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Little help here? (Read 248 times)

jmoxie


    Hello all, New to the forum, New to running.

     

    I am 47 and weight 232lbs. Never really ran before other than a very active athletic career. I have been in peak shape before but never for distance running. Anyway I am ove rth ehill and looking to get running incorpoarted into my life. I started in July with walk runs 4x per week with rest between. Started out just .5 mile runs folowed by 5mile bikes( biking is easier on old kness). I was able to steadily progress over 3 months to 3 mile runs 4x per week and each was followed up with 5mile bike rides more of a post stretch/ warmdown thing than a hard ride. Was feeling great initially i had problems with shoes and shin splints but all went away and i was feeling great.

     

    Then work came calling and i had to take 3 weeks off and go out of town. Well that is where i am at now. I started back up and it has been a struggle. This week was my first week back at 2 miles 4x per week and followed by 3 mile bike ride each session. My main thing right now is my toes on my right leg keep going to sleep. If i stop running and walk they come back. Has anyone got an idea for this? shoes to tight? shoes? I have not been fitted for running shoes, i just buy what ever fits and feels good. Does that really help?

     

    Also i see be reading the forums it sounds like i should not worry about my speed or split times? I kind of am competitive and I find myself trying to 1 up myself with that. I think that hurts me in coming back off the break because i know what i was doing and I keep trying ot get there.

     

    Any thoughts for my newbie self would be appreciated. Thanks.


    Latent Runner

      A few thoughts:

      • Slow down!  Let your body gradually develop its way into being able to endure the rigors of running.
      • Buy your running shoes a bit loose, and if you can, do not tie them so tight.
      • If, on any given day you feel great and are tempted to go fast, DON'T!  Go further instead.
      • Once you're able to run six miles pretty easily and consistently, then you can gradually starte working speed into your overall program.

      Another thing you might want to consider is, after you've gotten to the point where you can run four or five miles straight, enter a 5K, just for the fun of it.  Smile

      Fat old man PRs:

      • 1-mile (point to point, gravity assist): 5:50
      • 2-mile: 13:49
      • 5K (gravity assist last mile): 21:31
      • 5-Mile: 37:24
      • 10K (first 10K of my Half Marathon): 48:16
      • 10-Mile (first 10 miles of my Half Marathon): 1:17:40
      • Half Marathon: 1:42:13
        Not sure why you had to stop because of work. Even if not running, you could still exercise.

         

        I'm 48, down from 225 in June to 190 now. On my way toward my goal of 165. Anyway, I run every other day 3 to 5 miles now. But on the days between, I do situps, pushups, squats, jumping jacks, arm lifts with a small hand weight, and leg lifts with ankle weights. There are lifts in different directions. The weights are not needed but I like them for increased strength. Mainly the exercise is still cardio in nature, because it gets me breathing hard for the duration of the exercise. I'm up to reps of 20 with everything, but I started months ago with reps of 3. The workout now takes 30 minutes, and I can do it in my own bedroom.

         

        Also, not sure if you are saying you are bike riding on the same day as your runs. That seems a lot to me, but maybe I'm just not as extreme as you. I'd put the bike rides on the off days from running, but thats just me.

         

        I'm trying to go slow, but steady. I only take 1 day of rest a week. The off days (from running) can also include a fast walk along with the calisthenics (usually a few hours between them). But no matter, it is important to me to not skip a day of doing something (other than my planned one rest day a week). I write down what I do, too. Helps me to be keeping a log, and I also write down my weekly weigh ins (on my own scale, but same time of week always).
        TJoseph


          I agree, don't worry about speed right now.  The numb toes might be your shoes.  Go to a local running store and have them fit you.

           

          Try to run when you travel for work.  It is difficult sometimes with work commitments and dinner with colleagues, but if you are travelling west you can use the time difference to get up earlier and run in the morning.  It is a great opportunity to explore a new city.  You can just run with a GPS watch or map out a run using the Measure Route feature on this site.  You only need to bring one or two sets of running clothes with you.  Just rinse them out in the tub and hang them to dry between runs.

          adkkev


            If you're over the hill at 47 then I must be just about in the grave at 60+.  Big grin

             

            I would go to your local LRS and get fitted for your running shoes.

             

            And don't worry about how fast you are ... set yourself some reasonable distance goals, go for them & then see what your times are ... slowly work on reducing those times for whatever distances you've set goals for.  The key is SLOWLY.

            jmoxie


              Thanks for the input and ideas.

               

              I will have to figure out a travel workout so when i must leave i dont regress again.

               

              Will try to focus on distance goals ( ran 3 miles yesterday)Smile

              jmoxie


                currently running 3 miles 4 times a week ( slowed my pace ). Got new shoes fitted form a runner shop, although not really sure they are fittted?The guy watched me walk and then siad here are the best shoes for you and that was it. They are Brooks Ghost 6 nuetral shoes. They feel great and have alot of cushion.

