I really thought I didn't care anymore after the world closed down but I miss running. I hate seeing all my strava and Facebook friends out running races again. So, I guess I'm starting COMPLEYELY over. I gained a lot of weight when I quit running. So, not only do I have to get back in shape but I also have to lose weight.
I've lost 19 lbs so far last month. Today was my first jog. 2 miles in about 30 minutes. (I'm estimating because my GPS wasn't working.) I'm going to give myself until Jan 2024 to lose the rest of this weight while trying to get back to the shape I was in before March 2020.
I have been having nagging piriformis pain for the last 2 years and I'm looking for a stretching or exercise regimen that will help. This week's plan is just to do 2 miles or 30 mins or so a day. Super easy just breaking my legs back in. 😆
This has pretty much been the hardest/longest week of running in my life. Every day was a struggle to get out the door.
Total was 11.8 miles.
Best times
Quarter 2:54.7
Mile 12:05.6
2 mile 26:06.2
This week I'm going to add some very short intervals. Possibly strides after my run.
No weight lost at all. I'm definitely not overeating so I suppose it's just a stall. My body is probably in complete shock. The first 3 days my calves were really tight as well. I've started stretching them throughout the day and they seem to be improving.
I think I'm going to mostly avoid racing until after January. That gives me 2.5 months of building foundation. I'm hoping I can lose another 20 lbs by that time. Not sure though since this last week I lost 0. I think if I'm consistent I can get under 20 minutes for my 2 mile by then.
Monday went to the track and just did some 100s at a faster pace. Not a sprint or anything just wanted to do some strides. Half mile warm up and cool down.
Tuesday 2 miles 25:56
Wednesday. Woke up and my knees were killing me. I'm pretty sure it was from the strides because they ached a little afterward. It didn't seem like anything to be worried about at the time.... but it's now 5 days later and they're still sore.
I'm not going to run again until they stop aching. I'm wondering how long I should wait before doing any faster running again? Do I need to lose more weight? Do I just need more mileage under me?
It has taken a month but my knees are no longer aching.
Starting over today.
Lost 9 lbs over the last month. Total weight loss is 29 lbs so far. Goal for December is another 11 lbs. Stay injury free. Start working out to strengthen my joints, etc. Be able to run farther than 2 miles without stopping.
Good job, I’m getting back into shape myself after a year long layoff with a few runs here and there. Foam rolling and stretching everyday is a game changer in terms of staying loose and injury free… also lacrosse ball massage on the foot. I take days off all the time and times have been improving steadily. Good luck
Today I'm feeling really frustrated with my pace. I know I shouldn't be bc I'm literally 60 lbs heavier than I was 2 years ago and I haven't kept in any kind of condition. But 13 minutes? Really? How long is it going to take to get into condition? What can I do to get there faster without over doing it?
My current plan is 2 weeks of 2 miles a day easy (Which is like 26 mins). And the body weight stuff from ATG 6 days a week. Then start to add 10% every other week.
I'm thinking after that that I might add something non impact? Elliptical, swim, arc or bike for 30 mins a day? Will that DO anything? When people talk about getting condition through these exercises are they going them easy or hard? Does anyone have any good info on crosstraining with these sorts of machines?
You should allow at least six weeks before you see any progress at all. If you keep at it, you will see progress. The hard part is believing that now.
One thing you can do to maybe help things along is to run doubles every day you can. Start your bodyweight stuff with a 15 minute jog to warm up. Don't worry about pace. That will improve over time, if you keep running.
Among the advantages of doubles is that 2 x 20 minutes is easier on your body, I think, than 1 x 30-40 minutes. That especially matters when you're dragging 60 extra pounds of gut along.
And, speaking of weight, you should be aiming to get rid of it. The three things that worked for me --
eat a little less -- not a lot, just a little. Small, regular meals worked for me. I figured that if I was going to be a little hungry, having five meal / snacks to look forward to was easier to handle.
wash those meals down with lots of water. Don't drink anything with calories, except maybe a bit of cream and sugar in your coffee.
Weigh yourself every day, preferably first thing in the morning. Eventually you'll see a pound or two less. That is progress. Add an extra minute to your next run. If you see a pound more, tell yourself that it's water weight and move on. Add an extra minute to your next run. I guarantee that this will encourage you not to take that extra bite of food.
Finally, remember that nothing will happen overnight. You have started a slog, so you need to keep slogging.
Get yourself RENPHO Smart Scale. They sell it cheap on Amazon. Then, weigh yourself before and after run. Track your calories per day. For example, if you didn't lose weight after the day and you ate 2600 calories (takes 3 to 5 days to notice), you need to cut away 100 calories next time until you are actually losing weight. It's just a matter of tweaking.
As for 2 miles a day to lose weight, it's not enough. I will say it's 4 to 6 miles, but your chances of doing well is greater if you did 2 miles of running in the AM and 5 miles of walking in the PM for the day, I recommend 20 weeks of this going from both 8 miles of running and 10 miles of walking a week to both 40 miles of running and 25 miles of walking a week. If all good, transition to PM running, same idea as you phase out walking.
As for how many days a week, I recommend 4x a week with 3 off days; after 5 weeks of it, 5x a week with 2 off days; again, 6x. It's the aerobic base you need to develop first, and the pace will drop over time as you lose weight and build muscle.
I've been eating about 1800 calories a day, all in a 4 hr window. Nothing in my coffee. Forcing myself to go to sleep on time and get at least 6 hrs but shooting for 8. Sometimes I can't help that I just wake up and cannot go back to sleep about 5 am.
I have the Garmin scale... which reminds me I was watching a video where someone's Garmin watch told them what workouts to do. If I remain consistent then I might reward myself with a new watch.
I think I could add doubles, especially if I started by doing them as walks. Thanks guys, I'll definitely incorporate some of this.
Tuesday-2 miles (26:35), AGT-A day. Work up sore. I didn't think I would make it through this 2 mile slog. Heart rate high of 206 the last 5 mins. I'm 42 so this is probably way too high.
Wednesday-2 miles (26:27)- Still sore.
Thursday-2 miles (25:54)-Less sore, AGT-A day
Friday-2 miles (26:00)
Saturday- 2miles (25:34)-Soreness gone, AGT A-day
Weight for the week: 192.9-191.8 (I'm not too happy about this but the beginning weight was actually my pre-Thanksgiving weight bc I refused to weigh myself from Thursday until today). For reference I was 136 lbs in 2020. Reached a high of 222 in May of this year. Goal before Christmas was 40 lbs so I have 9.8 to go.
Today I slogged 3.5 miles. I'm not sure if it was so hard because it was just a longer distance... or bc I ate early the day before and I was deeper into fasted state when I ran?
Usually I eat from 2-6 pm. But yesterday my 4 hr window ended at 2:30 because that's just how my schedule worked out. I went running at 8:30 am which is about 30 mins later than most days as well. Do you think an extra 4 hrs of fasting is the likely culprit or it was just difficult bc it was a longer run, a combination of both? I also woke up at 5 am and could not get back to sleep so I've been tired all day.
Either way, new rule: On Saturdays I have to eat as close to 6 pm as possible. Maybe even later.
You don't have to jog everyday if you don't feel like it, simply walking is perfectly fine. As long as you lace your shoes and get out there it's a success
Does my Garmin keep saying unproductive bc I was in so much better shape before I quit and gained weight? It doesn't matter what I do, it says unproductive