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C25K Grad to be (Read 886 times)


skinnycaponesugar

    Hi People, I'm new posting on this forum Smile Tomorrow, I'm starting week 8 and I'm hoping to continue running beyond C25K. I'm very pleased with my progress so far, considering that before starting I was only moderately fit. I've had a few revealing moments during my runs, to start with, the mental challenges have been greater than the physical ones....saying that, running has to be the most physically demanding exercise my body has gone through, other than giving birth... Big grin A few things have also been puzzling me, maybe you can offer some insight ? a) have lost only 600grams since the start of the program. I am at the heavy end of the "normal" weight bracket. b) sometimes I get pain on my left shoulder while running. I've tried to relax my shoulders as I go, it seems to work. c) my data (taken with the Nike + sys) is almost identical on the days I follow the same programme...I expected some variation d) on my most recent run I felt as if my heart "skipped" a beat, however I didn't feel short of breath or light headed, basically nothing else came with it. After finishing (and since) I've been feeling occasional tightness and a bit of a burn around my ribs that moves up to my head. I think that my body is adjusting to all the changes, that and being sleep deprived due to offspring waking up at night. Thanks for your help and nice to meet you all!

    Love, Run, Sleep


    Just Be

      It seems as if you may be pushing yourself too hard. To address some of your points... a) While running will speed up your metabolism a bit, it is not the most significant factor for weight loss. A good healthy diet with a 200 to 500 daily caloric defecit is the central key to successful weight loss. b) What kind of pain do you get and does it always happen when you are breathing hard? d) How often do you experience these sensations and do they also happen from time to time when you're not running? Where is this burn you describe (i.e., is it local or general rib pain?)? Have you been medically cleared for exercise? I'd highly recommend you talk to your doc about these issues, as they can test you directly. A skipped beat is nothing to mess with if you don't know the cause. The shoulder pain likely indicates you are pushing too hard, but combined with your skipped beat sensation is a major red flag whether or not the two occurred during the same run. I'm not intentionally trying to scare you, but please see your doc if you haven't already done so. Also, if you're pushing your workouts so hard that you have highly labored breathing, slow down even if you think you're going to slow already. Slow and steady always wins the race! Smile It'll just take time before you'll see numbers you'll like, but you'll get there.


      Beatin' on the Rock

        I'll reiterate R92's comments about slowing down. If you still experience the arm pain and chest/rib tightness after slowing your pace, then see a doc for sure. Modified to add a thought: could it be an ill-fitting sprots bra to blame? Blush
        Be yourself. Those that matter, don't mind. Those that mind, don't matter.


        skinnycaponesugar

          Thanks for your replies, even if you did scared the beejeezuss out of me Confused I definitely don't want to drop by doing something silly , I have a lot of things on my to do list! Tongue I just came back from my first run of week 8, which is 28 minutes. At this point I'm a lot more concerned with completing the time, than with speed, so I made a conscious effort to slow down, went from 7'15"/km to 7'26"/km average (sorry, I'm metric!) including warm up and cool down... I don't know if this is fast or slow, but it is comfortable. It was a lot less effort today compared to last week's 25 minutes, however I didn't exert myself to an extreme then, my breathing was even and regular, not labored. Since I started C25K I've kept to the rule of not overdoing it... I have put my shoulder pain to the tightness of my left arm. I have been seen a physio for a sore finger (I pulled a ligament playing lawn bowls Blush) and she mentioned that my left arm muscles are very tight, the shoulder didn't bother me on the last two runs. The pain on my ribs is general, and more like a nagging little burning sensation on my sides and back, rather than ouch kinda pain, followed by a similar sensation on my head. I've only had this after my last week 7 run, that night and a couple of times the day after. I rested 2 days and I was perfect and ready to go today. Is there a chance that I was just tired after my first week doing three runs? It was also the latest in the day I've ran so far. I have no explanation as to why my heart felt as if it "skipped", it happened when I was about half way through...I will go see my GP about it. I find the bra theory quite interesting. I wear a "no-so expensive" sports bra with underwires when the good one is in the wash, I'm aware of the bra when I'm exercising, maybe that's not a good thing. I want to fit in my pre-baby jeans, the weight is secondary, I was surprised that I had lost only a small amount...make that 400gr...

