Forums >Running 101>Newby looking for some advice
Hey all! Im very new to running and know virtually nothing. I quit smoking about 8 months ago and immediately began trying to run. Im 5-11 and weigh 215 lbs so kind of overweight. My first attempts at running I wanted to walk run ten miles a day and started trying to do that. Obviously that was a bit unrealistic and I unknowingly broke my fibula trying to do that and limped around for about 6 months till it healed. Other than the obvious mistake of trying to run 10 miles a day just starting out the bone guy I went to see said it was probably made worse by the fact that Im overweight. I set about trying to lose weight and got on the whole 30 diet and the going has been slow but steady. Since I started running again I began doing stairs which has helped tremendously in my legs ability to hold me up. I was shocked and overjoyed when I ran a 10min 20 sec mile without dying. Since then and over the past couple of weeks I have slowly upped my runs to 1.7 miles. But as Im nearing the 2 mile mark on the treadmill Ive noticed my shin bones and knees start to ache a little. I suppose Im a bit shell shocked from breaking my leg a while back and just really dont want to get injured again.
1. One of the things I would like to know is what do you all classify as normal pain vs pain that should cause you to stop. I really love pushing myself but doing so through injury seems to be an issue. Ive been trying to slowly extend my runs by .2 miles every time I run but other than slow progression I dont know the best ways to prevent injury
2. I would like to get my legs in shape and currently train them once every three days. I do squats leg curls calves and incline press 4 sets of each going 15 12 8 6. reps to failure. Before I work out I do 20 mins of stair climb or until I hit 1000 steps. Ive been alternating between climbing stairs and running to try to improve strength. I stretch every day. My goal right now is to lose weight so that I can run longer and I need strong legs to do that. What would you all suggest I do in order to achieve that goal.
3. My current diet has no processed sugar no dairy no carbs lots of meat, veggies, fruit and nuts. Are there any additions or subtractions to this diet that would help me to achieve my goal of losing weight while increasing leg strength. I know my body needs enough fuel to get through the stresses I put on it but at the same time I dont want so consume so many calories that I cant lose weight I. If I eat a lot of carbs I fear that it wont happen and Im terrible at nutrition so any help there would be appreciated.
Anywho thanks for reading yall! Im excited to go on this journey!
Bond
Obi-Run Kenobi
First, congrats on stopping smoking and starting to get fitter and healthier. Just making those choices is a huge deal.
I had to read the part where you started out trying to run 10 miles per day twice; that is super aggressive and I'm not surprised you ended up with a serious injury like you did. But good on you for seeing an expert and taking the time needed to heal. It sounds like you're taking it more slowly this time around. From your description of your current aching pain in your shins, you're almost certainly developing, or risking developing, shin splints. Essentially, small tears in the muscle and tiny cracks in the bone along your fibula caused by overuse. A lot of runners get them, especially beginners. The best medicine for that is rest, honestly. Take 4-5 days off from anything high impact, but something low impact like cycling is cool. If you still feel the pain after that time off, ice the spot where it hurts (10-15 minutes at a time) and take another several days off. Repeat until there's no pain. In this case, pain is an indicator that you're approaching injury. Shin splints can turn into a fracture if untreated.So, I'll list a few high level points that have worked for me when I was a beginner, and more recently as I've been building back up toward marathon distance. I'm sure other more experienced folks will weigh in as well!
1. Gradualism is your friend. An alternative to distance goals that many people use and swear by is ignoring mileage at this early stage and going for time and using the "run-walk" method to build up endurance. If you search online for run-walk plans, there are good ones out there. I believe Runner's World has one, and the gold standard is Jeff Galloway's Run Walk Run. Something to consider
2. Keep the pace slower than you think you should go. For now, every run should be at a slow enough pace that you aren't going more than 70% effort. Basically, if you can talk in complete sentences, you're at the right pace. Faster paces tend to increase the probability of getting injured. At this point, you also want the pace to be slow enough that you can run and not flame out; you're training your body to be in motion longer and longer over time.
3. Take rest days and rest weeks as needed. There are no medals for running every day or running farther every day. But sounds like you're doing that and filling those days with strength training. I try to be conservative in my rest days and if I have any second thoughts (like after a cold or injury), I default to more rest.
4. Some aches and pains are to be expected, as you allude to in your post. But my broad rule (I'm not a doctor, but this has worked for me), is that if something hurts for more than a few days after the run, or the pain during the run is enough to alter my running form, then I need to see a doctor and probably not run until the pain is gone.
Hope that helps! And welcome to the running community.
Do or do not. There is no try.
Welcome to the club of "I want to do it NOW". As the previous poster said, gradualism is your friend. And you got it right about balancing losing weight with gaining fitness. I'm 5' 10" and 148 lbs. I could not run at all if I weighed 215 lbs. I suggest the following:
Aim for average weight loss on the order of two to three pounds per month. That should supply sufficient nutrition, and you can hit any reasonable target weight within two years. Two years may seem like a long time right now, but in the world of endurance athletics, it's short.
