is it a gait problem? I was hoping to avoid such typically "heavyweight" aches and pains! I'm doing hip abductor stretches and strength training, and have good running shoes. Any other advice?

Rolling on the hip abductors will help in addition to mashing the area with a lacrosse ball or tennis ball. I got these hip pains all the time too, but not so much in the last month.

I think it is caused by piriformis syndrome. Very uncomfortable if you do not target it directly with a lacrosse ball or indirectly by rolling the hip abductors and it bands. The pain may not start immediately, but will become very tangible and real over time, as you run more.

Here is some more information :

http://destroychronicpain.wordpress.com/problems-we-help-people-with/piriformis-syndrome-pain-in-the-butt/

I got the pain quite frequently on the left side after running as part of a workout until recently, when I mashed the heck out of it for 30 m a day, spread throughout the day. That pain, thankfully, is gone. You might also try leg swings, focusing on the rotation of the hip and not the thigh. Kick you leg forward and backwards, aiming to loosen up the hip abductors. You might also try side ways kicking also. It certainly does help.

I have found much of the pain brought on by running is due to either not enough stretching or not enough strengthening of the muscles needing to support the movement requirements of running.

As a matter of perspective, I spend at least 30 m daily on mobility and stretching before getting into hardcore exercises. You may not need to dedicate this much time, but do ponder on the importance of it to prevent injury.

For those of y'all having hip pain....as an LMT I've dealt with this frequently. Bad sitting posture leads to tightness in the gluteus medius which of course leads to pain. But it's very easy to stretch out, increasing flexibility and relieving pain. Also, focus on not letting your knees splay out while sitting or lying. If tightness is causing the pain this will help. It can't hurt.

Here's 2 good stretches. Start with the first and advance to the second when comfortable doing so.

Yes, the second one I think is called the pigeon pose, from yoga. I do this one daily and, boy, does it help with that hip pain. Try and get as low as you can to the floor with arms stretched out in front of you. Another good stretch is called the Samson stretch for addressing hip mobility.

Licensed massage therapist?

Good Morning all! I need to add 18 miles to my monthly count. That brings it to 83 miles.

I too have issues with hip pain. The chiropractor seems to think it has to do with my hip alignment, which is displaced because of how I walk. His adjustments seem to work, until things go out of whack again. I am a side sleeper and putting a pillow between my knees at night has helped. I am also doing the above stretches daily, and they also help

I kind of crapped out on my fitness challenge prior to surgery (11/14).

But I'm going to finish November strong...I will walk a minimum of 2 miles each day for the rest of the month for a total of 20 miles.

Butter and Fiddle: Thank you SO MUCH for the assistance. I'll be adding both the new stretches and the lacrosse ball to my routine (my youngest plays NCAA women's lacrosse -- I have a million of those balls).

Butter, with your permission, I WILL adapt my Nov goal to 10K+ steps on cardio days and weekends -- not on strength days. I'll recalculate my average with my next spreadsheet post.

Yesterday I did 60 pushups at a 45 degree bar, 36 weight assisted pull-ups and planked for 45 seconds!! And that was in addition to TWO days worth of C22K back to back for an hour of walk/run intervals.

I'm so psyched!!!

35 mins strength training and 40 mins on the bike. One more hip stretch to add, a variation of the pigeon yoga position. Lie on your back with your knees up. Place the outside of your right foot on your left knee. Pull your left leg forward while keeping the right knee rotated out. Repeat on the other side. This gets the glutes and helps open the SI joint. Also be sure to strengthen and stretch your inner thigh as well as the hip abductors. Icing after workouts helps me a great deal with all that creaky antique-y stuff!

MTD: 33 and planked again for 90 seconds. Was going for 105s but I basically grunted and collapsed. Very attractive, I know. The dog keeps licking my hair every time I get on the floor. Very distracting!

MTD: 35

30 min MMA

got up earlier than usual this am, couldn't sleep so got in 5 miles, I've got hip issues too, I thought it was all the increased walking and strength training, trainer said that the strength training should help not hurt, but... was walking with a limp for a while, gonna try some of those stretches, and some trainer gave me looks kind of similar to the ones here. MTD=73.5 miles 9 sessions

5 miles today for a total of 62.37. I hauled the exercise bike to work with me so I might get more tonight. I will post if I do. We have been having rain with episodes of freezing rain and some sleet. I am just staying here tonight instead of driving home and have to be back at 7 am. Thank goodness we have rooms to stay in when the weather is bad. Have a safe Friday night and a great weekend!!!

Ran 4 miles today....my first continuous run since surgery 8 weeks ago. Hallelujah. It felt good to get out on the road again with a straight up run. Plus I made my goal for the month. 61.2 miles total.

I also joined a gym with a pool yesterday to start swimming. My goal is to swim 2 days a week in addition to my running so I can do triathlon next year.