                 

                Next question i have is how do you guys know when to push further? Is there certain pains or leg aches that are ok to fight through?

                 

                I a feeling real good and loose about mile 2 to 2.5 as far as upper body and wind and relaxed but as i move toward that 3 mile mark my legs get tired i guess is the best word for it. Not sure if it is just mey body saying ok you are at your 3 mile mark now stop and i must fight through that ar what?

                 

                Any thoughts out there?


                Latent Runner

                  Tired muscles are good, sore joints or tendons, not so good.

                   

                  As for when to push further, it sounds like you might be ready; were I in your shoes (and I was earlier this year), I could slow it down a bit more at the start and shoot for three and a half to four miles.  Within a week or two you'll be running four miles at the same pace you currently run three, and when that happens, start thinking about five miles.  Smile

                  Fat old man PRs:

                  • 1-mile (point to point, gravity assist): 5:50
                  • 2-mile: 13:49
                  • 5K (gravity assist last mile): 21:31
                  • 5-Mile: 37:24
                  • 10K (first 10K of my Half Marathon): 48:16
                  • 10-Mile (first 10 miles of my Half Marathon): 1:17:40
                  • Half Marathon: 1:42:13

                    currently running 3 miles 4 times a week ( slowed my pace ). Got new shoes fitted form a runner shop, although not really sure they are fittted?The guy watched me walk and then siad here are the best shoes for you and that was it. They are Brooks Ghost 6 nuetral shoes. They feel great and have alot of cushion.

                     

                    Next question i have is how do you guys know when to push further? Is there certain pains or leg aches that are ok to fight through?

                     

                    I a feeling real good and loose about mile 2 to 2.5 as far as upper body and wind and relaxed but as i move toward that 3 mile mark my legs get tired i guess is the best word for it. Not sure if it is just mey body saying ok you are at your 3 mile mark now stop and i must fight through that ar what?

                     

                    Any thoughts out there?

                     

                    I think we are about at the same place.  I'm 48, male, and dropped from 225 to 188 now, and want to go to 165.  Last few weeks I did some runs of 4 miles, and even 5 miles.  The little aches and pains from miles 1 and 2 seem to go away, and 3, 4, and 5 feel better (at a very, very, slow pace).  But still, I'd say 3 miles is my main run.  I feel like I need to lose more weight, and don't want to stress my legs.  That is more a mental feeling than anything else.  I'm on the cusp of upping my regular runs to 4 miles, and my long runs to 5 or 6.  But I'm just not there yet.  So my regular runs are still 3, and my long runs are 4 or 5.

                     

                    To compound all of this is Winter.  Someone suggested I use time instead of miles, as the reference point.  I think that is a great idea.  So, instead of doing 35 minute regular runs, I could up that to 45 minutes.  How far it gets me in miles will vary depending upon how much snow.  The important thing is the duration of the activity (I think?).

                     

                    So, no more problems with your toes falling asleep?  Mine would want to, but I'd wiggle them every so often while running.  And like you did, went to a running store to get better fitting shoes, just recently.  I don't think tight laces is the problem (although it can be).  Instead, I think fit is more likely the issue.  Just a pet theory of mine, but I believe how the ball of my foot and big toe are contacting the footbed is the issue.  If too flat and unforgiving under them (not talking about the arch), then I think the footbed is pushing against either nerves or something that restricts the blood flow.  The better that fit, if the footbed can be shaped to, or molded to, the contours of the ball and toe of your foot, then I think the pressure will be more evenly distributed and not cause the toes to fall asleep.  Hopefully taking a good shoe, with a good intiial fit, and breaking them in, and the problem should go away.  Hopefully.


                    Latent Runner

                       

                      I think we are about at the same place.  I'm 48, male, and dropped from 225 to 188 now, and want to go to 165.  Last few weeks I did some runs of 4 miles, and even 5 miles.  The little aches and pains from miles 1 and 2 seem to go away, and 3, 4, and 5 feel better (at a very, very, slow pace).  But still, I'd say 3 miles is my main run.  I feel like I need to lose more weight, and don't want to stress my legs.  That is more a mental feeling than anything else.  I'm on the cusp of upping my regular runs to 4 miles, and my long runs to 5 or 6.  But I'm just not there yet.  So my regular runs are still 3, and my long runs are 4 or 5.

                       

                       

                      Wow, you're down to 188 already; kudos to you, I'm seriously jealous.  Smile

                       

                      I have yet to crack the 190 mark even though I've been flirting with it for over two months now.  Kind of annoying, my normal weekday run is 10 miles and my weekend runs range from 10 (when I'm rushed) to as long as 17 this last Sunday.  Imagine my disappointment after Sunday's 17-miler when I got on the scale and saw 193.  Grrrr.