          Love, Run, Sleep


          Just Be

            The pain on my ribs is general, and more like a nagging little burning sensation on my sides and back, rather than ouch kinda pain, followed by a similar sensation on my head. I've only had this after my last week 7 run, that night and a couple of times the day after. I rested 2 days and I was perfect and ready to go today. Is there a chance that I was just tired after my first week doing three runs? It was also the latest in the day I've ran so far.
            Maybe your rib muscles were sore from the extra breathing activity that came with the first week or two of running. Delayed onset muscle soreness of the rib muscles lasting about 1 to 2 weeks. When was the last time you experienced the soreness? By the way, I hope I didn't scare you too much! Smile It's just that, while the average skipped beat sensation is a simple palpitation and not a cause for concern, if it is new to you, you should never assume that is the case. You only have one heart, make sure you treat it well! Smile
              Good job on your near completion of the C25K and excellent job on planning to continue. Anyone can work their way through an exercise program. The challenge is to continue on making it a permanent, positive change in their lifestyle. Running is not a good way to lose weight. It doesn't burn near enough calories to make much of a contribution to weight loss, especially at the limited mileage of a beginning runner. It also tends to stimulate the appetite making it that much harder to lose weight. Many new runners actually gain weight rather than lose it. I've training for a number of marathons and have found that I lose very little weight during a training program (5-10%) even when running up to 50 miles a week. If you want to lose weight, you'll need to combine your running, or any exercise, with responsible eating habits. Run for fitness, eat less to lose weight. The pain in your shoulders is common in new runners and likely muscle tension. Try carrying your arms lower when you run and relax your hands. If you are experiencing abnormal heart rhythms when you exercise you should definitely get checked out by a doctor, especially with left arm pain. Tom
                Congrats on nearly finishing the C25K!! I can't speak to your other issues, but I had a similar shoulder tension. I started doing yoga a couple months ago, and notice a HUGE difference. Once you learn how to keep your shoulders down, not hugging around your ears, that pain should go away. I say should... it worked for me, but my shoulder pain might not necessarily be the same as yours!! Just my two cents. Yoga has really helped my posture and form while running, and when I got the hang of it, I noticed a marked improvement in how far I could run, and that I didn't get as tired as quickly. Good luck!!! Smile

                Michelle


                skinnycaponesugar

                  I'm booked to see my GP next Tuesday. I'm hoping she'll give me the OK to keep going Smile my shoulder is good, no pain. No palpitations. Today my run was good, had roast chicken breast and salad for dinner Big grin Thanks guys and gals!

                  Love, Run, Sleep


                  skinnycaponesugar

                    Hi everybody, I had my appointment today. I'm fine to keep going, however, anyone having repeated palpitation episodes (not my case, only had one) should be checked out and monitored closely...she should know, a couple of months back my GP celebrated her 50th birthday by running a half marathon Cool Cheers, lovelies Wink

                    Love, Run, Sleep

                    zoom-zoom


                    rectumdamnnearkilledem

                      I'm glad you prognosis seems good. Awesome that your doc is a runner, too. My PCP is a very sports-minded guy and has given me nothing but support in my running. Doctors like ours are pretty priceless.

                      Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                      remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                           ~ Sarah Kay

                      Teresadfp


                      One day at a time

                        I'm glad you prognosis seems good. Awesome that your doc is a runner, too. My PCP is a very sports-minded guy and has given me nothing but support in my running. Doctors like ours are pretty priceless.
                        Chickadee, I'm glad you got a good report! My doctor likes to run, too, but now he can't because his knees hurt so much. He said, "People like you annoy the hell out of me because it reminds me of what I'm missing!" He still gives me good advice, though, lol. After the Beach to Beacon 10k in August, I even sent him a photo of DH, DS, and me at the race.
                          I find the bra theory quite interesting. I wear a "no-so expensive" sports bra with underwires when the good one is in the wash, I'm aware of the bra when I'm exercising, maybe that's not a good thing.
                          The right bra makes all the difference. When I started running I always felt as if I could not get my breath. It was hard to breath and I just felt like I could not run. I changed bra's and what a difference! Suddenly I did not get out of breath so quickly and actually managed to run with out thinking I was going to collapse. Now I have just about as many good sports bra's as running socks.