One for the Forest Gumps

[Alex C]

Evening Gents (& Ladies)

 

I am after some advice / moral support.

 

After a rather booze filled New Years Eve, bravado overcame me and i announced to an assembled crowd that my mate who ran the Great North Run was a p***y as it was only a half marathon. He took the hump with this and told me i should put up or shut up.

 

So fast forward a few months and i am now one of the 10,000 or so lucky mugs who will be pounding round the Great North Run course come September.

 

Training started in earnest at the end of February, and just to fill you in, i am a bit of a fatty. Well in all honesty i am a lot of a fatty. I weighed in at 23 stone of solid burger and chip belly. Since starting the training i have managed to drop 3 stone and feel a load better, but still a good few to go.

 

Now to the advice bit. I am obviously doing a lot of running as well as visiting a personal trainer 2/3 times per week. Currently its killing me but no pain - no gain eh.

I have also stopped putting so much food in my mouth, which is helping

 

Now regarding the running training, how should i be approaching it ? Do i concentrate on distance alone and take it slow or should i work on my pace and knacker myself over a shorter distance ? I can comfortably do around 4 miles, probably 6 if i pushed it. Pace wise i am probably at around the 12 min mile. How do i go about building up the distance so on the day i wont drop dead half way through ?

 

13 miles seems along way off at the moment !!

 

Any advice / jokes / fun poking appreciated.

 

Thanks

[AVB]

It's all about time on your feet so concentrate on longer distances.

 

I did a half marathon and never felt confident I could do it until I was doing a 10-12 mile run in training.

 

I did three runs/week. 1 short (4-6 miles), 1 long (10-12 miles) and 1 recovery (anywhere between 2 and 6 depending on how I was feeling.

[Catweazle]

I'm fat too, and when I started running it knocked the hell out of my ankles and feet. Perhaps something less impact would be better until you lose a bit more weight. Cycling ?

[Fatcatsplat]

I'm in roughly the same position as you - first advice funnily enough is TAKE IT EASY. You're currently 20 stone (ish) - That's a hell of a lot of impact and stress on your back, knees and ankles.

 

Personally i'd be concentrating on diet and general fitness at the moment, so cut out the junk and get yourself down the gym and doing something low impact (rowing machine, cycling, cross trainer) where your foot isn't hitting the floor hard.

 

You do need to get the miles in your legs though, so i'd recommend power walking, on grass if you can, as it will improve fitness, stamina and breathing. As the weight comes off, you can gradually start building up into a run (Google fartlek training) and go for duration, not speed or distance.

 

And pay good money for good shoes.

 

Best of luck - keep us updated - i could do with some motivation!!

[gixer1]

I am currently trying to get back into running after a long break from it and am not reall that fit now although I'm not carrying way to much weight just more than I want to be, I am currently going through a 5k plan and basically after you do that you just keep extending the time/distance as per below...

 

You will find by day three the total distance you are covering is around 2 miles if walking at 2.8mph and running at 5.9mph (on a running machine of course)

 

Edited April 26, 2012 by gixer1

[Raja Clavata]

So you have four months between now and then. My suggested plan is this:

 

For the first two months focus on stripping as much weight off as possible - interval training will probably give the greatest returns - run, swim, cycle whatever - if you mix it up then it stays a bit more interesting and really keeps your body guessing. You need to eat well but cut out as much junk as possible. Consider taking a diet shake for breakfast and eat 5 other smallish meals if you can a day rather than 2 or 3 bigish ones - especially avoid large meals in the evening. Limit alcohol and if you currently drink beer consider switching to a spirit with a cal free mixer

 

After the first two months evaluate where you are weight-wise, if you are happy (happier) with your weight at that point then start training for the run. If you want to lose more weight at that stage then evaluate where you are at in terms of the run distance and go from there - you are likley going to need a month to prepare for the run.

 

The above plan assumes you want to change for the long term rather than just do the run and revert back to your "normal". If all you care about is getting the run done then steady state running building up to the required distance will get you there but the overall long term gains will be limited.

 

If all else fails - throw a phantom injury and dodge it

[gixer1]

the other question I have is - Are you sure you can run 6 miles non stop comfortably at a 12 minute mile??? so you can COMFORTABLY run at 5mph for 6 miles? (you are into the "run" bracket as it moves from jog to run at around 4.8mph from what i have seen on treadmills/running machines)

 

have to say i'm not at the same weight as you and I'm not up to a comfortable 6 miles non stop at 5mph, i'm at around day five of week 2 of the plan I posted and covering 1.88 miles total distance on the run - running at 5.7-5.8 mph for 3 mins and then waliking at 2.7mph for 3 mins and you run 4 times and walk 4 times, and I find i'm tired after this (although in my defence it was on the hotel running machine in the USA and it was bloody warm even kicking in the air con!)

