Fat arse to 10K

AngryCorvair wrote: In reply to Adrian_Thompson: nice! i run-walked the 5k with my daughter. it was friggin' cold!

Thanks, I had a blast, wish I'd known you were there, I'd have found you.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: berkeley yeah, I did it guys Really really happy to have done it. Now I have a base line.

Nice! Way to hang tough.

So, whats next, 10mi? After that its only another 5k to hit "a half." :D

Paul_VR6 wrote: So, whats next, 10mi? After that its only another 5k to hit "a half." :D

Well my wife, my Chiropractor and other health people want me to quit. They all say 235lb's, 44 years old and running is a sure fire recipe for berkeleyed up knees in short order. I did this to prove I could (and I DID!!) and to improve my health and weight. Well the health improved, but not the weight. I really need to be better about my diet and do some weight bearing excise which builds muscle rather than just the aerobic running. If I can get my weight down I think I can carry on. I think my next goal is a step down in distance to 5K. There's a 5K down in Corktown (old Irish sector of Detroit) on St. Patty’s day that I want to do. The goal for that would be less than 30 mins.

Next step for sure is weight reduction, and unlike Michigan cars, Michigan males seem to get heavier with age not lighter though rust!

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

At 44 it is literally impossible to out-train a bad diet (and I say this at 41). Granted, I've dropped from 205 and "bottom out" around 185 (currently 188), but with 2700+ road bike miles this year as well as running again, I gain weight the second I overindulge.

Even my doctor said that exercise is fantastic and keep it up, but it all comes down to portion control and diet content.

The knee issues show up a lot if you heel strike. If you naturally run on your midfoot, you are ahead of the game. For strength check put Mens Health for their sparticus and bootcamp workouts. Not easy but you just need a timer, free weights and motivation. Very good balance between upper, core and lower.

Good to hear you are sticking with it.

what Paul_VR6 says … when the Nike Waffle Trainer hit the market, many, even most of us bought into the "new" style of running … i.e. heel strike. there were many articles in mag. (runners world especially) touting the heel strike method and how to do it properly

as we've found out over the yrs. that that sends all the shock directly through the knee…. landing on your forefoot (not up on you toes à la a sprinter) puts most of the shock through your achilles tendon, which does act as a shock absorber (plenty of warm-up and good stretching before and after) … keeping most of the shock away from your knees ..

if you've been a heel strike runner for some time, it's very hard to change … but well worth the effort in the long run (pardon the pun)

wish I'd never succumbed to the "magic" of heel strike running …. I might still be a runner if that were the case

sigh, I miss running

In reply to gamby:

i'm in a similar, albeit slightly lighter, boat. i weighed 176# when i started running in dec '12, and was down to 163# on race day 20 oct '13. i've only run a few times since race day, and am already back at 171#.

fortunately, the group i trained with is still running tu / th / sat, so i got up at 5 today to make the 5:30 start.

In reply to wbjones:

i've read that the way your foot hits the ground when you run in place is the way your foot should hit the ground when you are going down the road. i tried to heel-strike while running in place and couldn't do it.

AngryCorvair wrote: In reply to wbjones: i've read that the way your foot hits the ground when you run in place is the way your foot should hit the ground when you are going down the road. i tried to heel-strike while running in place and couldn't do it.

Because of the way most traditional running shoes are designed it's damn hard to not heel strike - especially running downhill. I had to work at this sort of falling forward gait where I'm attempting to run to keep from tipping over while trying to kick myself in the ass the whole time. I also bought what they call an intermediate heel drop shoe (as a car racer I read that as "reduced rake" :) )

It's a lot more efficient than it sounds and it has really helped my knee and hip pain. I can't go to a complete "barefoot" style shoe because they don't come in wide sizes for some reason - but that would be my next logical step.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Well my wife, my Chiropractor and other health people want me to quit. They all say 235lb's, 44 years old and running is a sure fire recipe for berkeleyed up knees in short order. I did this to prove I could (and I DID!!) and to improve my health and weight. Well the health improved, but not the weight. I really need to be better about my diet and do some weight bearing excise which builds muscle rather than just the aerobic running. If I can get my weight down I think I can carry on.

