Questions about running
Hmmm - why do I run?
Well - I used to be 386lbs - well, more than that at one time, but couldn't find a scale to tell me the exact number. At that weight, running only referred to pee down my leg in the event I had a restroom issue..... *grin*
I was never a runner when I was a kid - played basketball and tennis in high school, but didn't do the distance running thing AT ALL. Then - a dude I dated earlier this year challenged me to run. I've been a weight lifter since WLS and can knock some serious metal - but was getting bored - he told me to run - I told him to jump off a cliff.... lol. However - after a trip to Vegas with my best friend and the death of a mutual friend, we started running in charity cancer races and such - and thus the 'bug' was born.
I don't run cause I like it. It hurts, it sucks, and every run I have to do mental checks about every min or so to tell myself 'you cannot stop, it is NOT that bad, suck it up, stop being a butthead!'. I have yet to get the 'runner's high' people talk about - I think it's much more efficient and time saving to just smoke weed. I don't feel some higher plane or closer to my body or any other shyt like that.
BUT
I love hearing my daughter brag at school to her friends how she just came from San Antonio and her mama ran a half marathon. I love that she wants to run with me. I love that at age 11, she's average weight - not overweight and headed to obese like I was. And even though I am at 215-220lbs (depends on the day) and cannot lose a lb to save my LIFE!! (whole nother thread lol) I love that my best speed time for one mile is 11min 11sec and I'm on track to hit my goal of an 11 min mile by the year's end.
Why do I run? Because I simply cannot think not to. It is who I am and what I do.
ETA - I saw your comment about your current weight - well, today I am 217 and have run not one, but TWO half marathons - I finished them in 3hrs 16 and 3hrs 8 min respectively - I ran them within 3 weeks of each other.
I've also done several 10K (6.2mile) and 5K (3.1) mile races and a 10 miler - I only began running at ALL in March of this year - and have now knocked out two half marathons - people are amazed - they say most people don't progress like that - especially given the fact that I've been 215lbs THE WHOLE TIME. They are amazed, I'm not.
I tell them - for me, it isn't that failure isn't an option........ it was never a possibility in the first place. If it's what you want to do - make a plan and work a plan!
Well - I used to be 386lbs - well, more than that at one time, but couldn't find a scale to tell me the exact number. At that weight, running only referred to pee down my leg in the event I had a restroom issue..... *grin*
I was never a runner when I was a kid - played basketball and tennis in high school, but didn't do the distance running thing AT ALL. Then - a dude I dated earlier this year challenged me to run. I've been a weight lifter since WLS and can knock some serious metal - but was getting bored - he told me to run - I told him to jump off a cliff.... lol. However - after a trip to Vegas with my best friend and the death of a mutual friend, we started running in charity cancer races and such - and thus the 'bug' was born.
I don't run cause I like it. It hurts, it sucks, and every run I have to do mental checks about every min or so to tell myself 'you cannot stop, it is NOT that bad, suck it up, stop being a butthead!'. I have yet to get the 'runner's high' people talk about - I think it's much more efficient and time saving to just smoke weed. I don't feel some higher plane or closer to my body or any other shyt like that.
BUT
I love hearing my daughter brag at school to her friends how she just came from San Antonio and her mama ran a half marathon. I love that she wants to run with me. I love that at age 11, she's average weight - not overweight and headed to obese like I was. And even though I am at 215-220lbs (depends on the day) and cannot lose a lb to save my LIFE!! (whole nother thread lol) I love that my best speed time for one mile is 11min 11sec and I'm on track to hit my goal of an 11 min mile by the year's end.
Why do I run? Because I simply cannot think not to. It is who I am and what I do.
ETA - I saw your comment about your current weight - well, today I am 217 and have run not one, but TWO half marathons - I finished them in 3hrs 16 and 3hrs 8 min respectively - I ran them within 3 weeks of each other.
I've also done several 10K (6.2mile) and 5K (3.1) mile races and a 10 miler - I only began running at ALL in March of this year - and have now knocked out two half marathons - people are amazed - they say most people don't progress like that - especially given the fact that I've been 215lbs THE WHOLE TIME. They are amazed, I'm not.
I tell them - for me, it isn't that failure isn't an option........ it was never a possibility in the first place. If it's what you want to do - make a plan and work a plan!
I don't just have issues, I have subscriptions! I'm saving on the newsstand price....... 
Check out my dating mis - adventures at: http://1macdatinggame.blogspot.com/
BSophie - I loved your answer. I have been working out for years I have just never been a runner. BUT I want to be. I am 223 down from 293 and am hoping to get a bit lower before I start running because I am worried my knees will hurt. But I want to do this. And I know it is not easy. I dread the beginning ....
Ms. Bellerose. :)
My high weight was 258, and I tried and tried, several times over several years, to start running, by my legs just weren't havin' any of THAT. When I was a kid, my legs were super-strong but I had exercise-induced asthma... legs could have gone forever, but I only made a mile ONE time in gym class and I seriously thought we were gonna have to call an ambulance. In adulthood, I outgrew that but my legs got weaker as I stopped exercising and put on more and more weight... eventually, the situation flip-flopped--my lungs could go forever, but my legs couldn't go more than two minutes once or twice before they just could not do it.
