Starting Completely Over- Training Log

Week 16: 3/12-3/18

Sunday-7.14 miles. (1:23:30/11:42 pace) Felt easy until the last mile.

Monday-6.89 miles. AM-4 miles (44:49/11:12 pace) PM. 2.89 miles (32:30/11:15 pace) ATG B-day. Centr 6 W3D6.

Tuesday- 4 miles. Warmup, 10x400, bleacher cooldown. These were my best 400s so far. (2:06.8, 2:07.1, 2:11.1, 2:14.2, 2:10.1, 2:09.8, 2:08.7, 2:09.4, 2:10.3, 2:10.1). My goal was 2:10 or under since my best mile is 9:03 and that's 2:15 avg. Average was 2:09.8. Since it was spring break I had no reason to drive to the city so I used the bleachers in my cooldown to be a little like hills. Centr 6 W4D1. ATG A-day.

Wednesday-6.99 miles. AM-4.08 miles (47:14/11:34 pace). PM-2.91 miles (32:02/11:00 pace) ATG B-day. Centr 6 W4D2.

Thursday- 1.63 miles. Plan was warmup, 3xmile. cooldown. Early this morning someone tagged me in photos from the race Saturday and I'm still fat af. It was not good for my mental health. The wind was blowing really hard during my miles and I just up and quit, walked home and felt sorry for myself.

Friday-4.08 miles. (46:29/11:23 pace) Still had a really negative attitude from the prior day. Forced myself to get in the AM run but then chose to put off the other workouts in lieu of cleaning/chores.

Saturday- 1.83 miles. (20:13/11:02 pace) I almost quit again today. My goal is to get up tomorrow with a better attitude and stop feeling sorry for myself. I'm trying to remind myself of how unhappy I was 52 lbs ago and that even though I'm slower than I used to be, I'm faster than I was when I restarted. I know it took me a few years to gain this weight and to lose my conditioning and I can't expect this to be quick or easy. I also removed the ability for people to tag me in photos.

Even though I fell apart the last 3 days I still had my highest weekly mileage so far. Since I didn't make 30 miles LAST week, I have changed my goal from 30 miles minimum this month to 30 miles average per week.

Total miles: 32.6

Run streak day 111. Monthly mileage 71.0. Yearly mileage 261.5. Run streak mileage 346.1.

On the upside, I'm starting to fit back into smaller clothes. It seems like my pace is trending downward even on easy runs. My ankle feels 80% recovered. My youngest has been asking to run this semi-nearby donut 5k since 2020 and we've added that to the schedule in May.

Is what serious? I mean, I guess it doesn't matter what you're talking about the answer is yes.

Keep up the good work. I know you're serious. & I completely understand the 'wallowing in I'm still fat puddle'. Get back on the horse.

I didn't give up thankfully. Had a few iffy days but I'm back on track this week.

Is aqua jogging an option for you? Total gamechanger for someone in your situation, though it looks like you've made some good progress since the beginning.

You will be able to get a very solid calorie burn in the pool without the repetitive impact. If you've got time, the extra time in the pool will accelerate your weight loss. You can ramp up the total hours of aerobic exercise faster using aqua jogging. Then, later, when your weight is less, you'll be able to transition to more running.

It worked for me.

It's a 1 hour drive each direction to a pool. I could do it but not very often at all.

So what kind of shape were you in before you gained all this weight? What were your former PR's, and you gave your weight but maybe I missed it but I didn't see your height so what was your height? I'm about 6' and slightly over 160 which is pretty chunky for a distance runner. 40+ miles per week right now so not amazing like some people but still good. If you gave this stuff somewhere else sorry!

I posted my PRs already. I'm 5"4'. I was 130ish before I quit running.

40 miles a week is great!

Week 17: 3/19-3:25

Sunday-7.13 miles easy (1:27:00/12:12) Pretty warm. Started to get hard after 4.25 miles.

Monday-6.99 miles easy. AM- 4.07 miles (48:41/11:58) PM- 2.92 miles easy (33:10/11:21)

Tuesday-3.04 miles. Warmup, 9 x .25, cooldown. (2:14.0, 2:10.6, 2:11.0, 2:10.6, 2:12.7, 2:07.3, 2:12.6, 2:22.2, 2:21.4) Really warm. Gravel.

Wednesday-6.99 miles easy. AM-4.07 miles (47:45/11:45) PM-2.92 miles easy (33:01/11:19)

Thursday-3.01 miles. Warmup, 2 x mile, cooldown. (8:47.2, 8:56.1) Finally broke 9! Twice! This is one of my monthly goals checked off.

Friday-7 miles easy. AM-4.08 miles (47:08/11:33) PM-2.92 miles (31:35/10:49)

Saturday- 1.84 mile easy.

Total miles: 36

Weight: 170.0 to 165.9

Run streak day 118. Monthly mileage 108.8. Yearly mileage 297.5. Run streak mileage 382.1.

I'm fairly happy with this week's progress, especially considering that I almost quit last week. I broke my goal of 9 mins for a mile, got my highest mileage, and had a good weight loss.

