A fat man and a marathon

[Marathon Man]

So I've decided to ditch my old weight loss diary after a few months. I've proven to myself that I've changed my lifestyle and can lose weight, and last February when all the roads were blocked off and I was cursing because I had to detour for the Marathon in Jacksonville, FL, I told myself, "One day I'm gonna be one of the runners making people detour." I doubt anyone believed me, or if I even belived myself, but now I have to!!

Two weeks ago, I signed up for the Madison half-marathon on May 30, 2010. And I hope to follow that up with the real deal in either October, or back in FL if I can afford the trip back down to the sunshine state in Feb 2011.

I'm still 286 pounds, but I've lost 40 the last few months. And I find it's much easier and much more healthy to obsess over my fitness goals rather than my weight.

A month ago I could hardly run a mile in 12 minutes without feeling like I had just died, but lets dream big right!!!

And hell, if Alta can do it, than so can I dangit!


UPDATES:
-Key moments for along the way so far

11/10/09--Ran 8 miles straight when I weighed 284 lbs
1/03/09--Changed my half-marthon to a full marathon in May!

 

[skkroll]

Hey, I'm from the Milwaukee area I should sign up for the half marathon!!! Man that would be insane if I could actually do it.... you have me tempted to sign up though! I'm doing my first 5K this Sunday at the Milwaukee County Zoo... the Jingle Bell run/walk for arthritis.

And I like what you said about Alta... lol... I will be thinking of her during my 5K!!

Good luck with everything

~ Sarah

 

[Marathon Man]

Over the last couple of weeks of training and reading I think I've finally tweaked my workout plan pretty good. At first I was running too much and too fast, but I'm learning to pace myself and not overtrain. AND warm up and stretch. Go figure, it actually works.

Training Schedule:

Day 1 - Easy 2 mile pace run
Day 2 - Intervals (faster pace with hills and walking)
Day 3 - Medium 2 mile pace run - faster than day 1
Day 4 - Rest
Day 5 - Cross training (30-60 min on bike)
Day 6 - Long run - starting at 3 miles
Day 7 - Other (Rest or light cross training, no running)

My first long run was 38:00, and last night I got it down to 36:00. Yay for me!!!

In another week or two I'm gonna add a half mile to each run. I can see the finish line already.

 

[Marathon Man]

Hey, I'm from the Milwaukee area I should sign up for the half marathon!!!

You should!! I never would have signed up for Madison except my coworker knew about me running and had just run the Milwaukee marathon a few weeks ago. He almost qualified for Boston. Now that I've signed up it's so much easier to stay motivated. I almost skipped a couple workouts last week, but then I remembered, in 209 days I have to run 13.1 miles!!! Ahhhh!

It's nice to have someone pushing you (plus another coworker just did the Madison Ironman). If you have the time to train and want to run at my slow pace, we can all push each other to finish!

Good luck on the 5K!

Jeff

 

[Marathon Man]

Just got back from doing 19.5 miles on the bike at the gym. Dang is my butt ever sore from sitting on that thing for an hour! Ughh. But my legs aren't too sore at all. Maybe tomorrow I'll be paying when I wake up though. Kept up a 19MPH pace the whole time, just jamming out to my iPod.

Gotta love the new Jay-Z! I was even playing air drums while I was peddling. Yeah, there were a few other people in there. Haha. Just sweating away and in my zone and having a good time. I hated that thing two weeks ago when I forced myself to do some cross training. Now it's my favorite day of the week!

Probably start upping the resistance a little now that I feel I can pedal 80-90 RPM all day. After like 2 miles I usually want to just stop, but if I push through it seems to get so much easier.

 

[Marathon Man]

Finally broke down this afternoon and agreed to a weekly run outdoors with my coworker. Problem is that he was running 16 miles a day just recently. I hope he can keep up with me.

And I bought some official running shirts and underarmor to wick away the sweat since I now have to actually RUN OUTSIDE in the dang cold. I modeled for myself in the mirror and posed and I look just like a total running dork. It's great! I've never ran with someone else before. Running in the past has usually entailed me going half a block and gasping for breath and sucking down gulps of air like it was going out of style.