 

Regards,

 

Gixer

[Raja Clavata]

To the OP: Just noticed that you have a PT - what are they suggesting you should do?

[Dunkield]

Perhaps something less impact would be better until you lose a bit more weight. Cycling ?

I am no expert (your personal trainer should be) but this seems like good advice to me.

I do a bit of hill walking with a friend who loves to do it but is overweight, he has knocked seven bells out of his knees and ankles as a result and has to walk with them strapped now.

You have a bit of time on your side. I would say bang some more weight off and then ramp the running up, not the other way round.

Good luck and let us know how you are doing from time to time.

[yates]

I'd ask your GP for a check up first to make sure heart and vascular system is okay before you start the serious stuff

[berties]

First congratulations on the weight loss,you are moving in the right direction just take your time build up slowly ,you don't have to run long distances while you are building up,your body needs to get used to the stress of the pounding and have recovery time,if you get a strain rest it or get a physio on board your body will guard the injury resulting in a secondary injury,good running shoes are a must I still loose the odd toe nail,over 4 miles you start to get chaffing etc deal with it do not ignore it,especially if you get wet ,try some shorter runs with sprinting and jogging mixed,

Most marathons and half marathons give you training programme that you can adjust to your needs,build up slowly,best advice take it slowly pace your self,you obviously have your diet under control ,enjoy you achievement train safley and you will succeed ,good luck

[Alex C]

Thanks for the responses so far guys, keep them coming !

 

So the consensus is that i should be concentrating on the weight loss before ramping up the running side of things.

 

The weight loss is the reason i am seeing the P/T. My trainer is a mate of mine of many years who uses the boot camp style training which i seem to respond to better than a normal gym type P/T. He basically shouts obscenities at me and throws things to get me moving !! His work is paying dividends however and is more the type of Boxing / Rugby training which i really enjoy. Basically circuit training.

 

On the diet front, i rarely drink anyway so laying off is no hardship. My diet currently has moved from the normal shop bought sandwich for lunch with crisps etc to bowls of wholemeal rice and chicken and usually a jacket pot with tuna for tea. This is where i find my will power tested the most. I like my grub !!

 

Take on board the weight / impact on joints issue but i seem to be coping ok at the moment. I want this weight shifted quick hence the running. This is the biggest i have ever been and to be honest it sickens me that i have let myself get into this state.

 

Shoes - Just invested in a pair of New Balance running shoes which seem to be pretty good. Will start breaking in another pair a few weeks before the big day.

 

With any luck another couple of months and i will have shifted another 3 or 4 stones. Target weight being around the 16 st mark.

 

I have promised that i was going to give this 100% commitment for 6 months by which time i will hopefully be a lot lighter and fitter and then once at target weight i can ease back a little on the training without undoing the hard work i have done.

 

I will keep updating my progress.

 

Cheers

 

Alex

[nobbyathome]

start running now

[nobbyathome]

in all honesty just take your time it is better to finish hours after anyone else and get yourself a medal and be proud that you actually got off of your backside trained and finished a run than to run yer nuts off for 20 mins and collapse

[Marine1980]

Evening Gents (& Ladies)

 

I am after some advice / moral support.

 

After a rather booze filled New Years Eve, bravado overcame me and i announced to an assembled crowd that my mate who ran the Great North Run was a p***y as it was only a half marathon. He took the hump with this and told me i should put up or shut up.

 

So fast forward a few months and i am now one of the 10,000 or so lucky mugs who will be pounding round the Great North Run course come September.

 

Training started in earnest at the end of February, and just to fill you in, i am a bit of a fatty. Well in all honesty i am a lot of a fatty. I weighed in at 23 stone of solid burger and chip belly. Since starting the training i have managed to drop 3 stone and feel a load better, but still a good few to go.

 

Now to the advice bit. I am obviously doing a lot of running as well as visiting a personal trainer 2/3 times per week. Currently its killing me but no pain - no gain eh.

I have also stopped putting so much food in my mouth, which is helping

 

Now regarding the running training, how should i be approaching it ? Do i concentrate on distance alone and take it slow or should i work on my pace and knacker myself over a shorter distance ? I can comfortably do around 4 miles, probably 6 if i pushed it. Pace wise i am probably at around the 12 min mile. How do i go about building up the distance so on the day i wont drop dead half way through ?

 

13 miles seems along way off at the moment !!

 

Any advice / jokes / fun poking appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Well you dont have to fly there so you won't have to pay for a second seat but you may have to get two different numbers as you will be taking up the room of two runners!!!! Lol

 

Royal

[Alex C]

Lol

 

Hopefully i will be down to single seat measurements by the time i get on another plane.

 

Thanks for all the help so far.

 

My shooting buddy is a ex gunner in the RHA, his advice is what he calls the squaddie method -

 

Head down, grit your teeth and breath through your a*se when you are chin strapped !!

 

Sound advice me thinks !!