Oldish fat guy and wanna go fast

Work on your cadence, keep working on intervals at least once a week, and make sure you eat plenty of protein after harder runs.

The good news is you're not old. The bad news is that, clinically speaking, you're obese. As you've noticed, your big challenge is to lose the weight, and your biggest enemy is injury.

Step 1 is to get serious about your diet. You don't have to do anything extreme, but you have to start paying close attention to portion size. Stop drinking calories. You may not ever have to go farther than this, but it takes a while to lose weight effectively. The long-term positive effects are huge, and the long-term negative effects of failing to lose weight are also huge, so don't put it off. Buy a scale and use it once a day.

Step 2 is to drop the intervals for now and just make sure you can run consistently. An hour run at 10:00/mile is actually fantastic, and possibly too much. Keep it slow, keep it short, keep it easy, keep it every other day (at first) and don't get injured. Your goal is to add a little bit of distance each week. Move up to 4 days per week, then 5 days, eventually 6. Don't jump up too fast. Don't get injured. Also, get outside and run in the park or (if your joints are okay with it) on the street. You'll enjoy it a lot more than a treadmill.

Once you get up to 40-50 km/week, you can start thinking about "workouts," but start with the basics: one day a bit longer, another day a bit faster. The best bank for your buck for a 5K is a tempo run, which is basically just "run at a faster than usual pace for 20 minutes."

It might take you 3 months, or it might take you 6. It doesn't matter how long it takes you. Be cautious and consistent for a while, and then you'll get to a place where you can have fun with workouts and races.

Don't work on cadence.

I'm older and fatter than you and also new to running, my running paces are similar, looking forward to seeing how you progress, hopefully you can keep us updated on this thread.

Disclaimer- I used to be halfway decent runner. 32 min 10k 1:52 800. Stopped running in 30s. Started again at 42. At the time I weighed 190 pds at 5’9”. If offered $20,000 to run an 8 min mile I couldn’t have done it.

Now I’m 43 down to 155 pds running 38s for 10k. Low 18s 5k at 6000ft altitude.

What worked for me might not work for you but this is what I did:

Started very slowly running 3 miles in about 30 minutes 3 days a week. After 3 weeks made it 4d/w

Then 5, then 6. I also gradually picked up the pace and the distance

So something like M- 5 T 3 W -4 Th - 3 F-3 S 5-6 Su off

As this became more and more comfortable i continued to increase distance and pace. After about ) months I was up to 40 mile weeks at high 7/low 8

Currently at 50-55 miles low 7 s

Strength - I started doing push-ups and core daily at same time as running. I started at 10 sets of 10 push-ups which was brutal. And crunches were unbearable.

By 6 months I was doing 15 sets of 50 and equal core.

Diet - the BIG thing was cutting out all alcohol. Hard at first but now don’t miss it or want it. Nothing really can be made better with it. I eat more salads now. Love Kale and chicken ceaser. Still eat pretty much everything I did. Just no alcohol and lots more water.

Mental - first I WANTED to get back into shape. And second I knew I had been there before and this I knew it could be done.

Hope this helps.

I'm 50, overweight and disabled, I run 17 minutes and I don't even consider that fast.

You are not old but you are fat.

Change your diet before it's too late.

zxcvzxcv wrote:

I'm 50, overweight and disabled, I run 17 minutes and I don't even consider that fast.

If you say so. For my age 43, 17:45 is considered national class. So for over 50 17s would be exceptional. FWIW when you are dismissive of your own talents you are diminishing the efforts of others.

It is okay to say “ya I’m good. There are others faster but I’m definitely faster than most”. Otherwise it’s like Lebron James saying he is poor because Elon Musk has more money. Falls on deaf ears.

OP - also maybe get a Strava account. The dopamine hits you get when you get a kudos helps keep motivation.

The sky is the limit at 28. I got back into running at 33 and scould barely walk the day after I ran my first 5k race in 23 min+. 7 years later, I ran my fastest marathon at 2:47. So, the most important point is that it takes a lot of time before you will start to see results. Be patient with yourself. There will be lots of injuries and setbacks. Just keep at it.

The best thing I ever did for my running was finding a training group to run with. Nothing will help you improve more that having rabbits to chase during workouts (and by rabbits, I mean other runners). The other best advice for noobs is when in doubt, rest it out. Most aches and pains will go away with a few days rest. There is no benefit or advantage to training through the pain. You will just end up with a more significant injury that will take weeks and possibly months of rest to recover from.

The best workouts for new runners are hills and intervals based on effort level. Running 400/800 mile repeats, etc. is probably too hard for you right now. You are gong to want to do much shorter efforts to try to build up some turnover in your legs. Do short hill repeats that are 150-250m. Do repeats for about 5-6 min and take a few minutes for a break and then do another set. Run the uphills comfortably hard and jog super easy back down. Gradually build up to 2x10 min. Do the same sort of pattern with intervals. 1 min hard and 1 min easy for 6 min with a few minutes break and then repeat. Work up to 2x10min. Then do longer reps with shorter rest or ladders (1-2-3-4-3-2-1) . You can throw in a 1 or 2 mi time trial every 6-8 weeks to monitor progress. Once you are feeling stronger and faster, you can start trying to do more traditional track workouts and tempos.

