Starting Completely Over- Training Log

It’s wild how similar this is to my own recent experience. I came back to running last year after about 8 years away from the sport. Right around 215 pounds. Couldn’t run a mile faster than like 11 minutes, lots of walking breaks.

Definitely get new shoes. Do strength exercises because your joints are gonna hurt and there’s a pretty real risk of getting injured. I’ve had foot, knee, Achilles, and hip problems (after never having been injured a single time when I was younger). The strength work has done wonders for injury prevention. Stretching too. Cross training is huge as well if you can manage it (in place of running as much as possible for the time being).

Take your time. It’ll come back.

Thanks. It always feels good to know my experience isn't uncommon. It's been very hard with college kids home and eating everything in front of me. Plus just added stress. I may have been too restrictive on my diet though bc most days I was under 800 calories. I didn't feel hungry though. Just extremely tired every run.

I looked through the whole thread, and can see you’re making progress.

as others have said, don’t be afraid to walk/cross train. As the pounds come off you can run more.

stick to it!

Week 12/25-12/31

Sunday-60 mins (didn't make it 56:34-4.12 miles, 13:44 pace)

Monday-30 mins (2.46 miles)

Tuesday-Goal was .5 warmup/cooldown and 8x400. Ended up .5, 6x400 and 1 mile cooldown (2:27, 2:20, 2:20, 2:18, 2:22, 2:21) huge breaks between quarters.

Wednesday- 35 mins (2.86)

Thursday- .5, 1 mile for time, cooldown (2.39 total) mile was 9:45.3! Pretty happy about breaking 10 again.

Friday- AM 3.27 miles (41:10) PM 0.9 miles (4.17 total). Just trying to get in mileage but don't want to have 2 long runs so I tried to split it up. (38:57.5 at 5k)

Saturday-2 miles (22:59.3) realized @ 1.5 miles I could beat last week but I was just jogging up until then.

I definitely improved this week. Felt much easier now that I ate a bunch of Christmas food. I'll weigh myself next week LOL Got the right size Glycerins in but they are still super tight. Ends of my feet keep going numb. Went by and had my feet measured and they still said to get an 8.5 but I'm debating on exchanging for 9s. Both my college kids have headed out.

Total miles this week: 21

I have 8 leftover crossfit workouts from a package I bought. Going to use those up first. Maybe M, W, Fr this week? And do my double runs on T/Th.

Week of 1/1-1/7

Sunday: 60 minutes easy (4.82 miles)
Monday: 30 mins easy (2.47 miles)
Crossfit in the PM

Tuesday: 7x400 plus warmup/cooldown (3 miles). Note to self: Wind was 30 mph with 45 mph gusts. The week before was 20 mph but also coming from a different direction so only a small portion of the track was head-on wind.
(2:16, 2:22, 2:24, 2:18, 2:18, 2:25, 2:19)

Wednesday: 35 mins easy (2.72 miles) Calves very sore.

Thursday: 1 mile time trial plus warmup (1.51 miles) Time was 9:39.4 a 6 second improvement. (2:00, 2:27, 2:35, 2:37)

Friday: 3.35 miles (42.44)

Saturday: 3.13 miles (37:23)

Total miles this week: 21

Weight: Finally on the way down again. 183.3. I had set a goal of 182 by Jan 1 but caved to peer pressure over the holidays.

I have a 2 mile road race this next Saturday. I really want to break 21:37 but it's a lofty goal. I guess we will see! I've started to remember my iron and salt pills again. Which does make a difference. I'm going to stay on plan until either Thursday night or Friday morning. Then I will have a few high carb meals to fuel the race. As well as a couple of super light running days so my legs will feel fresh. I might even take an ice bath since my legs have been feeling very heavy. Started to feel pretty weak again at the end of the week and noticed I was under eating AGAIN. I really don't know what to do except obsessively track calories because I'm just NOT HUNGRY.

Personal goals this month are weight 179, to break 9 in my mile again, and to just continue to be consistent with increasing mileage and adding in cross training. And it would be really nice if my finances continued to improve. Preferably all before I turn 42 on February 5th.

Not running related but I moved some things around and brought my credit score up over 100 pts in December. Which also lowered my monthly payments by over $2k. Now I have free capital to make some more investments.

That's not acceptable. Your Garmin is fat shaming you.

Week of 1/8-1/14

Sunday-60 mins. (4.52 miles) Did not feel well at all. Chest/throat felt tight and I struggled the entire time. I had to stop like 5 times the last 10 minutes.

Monday-1 mile (12:10) did not feel well at all, slight fever.

Tuesday- 1 mile (11:59) Still feverish.

Wednesday- 1 mile (13:17) Still sick.

Thursday- 1 mile (10:21) Feeling much better.

Friday- 1 mile (10:29)

Saturday- Race day 2 miles.

Goal was 21:37. My watch says I was 21:49 at 2 miles but total time was 21:59. My watch (and everyone else on my strava) showed the race at 2.04 miles. I was 4th in my age group and gender. My nemesis was 3rd. So, no medal for me. My next chance to see her is February 11th. I think in a month I should be able to get under 20.

