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From 0 to 10 miles in 3 1/2 months (Read 1097 times)

    Is that possible? I am a really stagnant kind of person, 27 years old and quite overweight and want to change some of my habits. Are those a little bit too high expectations (running 10 miles in 3 1/2 months) or do you think it's achievable? Cheers! :)
    PRs 5K 21:44 10K 51:35 51:09 48:41
    Wingz


    Professional Noob

      Do you mean to run in a 10 mile race 3 1/2 months from now? It would depend on the person. Given what little you've told us, it sounds like a better goal would be a 5K race rather than a 10 mile race. You might want to check out an incremental program that will take you bit by bit up the running incline... try maybe the couch-to-5K program over at coolrunning at http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml. If you want to change some habits, getting in the habit of regular exercise is a *great* one. Smile However, most new runners try to do too much too soon for their bodies... and end up getting hurt. You can't run if you're hurt. Making a much more gradual transition into being a runner is a better deal - a more sustainable, healthier choice. This program, by the way, assumes you're starting where you can walk for 30 minutes 3x/wk already. If that's not where you're at yet, you'll want to slowly build up to that first before attempting the program...

      Roads were made for journeys...

        I started running when I was 60 pounds overweight, and it took me about 10 months to get to 10 miles. But I was starting from absolutely NO physical fitness. I hadn't really ever been active, and had to start out only running for 30 seconds at a time. Overweight or not, you might progress faster than that if you have some fitness ability or strength to pull from. But even then I doubt you'll be able to from not being a runner at all to running 10 miles straight, all in 3.5 months. Especially not injury free.
        "Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?' " - Peter Maher, Irish-Canadian Olympian


        Now that was a bath...

          I went from nought to eight miles in two months and ran myself to injury. Now here I am at three months injured again from overuse and as a banner girl for the 'Too much too quickly' club. You can do it. I'll reserve you a place on the couch next to me for when you need to put your injured legs up Smile Actually I am being a little harsh. I personaly believe that my injury is bugger all to do with distance and more to do with pounding concrete hills and speedwork but I just wanted to shout at someone instead of being the victim for a change Wink Of course I wasn't exactly 'stagnant' when I started as I walked about 8 miles a day out of neccessity. All in all I think that the biggest lesson that I learnt is that the first rule of being in the 'Too Much' club is - you do not talk about the 'too Much' club. Shhhhhh, because some people around here have eyes as well as ears, but there are more member's than care to admit. You'll notice us hobbling around the shopping malls, wincing into position at our office desks. Dependent on pain killers yet addicted to that very pain. Mostly I would ignore everything that I say though because my brain fell out when I removed my running shoes and I've yet to be given permission to re-insert it. Claire xxx
        • jlynnbob "HTFU, Kookie's distal tibia"
        • Where's my closet? I need to get back in it.
          Wingz


          Professional Noob

            No, I'd say walking 8 miles a day as a base is definitely *not* a "stagnant" beginning, and you are definitely *not* "quite overweight." Claire, your progress was remarkable, but the injury was as predictable as... well... I'd rather not say. Wink I was about 70 pounds overweight when I started running again this last time, and by using a stretched out version of the couch-to-5K was able to become a runner without hurting myself. Now I'm only 35 pounds overweight. Wink Takeing a slow ramp-up really is a good thing, in my experience!

            Roads were made for journeys...

            JakeKnight


              Hiya, Roark. The answer, as others have suggested, is (as with most stuff around here) ... it depends. Just how bad is your physical condition? How much overweight is "quite" overweight? How sedentary is your lifestyle? Depending on the answers to those, my answer to you would range from "not likely" to "piece of cake." Assuming your goal is just to finish the thing, assuming you're okay with walking quite a bit during the race, assuming you aren't in truly horrible shape, and assuming you stick with it consistently for the next three months (say 3-5 run/walks a week) .... assuming all that, I don't see why you couldn't do it. (Modified to add this: if your question is can you RUN the whole thing ... I'd doubt it. Just wanted to be clear.) Of course, that's a lot of assumptions. And that "consistently" part might be harder than it looks at first. Above all else, you'll have to make sure not to hurt yourself. Shorter version: definitely probably maybe. Good luck! Now the important stuff: what's your signature line mean? It completely cracked me up, even though I have no clue what that's about. Details, please. Who's Bob?

              E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
              -----------------------------


              Now that was a bath...

                Now the important stuff: what's your signature line mean? It completely cracked me up, even though I have no clue what that's about. Details, please. Who's Bob?
                Ok so I guess that all the 'Fight Club' allusions that I made in my post went over your head then! ' Bob had bitch tits'. He was Meatloaf in Fight Club. The bloke that got breasts when taking hormones for testicular cancer. Claire xxx
              • jlynnbob "HTFU, Kookie's distal tibia"
              • Where's my closet? I need to get back in it.
                JakeKnight


                  Does this mean you'll kick my ass if I admit to, um, just skimming your post? Am I Brad Pitt or Edward Norton here?