This is very similar to the situation I was in a few years ago only I was 40 so you are much further ahead of where I was.

The best thing you can do for long term health and to avoid injury is focus on your general well being and fitness which will entail not only exercising but also a good diet. Here's what worked for me:

Months 0-3 I focused on exercising more which entailed walking and hiking with a few short runs 3-5KM starting in month 3

In month 3 I started working out in a gym doing weight lifting, core, and strength / aerobic combined workouts including fan bike, sled pulls, etc.

As I increased my gym workouts I supplemented them with more running 3X per week still around 5Km with a handful of 8KM runs thrown in

I had run a 5KM Oktoberfest 6 months before I started trying to get in shape and did it in 38 minutes with some jogging and some walking so that gives you some level of understanding my fitness

Within 5 months of starting I had dropped 30 lbs (~14kg) and entered the same Oktoberfest race race where I was able to finish at 8 minute mile pace.

It was at this point I started getting more serious about my training and transitioned from jogging for health and weight loss to training.

I kept up the gym workouts 3x per week but transitioned to 5 runs per week with a mix of tempo, speed workouts and one longer run (10-12K at the time)

Within a year I had dropped 50lb (I had started at 203 pounds) and reduced my weight circumference from 39 to 30 inches). My 5K time went down to low 18s and I started running 10K's in the high 30s.

I mention this b/c it is never too late to try and get into shape and the health benefits are enormous. Because I started out slow I didn't experience any pain or injuries, I think walking is highly underrated as a means to build fitness, I still try to walk 3-5 miles per day outside of whatever running or lifting I do as I find it helps enormously with my general fitness.

At your age its certainly possible to get into great shape and run fast it all depends on your desire and discipline. For me I was happy to run for fun and be somewhat competitive in my age group for local races. I'm sure I could train to run faster but having children has made that more difficult, hopefully when my son is older we can run together and push each other to new PRs.

Colder and Wiser has it exactly right.

5"6" and 190 lbs, is that right? If so you've got a lot of weight to lose before you should even consider "getting faster". Diet is far more important than excercise to acheive results. You're far more prone to injury at your current weight. Slow running and walking, and other low impact cardio should be what you focus on.

I don't like the idea of cutting out alcohol entirely (that's no fun at all), but maybe think about taking a month or two off.

‘Oldish’

Age: 28

Just start training, get your GPP back, start slow and progress as your body responds. I wouldn’t bother with anything structured just yet.

Squatting seems to correlate with waist line. Greg Nuckols over at stronger by science thinks it’s down to beneficial leverages and a stronger brace position.

Thanks to all the responses.

Yes I'm 5'7" on a good day and just north of 190 lbs at the moment. I was quite suprised to see that number since I would have guessed more like 170 lbs. That might be priority #1 for me even above putting in the miles. I think about doing one of my runs right now with 20 lb dumbbell in each hand and imagine how much harder that would be... now how much easier it might be if we took that off

I don't "look" obese, but more like stocky or a bit tubby. I rarely drink but my diet is trash. A lot of burgers, fried chicken, BBQ etc. I would say I look better now than I did at 135 lbs and a lot manlier. I wouldn't want to drop back down to that weight but mybe in the 150-160 range with some upper body would be ideal for me.

I'm not a bodybuilder but I'm not a complete weakling either. I can bench 100kg or do 50 pushups. I can bust out 15 or 20 dips if I had to, OHP 60kg for sets and squat around 140kg.

I lift occasionally but less so since I started jogging more. I figured I'm fatter than I am weak so I'd be better off running 5x and lifting 2x per week than vice versa at this point.

I have fairly wide shoulders and hips, I'm not sure if my body type is exactly ideal for distance running either. Judging from earlier dabbles I would say I have exactly zero natural talent for the stuff, but I still want to get into it. We did some 800m time trial for soccer camp as a kid(14-15?) and I ran it around 2:27. I remember because I had wanted to get under 2:30.

The past two weeks I've been putting in about 20-25 MPW over 3-4 runs per week. No shin pain anymore and only the mild, almost pleasurable soreness similar to DOMS from lifting.

I feel like I could easily bump up to 5 days 25-30 MPW range but I don't want to push it too hard. I'd like to look into local running clubs soon but would prefer to have a decent baseline first. I don't want to be the slowest guy in the group or overtrain trying to keep up with the pack. I'm planning on giving things another month or two and see where I'm at.

I'll post an update here in a week or two with any progress

When I started my "comeback" I was 5'7" 200 lbs and did a lot on the bike to start getting back in shape before I even started running. Once I started running I was doing 10-15 miles a week 3 days and still biking on most other days. It took 6 months for my shins to stop hurting. I've been building mileage ever sense and am averaging 50 MPW and touching 60 on occasion. It took my about 3 years but I've dropped my 5K time from 25 minutes down to 18 minutes now and lost 40 lbs in the process I'm in my 40s so you have a leg up on my in that respect.