1st-18:10

2nd-20:02

Nemesis-21:13

Me-21:59

Weight: 183.3 to 180.9.

Total miles only 11.56

Week of 1/15-1/21

Sunday- 6 miles. (1:16:00) Longest run so far, felt fine except for my feet starting hurting towards the end.

Monday-3.10 miles (36:26)

Tuesday- 3 miles. wu/8x400/cd (2:18, 2:22, 2:20, 2:26, 2:28, 2:30, 2:29, 2:43) First time I've gotten all 8 quarters in.

Wednesday-3.44 miles (42:51) The town course.

Thursday-1.51 miles (warmup, 1 mile tt @ 10:06)

Friday- 1.52 miles (17:57) Ran during my daughter's swim practice and simply ran out of time.

Saturday- 1 mile. (11:38) Woke up with back pain. On the Friday run a dog almost bit me and I twisted and jumped away and I think I pulled a muscle or something. Just ran the mile to keep the streak. Back pain got gradually worse all day.

Total miles: 19.57

I was pretty upset at not getting 25 miles this week. And to be honest, I won't get it this week either bc the back pain did not go away quickly but I know it's better not to push through the pain and end up out for weeks or months.

Weight: 180.9 to 180.3. Meh, a loss is a loss I guess.

Delete strava. Run where and at whatever pace you want. If you don't feel like it, don't run.

KEEP GOING!! Your journey and dedication are inspiring!!

Week of 1/22-1/28

Sunday-1 mile (12:03) back not good at all. Struggled through this one to keep the streak

Monday-1.77 miles (22:20) I thought my back felt better but at about a mile it started to tense up again.

Tuesday- 1.01 miles (10:22)

Wednesday- 3.42 miles (42:04) Around town but short course to avoid the mud.

Thursday- 2.7 miles. warmup, 1 mile TT, cool down. (9:22!)

Friday- 3.38 miles (41:23) Around town short course again to avoid mud.

Saturday- 2 miles (22:22) Best 2 mile time on my own. Was definitely pushing a little. Would I call this a tempo? The race 2 weeks ago was 21:49 but my fastest by myself on this exact same route was 22:59.3.

Total miles: 15.3

On a positive note, my knees and ankles, etc are feeling MUCH BETTER now that I have new shoes that fit properly. I have kind of given up on the idea of adding a lot of other workouts to what I'm currently doing because anything extra seems to make me feel very weak.

Weight: 180.3 to 177.2

I've been wondering a lot about how much consistency in running is helping my pace vs weight loss. I found an article that suggested 2.4 seconds per mile improvement for every pound. Which is fairly close to my improvement from Jan 5th time trial to this week.

I think that your triple obsession with your weight, pace, and run streak are your biggest liability to long-term enjoyment. It isn't a coincidence that you're fixating on weight while finding yourself to have low-energy from undereating, and struggling to find the motivation to run. Just run for time, maybe customize your watch display so you can't see pace while you're running. I'm serious. Let the weight and pace go where they go, so you can listen to your body rather than trying to perform up to some expectation you have. Too many variables being controlled here.

I know everyone is different though, so I'm speaking from my own perspective.

I've always been of the mindset that if your you want to be your best at something you need to be a little obsessive.

January recap.

Weight: 184.2 to 176.4

80.3 miles. (only 1.7 more than December but I had a lot of 1 mile days this month)

11 ATG workouts. 1 crossfit. 1 four mile walk, and about 60 mins of backwards walking lol

Best 2 mile went from 22:59 to 22:22 (not race)

1 mile TT: from 9:45 to 9:22

My longest run went from 4.5 miles to 6

February Goals:

Weight: 171

Running: Under 20 in 2 miles and 9 in 1 mile

25 MPW minimum

Stretch and workout more

Be more consistent with my sleep schedule.

Week of 1/29-2/4

Sunday- 6 miles easy (1:15:57/12:41)

Monday-3.56 miles easy (44:58/12:38)

Tuesday-3 miles. .5 warmup, 8x400, .5 cool down (2:08.4, 2:09.9, 2:14.3, 2:17.3, 2:18.3, 2:20.7, 2:21.6, 2:17.8) average 2:17.3. Rest 2:00 or less.

Wednesday-3.56 easy (43:14/12:09)

Thursday- 1.5 miles am. 2.2 miles pm. (AM-.5 warmup, 1 Mile TT 9:22 again) (PM-2.2 miles easy-25:14/11:26)

Friday-1.82 miles easy (21:35/11:53)

Saturday- 1.81 miles easy (21:43/12:01)

Total miles: 23.5. Was shooting for 25 but this is still my highest week so far.

Weight: 177.2 to 176.4. Didn't change anything, just stalled.

I turn 42 tomorrow, and my daughter has her birthday on the 10th.

