In which a fat guy takes up running

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

Your original stride is actually the problem with running shoes - they pad your feet so that landing like that doesn’t hurt, but the shock still goes through all of your joints.

Barefoot running is not practical for most folks, but your revised stride seems to be good plan.

The first time I did a pseudo C25K, I ran on my heels, and got to the point I couldn’t walk (it was very sudden). After I healed, I tried again and concentrated on running more like you described your revised stride, and things worked much better.

I also had the epiphany that as an old fat man instead of a high-school/college athlete, there was absolutely no reason to ‘run through the pain’. If something started hurting while I was running, I slowed down/started walking.

I actually completed one 5K, and then fell off the wagon. I really need to start up again.

22

Wow. Thanks everyone for the encouragement.

I’m heading to bed now, so I’ll respond properly tomorrow - I have some questions. :slight_smile:

23

If I can put in my 2 cents:
IMHO, playing a team sport such as soccer (which involves a lot of running) is better than simply running itself. The reason is that when you are only running - i.e., running laps, or on the treadmill, your body doesn’t have enough to distract from the pain and exertion of running.

Whereas, if you are playing soccer, you are focused on - where is the ball? What is the game situation? Is my teammate about to pass the ball to me? Etc. And that really takes your mind off of your aching and soreness, at least temporarily.

Running 2 miles in the course of a soccer game will feel much less painful, during that time, than merely running 2 miles on a treadmill or on a track.

24

Rock on!

Make this your turning point, find what works for you, and make it part of your lifestyle.

You sound like me when I was 37.

I went to donate blood at the Bloodmobile one day, as I had been doing for years, and the woman who took my blood pressure told me it was too high and made me go sit in a corner for a while. Before that moment I had never considered my own health. I had been the skinny guy eating whatever I wanted for years, until it caught up to me. It was my turning point.

That evening I went to the gym, a very intimidating place for me to set foot.
They had a seven day trial period, so I signed up and boldly asked how to turn on a treadmill. At the end of the week I made a decision that I was going to make the gym a part of my life.

When I joined, they gave me a few free sessions with a personal trainer, and she showed me several different weightlifting routines and got me set up with a schedule.

But the thing I liked most of all was running after the weightlifting was done, even if it was just on a treadmill. I would put on some good music and run a few miles. I found it was not difficult to slowly build up the speed and endurance over time.

I never did have much success with weightlifting, and after two years I realized I was a runner and not a weightlifter. I never ran a marathon, though I did do a half once. It’s not for competition, it’s for me.

I settled on an attainable weekly mileage goal of 25mi, and have not missed that goal for more than a few weeks a year over the past 12 years.

25

Vanilla, chocolate, etc.
I’d much rather run than play soccer, which is stops, starts, & sprints, & no change of scenery. I can also totally turn off the brain when running on a paved trail (no intersections, no rocks/roots low branches like on a trail). I don’t need to think about anything; can’t do that if playing soccer.

Treadmill - I can count on one hand (& still be able to snap, which requires two fingers) the # of times I’ve used a treadmill this year. Absolutely hate 'em; only for the worst of weather.
Track - only for specific speedwork. Running for me is done on the road or a trail, whether paved or true trail running.
Ask away, TwoCarrotSnowman

26

The other thing about team sports is you need a team. One of the things I enjoyed about running was it was me.

I like trail running. My second favorite is on the treadmill downstairs. I hate running on the streets - I look like a doofus. Which is why I hate team sports, I look like a doofus. But in my basement or on trails, no one sees me.

27

I restarted C25K yesterday. I had done week one at the beginning of August, then the humidity jumped to 95% and The Blerch got me. I found reasons not to run - Too hot, too sticky, too early, too dangerous (traffic)…So I joined a gym. Yesterday I used the elliptical and it was much easier on my knees than running on the sidewalk. The A/C doesn’t hurt, either.

I’m starting out as a 47 year old woman recovering from thyroid cancer, weighing in at 210. Which would be cool if I were 6’3" but I’m only 5’1". I’ll encourage you to stick with the program! And read the whole Oatmeal comic if you get the time…it’s pretty inspirational.

28

If you’re also starting out with a gym, be sure to check out their group classes. Group classes can be “enjoyable” in some sense as far as exercise goes. Some classes will be more on the fun side (dance, Zumba), and others will be more serious. Try out several to see if one clicks with you.

One of the things I really like about group classes is that I can turn off my brain and get a much better workout than if I was trying to motivate myself. When the class is over, I don’t even notice where the time went.

29

Hallboy runs and he looks like a gazelle. He makes it look effortless, like he’s just gliding on air. I run and I look like I’m drowning. Not a pretty sight, so I swim (during which I *don’t *look like I’m drowning).