Do only walking at first. Build up to 45 minutes per day or so at a brisk pace. A brisk pace is where you are moving right along just short of pushing yourself. Do this about six days per week. When you are doing this comfortably and painlessly, then add a little bit of running to the walk. Gradually shift more and more of your walk to an easy run. And then some day, you will start out running and not have to walk. That will happen when it happens.
It's good to enter a 5K race every month or two. That's the time to beat yourself up and find what you are capable of. A good training pace is two to three minutes per mile SLOWER than your 5K race pace. This is a good rule of thumb even for those who run/walk.
It takes a runner 8 to 10 years to reach their peak performance. You cannot rush it, but you can slow it down by overtraining and injuring yourself.
There is something called Couch to 5k. This gets you running for 30 minutes within 8 weeks. I've used it and know plenty of others who have done. It's a really good programme.
https://www.bupa.co.uk/~/media/Images/HealthManagement/PDFs/Beginner%205K_FINAL.ashx is similar.
Great advice all around. I've got one of those go go go personalities which has not always served me well. I like the feeling of being unable to walk and flat out exhaustion at the end of a workout. Perhaps I will see if there is a boxing club or somewhere that does martial arts of some kind in Nashville. Wrestling in HS was the most pooped I've ever been and I don't think I've ever been in better shape cardio wise. I should get walk before you can run tattooed on my forehead I'm sure it will help me in the future In the meantime I'll do everything in my power to take it easy and go slow. After yesterdays run I could already feel my ankles aching today. That couch to 5k program looks promising. Ill give it a rest and then get started on that! I think the bone guy I went to see suggesting running outside as opposed to on a treadmill do you all notice a big difference in wear and tare from treadmill to the road? I've been trying to practice keeping my head looking forward and my shoulders back and working on my breathing. Thus far getting a breathing pattern down has been the hardest thing. I think taking a break from listening to music will probably help hear irregular breath better. I know it sounds strange but Ive found that if I think about working on too many things at once while running my body gets completely out of whack. Id imagine developing a good stride takes time too What are some of the practices you all have developed over time to make you better? What do you wish you had known when you first started? Thanks for the responses!
I like the feeling of being unable to walk and flat out exhaustion at the end of a workout.
This is the way to feel after running a race, but not an endurance workout.
Your breathing and stride will all take care of themselves if you just go run regularly. A good training run is done at conversational pace, where you can carry on a conversation without forcing your breathing. After your running fitness improves to where you can easily run a few miles every day, then you can add speedwork. Speedwork is done at higher than conversational effort and less than race effort.
Great responses so far! I'll just add my 2 cents. Make sure that you are wearing a good pair of running shoes for you. What is good for me may not be good for you. Find a specialty store (like a Fleet Feet) that will analyze your gait and help you find the right shoes for you. Be willing to spend a little more money - putting more money into a better shoe is a lot more fun that spending the money on the doctor later.
In addition, one of the biggest changes that I've made in my training over the past few years (because my story sounds so much like yours), is I use a heart rate monitor when I run. I've got a simple Garmin Forerunner 210 with a heart rate monitor strap that I use for all of my runs. The main number that is on display when I run is my heartrate, which for me is the best indication of my effort level. I can't always pay attention to pace, because when it is hot and humid (as it tends to get at times in North Carolina), that requires more effort. If I'm running and my heartrate is too high, then I know that I won't be able to keep that up for too long.
Last thing I'll add is that after I had endured 2 stress fractures (right and left tibia), my ortho doc said that if your pain is something that you can point to an exact spot and say "it hurts here," it is likely a fracture. If it is more of a generalized pain like more than a few inches, then it is not likely to be a fracture yet - but something to pay attention to. When I've had that more generalized pain, I've tried to switch things up for a bit, like doing deep water running (wearing a floatation belt in the deep end of the pool and just running in place) or using the elliptical. Trying to keep that heartrate up while recovering is a good thing for me.
Good luck!
Adam
www.runawayseate.blogspot.com/
Caffeine-fueled Runner
My two cents worth:
My weight maxed out at 252 (5' 11"). Never smoked but it was the combination of job change and change in lifestyle that had me gradually put the weight on over a 10 year period. I had managed to get down to 214 pounds but couldn't sustain it. After a couple of years of non-focused attempts at weight loss over a 2-year period, I got serious about it in April 2010. My starting weight at that point was 232 pounds.
A slight change in diet (mostly eating breakfast every day, portion control, and giving up sugary drinks) and beginning to walk a set number of steps per day made the weight loss and gradual conditioning of aerobic system (heart and lungs), muscles, and finally joints over a period an extended period of time. That took me down to the 170-180 range over a period of 3 years in a stair step pattern. I didn't attempt to run until 2013 when I entered a 10K with a plan to walk it. By that time I was walking over 11 miles per day (total).