One of my biggest goals going into surgery was to finally be A Runner, and I wanted to do a 5K by late summer/early fall. When I was in the low-imid 190s I started the C25K program, around mid-late July. Guess what?? I did my 5K on September 25th! After never running a mile in my WHOLE LIFE except that one time when I was 14, I did it 3.1 miles straight at age 45. Obviously, I strongly recommend that program. :D
I initially did it because it seemed like a huge, but do-able, milestone. Something I wanted to prove to myself. Plus, in my head I have this vision of just skimming along light-footedly, feeling awesome and strong and gliding like a champ. Well.... I'm not to that point yet LOL. The first few minutes, sure, but after that it's not much fun DURING the run. Yet. but afterwards--hooo, boy, it feels SO GREAT!!! And it burns a ton of calories. Someday I hope to really enjoy it without feeling like I'm getting heavier and heavier, that it's not so much of an effort, but in the meantime the payoff in how I feel afterwards is so worth it.
Some people can handle it when they're still on the heavier side, and others like me can't... you'll have to experiment with it and find out what your body says about it. But if you can get past those first couple of weeks, you can do it!!
My high weight was 258, and I tried and tried, several times over several years, to start running, by my legs just weren't havin' any of THAT. When I was a kid, my legs were super-strong but I had exercise-induced asthma... legs could have gone forever, but I only made a mile ONE time in gym class and I seriously thought we were gonna have to call an ambulance. In adulthood, I outgrew that but my legs got weaker as I stopped exercising and put on more and more weight... eventually, the situation flip-flopped--my lungs could go forever, but my legs couldn't go more than two minutes once or twice before they just could not do it.
One of my biggest goals going into surgery was to finally be A Runner, and I wanted to do a 5K by late summer/early fall. When I was in the low-imid 190s I started the C25K program, around mid-late July. Guess what?? I did my 5K on September 25th! After never running a mile in my WHOLE LIFE except that one time when I was 14, I did it 3.1 miles straight at age 45. Obviously, I strongly recommend that program. :D
I initially did it because it seemed like a huge, but do-able, milestone. Something I wanted to prove to myself. Plus, in my head I have this vision of just skimming along light-footedly, feeling awesome and strong and gliding like a champ. Well.... I'm not to that point yet LOL. The first few minutes, sure, but after that it's not much fun DURING the run. Yet. but afterwards--hooo, boy, it feels SO GREAT!!! And it burns a ton of calories. Someday I hope to really enjoy it without feeling like I'm getting heavier and heavier, that it's not so much of an effort, but in the meantime the payoff in how I feel afterwards is so worth it.
Some people can handle it when they're still on the heavier side, and others like me can't... you'll have to experiment with it and find out what your body says about it. But if you can get past those first couple of weeks, you can do it!!
HW 258 SW 246.4 CW 166.8 GW 160
(reflects loss from all-time high weight in November 2009)
I lost 140 lbs after a lifetime of being fat. I was watching Biggest Loser and saw one of the contestants cross the finish line of a half-marathon. She cried. I cried. I thought: what an incredible achievement! What a miracle to go from so fat and inactive to accomplishing that goal. It is the last thing I ever thought I'd do, and the last thing I ever thought I'd enjoy.
I'm doing a half marathon in Disney in January. I'm doing it with Team In Training. They help me prepare and get me to the event; in exchange I raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Everyone wins!
You can read more about TNT by googling it or clicking the link below. You can choose from several events. The events are not run by TNT, and anyone can register for most of them, but they do offer a lot of support, and the transportation, in exchange for your fundraising.
Start slow. I was walking and then every so often (especially on little down hill spots on my path) I would do a little jog. Each time I could jog a tiny bit farther, until the running parts were longer and more frequent intervals than the walking parts.
The truly amazing thing to me is that I actually found there are so many things about it that I enjoy. I used to always think of any kind of physical activity as a hateful, tedious and painful chore. Not only did I hate it, I didn't understand how any one could feel differently. I just thought they were stronger than me and had the discipline to do something so distasteful.
I enjoy feeling my body moving. I marvel at the miracle of the human machine. I love the leaves and the sky and the traffic and the air filling my lungs. I love it when my body takes over and says: "I got this" and my mind can just go off wandering and being in the moment. After a little bit I come back and think, "Hey, look at me! Look at what I can do!"
Even when its hard, I keep going. That's a big departure for me. Before, if something was hard I gave up, and then beat myself up for being a loser.
There are a few really good Couch to 5K programs you can search for on the internet. A friend of mine started on that a few months ago and just ran his first 5K. There is nothing that compares to the feeling of seeing your first finish line off in the distance. Its very emotional, and in a very good way.
I'm doing a half marathon in Disney in January. I'm doing it with Team In Training. They help me prepare and get me to the event; in exchange I raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Everyone wins!
You can read more about TNT by googling it or clicking the link below. You can choose from several events. The events are not run by TNT, and anyone can register for most of them, but they do offer a lot of support, and the transportation, in exchange for your fundraising.
Start slow. I was walking and then every so often (especially on little down hill spots on my path) I would do a little jog. Each time I could jog a tiny bit farther, until the running parts were longer and more frequent intervals than the walking parts.
The truly amazing thing to me is that I actually found there are so many things about it that I enjoy. I used to always think of any kind of physical activity as a hateful, tedious and painful chore. Not only did I hate it, I didn't understand how any one could feel differently. I just thought they were stronger than me and had the discipline to do something so distasteful.
I enjoy feeling my body moving. I marvel at the miracle of the human machine. I love the leaves and the sky and the traffic and the air filling my lungs. I love it when my body takes over and says: "I got this" and my mind can just go off wandering and being in the moment. After a little bit I come back and think, "Hey, look at me! Look at what I can do!"
Even when its hard, I keep going. That's a big departure for me. Before, if something was hard I gave up, and then beat myself up for being a loser.
There are a few really good Couch to 5K programs you can search for on the internet. A friend of mine started on that a few months ago and just ran his first 5K. There is nothing that compares to the feeling of seeing your first finish line off in the distance. Its very emotional, and in a very good way.
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