Personal best for 2 miles on the treadmill today: 22:35.

Well, best in like 9 years anyway.

 

[KaraCooks]

I look just like a total running dork. It's great!

Hee hee .. That made me giggle. I love getting new gym clothes that make me look like a gym rat. I take pride in it. It's awesome.

 

[Benji1]

Keep up the good work mate! Can't wait til I'm at the stage when running that far seems achieveable, since...

Running in the past has usually entailed me going half a block and gasping for breath and sucking down gulps of air like it was going out of style.

Is about where I am right now!

 

[Marathon Man]

Haha Kara. Yeah, I feel like Reggie Bush in that Underamor commercial when I put it on, except for all the flab where the muscles should be.

Can't wait til I'm at the stage when running that far seems achieveable

Just keep working at it and slowly up the speed. I did a kind of couch to 5K program to build up my endurance. Run for a minute, walk for 2 minutes ... then build up the running. Best of luck!

 

[Marathon Man]

Signed up for my first race today: Jingle Bells 5K on December 5th. I was already kinda nervous about running outside, having committed to one day a week with my coworker, and now this! Ahhh!!! So I bought some underarmour running pants and a jacket today at Dunham's to go along with the free stuff the guy at work gave me. I'm all set now. More goodies to play with.

Then what better way to get the nerves out than to actually do it! Dang it was hard to run today though. It was dark and I had no idea of my pace being off the treadmill and w/o my headphones and I had to cut the run short cuz my sis was waiting on me. So I'm still nervous though, since I've yet to set a base pace for my outdoor miles. Can't wait until Friday to run two miles outside like a real runner and see what my pace is. At least I found mileage markers along the path in the dark, so it'll be a good place to run through the winter.

Gotta force myself to take a day off tomorrow though. It's gonna be hard. Only 4 weeks to get ready for this 5K. No more screwing around!

 

[codon2004]

Hey, I had the same issue in terms of not knowing how to pace myself when running outside. In my first 5K, I just relied on picking certain people to follow as I went along. If, after a few hundred yards at least, they seemed a bit slow, I would pass and pick someone else. This didn't get me an optimal time, but it kept me from burning myself out, allowed me to finish strong, and gave me experience for the next race. My 2nd race I still followed people but feel I did a better job of picking who to follow and did better because of it. Trust me, when you finish your first 5K, you'll be happy no matter the time. Also, Under Armour is key! I have an Under Armour cold gear shirt and I wear it under a t shirt to run on cold days. It insulates for one, but it also keeps you from getting soaked in sweat, which would obviously just make you colder. And if you want to simulate outdoor running on the treadmill, remember to set the incline up to 1.0. Good luck on December 5th!

 

[Marathon Man]

Thanks for the tip on that website in your journal:

Trust me, when you finish your first 5K, you'll be happy no matter the time.

Yeah, that's all I'm focusing on is trying to run the whole thing no matter how slow my pace. Then I can build from that until May.

 

[M_Marie]

Hee hee .. That made me giggle. I love getting new gym clothes that make me look like a gym rat. I take pride in it. It's awesome.

HEHEHE

me too!!!!
I just bought a sweet under armor shirt.... and i feel like such a studette muffin!!!!


heck ya bitches..... i AM A BEAST!!!!


LMAO!

 

[Marathon Man]

Just got a call from my brother asking me to work tonight. So now I get to work from 7am to 4pm at one job, and then from 4pm to 11pm at the other. THEN I get to drive across town and run the two miles I planned on with little sleep ... in the dark again. Yay!

I felt down for a minute and was going to blow off my run, but I'm reading Ultra Marathon: Confessions of an All Night Runner, which is an amazing and hilarious autobiography (yes, my job is uber hard, with posting on the forum and reading), and Dean Karnazes, running in his first 135 mile Badwater ultra in Death Valley, collapses in the dirt on the side of the road more than halfway through. Then he quotes Theodore Roosevelt.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid soulds who neither know victory or defeat.​

I WILL NOT BE A COLD TIMID SOUL!!!

If he can run 135 miles straight and a marathon in -50 degree weather on the South Pole, I can force myself to run my pitily little two miles tonight.

