Welcome ShrinkingAmy and Nancy!!! You guys will find TONS of support here!! Glad to have you
Nancy--IMHO if your friend/coworker asked you to run with him, then he needs to respect YOUR pace. If YOU asked to run with HIM, then YOUD need to respect HIS pace. DOes that makes sense?? I have a feeling he just wants the company when he runs... a lot of people dont like to run and train solo. I know that i am faster than alot of people, like my BoyFriend, for instance ( whom i DO run with very occassionally) and i automatically let him pick the pace. I just love to get out and run, ya know?
Amy-- i LOVE how you think!!!! A 50K sounds like such an awesome goal to work towards!!! Just keep at it--youll be AMAZED at how quicky your body adapts to running the longer distances!!
Phew!
I finally have a plan you guys! Thank god........ Heres what i want to train for in the immediate/near future!!
Here in colorado there is a running series known as the Winter Distance Series. Its comprised of 3 events, and each even has a "short" option and a "long" option, i.e; 5K and 10K or 5 mi and 10 mi. Fat and Dance, you may have heard of these races--- Frostys Frozen Five, and Rudolphs Revenge and Snowman Stampede?
Anyhow, I checked last years results on these races, and the first one, a 10K, is 6 weeks away, on December 19th. Im going to train my You-KNow-what off to COMPETE at the 10K. There is one lady that appears to run em all who always wins, that i dont THINK i can beat, at least, not in 6 weeks. However the OTHER top 5 or so females, i can Absolutely give them a run for their money. But im gong to have to train REALLY hard and shave a good 3 or more minutes off my 10K to do it!! I can At Least Place First in My division, and get on the podium, for overall female, so to peak. Anyway, i LOVE the challenge of this. 6 weeks is not a lot of time to get my 10K under 44 minutes!! Im excited!!
Next. As SOON as im done with this 10K in December, i will be EXACTLY 14 weeks out from the National Marathon in DC. I want to train to qualify for Boston. That will give me 14 weeks, to shave 20 minutes off of my marathon.
The national marathon will be a godawful marathon to try to qualify at, because it appears to have a LOT if uphills during the first half, but thats what will make it even MORE challenging!!! And, if i DONT make my qualifying time, i can try again in May here in denver...theres a few marathons in May........
Both of these plans will have me running 4X a week. 4 QUALITY runs. 1 Track workout a week, 1 short Distance LA Threshold(tempo run) short meaning faster paces, working on 10K speed...up to 6 or 7 miles. then i will have 1 LONG LA acid/ threshold run, where i work on my LA Threshold running LONGER, meaning the paces are a little slower, but the distances will be from 8 to 12 miles. ANd then ONE LONG run each week. I will continue to run long while i train for the 10K becasue i dont want to lose the ability to run long. As soon as i jump into marathon training, right off the bat i will be doing 20 mile runs.
I also plan on doing 2 Barefoot runs each week. Shorter distances, easier pace, easy runs. Running Barefoot consistently will have an incredibly positive effect on my running and running form-quickly, i think. I will also cross train/strngth train as well
Just introducing myself. Dancer from the 'sexier by thanksgiving' challenge invited me over so I thought I would pop in and say hi. I'm 29 years old, currently at 207.5, (have lost 28.5 pounds so far) and am dearly hoping to get to onederland by Thanksgiving, which would require an 8 pound loss in the next four weeks. That's pushing it but outside the realm of the possible.
So, I've been doing gym work-outs on treadmill/elliptical followed by strength-training. My pattern has been to do 35-40 minutes on the elliptical followed by running a mile on the treadmill. My goal is to do a sub 10 mile and I'm pumped because this week my treadmill mile (no incline) time was 10:30! Only 31 seconds to shave off! I was the fat kid in gym class who couldn't run a mile without walk breaks, so now to run a mile consistently, AFTER my time on the elliptical, feels pretty awesome. Avenging my own personal history!
But my primary goal is weight loss. I have heard of this HIIT (high intensity interval training) and I know there are programs and plans out there. So I'm open to any ideas/suggestions people have about how to arrange my elliptical/running on the treadmill workouts to maximize weight loss. I'm still a bit nervous about running for longer amounts of time or on harder surfaces (like outside on pavement) since I'm still pretty heavy and I don't want to stress my joints. My hope is to be able to run more in earnest when I've lost 10 or 20 more pounds and I don't have to be as concerned about my knees. I generally work out in afternoon/early evening (I am SO not one of those people who will get up at 5 am to go the gym!) and I listen to my iPod when running. I enjoy it as 'me' time away from work and personal responsibilities and I love feeling stronger! At some point I would like to do races like 5k or 10k but my focus now is getting to onederland and getting my BMI under 30.
