Lose weight and run a half marathon!

louisewalsh23

I've been jogging on and off for a few years now, I'm a pretty fairweather runner though!

I tend to run in the summer and get lazy in the winter when it's cold and raining. I've done a few 10k races and have run 15k on my own. I've been threatening to do the half marathon for a few years now and after weighing myself this evening and seeing a horrifying 158lbs on the scales I cancelled the pub, went up and put on my gear!

I guess I'm starting this thread in the hope that I'll keep it like a diary of my progress and maybe a bit of encouragement for others who aren't a gifted athlete but are trying their best!

So Day 1:

- Weighed in at 158 and nearly had a heart attack!
- Gave the pub a miss
- Ran 5.5k in 27 minutes, was delighted with myself when mapmyrun app called out 3k at the 15 minute announcement as I haven't been out for a run in weeks
- Am going to make a serious effort to get out every day (which will mean I'll actually end up going 4/5 days per week) until October, get mega fit, smash the half marathon and hopefully will lose 30lbs in the process! One can only hope :-)

Any advice or encouragement is always welcome, or you could always follow if you want to hear how I get on!

Cheers :-)

huskerdu

Hi Louise. Good luck.

You should start a running log in the training log section.

Dont forget the basics. If you do too much too soon, you risk injury. You want to make running a lifelong habit, not a fad.

- Start by doing all your runs slowly which will allow you to build up your mileage without injury
- Increase your mileage slowly (approx 10% increase per week)

daithi1970

try running every second day to allow your body to recover..that will minimize the risk of injury. mix up the running as well, a mixture of long slow runs, hill runs and tempo runs (slow start,fast middle,slightly slower end) will keep things interesting..
Have a look at halhigdon.com and google grit doctor for further tips
.maybe get a six month membership for a gym for the winter months..treadmill running while is very boring,is more forgiving of the joints than concrete/tarmac and you'll still have the habit of regular exercise all year round.

daithi

louisewalsh23

Thanks so much for your helpful suggestions guys, I'll take that on board. It is more about getting into a habit I know, rather than going hell for leather for a week and giving up! The gym for the winter is a good idea too, my old company had a gym in the building and I used to go and jog away with my netflix on the treadmill, it wasn't too bad!

Day 2 today;
- went out for a jog as soon as I woke up this morning
- ran 6.5k in 40 mins, so a little slower than yesterday.
- got into a good "hypnotic" (as I call it!) state after about 4k where I was running so comfortably it wasn't effort anymore!

Also went to do the food shopping and tried to make good healthy choices!

Clearlier

Do a google for plans - runners world have some, Hal Higdon is another popular one. Find a plan that you can stick to and then stick to it. Look for progression in whatever plan you do but ideally you want one that's based on effort rather than pace because you'll see a fairly quick improvement in pace for effort over the first few months. You also want one that has you training at a variety of paces. One paced plodding has its limits.

Good luck, enjoy yourself and do start a log on the training logs sub-forum (or ask a mod to move this thread to that sub-forum).

P.S. 5.5k in 27mins while unfit and 2 stone overweight. Stick at it and you'll surprise yourself.

P.P.S. Health and Fitness forum is very good for weight loss advice. It seems that the conventional advice (food pyramid which was recently replaced by the plate) is pretty bad advice and promotes weight gain rather than weight loss.

louisewalsh23

I'm not sure how to ask a a mod to move this thread to the training logs? If any mods are reading this could you help me out?

Day 3:

Made a silly mistake today and went for a jog hungry, had to walk half way home for fear I would faint! Lesson learned! Your body needs fuel to run :-)

I thought it would be best not to eat before my Sunday morning run as that way I would burn fat. Mistake!

-Ran about 2.5k in the first 15 mins. Had to walk the 2.5k home and it took 39 mins in total. I know it's best to get out at all rather than sitting on your ass but not a great training session!
- Signed up and paid for the half marathon! Whoop Whoop! I have to go through with it now rather than risk losing face (and my €25 entrance fee!)
- Went out for dinner and the menu said chicken burger and chip. I requested a garden salad in place of the chips and no bun, which meant I essentially had a chicken salad, and 1 glass of wine instead of 2! I think it's these small changes that will make the difference to my weight and ultimately fitness!