 

[Alta818]

So I've decided to ditch my old weight loss diary after a few months. I've proven to myself that I've changed my lifestyle and can lose weight, and last February when all the roads were blocked off and I was cursing because I had to detour for the Marathon in Jacksonville, FL, I told myself, "One day I'm gonna be one of the runners making people detour." I doubt anyone believed me, or if I even belived myself, but now I have to!!

Two weeks ago, I signed up for the Madison half-marathon on May 30, 2010. And I hope to follow that up with the real deal in either October, or back in FL if I can afford the trip back down to the sunshine state in Feb 2011.

I'm still 286 pounds, but I've lost 40 the last few months. And I find it's much easier and much more healthy to obsess over my fitness goals rather than my weight.

A month ago I could hardly run a mile in 12 minutes without feeling like I had just died, but lets dream big right!!!

And hell, if Alta can do it, than so can I dangit!

......OMG!!!........I am so happy to have FOUND YOUR THREAD right now!!!...I was looking and I saw Marathon and thought..."Oh cool...let me click real quick..."...and I was so happy for you just reading and that you MADE THE DECISION...and then..I saw MY NAME!!! ...I am so happy that you could think that way...cause it's the truth...I DID IT..and just reading that you signed up and made the Committment..I KNOWWWWWWWWWWW You can too!!!...I am rooting for you buddy!!!..I have my 2nd Marathon in Feb!!!...I am SOOOO PROUD OF YOU!!!..Thank you for mentioning me...it's so astounding to see!!

 

[Marathon Man]

I sooooooo didn't want to run, especially with my nephew asking me to stay and watch Shrek in his soft bed, but I went. Ran from one mile marker to another and back for a total of two miles in 22:15! Another best! Woo!!

Started off too fast and my first mile was 10:42. That really motivated me to see that I can run outside ABOVE my treadmill pace. Second was 11:33. Sunday I'm going to shoot for 3 miles and try to hold a steady 12 min/mile pace the whole way. Crossing my fingers!

OMG!!!........I am so happy to have FOUND YOUR THREAD right now!!!...I was looking and I saw Marathon and thought..."Oh cool...let me click real quick..."...and I was so happy for you just reading and that you MADE THE DECISION...and then..I saw MY NAME!!!

Haha! Yeah, don't think I ever posted in your journal, but I seen somewhere that you ran one so I searched through it and read up. You're amazing!!! Such a great journey and I had just signed up for mine (well ... a half one) so I needed to grab some mojo from you're story. Good luck in February!! I'm shooting for being able to do a 6 mile run by then.

 

[Marathon Man]

It was gorgeous out today and I felt good, so I decided to do my first 3-miler outside!

I ended up walking most of the 2nd mile though ... and my dang shoe kept coming untied!! So I was mad at myself. But somehow I only missed my 36 minute goal by 75 seconds even with ALL that walking. hmmm.

Mile 1-11:11
Mile 2-14:34
Mile 3-11:30
37:14 Total

Then I decided to hit the gym and I pedaled 10 miles in 31:30 on level 7. That was tough. Decided to bump it up from level 5 last week. And I did some upper and lowerbody weights.

Now tomorrow all if have to do is watch football, eat ribs, and get fat. All my workouts for the week are done!

 

[skkroll]

Wow.... I LOVE that Theodore Roosevelt quote!!! Seriously AMAZING! Thanks for posting that!!! It is so true!

 

[Marathon Man]

Woke up at 8am feeling good and with 4 hours until football. So I went for another run. And did 3 miles in 35:38, even with some walking! Actually I did 4 miles in 49:40, but I walked most of the last mile.

Since I walk from my car and back I have to go in 2 mile increments if I want to know exactly how far I go. Three more Sundays of long runs to get in before my 5K!!

I was actually thinking of that quote as I ran. BRING ON THE BLOOD AND SWEAT! Definitely no running tomorrow.

 

[skkroll]

Where is your Jingle Bell run going to be at? Mine was at the Milwaukee Co Zoo.

Great job on the running - you will kick that 5K's ass no problem