You have some good points in there. Absolutely get into the weight bearing exercise to build muscle. The stronger you make the muscles around your joints, the better off you'll be. A good nutrition plan is key to both weight control and muscle building. Even if you're lifting weights, if you're not feeding your body right, you won't get the best results. That's not to say you can never put a potato chip in your mouth again, but having a solid base and keeping track of what you eat is important. I'm 41, have had knee issues for 25+ years, now have a bum hip and other joint issues. But I work out regularly and have a good base diet, and am in the best shape of my life. I know that sounds contradictory, since I just mentioned having joint problems. But my knees are now doing better than they have in years and I have no doubt that if I didn't lift and eat right, I'd be in much worse shape. Oh, forgot to mention, my weight hangs right around 170lbs.

Paul_VR6 wrote: The knee issues show up a lot if you heel strike. If you naturally run on your midfoot, you are ahead of the game. For strength check put Mens Health for their sparticus and bootcamp workouts. Not easy but you just need a timer, free weights and motivation. Very good balance between upper, core and lower. Good to hear you are sticking with it.

Thanks for the tip. Do you have a link to the BootCamp you mention. Going direct to MensHEalth or via Google shows lot's of different 'Boot Camp' parts, but I don't see an overall plan to follow

Klayfish wrote: ........ I'm 41, have had knee issues for 25+ years, now have a bum hip and other joint issues. But I work out regularly and have a good base diet, and am in the best shape of my life. I know that sounds contradictory, since I just mentioned having joint problems. But my knees are now doing better than they have in years and I have no doubt that if I didn't lift and eat right, I'd be in much worse shape. Oh, forgot to mention, my weight hangs right around 170lbs.

HOw tall are you? I do eat well. All meat is organic and normally pasture raised, all veggies at home are organic. I eat a lot of fresh salad and raw foods. My trouble is a) portion control and b) going to work. There is always coffee, donuts, coney dogs, cookies, chocolate etc around and I have the self control of a 4 year old locked in a candy store. If I didn't go to work, I'd be healthier and thinner. I'm just a guy who canit say no!

I'm 5'9". I don't go nuts over the whole organic thing, I just try to eat a consistent and healthy diet. My staples are eggs, white meat chicken, low fat ground beef, veggies and some fruit, whole grains, greek yogurt, protein powder, nuts. My nutrition is fairly regimented in that most days I eat the same things at the same time. Helps keep me on track. I pack my lunch every day, so don't touch any junk that's here at work. As I've mentioned in other similar threads, I still allow for a cheat meal once per week. That way I can pig out and eat whatever I want. That really helps control cravings the rest of the week, since I know I've got a cheat meal coming.

Sorry I'm late, Adrian- but congratuations!!! Pretty awesome to be able to do that!

As for continuing... I'm with Paul and WBJ about the mid-foot strike. After my first 10k, my knees hurt, too, but focused on making the change to a mid sole strike. Took about a month to get it right, but it works.

There are a few good ytb videos, the easiest being- try to picture yourself kicking yourself in the rear while you run. That worked like a charm to change form. You can also go barefoot- minimalist shoe running- there's no way you can land on an unpaded heel- your stride will change instantly to land on the balls of your feet. Don't need much time doing that.

Mileage will make a big difference in your metabolism. Once I got deep into training for a half marathon, I dropped from 185 to 172. Back up to the mid-180's at the moment.

Over the long haul- started at 230, did Atkins to 195. Back up to 200 and started working out again, down to 190 ish. 10k to 185, half to 172. Basically, once you cross the one hour mark of cardio (not killing yourself), that really helps lose weight.

As for your diet- diary it. write down everything you put into your mouth. that will make you think better about portion control.

Self Zombie thread resurrection.

So, until the morning the weather was getting better, and I've been getting fatter. I've started running again recently and got in 2.5 miles last night before the overnight snow.