Alright, got to get back to work but thought I would stop in and say hello. Keep up the great work everybody!
blueridge - so glad you joined us! I think a bunch of us would agree that running is a major component of our weight loss success so I think you'll be super happy with the results as you increase your distance. Lots of folks on this board gave me the great advice to work up to a higher distance gradually and then worry about speed so I'm passing that along in case it's helpful to you too. I run on paths in the park as running on asphalt doesn't work for me - do you have any parks or unpaved paths near you for some off treadmill running?
Ideal: I loved the Eddie Izzard link Thank you. His stand up is nearly to much fun for me. I could run all day with him amusing me! It's amazing that he was able to do that many consecutive marathons with such little prior training. What a crazy thing for him to do. I wish I could have followed along. The Dean Karnzes documentary is less about 'will he finish ?'., his ultra running feats are unbelievable, and more about the people who would come out to run with him. My dh is most impressed with Dean K ability to eat crazy stuff while he's running one hundred or two hundred miles.
MK : You sound excited to have a plan and goals. Excellent! I hope barefoot running continues to help you heal and get stronger.
So I never really thought much about running a marathon, but the awesome perks of running the Nike Woman's marathon in San Fransisco has me wondering. Am I a shallow person to run a race just to get my Tiffany charm from a hot firefighter in a tuxedo? ......
So I never really thought much about running a marathon, but the awesome perks of running the Nike Woman's marathon in San Fransisco has me wondering. Am I a shallow person to run a race just to get my Tiffany charm from a hot firefighter in a tuxedo? ......
Shallow? Are you kidding? I've never wanted to run a marathon until I read that Dang.
DAncer-- why dont you and fat pants come RUN in the race yourselves?!?!? Like i said, each race always has a long and a shorter distance....... You guys should consider doig it!!!!
BlueridgeGirl--- Welcome!! That was a fabulous intro!!! I think if you are REALLY trying to kick your weightloss up by thanksgiving, then you should Change up your routine!! FOr instance, try doing all of your Strength training BEFORE your cardio...while they are both important, it is the strength training that will boost your metabolism for the rest of the day.... ALso, if you strength train first, your muscles will be "full" of the energy (glycogen) they need for the strength training, so your muscles can be worked out fully to fatigue, and second, if you use up a lot of your glycogen stores weight training, then your body will HAVE to use some of your fat for energy during cardio!!
Also, if you are concerned with wanting to be able to run more, why dont you spend less time on the elliptical, and more time on treadmill? THAT could be your HIIT. For instance, WARM UP on ellitical for 10 minutes, then run a mile on treadmill, THEN back to elliptical (or walk on treadmill) then RUN another mile, etc.....
I think its really good for our bodies when we change up our routines!!
mk - I'll have to settle for being with you in spirit unless they start holding more races on dirt roads. Pavement is kind of a not so much for me, unfortunately. Who knows, maybe someday. But, hey - I'd love to come hold signs for you AND fatpants (we'll call you skinny jeans on the sign, of course)!
I am extremely interested in starting to run so I figured I would jump in here with you wonderful people!
Here's a bit about me:
In highschool, I dreaded the day when we had to run 'the mile' in gym. I was never able to run the whole time and had to take frequent walk breaks. I was always ashamed at my score, but heck, I was a kid and once I stepped out of gym class I didn't really care about it anymore. I always had an admiration for those who could run the entire mile though...I never said that out loud. Skipping ahead, life got so crazy and routine and I ended up gaining a lot of weight skyrocketing up to my highest weight which is on my ticker. I found this forum, and lurked for about a year before I finally decided to do something about my weight. When I started out, I was waaay to intimidated by running so I did exercise dvd's at home, I eventually added some aerobics classes and to date I have lost 52 pounds.
I've decided it's time to start running. I've always looked up to people who could run, who could run long distances etc. My husband joined the Air Force and I'm amazed at how his running has improved. I've always wanted to be a runner, I was just always to scared to try. Well NO MORE!
Today was my first day of C25K and it was AWESOME! I feel so strong and invigorated! I've decided I do not want to run on a tredmill because I want to some day be able to run in a race or two (hundred lol! ) and I've always noticed that if I ran on a tredmill for to long and then tried to run on a track, the track was soooo hard! Luckily, there is an indoor track that I can use during the colder months.
My ultimate goal is to be able to do a half marathon. (Go big or go home, lol) I'm also going to be very active this spring and summer with the local races. Having a race in mind is really helpful in keeping me motivated.
I look forward to chatting with you awesome people and learning from the best!
Fat--you do not have to do all three races. here is the link!! That would be so great if you ran some of them too!! http://www.winterdistanceseries.com/
BTW--size 8!! Congrats!! Youve been dropping MAD weight lately! I can see it in your face!!!
Dang.
) and I've always noticed that if I ran on a tredmill for to long and then tried to run on a track, the track was soooo hard! Luckily, there is an indoor track that I can use during the colder months. 
