Hey all!

I'm going to jump in on this thread, in the hopes of getting more motivated.

I've got my first 8K coming up in the first week of April... longest race I've run was a little 5K, and it felt amazing!

Currently, I am working on improving my completion times for the 8k (5 mile) distance. Currently, on a treadmill, I can do it in 50 minutes. I drip with sweat, I have to pause a few times for water, and my chest feels like it's going to explode, but I can do it.

Outside in the cold, however, I am far slower, almost by a minute more per mile. This is not good :( It's never over 25 degrees here, and if it is, I'm still slowed down by all the snow and ice.

Thoughts?

Also, this month I'm going to try and work on pairing carbs and protein regularly. My diet has been devoid of protein, and I think adding it back might help me with energy levels and hunger. It's frustrating, because I'm the kind of eater that craves the "full" feeling, but I need to balance this with the added calories of protein. *sigh*

We'll see how it goes! Thanks for the support :)

FatPantsSkinnyJeans-Have you done any interval running with the threadmill? Run at a moderate pace, then up the speed for a minute (or more), then recover at the moderate pace and repeat. Adding in a speed training once a week general helps with time and endurance.

I did 5 miles yesterday and enjoyed it.
I actually volunteered at a small local 10k this morning. It was kind of fun being on the other side. I was freezing though. And I now will always make sure I wear my number so it can be read! I was one of the helpers writing down numbers/times as a back-up check list as the runners came in.

Squeezed in another mini-run this morning between errands and plans. Probably a little under 3 miles in about 30 minutes. Yesterday was low calorie with a very small dinner so energy was low. A scary unchained dog chased me and I had to haul a$$ near the end because I was meeting a friend. I feel gross from eating too much tonight but I may try to do another morning run tomorrow since today's was hardly grueling.

FPSJ - Your times should get better as the weather improves...I would assume your "regular" road run time would be between treadmill and outside in the cold.

ncuneo, I am thinking about going a little carb-heavier preceding days I plan on running longer. I think writing a schedule and eating accordingly will be helpful in the long run.

Question in general: What foods do you find work best as fuel? Is it better to eat more the day of or the day before if you are running at about 5 pm before dinner?

I'm a big fan of whole grain pasta with some lean protein and healthy fats for fuel for my running. IMO it makes a big difference in my performance. Sugars and refined carbs are death to my running.

Regarding the question about long distance running and fat burning, I'm hoping mkroyer will chime in because she'll have better facts, but from what I gather it's kind of a your body requires a lot of fuel to run long distances and so being in a calorie deficit (what's required to lose fat) is very difficult. If you insist on the deficit while running long distances your body will store it in anticipation for use during those runs. I think there is a lot more science to it than that, but I can attest that my weight loss efforts stalled while I was training for my half marathon.

krampus - it's not good for me to eat too much the evening before i have a run. I run better if i get up feeling a bit hungry. But i guess it depends how depleted you are in the first place. If you're dieting seriously and you need food then eating more the night before is probably a good idea.

That's not much help is it?!

FPSJ - i wouldn't worry about your time at this stage. So what if you're slower outside? Since you're building distance i'd stick to that and not worry about times. You can worry about time when you're doing shorter stuff and your time will naturally improve the more you run (so they say!!!)

well we are all different, arent we?

The problem is a couple of things, with long distance running....
#1 you need to fuel your body for it, which knocks you out of a caloricall deficit.... if you are already running longer distances, than your body is already VERY efficient at using the cals it has......., long running leads to overeating (as far at fatloss is concerned... as anyone whose trained long distance, fat lkoss is just not happening..
ASL #2) Endurance training REALLLY stresses the body out, and will cause cortisol levels to rise and really mess up some of your hormone levels, with ALSO signal to your body to hold nto fat....
sure, at first when you start running it aids in weight loss but we are talking people training for marathons and half marathons here....... I was eating as low as 1200 a DAY when i was training for and running marathons and i had ZERO FAT LOSS as soon as the mileage and intesity crept up, and this was even without feeding my body what it needed to saty fueled. The best advice is to either lose weight first THAN ttrain for that marathon, OR train for that marathon, feeding your body properly,m and excepting that you wont really lose any/much weight


running is so SOSO stressful on the body, and high stress levels (physiologically/psychologically) impede fat loss......

you might lose some muscle mass though? Endurance training is well known to be quite catabolic

im going to look for a particular article

oh, and i just got acrylic nails.... so i suck at typing right now, sorry!

http://www.leighpeele.com/running-for-weight-loss


many of you have already seen this article

Hi...
I have been trying to get back whit my running since beginning of january but life is happends, so I have ran 35 miles since January taking almost 3 week off. My baby had a surgery , we were 6 days at the hospital and now her incision got infected , we are at the hospital since Friday.