I now have my big boy smart phone and want a running/walking app that can track distance, time, route etc. The problem is most seem to automatically upload your information either to their proprietary site or one of your own social medial sites. I don't want one that does that. It's my info for my use only. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Self Zombie thread resurrection. So, until the morning the weather was getting better, and I've been getting fatter. I've started running again recently and got in 2.5 miles last night before the overnight snow. I now have my big boy smart phone and want a running/walking app that can track distance, time, route etc. The problem is most seem to automatically upload your information either to their proprietary site or one of your own social medial sites. I don't want one that does that. It's my info for my use only. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I use MapMyRun and it does want to upload your stuff... it's pretty good at all the things you want it to do except that one bit that bothers you.

I created a junk email, a fake name and let it do it's thing. Horatio Alger apparently ran the Scranton Half Marathon two weeks ago with a time of 1:50:05. Word on the street is that it was helpful to know his pace and split times every mile or so. It really made him push at the end :)

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Self Zombie thread resurrection. So, until the morning the weather was getting better, and I've been getting fatter. I've started running again recently and got in 2.5 miles last night before the overnight snow. I now have my big boy smart phone and want a running/walking app that can track distance, time, route etc. The problem is most seem to automatically upload your information either to their proprietary site or one of your own social medial sites. I don't want one that does that. It's my info for my use only. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I use MapMyRun and it does want to upload your stuff... it's pretty good at all the things you want it to do except that one bit that bothers you. I created a junk email, a fake name and let it do it's thing. Horatio Alger apparently ran the Scranton Half Marathon two weeks ago with a time of 1:50:05. Word on the street is that it was helpful to know his pace and split times every mile or so. It really made him push at the end :)

thx, hadn't thought of that. Will investigate tonight

dang, GPS, a 1:50 half is sweet!

My wife uses a running tracking app but it does work for me on the treadmill:-)

Tossing this out, I am just starting my third round of P90X. Well round one was P90X and it killed me. I am 52 and I haven't really worked out in years. I just finished P90X3 and enjoyed it a lot. It is 30 minutes yet the part I like the most is it is a full body workout. This is important because it will reduce injuries. This time I am adding running three days a week. Lastly the assign you a coach and I got a lot of support from him.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Self Zombie thread resurrection. So, until the morning the weather was getting better, and I've been getting fatter. I've started running again recently and got in 2.5 miles last night before the overnight snow. I now have my big boy smart phone and want a running/walking app that can track distance, time, route etc. The problem is most seem to automatically upload your information either to their proprietary site or one of your own social medial sites. I don't want one that does that. It's my info for my use only. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I use MapMyRun and it does want to upload your stuff... it's pretty good at all the things you want it to do except that one bit that bothers you. I created a junk email, a fake name and let it do it's thing. Horatio Alger apparently ran the Scranton Half Marathon two weeks ago with a time of 1:50:05. Word on the street is that it was helpful to know his pace and split times every mile or so. It really made him push at the end :)

I use mapmyride for bike/run and it gives the option of uploading to social media. There are on/off buttons to select it. Great tool for keeping a log of every workout. The datalogging aspect is excellent.

I did a lot of searching for decent mobile apps for running and heart rates. Most of the free ones were not all that accurate- distance first and foremost. The one I've been reasonably satisfied with was iSmoothRun. That one gives me the closest data to a Garmin 305 watch (which I think it pretty close).

On the other hand, I'm more concerned about accuracy than social media. Even then, the iSmoothRun tells you that it's your data to do anything with. Mine uploads to MyFitnessPal when I use it.

AngryCorvair wrote: dang, GPS, a 1:50 half is sweet!

Thanks! I had been working my ass off all winter trying to get in shape for it and it turned out really well. I was shooting for a 1'54 so was really pumped when I got to 7 miles in '58 and just did the rest on adrenaline. A big crowd helps. There were people cheering at all the water stops, bands playing, etc. Scranton really went all out on it.

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

resurrecting this thread to find out if Adrian_Thompson is going to run the Turkey Trot this year.

In reply to AngryCorvair:

strongly considering it. I have not been training as much this year but I have until the end of the month to register for cheap.