Forums >Running 101>Newbie introduction
Hi, I’m new to this forum. I am fairly new to running.
I am a 42 year old male who probably hadn’t run 50 miles total before my 41st birthday.
In September of 2009 I decided to start running. I was inspired to begin running by my cancer- surviving 67 year old uncle who had recently completed Grandma’s marathon.
I had just lost 30lbs in the six months prior on my elliptical in my living room. I soon found out that the beatings I put myself through on the elliptical were nothing compared to what lie ahead. The elliptical gave me a level of fitness but it didn’t translate well to running. The first day I took off and ran about 2/10 of a mile and I thought I was going to die. My only frame of reference of pace was from boot camp in 1986 when I ran 3 miles in 21:30. My shoes were off the shelf from a major shoe discounter and my gear was cotton T-shirts and basketball shorts. Boy I had a lot to learn!
Within weeks I was up to running three miles but I was always very sore and couldn’t run back to back days. In December of 2009 I was 2.5 miles in to a 3 mile run on the treadmill when I felt a pain in my right ankle. I chose to ignore it and run through the pain. I should have listened to my body. I spent the next two weeks hobbling around with an air cast to stabilize the torn ligaments in my ankle.
After two months off I eased back into running. This time I was more prepared and visited a running store to get properly fitted for shoes and to update my clothes to some technical gear. Spring came and I gradually increased the mileage and I was running 3-5 miles every other day. It was around the end of May that I decided I wanted to get serious about running. I was concerned though because I wasn’t progressing and every run was a beating.
After a whole lot of reading and talking to folks I decided to kick-start my body by incorporating a Higdon-like base building plan which incorporated three back-to-back weekdays and a longer run on Saturday. This was exactly what my body needed. The first two weeks were awful but my strength developed quickly soon my runs felt good more often than bad.
I trained all summer and ran in temps up to 91 degrees which made the fall runs that much easier. On October 3rd I decided to start a Higdon 30 week novice supreme plan which would take me to the starting line of a marathon on April 30th. I am currently on week 18 and the mileage is starting to ramp up. I had my first 10 mile run last weekend and I finished it strong and am very excited to tackle the longer distances in the coming weeks.
This forum looks like a great place to talk about everything related to running!
2013 -Sub 2:00 for 1/2 marathon
Welcome, Junior. Be sure to let us know how you do on April 30th. Which marathon, by the way?
"If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus
The marathon is the Brainerd Jaycees Run for the Lakes Marathon. This is the fourth running of this marathon in Minnesota. There have been less than 100 runners for all runnings of this marathon. I have two goals with this race - 1) Just finish and 2) Not finish last! I picked this race because of its size, location, elevation. I also wanted to make this race my own since friends and relatives have all run the bigger ones in Minnesota.
Very nice.
Welcome Junior and good luck. Sounds like you are doing very well in your progression. Planning on doing any shorter races between now & April just to get the feel of competition/pacing, etc...?
Welcome JD1 from another Minnesotan (I think thats where you're from with the Brainerd and Grandmas reference) and good luck with the marathon. I have a very similar story to yours, except I've lost about 70 pounds since I started running in 2009 and made it about 0.5 mile before nearly collapsing in a heap on the sidewalk.
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
2014 Goals:
Stay healthy
Enjoy life
Skyedog,
I am tossing around the idea of a half marathon that happens to coincide with a scheduled Saturday long run of 13 miles. I think a warmup race is a good idea. Having said that, it is winter in Minnesota and February isn't always pleasant. If the temps are below 10F I won't run. That's my cutoff. I can register up until a week before the race so I'll be watching the weather.
Burnt Toast,
Yes, Minnesota is my home. I was born and raised on the Iron Range.
Congrats on the 70 pounds, that is phenomenal!
I found that 1st run to be very humbling. Every long run is an achievement from this point forward!
Queen of 3rd Place
Welcome junior, like you I started slowly and fitfully with a lot of mistakes and injuries at first. As the miles pile on (up to a point) I think you'll find that not only do they come easier but you'll be more injury-resistant.
I love using half marathons in marathon training - breaks up the monotony. Although those temps you have would kill this California wimp!
Ex runner