Ennay and Rachael, that is so cool that ya'll are meeting up! Rachael, good luck to you in your marathon, I know you will do great and I can't wait to hear all about it!

Cakses, glad that you are doing so well, sounds like you are well recovered! I know what you mean about breaking it up.

Onthetee, my arms are on my stroller handle lol. Well, not my arms, my hands, but there you go. I will try to notice what I do without the stroller in a couple of days.

I wanted to see how far I can run in the amount of time I usually run. I don't know how long the track is that normally run at, so I usually just time it and don't worry about it. But I have a 5k coming up at the end of the month and was wondering how long it took me to run a mile. I timed it today on a different track(with stroller) at 12 1/2 minutes...I'm assuming I'll go faster without the baby. I did 1.5 miles today. I could've done a little more, but I was pressed for time.

Good luck to both of you!

I'm planning to do just one more long run today and then I really will start to cut back before Amsterdam, I'll be back later no doubt with an update on how it went.

Right, I'm officially tapering now with another long run under my belt - just under 22 miles. It's a bit longer than they advise two weeks before, but I took it fairly steady and hopefully won't have any ill effects. I decided that my main problem is confidence rather than freshness, so I wanted to get a morale boosting run under my belt, as the confidence will probably get me through the last part of the mara better than having slightly fresher legs. Because of various factors my last three long runs before this had been 17, 17 and 13. Adequate, but not really giving me the belief that I can carry on past 20 which has always been my stumbling block. So I decided that today's goal was to get past that marker to remind me that I can do it. The pay off is that I'm planning a sharper taper than usual as I've got more to recover from.

Hello,
I'm wondering if any of the "Cool Runners" here are members of the Cool Running website? Maybe that's the basis for the name of this thread. I've registered because I plan to start the C25K program in November. They have a thread specifically for people that are runners and doing WW which is great because I'm doing WW. I've been reading some of the posts here and there on Cool Runnings and the "experts" say "run for fitness and diet for weightloss". This was in response to a poster doing the C25K for 5 weeks and not losing wt. One person basically said you will not lose weight running. The responses were interesting bc many assumed the poster was relying soley on running to lose and not watching her diet. I think that's a weird jump to make. Anyways all that to ask what do you think about the "run for fitness and diet for weighloss"? I'm asking because initially when I start the C25K program that's all the exercise I will do. I may determine it will be the only exercise I will do for the duration because I'm self aware. Meaning if I try to do too much I will burn out and not exercise at all. That's where I'm at now ,not exercising, and I don't want to keep returning there. Its become a never ending cycle.

Not sure how I feel about that phrase... I think there must be some truth in it, but they certainly work together. I doubt I would lose a whole lot of weight, and not steadily, if I relied solely on running. On the other hand, I started running to enhance my weight loss, after about 10 weeks, and it has certainly helped A LOT! I do strength training too - and the combination of diet, cardio and strength is the winner for me, for sure.

What's everyone else think?

Heather

Oh ennay, something else I remembered. My running magazine this month had an article in it about the Hood to Coast thing, I hadn't realised what it involves, it looks like a fantastic experience!

Good luck ladies on your marathon today in Portland! It's nice and cool up here in Olympia, so I am guessing you guys will be cool as well.

I didn't lose any weight for the first couple of weeks on C25K, but man did I lose inches galore. I also wasn't dieting properly (I was doing one extreme or the other, 1200 cals which wasn't enough or eating like an idiot). But now that I am focusing on what I am eating and portions of that food, the weight is coming off as well as the inches. I started C25K in July, and to date I have lost 13 pounds and 25 inches overall. So running works!

It is...and completely crazy! I think more than the marathon it made me feel like a runner.

Cakses - thanks! Marathon is tomorrow, today would have been perfect as it is cool and cloudy but NOT rainy. At this time tomorrow if all is going well I should be more than halfway done!

So from all the books on what to do the day before the marathon: "Rest, take it easy, you may be tempted to do some extra sightseeing or chores, dont!"

Reality: dh went off for a 4 hour bikeride, dd had her first accident in months requiring a change of bedding and ds has been screaming non stop since 5 am.

Hmmm....something tells me that is not "optimum"

Helen - good run, I dont think I'll do a 3 week taper again, all I did was gain weight and I dont feel any more rested, I feel off my game. I am also not going to try carbo loading again. All of my attempts to shift my diet to a 60-70% carbs resulted in binge fest 2007. I feel like I am MORE hungry and need more food to sustain my activity the last few weeks. Like I used to be able to do 10 without fuel, now I feel the need for something.

I'm glad I am doing a shorter taper. At least I have a reason and a theory in my head for why I'm doing what I'm doing, based on what I feel like I need. If it doesn't work, I won't do it again, but I hate slavishly following a plan (e.g. the three week taper) if I'm not sure it's actually what will work for me physically and psychologically.

The first mara I did, the carb loading went badly wrong. A load of people were suggesting various high GI type carbs, I went mad on them because they were things I hadn't eaten for ages before that, and then found that they were too sugary and I couldn't really stomach them. The second time I was a lot more restrained and it seemed to work a lot better.

Good luck again!

Yeah thats what happened to me...I feel sick from the extra carbs and bloated. I was just trying to shift my diet a little, but it really didnt work for me. Hopefully I didnt screw myself up too badly. I went from really confident 2 weeks ago to pretty shaky today. I know I can finish, but I dont feel strong.

keep it going

Wow I can't wait until I can even contemplate doing a marathon. I know you ladies will do awesome!

Going running with the pooch later on, should be fun to have a little break from the baby and the house.

Running lets me eat without putting weight back on, but I do find that eating is the more important component of losing in the first place.

A 150-pound person burns around 100 calories a mile running. That's not all that much when you think about how far a beginning runner runs.

I think there is a lot of truth in it...not that you will eat junk, but that relying solely on exercise (ANY kind of exercise) for weightloss is typically not successful. For one, if you are not ALSO dieting (read as "paying attention to what you are eating and how much"), you are likely to slightly increase your caloric intake when exercising.

Both is best, but dieting is crucial for weight loss. Many people find that exercise, in addition to helping you to lose fat instead of muscle, helps them be in a better mindset and feel better...all of which helps dieting.

Over time exercise will boost your metabolism, but the effects are small compared to the effect you can have with the food you eat.

But those numbers are based on 150-pound people who are used to running. I can tell you that the first time I ran 10 minutes and for me to run 10 minutes now, at the same weight, were very different. I was not as efficient as I am today. I would bet that in the beginning, I burned 20% more calories for whatever I ran than I do now. The first minute I ran vs. a minute of running now...night and day.

As for the question about the original quote...
I think it is naive to believe that running, or any exercise, does not have an impact on metabolism, blood sugar processing and maintaining a good chemical balance for weight loss. For me, I eat what I eat, and I exercise what I exercise. I don't up my calories on days that I work out. I don't lose weight if I overeat, even if I hit the gym 6 times a week. I don't lose weight if I eat like a bird and do it from my couch.