30

Whatever you do, make sure it is an activity that doesn’t depend on the weather, special hours, or flaky team members who never show. It’s already too easy to find excuses to skip a workout without setting up barriers like that.

One thing that is important to me: the gym has to be less than ten minutes from my house.

31

Absolutely this. One of the nice things about running as a hobby is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to do it - just find a sidewalk and go - but good, properly fitted running shoes are one area where you don’t want to skimp. I wouldn’t even bother with a department store shoe section or a mall shoe store - go to a running store and talk to some folks who can analyse how you run and what shoes work best for you.

Like everyone else, I’ll add my congratulations. I started running when I turned forty. I hadn’t ever heard of Cto5K, but that’s rather how I began - I walked, and then got into racewalking, and wben that wasn’t giving me the cardiac workout I wanted, I started alternating periods of jogging amongst the walking. Gradually, the running parts got longer and longer, until I was running several miles at a time. When I finally ran my first race, it was a 10K. So you can do it!

32

Morning everyone.

Wow, thanks for all the encouragement everyone!. Normally, I’m a cynical sort of fellow, but I have to admit that I’m touched by all the support. I’ve GOT to stick with it now - can’t let the Dope down. :slight_smile:

Yeah, I think that mornings will be the best time. In my current job, I work from home, but I’m starting a new job in a month or so which will be office based and involve a daily commute. I think there’ll be time in the mornings to get a run in, though, and I’ve got a month or so before that to get in the habit.

So what I’m going to do - as soon as I’ve posted this - is put the time into my diary for the runs. I’m thinking Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, starting next week. For the remaining two runs this week, I’ll probably do tomorrow morning and Saturday.

I’m also going to ask Mrs Snowman for her support in respecting the running times as sacrosanct (unforeseen emergencies notwithstanding).

I’m going to have to Google foam-rolling. Is it as fun as it sounds? :slight_smile:

I see where you’re coming from, but for me the fact I can just drag myself out and go with no dependencies on other people or planning is one of the attractions. And I’ve never really been one for team sports.

Yep, I did that a while back - went to a proper running store and got my stride analysed. I still have the (expensive) shoes they sold me, which haven’t been worn that much. To be fair to the store, they do seem to be the right shoes for me - very comfortable, fit well and seem very supportive.

33

So, as promised, I have a few questions. :slight_smile:

In no particular order:

  1. Do most people listen to music when they’re running? I’ve got headphones in anyway, because the C25K app is calling out when to start and stop running, and the app itself can play music from the phone. I expect that most of my runs are going to be on the pavements alongside busy roads, so I’ll need to be fairly aware of my surroundings.

  2. Speaking of the phone, what’s the best way to carry it? Even if I don’t listen to music, I’ll still need it (and earbuds) for the C25K app. i was wearing a microfibre fleece for yesterday’s inaugural run, not because I needed it, but because it had a pocket for the phone. But that’s probably not a great long-term plan.

  3. While most of my runs will need to be of the “out the front door and start running” variety, we have a couple of nice country parks within a 20 minute drive, so on occasion it might be nice to go and do some running on the woodland trails there. This might sound like a daft question, but is there anything in particular I need to think about when compared to pounding the streets?

  4. As mentioned above, I’ve got good running shoes already, but apart from that I’ve only really got a couple of pairs of everyday sports shorts and normal cotton T-shirts. What should I be looking at in terms of clothing? I’m thinking here both in terms of making it easy on myself, but also looking as little like a doofus as possible. :wink:

  5. The C25K program includes five minutes of walking at the start and end for warm-up and cool-down. Is there anything else I should be doing? (Apart from stretching - see below)

  6. I’m kind of aware I should be stretching, but not really sure WHAT I should be doing. I’ve also seen conflicting advice regarding whether you should stretch both before and after, or just after a run.

Thanks once again for all the advice and encouragement. :slight_smile:

34

Geez, I hate to be a wet blanket, but if you’re nearly 100 pounds overweight, running is dangerous.

I think you would be better advised to walk briskly, slowly building up to 5 mph or so (12-minute mile) for half an hour or so. That will give you almost all the weight loss and cardiovascular benefits of running, with much less chance of joint injury or heart attack. Combined with a good diet, it should help you get down to the point where it will be a lot safer to run, say 30 pounds overweight.

35

Yes. I’d been waffling on re-joining a gym, but knew I needed to do something. I got a good chunk on Amazon with the Apple ebook settlement earlier this year, enough so an elliptical I’d been looking at cost me $10 out of pocket. Got it, put it together and have worked my way up to 30 minutes/day at this point.