Week 18: 3/26-4/1

Sunday-7 miles easy (1:20:56/11:34 pace)

Monday-7.17 miles easy. AM-4.07 miles (46:36/11:27 pace). PM-3.1 miles (34:19/11:04 pace)

Tuesday-3.77 miles. Warmup, 10 x .25, cooldown. (2:14.4, 2:13.1, 2:06.6, 2:04.2, 2:03.8, 2:02.8, 2:03.1, 2:14.6, 2:14.9, 2:07.8) It was really windy and you can tell bc my quarters are all over the place depending on if I was running into the wind or with it.

Wednesday-7.16 miles easy. AM-4.06 miles (46:24/11:25 pace). PM-3.1 miles (32:31/10:30). This was my fastest 5k on an easy run so far.

Thursday-3.04 miles. Warmup, 2 x mile, cooldown. (8:36.7, 8:30.6) Super stoked about this improvement in my mile repeats. Best mile so far.

Friday-7.18 miles easy. AM-4.08 miles (46:38/11:26 pace). PM-3.10 miles (33:34/10:50 pace). Windy AF.

Saturday-2.3 miles easy.

Total miles: 37.5

Weight: 165.9 to 163.8

Run streak day 125. Monthly mileage 2.3. Yearly mileage 337. Run streak mileage 421.6

Another solid week. Really glad I didn't give up.

March recap.

Weight: 171.7 to 163.8 (7.9 lbs) Stated goal was 166 so I smashed it.

Running: 144.2 miles. My 2nd highest mileage month ever. Strava data shows my avg pace was 12:22 in March (12:30 in Feb, and 12:33 in Jan). Broke 9 in the mile (8:30.6 best mile) Technically broke 20 in my 2 mile (19:39 @ 2 miles) but the race was long and my official time was 20:04.

Other: I completely quit the workouts, stretching, and strides about mid-month. Only ran hills 1x.

April Goals:

Weight: 159

Running: Continue to increase mileage. Have my highest mileage month ever (161 is highest). Beat 30 minutes in 5k. Beat nemesis if she is at the race this month. Run a quarter under 2 mins.

Other: I am considering doing another 3 week stretch of the workouts, strides, hills, and stretching. Still haven't heard from Nordictrack... WTF.

Week 19: 4/2-4/8

Sunday-1.52 miles easy (16:39/10:57 pace) My kids were sick last week and I woke up sick. Tried to do a longer run but decided there were no gains to be made running sick and just kept my streak.

Monday-2 miles easy (21:43/10:51 pace) Still sick.

Tuesday thru Friday- 1 mile streak holder runs. I started to feel better Thursday but saw no reason to start run any more.

Saturday-5k race. (29:51.7) I've now come to the conclusion that the horrible sleep I am getting on race days is nerves. Every single race I have slept horribly and feel tired before I even get there. Idk how to resolve this. On the upside, my goal was to break 30 minutes and I did that. Everyone's GPS shows this race to be a little long again at 3.17 miles. At 2 miles my time was 18:51 which is now my best 2 mile time. My race plan was to run a steady pace and I did that fairly well. (9:12, 9:39, 9:39, 8:06). All the 40-45 women decided to show up today and I got 4th in my age group so no medal. Also of note, runners 1-3 in the 35-39 age group are ALL 39 and will be in my age group next year AND they all beat me. Next month is a 5k but will probably be the donut run and not the club race so I won't see them until June.

Total Miles: 11.4

Weight: 163.8 to 162.8

Run Streak day 132. Monthly mileage 13.8. Yearly mileage 348.5. Run streak mileage 433.

My worst week so far except the race.

My experience is that you can get by with limited sleep the night before a race. It's two nights before that matters more. Otherwise, it sounds like you were a little better rested than usual for your race. Running PRs following injury or other problems that restrict your training is a clue...

Week 20: 4/9-4/15

Sunday-15k (1:48:37/11:39 pace) I wanted to see if I could run this far yet. The long option on the race last Saturday was a 15k. I did it but it was way slower than my age group ran their 15k's. I want to mention my knees were VERY SORE from the race the day before. It was downtown on the prisoner laid brick roads. I also fell down around 8 miles and had to take a minute to gather myself. CENTR 6 W1D1. ATG A-day stretches. 10 mins on the indoor bike.

Monday-8.16 miles. AM- 5.07 miles (58:00/11:27 pace) 4 strides. PM-2.93 (32:05/10:56 pace) CENTR 6 W1D2. 13 minutes indoor bike. ATG Stretches B-day. Knees still sore.

Tuesday-6 miles. Warmup, 12 x .25s, 8 x hills, cooldown. (1:59.0, 2:02.9, 2:02.7, 2:07.4, 2:08.9, 2:06.6, 2:07.7, 2:03.7, 2:05.5, 2:08.0, 2:09.8, 2:06.3) Finally broke 2 minutes in a quarter. I've been working very hard to run within myself on the quarters and not sprint them. The hills felt good on this day as well. There was really no wind and the temps were warm but not hot. ATG A-day stretches. Did the backwards walking portion up the hill while I was there. CENTR 6 W1D3. 15 mins indoor bike. PM-1 mile to try and knock out some of the soreness.

