Soup to Nuts - Letsrun Train Me

Today, completed 20 minutes on the elliptical and did squats and lunges in the am.

This evening, 10 minute walk and then 6 minute jog on the treadmill, followed by 45 minutes on the elliptical.

Weighed in at 180.6 today. 1.6 lbs to lose in 12 days to hit my month end goal.

Ok,

Monday was a little easier. Push ups in the morning. Then in the evening I did a 5 minute walk and then a 10 minute jog on the treadmill followed by 50 minutes on the elliptical.

Today, 20 minutes easy on the elliptical and snow shoveling to start the day and tonight I did a 5 minute walk and then a 15 minute jog on the treadmill. Finished with 50 minutes on the elliptical.

Glad to see things are going the right way.

Barring any setbacks I think my heel is within a week of being back to 100% You'll get there too, just keep on working back into it slowly.

Thanks VF. Good to hear also that you're on the mend.

Today I started with push ups in the morning.

Tonight I did a 5 minute walk and then a 20 minute jog on the treadmill. Finished with 50 minutes on the elliptical.

I've iced my foot the last 2 nights more as a precaution than anything else. No pain, but there is a little tightness that I feel on the elliptical, not on the treadmill.

Work and Christmas shopping caught up with me yesterday and I took a rest day. I did get in some squats and lunges, though.

Today, Push ups in the morning and tonight I completed a 25 minute jog and 35 minutes on the elliptical.

Merry Christmas everyone!

On Saturday (Christmas Day) I did squats and lunges in the morning followed by a mid afternoon 30 minute jog. In the evening I completed 60 minutes on the elliptical.

Today, it was push ups in the morning. A 35 minute jog mid afternoon and 60 minutes on the elliptical this evening.

My same foot that had been bothering me before is a little sore again. I've iced the last 2 nights.

Breaking through the 180 barrier is proving quite a challenge, but I'll get there by Saturday for certain.

Well, I've give you credit. This has gone on longer than I expected when I first saw the post. Keep working.

100 points wrote:

Well, I've give you credit. This has gone on longer than I expected when I first saw the post. Keep working.

Thanks for the encouragement 100.

I won't claim to have never quit what I might have started, but this time around I really have been at this for over a year now.

This phase of challenging myself athletically is relatively new though and part of the reason I'm sharing it with the board is to have some accountability, even if it is with anonymous strangers.

I've got support at home, also. My wife has turned herself into a fitness fanatic, preceding my own efforts by several years. So, she is happy for the track I'm on. That and I want my boys to see their Dad as an athlete, not some has been fatty.

Monday, did squats and lunges in the am. Mid afternoon was 40 minutes easy on treadmill. Using a balance ball (is that the right terminology?) for the squats. It was a Christmas gift.

In the evening I did 60 minutes on the elliptical.

Today, 5 x 20 sets of push ups and 30 minutes on the elliptical this morning. This evening another 15 minutes on the elliptical and then a 45 minute run on the treadmill.

Impossible Dream wrote:

Here's the first pacing pledge:

8:50 pace or slower in all my training runs until I hit 179 pounds. My goal is to hit 179 by December 31

First goal accomplished! I weighed in at 178 this morning.

My next goal is 169 by January 28. I'll restrict my pace to 8:30 or slower until I hit 169 pounds.

Wednesday workouts were kind of the whole kitchen sink. Started out with squats and lunges, then core work, then light weights and finally a 35 minute "hike" on the treadmill at grades of up to 10%. Did all this in the am. Wed pm I ran 50 minutes on the treadmill.

Thursday am was push ups and snow shoveling. Last night was core work and then 55 minutes running on the treadmill.

Glad to see things are progressing. Good luck in the coming new year!

Hey ID, what's your reasoning for restricting your pace until you lose more weight? Just curious as I'm in a similar situation but much earlier in my comeback. I'm about 50 lbs heavier than my college running weight from 15 years ago, and losing the pounds is priority #1 right now. I do not have the treadmill/elliptical option so running or stationary biking are my only options.

noxii wrote:

Hey ID, what's your reasoning for restricting your pace until you lose more weight? Just curious as I'm in a similar situation but much earlier in my comeback. I'm about 50 lbs heavier than my college running weight from 15 years ago, and losing the pounds is priority #1 right now. I do not have the treadmill/elliptical option so running or stationary biking are my only options.

Noxii,

I'm finding that I'm less prone to lower leg injuries with the slower pace. Once I'm back to my "fighting weight", I'll let my fitness and training goals dictate the pace.

Good luck to you and Happy New Year to everyone!

Good luck with your quest (Im)possible Dream. I'm following with interest. You're making good progress, and i for one think you can do it, or get very close. Can tell by your posts that you are made of the right stuff. Just keep it injury free stuff. All the best!

Pack in your job - train 100 miles a wk for 1 yr and pray you don't get injured

You have the wrong attitude and will not break 18 - injury is your main problem concentrate on that and forget the clock

Thanks for the encouragement, Rootie. It is much appreciated.

Friday morning, I completed squats and lunges, core work, light weights and a 30 minute run.

Saturday was an off day.

Tonight, I finished 60 minutes on the treadmill. Back to my regular work schedule tomorrow.

I'm hoping to get 2 a days in at a fairly regular rate.

Okay, couple things.

1. Both because you have limited time and because you're a masters runner, and because you're an American: Focus on the quality way more than the quantity. I forget the name, but one of the top masters marathoners did double days of progressive 5x1000m reps (nearly) every day, where the middle one was about at race pace. That takes a very particular mindset, of course, but I agree with the principle that you need to have a very high percentage of your training (obviously you need to build up to it) around your race pace, with some significantly faster as well. If you're structured about your quality, I don't think you need more than 50-60 minutes daily. I don't know if your goal is possible, but you won't know until you try for real. You clearly haven't come close to giving yourself a real shot in the last few years.

2. You might do well to start off a minor resistance training program. Mostly because compared to what you're doing and used to, a single stride at the pace you're hoping to run (5 flat) sounds like it's a pretty strong muscular contraction for you. So, lunges, squats, kettlebell swings, planks, etc.

3. The real problem with this letsrun idea is that I'm not going to go into trying to justify or explain any of this more than whatever I just did, and I think part of coaching that's important is that the athlete understands why he does something.

Anyway, good luck.

Conclusions,

Thanks for the encouragement.

In regards to your advice.

1 - That sounds like an interesting approach. Presently I'm obviously still in weight loss mode, until I get to around 165 lbs. Hopefully I get into training mode by mid to late February. At that point it is my intention to build a strong aerobic base with a couple of quality work outs a week. I don't think, at least initially, I'm going to emphasize A LOT of faster stuff in my training due to my being injury prone. As I get lighter and faster, then I'll add the faster stuff in.

2 - I'm with you here 100% and I'm already doing a lot of strength work.

Thanks again!

Training Update -

Monday, 25 minute run in the am plus push ups. PM was core work and 60 minute run.

Tuesday, am was squats and lunges. PM included core work, light weights, 70 minutes on the elliptical.

This morning included 30 minute run and push ups.