I’ll eventually need to move beyond this, and that’s fine, but for now, this is what I’ll do that’s got me moving again. I was not, at that point, going to get myself up and out the door at 5:30 AM, but I will get up and make it to the living room at that time.
I’ve done C25k in the past and it was ok, the problem is that I don’t want to run in the heat, and, well, I live in Atlanta, so I’d drop it during the summer and have to get back in shape once fall cooled down enough.

36

My own opinions on some of your questions…

> Do most people listen to music when they’re running?
Absolutely. I listen to audiobooks most of the time, but there are times when some good rock and roll is necessary. You might need to find the right kind of headphones–regular earbuds fall out of my sweaty ears, so I use the ones with hooks. Run facing traffic for safety.

> Speaking of the phone, what’s the best way to carry it?
I have a belt pouch, one of those things made to hold a CD player back in the day. It works perfect. Other folks use an armband kind of thing.

> Is there anything in particular I need to think about when compared to pounding the streets?
Trail running is harder–more ankle twisters and more hills.

> What should I be looking at in terms of clothing? I’m thinking here both in terms of making it easy on myself, but also looking as little like a doofus as possible. :wink:
I just buy a handful of day-glo shirts at AC Moore for a few bucks each. They keep me visible.
…
> I’m kind of aware I should be stretching, but not really sure WHAT I should be doing.
Can’t help you here–have never stretched.

37

Did you mean cylindrical? :wink:

When running - or walking - on terrain, just take it slow and be careful how you place your foot. Awfully easy to turn an ankle, especially if you are not particularly agile.

And I was never into radios, gear, etc. Just shoes, socks, shorts - shirt optional! :slight_smile: I would have a piece of paper with my name/contact info on it in case I got hit by a truck. And I bought a fluorescent web vest for visibility if running in dusk/dark.

Stretching - you can drive yourself crazy as to what stretches to do, or even whether better to stretch before or after. I’m no expert, but I’d suggest you let your body be your guide. If you are running relatively short distances at a relatively slow pace, I’d suspect a lengthy pre-run stretch/warmup is not terribly necessary. I’d probably try to do a little stretching after. IME, you’d feel the effect on the 2d day after, rather than the next day. One thing that worked for me was to stretch when I had the TV on. If I didn’t want to stretch, then I didn’t turn on the TV. But if the damn thing was on, I had to be stretching.

Like Tony says - don’t try to do too much too fast. Not only could you hurt yourself, but you could really turn yourself off of it. Everything I hear says a brisk walk can be essentially as good as a jog.

Whatever you do - tunes/phone/a.m./p.m./streets/parks/etc - the most important thing is making exercise (and good diet) a part of your lifestyle, rather than something optional tacked on, to do when you feel like it. That’s one reason first thing in the morning works well for many. Don’t give yourself any option. You roll out of bed, and you hit the streets, before you even wake up and start coming up with excuses.

For me, I swim at a pool on my way home from work. I’m already in the car, and it just means I get home 45-60 min later than if I headed straight home. Personally, I have to think of it just as a routine part of my day - a priority/necessity, like showering, brushing/flossing, etc. Because as soon as you think of it as an optional recreation, you’ll find ways to convince yourself that you’d really rather just read a book, watch some more TV, surf the web, … In reality, you can do all that. Just make sure you do your exercise in the slot you carve out for it.

(I’m sure there are some more disciplined folk than me who can simply exercise whenever. Hats off to them.)

38

I never use headphones or listen to music, when I ran, or when I walk or bike or whatever. I like being aware of my surroundings, able to hear traffic, bells or “on your left” calls of passing bicyclists, birdsong, the sound of wind in the trees, waves on sand, whatever or wherever I am.

Can you set your phone to be loud enough to hear the instructions without wearing headphones or buds? There are all sorts of armbands or wristbands with pockets for carrying phones. Even a bicyclists shirt, with the pockets in the small of the back, might be useful. Check at your local running store.

Clothes: If your thighs are thick enough to rub together, you want shorts long enough and soft enough to prevent chafing. Otherwise, just wear whatever is comfortable. You haven’t mentioned your climate…if you are in a hot and humid area, you want clothes that will wick sweat away. Some stores sell bandanas made of a special material…you wet it, and it keeps you cooler.

Which reminds me, stay hydrated!

39

If I had no boobs I sure would be running!

40

I just got my first pair of running shoes (From a running store) last week. The difference is like night and day.
Here’s the problem I’ve been dealing with: My end goal is 5K in 30 minutes. I do my own version of C25K. Run five minutes, walk two, repeat until I reach 5K.
I’ll start out doing 5k in just under 43 minutes. As the days go by, I get progressively better, until I get to where I can do 5K in 33 minutes. It’s at this point, knee injuries start happening. So I’ll have to take several days off, and when I’m ready to start again, I’m back at square one.

I’m hoping these new shoes will help me meet my goal of 5k in 30 minutes.