My 2 cents would be to mix in some cross training (like elliptical or bike). Good way to burn calories and work on your aerobic engine without having to take all the impact from the extra weight.

Also, don't overdo it as you get started. Build up slow! If you get hurt or burnt out you'll cancel all the good work you've put in quick.... this isn't my first "come back" so I've learned this lesson the hard way.

Been a month or two so far and seeing some progress along the way. Around memorial day I weighted in at 194 (gym scale after my workout) now I'm down to 175 after my workouts or around 177-178 thruought the day.

I've started running every day. My last day off was July 4th for the holiday and I've seen a lot of progress in the past month or so from the consistent training. When I started doing 7 days per week and around 25 mpw I had to slow down a bit to keep from injury. At the time it was tough to do that even at 10:30 /mi jogging pace. Now that pace is a recovery day for me. Past two weeks were around 28/29 mi and I'm planning to hold at 30 or below until my paces drop some more.

Recent training log has been:

8/1/21: 3 mi@10:10 pace (am), 2mi @ 9:43 + 0.5cd (pm)

8/2/21 1.5mi @ 9:40 then 2 more jogging 10:37

8/3/21 2mi @10:20, then 1 mi@ 8:55 then 0.5cd

8/4/21 0.5 wu, 3mi @ 9:19, .5 cd

8/5/21 weights lifting, 2mi@9:38 then 1 cd @ 10:25 (am) got new shoes that day and tried them out so 2mi @ 9:25 then .5 cd (pm)

8/6/21 3mi @ 9:57 on treadmill incline 3%, 1mi cd flat (10:25)

8/7/21 weight lifting then 3mi @ 9:25 + .5cd

8/8/21 5mi @ 10:24

8/9/21 3mi @ 9:10 then .5 cd

Obviously times are still atrocious but I've noticed I can drop the pace more and more each day without any of the issues I had been worried about before (shin, ankle, calf pain).

I haven't bothered doing really any speed work yet, and I'm not sure when to start adding that. I feel I could be much faster once I get comfortable running those paces in the first place on the treadmill. Training mostly on the treadmill (August in Georgia sucks for running outdoors) it feels a bit shaky going even 8 min pace like I'm worried about falling off the damn thing so I tense up and my form suffers as a result. Obviously still that is a recovery pace for most serious runners, so it's just a matter of getting comfortable with the cadence.

Like at my training paces I can just cruise and not think about the treadmill, but if I even go just a bit faster I start feeling like I'm gonna trip unless I'm careful.

update after another couple months. Still plugging away been putting around 30 mpw consistently since the last post. I got a watch to help keep track of my training and heart rate.

I started trying to differentiate my runs more to do some runs in the lower heart rate range (sub 153 bpm)and putting in some higher intensity efforts on other days. I'm still slow but I made some progress

My weight is down to 78kg (still high for 170cm but down). I did a 5km time trials the other day and ran it in 25:40 . Slow time of course but it felt like a pretty good effort on a somewhat hilly loop. I can run a mile in around 7 mins 15 seconds now and 800 meters in 3:20...

I am hoping to break 20 minutes in the 5k sometimes in 2022, but we'll see how things go in the upcoming months . If not then definitely 2023.

So you've gone from 192lbs to 172lbs, well done. I would keep going with that - is your goal about 155lbs? It will make you way less likely to get injured and your form will be better too.

Don't worry about speedwork or anything like that yet, it's completely unnecessary. You want to build a base and strengthen your muscles, tendons, ligaments and so on. 30mpw sounds good. I wouldn't massively increase that yet personally. Hope you are enjoying it.

I started out at 200lb a little bit before making this thread and down to the low 170s.

Yeah 150s range sounds about right. When I was a teen I was more like 135 and I could run faster than I can now. I don't want to get that skinny again and I still have muscles somehow despite not lifting at all and running every day. Once I get down below 160 and closer to my running goals I'll start lifting again.

I am enjoying it overall. It's nice to be able to jog with some buddies on the trails and feel completely relaxed holding a conversation if we go slow enough (usually means around 11 minute pace for me) and at least comfortably keep up if they are going a bit faster.

I feel my progress is a little on the slower side compared to the effort I'm putting in, but I think that's to be expected giving my weight. If I had been starting out at 140 lb I'm sure I would be a lot close to my 19:XX goal than I am now. As it stands starting at 200lb it's been a whole different ballgame.

It did feel good to at least get a 5k TT under 26 mins. Sounds like a joke to people here but that means I can keep up with the average HJers if I decided to do a local 5k for fun and not be completely out of my element. The next minor goal will be to TT 5km under 8 min pace, which I expect will take another month or two.

I'd also like to hit a mile TT under 7min soon. I could probably do the mile one now if I went flat out on a track (7:15 was on roads and first time doing a mile TT) but I'll give it a while longer and see if I can go comfortably under.