Wednesday-8.15 miles easy. AM-5.07 miles easy (57:54/11:25 pace) 4 strides. CENTR 6 W1D4. Bike 18 mins. ATG B-day stretches. PM-2.93 miles (32:39/11:08 pace)

Thursday-3.4 miles. Warmup, 1 mile, 1x 800m, cooldown. I wanted to do 3xmile but I was busy all day on my feet and didn't have it left in my legs and it was 85 degrees. Hopefully my body will adjust to the heat soon but rn it is killing me. (8:31, 4:27) ATG A-day stretches. 20 mins bike. CENTR 6 W1D5.

Friday- 6.5 miles easy. AM-3.86 miles (45:45/11:52 pace) PM-2.84 miles easy (32:08/11:18 pace) CENTR 6 W1D6. ATG B-day stretches. WINDY, WINDY, WINDY.

Saturday- 2.3 miles easy. (26:22/11:28 pace) Still windy. CENTR 6 W2D1. Bike 40 mins. ATG A-day stretches. Got it all in early so I could rest as long as possible before tomorrow's long run.

Total Miles: 45.0 - I do believe this is my highest week ever.

Run Streak Day 139: Monthly mileage 58.8. yearly mileage 393.5. Run streak mileage 478.1.

Pretty good week. No weight loss. 28 days until the donut race. My legs are exhausted today but I'm hoping it'll pay off later.

This whole thread is a perfect example of how NOT to train or get back in shape. For the love of God TAKE REST DAYS AND STOP TRYING TO RUN EVERY DAY. So stupid.

Week 21: 4/16-4/22

Sunday-15k(1:49:10)

Monday-6.42 miles. AM-5.08 miles (59:40/11:45) PM-1.34 miles (14:55/11:10 pace)

Tuesday-1.79 miles. (19:33/10:53 pace) Was busy all day doing taxes for people and ran out of time for quarters.

Wednesday-7.45 miles. AM-5.37 miles (1:00:10/11:12 pace) PM-2.08 miles (23:02/11:04 pace)

Thursday-4.96 miles. AM-went to run. Calves both very tight. Turned around for home and spent the day working on loosening up my calves. Stretch, soak in epsom salt, massage gun. PM-Warmup, 1 mile @ 8:37, cooldown.

Friday-11 miles. Did 1.8ish miles every 2.5 hours x 6. Why? I wanted to catch up on miles but not make my calves hurt again. This was easier.

Saturday-1 mile. Woke up with the stomach bug my daughter had yesterday. Was up from 1 am to 6:30. Just trying to rest and recover.

Total Miles 41.9

Weight: 162.8 to 160.0

Run streak day 146. Monthly mileage 100.7. Yearly mileage 435.40. Run streak mileage 520.

Overall a rough week. Personal stuff was causing stress and affected my focus. I am going to try and get back on track this week. My daughter got over her stomach bug in 24 hours so I'm hoping I feel better tomorrow.

Week 22: 4/23-4/29

Sunday-15k (1:44:59/11:16 pace)

Monday-8.26 miles. AM- 5.33 miles (1:00:50/11:25 pace) PM-2.93 tempo??? threshold??? idk. I was in a rush bc I had to pick my daughter up from work. (28:33/9:45 pace)

Tuesday-5.17 miles. warmup, 12 x 400, cooldown. (2:04.4, 2:03.6, 2:04.0, 2:01.4, 2:01.7, 2:02.0, 2:00.3, 2:00.9, 2:04.1, 2:00.1, 2:02.7, 1:47.7) Kept rests under 2 mins. Tried to see what I was capable of on the last one.

Wednesday-8.48 miles. AM-5.35 miles (57:08/10:41 pace) PM-3.13 miles. (32:24/10:22 pace)

Thursday-8.14 miles. AM-Wu, 2 x mile, cd. (8:04/8:17) PM-3.26 miles easy (33:40/10:19 pace)

Friday-5.48 miles. 3 x 1.85 miles. I was going to run 6 of these again but the 40+ mph winds was making me work too hard.

Saturday-3.3 miles easy. (34:57/10:35 pace)

Total Miles: 48.1

Weight: 160.0 to 159.2

Run streak day 153. Monthly mileage 148.9. Yearly mileage 483.6. Run streak mileage 568.2.

My runs are starting to feel good and not be a struggle. I want to say I am finally feeling "fit."

I have come to the conclusion that my good and bad weeks are mostly related to my diet. Our club races are the 2nd Saturday of each month so I carb load starting Wednesday or Thursday before the race. The day after the race I go back to low carb/calorie. The week AFTER the race I feel great. Usually around the next Saturday/Sunday I start to feel weak on runs. This is when I'll end up walking or breaking up runs to get through them. The 3rd week out from the race I assume my blood sugar has leveled out and I feel great again (which is where I was at this week). Typically the race would be the 4th week but this month ended up being a 5 week month so I have an extra week. I'm really looking forward to when I've finished losing the weight and I can just maintain.

I've been pleasantly surprised that I have continued to improve even though I've been following the same plan for 5 months now. I always planned to change it up whenever I stopped seeing progress but it really hasn't happened yet.