So the importants things now .

As a Mom, I know this to be true...your children come first. I'm sorry to hear that your baby is sick...and I hope for a speedy recovery.:^:

I AGREE with this. I lose very well at moderate intensity for 60-70 mins (4-5 miles). I will take this advice and wait until my bf% drops to 14-15%. Thanks:)

Can i just say this as a word of caution../. the female body does NOT want to be 14% BF. I was able to hit the 14% for a VERY VERY short time, and quicker than you can blink you will rebound up, at least a little. Just the feeling of HITTING 14% is great, but dont expect to MAINTAIN there... it is unrealistic and nearly impossible to be "sick lean" year round

Hmmm...my *unofficial* trainer wants me at 15%, I'm currently at 21.5%, think that 15% is unrealistic? For the record, I don't think I'm willing to do what it takes with my diet to get to 15%. Plus my saggy skin would probably be ridiculous at 15%.

So I'm at a bit of burn out phase with my running right now. I went out for my 8-10 on Sunday and I just couldn't do it...3.5 miles and I was done. I just wasn't having fun, and I realized I haven't been having fun for a while. So I'm thinking I'm going to increase my short runs for a little while and reduce my long runs, keeping my weekly milage around the same. I just need to change it up a little bit. I also feel like I've been running to punish myself for overeating on the weekends and that's just not healthy. I want to get back to where I'm eating to fuel my running and running is for fun not punishment. I think I'm nipping this in the but, because the last thing I want to do is quit all together.

So I did 4 this morning am plannning on 1-2 for warm up to my ST tomorrow, 5 Wed, 1-2 warm up Thurs, 4 Fri, and 5 Sun. I'm thinking for my "long" runs I'll do a 6 week cycle or 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and then back down to 5 and start the cycle again. Then in June I'll start training for my August 1/2.

Happy running all!

Thank you for the pointers Cheshire, Krampus, & ange8!

I have recently been doing periodic interval training-- I will hop on the treadmill, set my pace for something manageable but still challenging, and will intermittently up the pace to where I can't maintain it for longer than a minute or two, and then back to my base pace. I'm trying to increase my "base pace" a teeny bit with each run as well.

I really can't wait for the weather to improve, because the treadmill runs are such a drag. It's generally between "below zero" and 30F here, and I really can't run outside unless it's around 30 or higher. I just find it to be a miserable, torture-like experience. I'd rather do it inside and make slow, boring progress with my speed.

I've been googling some Spring running groups in my area, and hoping to join in on a weekly group run in March in anticipation of my 8K in April!

**In your opinions, if I can complete this 8K in the allowed time frame, what should my next goal be-- a 10K, a 15K, or go straight for a Half? I like to keep signing up for races, as it gives me a goal to work toward. Plus they're super fun :)

Thanks everyone!

Fatpants - with the right training program, I see no problem with going straight for the 1/2. I started running last January and my first race was a 1/2 marathon in November. I never did a 5K or a 10K. When I started I could barely run a mile. So I think it's really up to you and what kind of challenge you want. I think there's a lot of value in the 10K also.

itsd not impossile to hit Nuenco-- its hard to MAINTAIN------ i was successful at maintaining 18-19% for about a year... was 14% for like, a week, ya know? its like being "comeptition ready" or "photo-shoot ready" year round. Jillian Michaels doesnt look like that year round... its imposssible to maintain such levels of leaness ALL THE TIME, You have to find YOUR lean, that YOU can maintain....... with a lot of effort, i can maintain at 18-19, with LITTLE effort, i can maintain at 21%...but i dont WANT to be 21%,...and the cycle continues



RE: running not fun..... STOP.. JUST...... STOP for a while....a week, a month...i promise you wont lose your fitness...... stop before you get so burnt out you never run again (IT HAPPENS).... i am BURNT OUT....hoping to not be once spring kicks in,. but right now...im just not doing it (barely).
You have to remember, ALL ATHLETES HAVE AN OFF SEASON. youve been running year round with plans to continue running more and more each week till you peak at a marathon in 2012!!! take a break!! pick a new fitness goal for a couple months...like heavy lifting and buillding strength...running will be there waiting for you when you are ready... and it wont take but a week or 2 to be RIGHT BACK where you were...the body as fit as yours does not forget my friend.....

dont hate running.