                      Fat old man PRs:

                      • 1-mile (point to point, gravity assist): 5:50
                      • 2-mile: 13:49
                      • 5K (gravity assist last mile): 21:31
                      • 5-Mile: 37:24
                      • 10K (first 10K of my Half Marathon): 48:16
                      • 10-Mile (first 10 miles of my Half Marathon): 1:17:40
                      • Half Marathon: 1:42:13
                      SillyC


                        Hi jmoxie!

                         

                        About increasing distance.... you do know that you don't increase distance on ALL your runs, right?  Increase your distance on only one or two runs per week, and keep the other runs at the shorter distance.  Do that until the long run is "easy", and then start increasing the distance on your short runs.

                         

                        Please go see your physician about the numbness if it isn't fixed by a change of shoes.  Ill fitting shoes do that...  but it could also be something more serious.

                           

                          Wow, you're down to 188 already; kudos to you, I'm seriously jealous.  Smile

                           

                          I have yet to crack the 190 mark even though I've been flirting with it for over two months now.  Kind of annoying, my normal weekday run is 10 miles and my weekend runs range from 10 (when I'm rushed) to as long as 17 this last Sunday.  Imagine my disappointment after Sunday's 17-miler when I got on the scale and saw 193.  Grrrr.

                           

                          188, oh yes, and it's real!  The Sunday after Thanksgiving I was 187.6 and thought I had a spectacular 2.75 lbs loss that week.  I had eaten good and only had one piece of pie all Thanksgiving week.  Just a very little stuffing, no gravy.  Ate mostly the turkey and some veggies (no potatoes, no butter, no bread etc).  But I also had gotten a stomach bug or something, attributed to just visiting with relatives, and I thus had to make lots of extra trips to the potty leading up to the day of my weigh in.  (Too much info, I know!)

                           

                          Then the next week (this past Sunday) my weight was back up to 187.8.  Ok, no big deal, I gained back my fluids.  But over those two weeks, including the holiday, I did have a real 2.5 lbs weight loss!

                           

                          I look foward to each weigh in.  I'm not going to plateau.  Not gonna let that happen.  Going all the way to 165.  I'll be happy with that goal.  From there, I'll see how my running is going, and determine if trying to get to 145 lbs is reasonable.  I plan on hitting 165 by Spring.  Gotta keep my running up over winter.  But if I decide to go to 145, I imagine I'd only get there by running lots and lots more miles, and it would take at least another year to do.  That would be my super fit, in shape, lean mean running machine weight I had in HS.  Don't know if possible for me now, even though I'm the same height at 5.9 now as I was back then Smile

                          jamezilla


                          flashlight and sidewalk

                            I understand that competitive drive to push yourself each run...that's what I did when I started and I saw huge gains from it.  When I tried to increase mileage from 2.6 / day to more, I started really having injury issues.  My advice would be to run 3/4 runs really nice and easy and start bumping up the distance.  One thing I like to do so that I am not tempted to run hard is set a time goal as opposed to a mileage goal (run for 40 minutes).  On the fourth run, be competitive (if you must...probably best off just doing 4 easy runs, or running fast once every other week).  It's nice to have a benchmark run to see what kind of gains you are making...just don't make that your daily run...you're asking for trouble.

                             

                            As for the "what do I run through, what do I take time off for" question, that requires you to get in tune with your body.  I'm just finishing up my 2nd year of running (mostly) consistently and I feel like I'm starting to have a good grasp on what I can run through, what is a warning sign, and when it is time to rest an injury.  I certainly would stop running immediately if a pain caused me to change my gait.  After a bunch of minor type injuries, I am definitely more cautious than when I started...you will get more miles total if you can take a day or 2 off early, than if you have to rest for a week or 2 after trying to run through it, so I find it best to err on the side of caution.

                             

                            I have had foot tendonitis that felt like numbness.  SillyC's advice is solid though, get it checked out if the new shoes don't fix it.

                             

                            **Ask me about streaking**

                             

                            tom1961


                            Old , Ugly and slow

                              Oldfatslow you need to change your name.

                               

                              I am still 205 and slow .

                              first race sept 1977 last race sept 2007

                               

                              2019  goals   1000  miles  , 190 pounds , deadlift 400 touch my toes

                              jmoxie


                                Thanks for your input.

                                 

                                Sounds like I should also be running different distances not just the same milage every run. Is there a basic guide to go by as far as days per week to run and which days to run farther and which ones to back off?

                                 

                                Right now i am back to running 2.5 to 3 miles 4 times a week. usually mon/tues then day off then thurs/ friday and then weekend off.

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