Running Newbie - ThinnerTimes - Gastric Bypass Forum, Lap Band Forum, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum

MBatten · 02-18-2008, 10:09 AM

Hi folks,

Well, I've been working out at the gym for a year now...I do cardio 6 days a week and martial arts 3x a week. I also am a "bus chick" here in Seattle, so I get some running time in catching buses <g>

I decided that I wanted to take up running. I don't know what has gripped me, but Seattle is so beautiful, and we have loads of awesome trails for running/biking.

Anyway, this past weekend we saw a break in the winter rain and had two beautiful sunny days, so I headed down to the local trail to see what I could do. I figured that I could do a mile, at a reasonably slow pace. Mind you, I am most definitely in the best shape I've ever been in my life, and thought, yah, I can run a mile.

Well! Not a chance on this green earth could I run a whole mile! LOL. What a humbling experience. It was not a muscle thing, but I simply could not get enough oxygen in. My lungs hurt worse than my body. This was as I said, humbling, but also oddly enough very inspiring for me. I see that I have a whole lot of improvement and think that it will come pretty quickly.

So, that being said, when I came home I found a few get started running tips that include switching off from 60/90 running/walking for the first week with increases the following week, and so on.

What I wanted to know from the board, has anyone else done this? I mean, go from a total newb, to an actual runner? I really want to do this. I see that I am not nearly as fit as I thought I was, and it's mostly an endurance/cardio thing, and one goal that I have these days is to feel that I am truly fit.

Anyway, any advice or sharing of stories would be appreciated!

Gina in NY · 02-18-2008, 05:22 PM

In July, I could not run at all. Today I ran 6.2 miles.

So - how I got there - first of all - don't go fast at first! Then, as you said, do the intervals. I did a little running/really jogging, every other day. I just slowly built it up. Ran for two minutes, walk for two, run for 3, walk for 2, run for 4, walk for 2 or 1 - whatever. I also used a heart rate monitor to sort of regulate how hard I pushed. At first I'd only go to 140, then as I got into better shape, I'd go to 145, 150 and now up to 163 for sprints.

Anyway - you'll get there. Take it slowly. Good luck!!

boarderneil · 02-19-2008, 01:00 AM

I could barely walk a block without my back hurting, my ankles aching and sweating. I had to push the baby stroller or shopping cart to walk any distance at all. Six months out from surgery, I'm up to 9 mile runs on hills averaging around 10 minute miles and training for a pretty tough half-marathon in April - La Jolla Half Marathon. If I can do it, so can you!!!

Gina gave some great advice. I would add that cross training on an eliptical machine helps a lot. its easy to do intervals on an eliptical and it is a bit more forgiving on the joints. Make sure you change up the incline and the direction you are stepping as this will provide a great strength workout for your legs. If you work the eliptical hard, it will really expand your cardio.

To keep me motivated and to drive me further along, I use either a garmin forerunner GPS watch or my iPod nano to monitor my runs. The feedback on either is great (forerunner provides heart rate, altitude and automatic mapping of run while the iPod provides music and the nike website that can be fun for setting goals and resolutions. However, the iPod is not very reliable.).

Enjoy a very wonderly addictive habit that is really good for you. Please listen to your body and make sure that you have good running shoes for your running style - it means the difference between running comfortably for a long time and having nagging injuries that will keep you from running.

Congrats!!!

MBatten · 02-19-2008, 10:44 AM

Thanks for the advice. I love technology, and will invest in some once I make sure that this is something that I am going to do long term (I'm already doing martial arts 3x a week, and I am pretty sure I want to run, but want to figure out exactly what I am going to want to track, etc., before investing in new tech!).

So far so good though. I am aiming for every other day, and increasing my capacity each week. I am also still doing my regular gym workouts and martial arts, so this is really stepping it up a bit for me. But, I'm enjoying it. While it's tough while doing it, I feel great afterwards, which means this is likely to be a real winner in terms of getting me to the next level!