Instead, I ran it and did remarkably well and felt good. My marathoner friends gave me a 26 week training plan with a fallback of being able to run a half marathon if training didn't prepare me well enough. The key is losing weight and, more importantly, gradual build up. Your cardiovascular system responds to and adapts/improves the fastest. That is where the problem comes because you muscular system and skeletal system (bones and joints) takes much longer to adapt (up to six months for the muscles, up to a year for the joints).
So, take it slow. BTW, I did run my first marathon at the end of that training plan at the age of 60. To date I have run nine marathons and nine half marathons. My half marathon time is now 1:56 and my marathon time is now down to 4:16 without running hard.
PR's--- 5K 24:11, 10K 49:40, 10-Mile 1:26:02, HM 1:56:03, Marathon 4:16:17
Maniac #11112, Fanatic #14276, Double Agent #2335
There is a lot of good advice here, so I can't add much. One thing I will mention though, is that age could be a factor with recovery periods. I'm 56, and it takes me much longer to recover than it did 10 years ago when I started running. The more you tax your body, the more time you need to recover.
On the nutrition side of things, i know you want to be careful about your calories, so make sure you pay attention to WHEN you are eating. It's important before you work out to fuel your body and then to refuel when you are done. If you want to avoid grains try for a banana or apple and peanut butter before your workout for some quick carbs that your body can use and some protein to help sustain through the workout. Then afterwards make sure you eat again, within a twenty or thirty minute window. It's super important to refuel when you are done and it's important to know that you are not "wasting" your workout by eating but helping your body to maximize those workouts.
good luck! it sounds like you have a lot of good advice to chew on and I hope you are successful at reaching your goals! It's probably good to add that with that stretching you are doing you might think about adding in some foam rolling
Hey all! Im very new to running and know virtually nothing. I quit smoking about 8 months ago and immediately began trying to run. Im 5-11 and weigh 215 lbs so kind of overweight. My first attempts at running I wanted to walk run ten miles a day and started trying to do that. Obviously that was a bit unrealistic and I unknowingly broke my fibula trying to do that and limped around for about 6 months till it healed. Other than the obvious mistake of trying to run 10 miles a day just starting out the bone guy I went to see said it was probably made worse by the fact that Im overweight. I set about trying to lose weight and got on the whole 30 diet and the going has been slow but steady. Since I started running again I began doing stairs which has helped tremendously in my legs ability to hold me up. I was shocked and overjoyed when I ran a 10min 20 sec mile without dying. Since then and over the past couple of weeks I have slowly upped my runs to 1.7 miles. But as Im nearing the 2 mile mark on the treadmill Ive noticed my shin bones and knees start to ache a little. I suppose Im a bit shell shocked from breaking my leg a while back and just really dont want to get injured again. 1. One of the things I would like to know is what do you all classify as normal pain vs pain that should cause you to stop. I really love pushing myself but doing so through injury seems to be an issue. Ive been trying to slowly extend my runs by .2 miles every time I run but other than slow progression I dont know the best ways to prevent injury 2. I would like to get my legs in shape and currently train them once every three days. I do squats leg curls calves and incline press 4 sets of each going 15 12 8 6. reps to failure. Before I work out I do 20 mins of stair climb or until I hit 1000 steps. Ive been alternating between climbing stairs and running to try to improve strength. I stretch every day. My goal right now is to lose weight so that I can run longer and I need strong legs to do that. What would you all suggest I do in order to achieve that goal. 3. My current diet has no processed sugar no dairy no carbs lots of meat, veggies, fruit and nuts. Are there any additions or subtractions to this diet that would help me to achieve my goal of losing weight while increasing leg strength. I know my body needs enough fuel to get through the stresses I put on it but at the same time I dont want so consume so many calories that I cant lose weight I. If I eat a lot of carbs I fear that it wont happen and Im terrible at nutrition so any help there would be appreciated. Anywho thanks for reading yall! Im excited to go on this journey! Bond
If I were you I would start by run/walking for 20 minutes max, 3 times a week and build up to 10 miles over a period of 5-6 months. And remember that running doesn't burn many calories. Add a few whole grains to your diet and stop worrying too much about weight. Also be careful about using machines, they isolate the main muscle groups but don't do a whole lot for supporting muscles which can result in imbalances leading to strains. Squats and lunges should be your go to exercises (just keep the knees behind your toes and don't try and lift too much weight).
Certified Running CoachCrocked since 2013
I'd suggest getting fitted for the correct type of shoe and then picking the one that feels best to you in that category. The right shoes are pretty critical.
Regards to diet, I LOVE Engine 2 seven day rescue. It's not just 7 days, it's a lifestyle change, but it's amazing how awesome you feel in those 7 days. It has Really helped my running and overall health.