Intro myself - so old I'm new again! (Read 754 times)

Reader's Digest version of my story and a few suggestions.

A bit less than five years ago, I was an obese chain smoker.  I'm 6'0" and weighed 230 pounds and that's about 20 pounds into the "obese" category.  I was 45 years old at the time and had smoked heavily since I was 15.  I'd love to say that something inspiring got me started but the reality is that I had to buy a pair of pants with a 42 inch waist and thought, "holy shit!"  I went out and ran half a mile.  It took me about 6 or 7 minutes to run that half mile and that was as far as I got.  I hated running but I hated being fat more than I hated running so I kept at it.  And I kept at it.  I never followed any specific plan like Couch to 5K.  I started at half a mile.  After a couple of weeks, I went to 3/4 of a mile.  Then a mile.  Etc.  I just kept gradually building how far I ran.  I started at 3 nights each week, then built to 4 and then 5.

Stupidly, I ran a half marathon only two months after I started running.  I finished but I damn near couldn't walk for days afterward.  I realized then that if I wanted to keep running, I needed to be smart about it and that half marathon was not smart.  So, I kept gradually building mileage.  And I kept building.  Then, I started doing some speed work.  I'm not sure where I ever learned about speed work but I knew sort of how to do tempo runs and intervals.  Now, I know that I was not getting as much out of them as I could have but I'm not sure that matters when you first start.  

Personally, I think there are two keys.

1.  Consistency.  Get out there 3-4 days each week for at least 30 minutes each time.  Less than that and you're not going to improve.

2.  Persistence.  There will be weeks when you don't get out there 3-4 times.  There may be weeks when you don't get out at all.  You may get hurt.  Regardless, get back out there as soon as you can.  Never, ever give up.

Last but not least, comparing yourself to someone else is pointless.  Some people will improve much faster than you.  Some more slowly.  It is impossible to predict how much anyone will improve or how rapidly they will improve.  What is possible to predict is that if you are consistent and persistent, your health will improve and that's the real reason for getting out there.

Reader's Digest version of my story and a few suggestions.

 

A bit less than five years ago, I was an obese chain smoker.  I'm 6'0" and weighed 230 pounds and that's about 20 pounds into the "obese" category.  I was 45 years old at the time and had smoked heavily since I was 15.  I'd love to say that something inspiring got me started but the reality is that I had to buy a pair of pants with a 42 inch waist and thought, "holy shit!"  I went out and ran half a mile.  It took me about 6 or 7 minutes to run that half mile and that was as far as I got.  I hated running but I hated being fat more than I hated running so I kept at it.  And I kept at it.  I never followed any specific plan like Couch to 5K.  I started at half a mile.  After a couple of weeks, I went to 3/4 of a mile.  Then a mile.  Etc.  I just kept gradually building how far I ran.  I started at 3 nights each week, then built to 4 and then 5.

 

Stupidly, I ran a half marathon only two months after I started running.  I finished but I damn near couldn't walk for days afterward.  I realized then that if I wanted to keep running, I needed to be smart about it and that half marathon was not smart.  So, I kept gradually building mileage.  And I kept building.  Then, I started doing some speed work.  I'm not sure where I ever learned about speed work but I knew sort of how to do tempo runs and intervals.  Now, I know that I was not getting as much out of them as I could have but I'm not sure that matters when you first start.  

 

Personally, I think there are two keys.

 

1.  Consistency.  Get out there 3-4 days each week for at least 30 minutes each time.  Less than that and you're not going to improve.

 

2.  Persistence.  There will be weeks when you don't get out there 3-4 times.  There may be weeks when you don't get out at all.  You may get hurt.  Regardless, get back out there as soon as you can.  Never, ever give up.

 

Last but not least, comparing yourself to someone else is pointless.  Some people will improve much faster than you.  Some more slowly.  It is impossible to predict how much anyone will improve or how rapidly they will improve.  What is possible to predict is that if you are consistent and persistent, your health will improve and that's the real reason for getting out there.

Great experience sharing! inspiring! I love it!

Here's another great story for inspiration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDBXIjgQYgk

Just get out the door each day you plan to run.  That's the hardest part.  Keep at it!

Welcome

I started running 9.5 years ago weighing 300+ pounds.  I still struggle daily with weight and making good decisions.  Running is the one thing that has kept me within a reasonable weight range for a 6'3 male.  Everytime I fall down, it will sooner or later pick me back up and bring me back to fitness.  I tend to run in the 200-225 range.

It also gives me many quiet moments to contemplate life.  Many a day I set out for a run with thoughts, ideas or emotions all jumbled inside of me, but during the run a calmness prevails and the complex problems seem to magically become simple during the run.  Other times I get the blessing of emptying out my head completely and having a stillness or thought and spirit that is magical.

My advice is to not let running be your end-all goal in the beginning.  Fitness can be your goal.  Consistent activity can be your goal.  There are many ways to build aerobic fitness.  I started by doing 3 things:  1)  My running was a 4 mile loop that I run/walked - This idea is very similar to Couch to 5k.  2)  I added a nice brisk walk when I had time at lunch or after supper or on days I did not run.  3)  I did eliptical = a low impact aerobic suppliment.

My points:  1)  Running can be very hard on your body, do not get frustrated is running does not go well at 1st.  You can get much of what you need in gaining aerobic fitness from cross training until your body can take the stress running will put on your body.  To stay injury free you have to listen to your body and manage this stress as your bodies ligamens, tendons, joints will be trained to handle.  You have to give your muscles time to gain a balance of strength to avoid injuries (Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes and calves all have different amounts of strength and the weak ling gets injured easy, but will build to balance over time)  2)  By adding walking - Either a a suppliment to running that day or in place of that days running has benefit.  Walking is low impact, it gets the blood flowing which helps to heal and recover.  But if your body does not want to run that day, walking allows you to keep the consistency of excercise, forming a habbit, a rythm of committment.

Be patient - Be smart - Be consistent and think long term.

I think of goals in terms of why and what I want to do for 5 or 10 years as a guiding light and what I want to do for the next year or the next 4-6 months for secondary goals.