                  E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
                  -----------------------------


                  Cryptic

                    Its a quote from the movie Fight Club JK
                    zoom-zoom


                    rectumdamnnearkilledem

                      I was fairly active when I took up running (at age 33) and about at my current weight (high end of healthy). It took me about 2 months to be able to run a 5k. I started with the Couch-to-5k program. I ran 10 miles for the first time probably 5 months in, but that was only with consistently increasing my distance by 10% each week. You could increase by more, but you'd be setting yourself up for a much greater risk of injury...like someone else we know.... Wink BTW, come join us in the Jiggly Joggers (link in my sig). Weigh-in is Monday! Big grin k

                      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

                        I went from 0 to Half Marathon in 5 1/2 months with a 10 miler in training at the 3 1/2 month mark. I ran for six months about 10 years ago, never further than about 5 miles and not a step since so I was starting off from 0. I didn't get injured (a few knee tweaks here and there) but my immune system took a hammering. I was as spotty as a teenager for several weeks when we got above the 10 mile mark and any manner of cold or flu brought home by the kids I seemed to get. After 8 years as a paramedic I had an immune system that had seen it all and was occasionally known to try attacking small animals when it ran out of germs to kill. I really think the problem was not so much the distance, and as you'll see in my log the build-up was on a plan, dropping back every other week. The problem was that my idiot ego got in the way and I had to go faster! Take it slowly, build up gradually and build a base of fitness before you go putting the hammer down and the distance might not get you. Good luck.
                          I went from being a totally sedentary (3 years totally sedentary spent recovering from congestive heart failure/cardiomyopathy) and about 30 pounds overweight 41 year old woman who hadn't really run (or exercised) much since middle school back in the '70's. :-) I joined a half marathon training program last January and went from not able to run more than 2 or 3 minutes at a time to running an entire 13.1 mile half marathon in under 2:30 in 16 weeks. Looking back at my schedule, I see that I hit 10 miles after 10 weeks so it *is* doable. I made it through the program with no running related injuries. (I fell down some wet stairs and was on crutches for a week or two but that had a lot more to do with being an idiot than with running! Wink ) I'm a neutral runner. I don't pronate. I seem naturally to run with pretty good form. After being so sick, I've gotten pretty good at listening to my body so I know how to back down the mileage or intensity when needed. I've been running for a full year now and haven't had any running related injuries to deal with. And so far have managed to cut about a half hour off of my HM time. My husband pronates more. Running doesn't seem to come as naturally to him. He's had several running / overuse injuries during the past year and has probably been unable to run about half the time. Shin splints, groin pull, calf injuries. For him, it works better to up the mileage a little more slowly. He was also able to run the entire HM and probably could have done it a lot quicker than 2:30 but he was hanging with me since the race was on our anniversary. Blush So can you run 10 miles in 3 1/2 minths? Maybe. Tongue Be careful. Get good shoes. Go slowly. And have a good training plan. Good luck! Teresa
                          RunningHammer


                            It was for me - i did it last year. I started training in July aged 35, i was approx 30 pounds overweight and only able to run/walk 1 mile. That took about 13-14 minutes. I got some decent shoes, started running on a treadmill mostly at first and ran on the road about once a week. After a month i switched to road running completely. In October I ran a 10 mile race in what was pretty crap weather conditions. My longest training run to that point had been 8 miles. It was hard losing the 30lbs weight & gaining fitness at the same time. Took some willpower! The fact that i wasn't eating enough to maintain weight also meant that my training runs were a lot slower than i was actually capable of because i lacked energy. I wasn't aware of this at the time though. Two weeks before the race i started tapering, and eating properly again. Come race day, i was lean and full of energy. I ran the race about 8 minutes faster than i expected! Cheers D
                            JillyBeans


                            Jiggle, jiggle, jiggle.

                              I think that anyone can do anything they want to. I had a hysterectomy in November 04 and then ran a half-marathon in May 05 with no running before the surgery. I wasn't fast, but I did it and was proud that I ran the whole thing......even over the rattlesnakes and a dead cow, but that's a different post. It was a goal that I had and helped me with recovery. However, I didn't continue to run after that HM until a few months ago. What does that tell you? I don't know, but it might be inspiring. I also lost about 20 pounds during that time, that I have almost put all back on and am in the process now of removing. Whoops! Life is a roller-coaster, isn't it? Wink Jilly Good luck!
                              "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."
                                Yes, it's doable. I started running again in April of last year. I ran 12.6 miles at the end of July. Prior to running I'd been rowing & using a Nordic track for a couple of years so, maybe I already had a decent base. Or maybe I just got lucky. What's the rush? Take your time. Do it right. Don't get injured & you might stick with it for life.
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