My next 2 mile club race is the 11th. Goals are... hopefully beat my nemesis if she's there, beat myself from last month, and if I have a really good race maybe I'll break 20. Although I suspect my recent runs do not lend themselves to breaking 20. Maybe someone else better with predicting these things could tell me. I'm also horrible at hills and this race will be an out and back that is pretty much all downhill then uphill.

Week of 2/5-2/11

Sunday-6.22 miles easy (1:16:16/12:16 pace)

Monday-4.66 miles. AM 1.85 miles (22:25), PM 2.81 miles (33:58)

Tuesday-5.8 miles. AM 3.17 miles. warmup, 8 x .25, cooldown (2:18.1, 2:24.8, 2:20.2, 2:21.0, 2:24.7, 2:26.4, 2:20.9, 2:30.7=avg 2:23.4) Jennings Park. Last time at this park was January 17th and my avg quarter was 2:27.8. Very windy. PM-2.63 miles easy (30:01)

Wednesday-3.9 miles. AM-2.34 miles (28:21) PM-1.56 miles (17:43)

Thursday-1.53 miles. Not sleeping well.

Friday-1.06 miles. Poor sleep again. Easy day before race.

Saturday-3.86 miles. AM- warmup, then 2 mile race. PM-1.3 miles to hit weekly goal. (14:42) Horrible sleep. Why do I keep waking up???

Race Report-

2.04 miles- 20:31, shows 20:18 at the 2 mile mark.

I came in 52nd overall, 24th female, and 3rd in my age group. My nemesis did not show up so I guess I won? lol. As far as my goals go, I did beat myself from last month, and I'm giving myself the win against my nemesis for this race especially since I beat her time from last month (21:13). However, I still didn't break 20 in the 2 mile. I guess I'll move that goal over to next month's race. I did get a medal this time since I got in the top 3 in my age group so that was cool. Also, the 2 women ahead of me were different women than January, so if all of them show up at any race I would not get a medal. The four times that have beat me were 17:09, 18:10, 20:02, and 20:10. I thought I remembered this race being downhill on the way out and uphill on the way back but it was more like rolling hills both ways.

My splits were 2:20, 2:26, 2:30, 2:41, 2:37, 2:34, 2:37, 2:29.

Total Miles: 27... Finally! It really didn't feel too hard at all either since I was doing a lot of shorter doubles.

Weight: 176.4 to 174.8

I hope you're still going!! Great consistency.

Week 12: 2/12-2/18

Sunday-6.25 miles (1:13:05) Felt easy bc of all the carbs I had over the weekend.

Monday-4 miles. AM-1.7 miles. (19:41) Planned was 3.5 miles here but a Great Dane came after me and I had to stop. I hurt something in my right ankle from the way I slammed my foot to stop. I thought it was a sprain but the pain isn't consistent. PM-2.3 miles. (26:56)

Tuesday-2.4 miles. Planned was w/up, 8x400, cd. Woke up to 40 mph winds plus gusts. My weather showed it slowing down all day so I waited right up until the last minute which was after dinner. Got a side stitch on the 5th quarter and quit after 6. (2:07.5, 2:10.3, 2:15.5, 2:13.5, 2:16.8, 2:25.2) Average 2:14.3. Winds were 20 mph by the time I ran.

Wednesday-6.04 miles. AM-3.73 miles (43:59). PM-2.31 miles (26:06) Ankle area bothering me.

Thursday-1.77 miles. This is my mile TT day. Didn't make it. Lungs burning and throat itching/coughing. 800 time was 4:28.

Friday-6 miles. AM-3.65 miles (42:35) PM. 2.35 miles (26:55). Ankle still hurts.

Saturday-1.86 miles (20:47)

I planned 30 miles this week but was short bc of the dog on Monday. I considered making it up today but I like to have a short/easy day the day before my long run. Still my highest week so far. The outside of my right ankle and a straight line up from there is hurting. I'm not sure what it is bc I've never experienced this before. Feels better if I force myself to land on the inside of my right foot and/or run on the left side of the road.

Total Miles: 28.35

This week my plan is to just stick with the same mileage and try (once again) to add in some strength.

Run streak day 83. Monthly mileage 66.3. Yearly mileage 146.6. Run streak mileage 231.2.

I bought myself some Shokz headphones for my birthday but didn't realize my Garmin Fenix 5s does not connect to headphones or anything. If I can find something I enjoy listening to while running then I might get a new watch but so far I think I prefer running with my thoughts. Music messed with my pace and I couldn't focus on the audiobook I tried. Tomorrow I'm going to try a podcast. Is there a way to block calls and texts while exercising? I always left my phone at home before so I could run in peace.

As a note to myself, I'm now averaging under 12 min pace. Long runs usually become hard after 4.5 miles.

WHY are you running every day? You’re only going to keep getting injured. Just walk on your rest days and run every other day or 3-4 days a week while you re-build.

Obviously you are starting from 0, everyone does at some point so accept it. Stop obsessing over weight and mileage and stop running while sick and when your knee and back hurt. Your body is screaming at you — listen.