A fat man and a marathon

Packers won and my present caused the only fighting, with ALL the kids wanting to get inside the 3-person Cars tent. Yes!

Ran on the treadmill today, and about a half mile in I could feel it again in my left shin muscle, but it didn't intensify and I ran through it for another mile. So I think I'm going to be fine. :) But since I've already proven that I'm going to be able to make this half-marathon (I mean, it's ONLY another 5.2 miles more than the 8 I did), I'm going to take it very easy. I got scared there thinking that I wouldn't be able to run. And I've always wanted to be a runner. So that would've been hugely disappointing. Heck, I am a runner, I'm just still trapped in the body of a fat man!

So no more injuries. Back to the basics w/ only 3 days running and 2 full body workouts with free weights. Anything above will be cross training.

This week I'm running just 5 miles (1.5, 1.5, 2)
Week of Nov. 30th - 6 miles (1.5, 1.5, and my 5K)
Week of Dec. 7th - 6 miles (2, 2, 2)
Week of Dec. 14th - 7 miles (2, 2, 3)
Week of Dec. 21st - 8 miles (2, 2, 4)
Week of Dec. 28th - 9 miles (3, 3, 3)

By May 30th I should be down another 50 pounds and sitting at 229.
 
Hey!!! Way to stick with it on the treadmill :) I know how much it SUCKS when that shin starts hurting and you want to keep running soooo bad but you know that you need to stop or you're going to make it worse probably!

After this was happening to me a lot, I would always ice my shins when I got back from the gym for about 15-20 minutes. Even if they weren't hurting much. Also making sure to stretch because when I first started out running I NEVER stretched!! At all!!! When I ran outside for the first time doing a 5K my shins hurt sooo bad durning the first 2 miles but I ran through it and after a while just sort of forget about it. Now when I run outside or on the treadmill my shins don't hurt at all (or just very little) but it's not enough to have to stop. I think running outside helped a lot. Treadmills are killer for shin splints.

So what I wanted to say is that if you are able to run through the pain, go for it! Just take good care of your shins after for recovery. If you really CAN'T then find an alternative (elliptical with resistance and high incline is good!). But keep it up and eventually the pain will go away! You're taking the right steps for sure.

~ Sarah
 
skkroll said:
After this was happening to me a lot, I would always ice my shins when I got back from the gym for about 15-20 minutes. Even if they weren't hurting much. Also making sure to stretch because when I first started out running I NEVER stretched!! At all!!! When I ran outside for the first time doing a 5K my shins hurt sooo bad durning the first 2 miles but I ran through it and after a while just sort of forget about it. Now when I run outside or on the treadmill my shins don't hurt at all (or just very little) but it's not enough to have to stop. I think running outside helped a lot. Treadmills are killer for shin splints.
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Yeah, I'm trying to do the whole smart thing now. I finally started icing my shins. And stretching. And doing a cool down in addition to my warm up. And I do Toe Circle stretches for my shin. You push your foot flat out like your pointing your toes at something and then draw circles in the air with your big toe. That's the muscle that gets sore. I look like a dork cause I'm always doing them when I sit down! I hope it pays off.


Kinda a rough start to the week food wise. Since I ate too much yesterday at my nephews b-day and today being off all day. But at least I work from 7am til 10pm the next two days ... so I won't even have time to eat and snack all day. Except I'm working at a restaurant at night for my bro ... so I'll have to resist all that steak and shrimp and homemade soup and breaded mushrooms and ... :drool5:
 
Well I fell completely off the wagon Monday and Tuesday nights. First time in a long time that I've truly done very bad. I used to eat A LOT. I wouldn't quite call it binging, but it was sick how much food I could eat. And I was pretty stressed last night b/c of my job and picking up shifts for my brother who's in Minnesota, and trying to apply for another job and still not having time to get there and apply despite trying for the past 3 weeks.

So I guess I still have some emotional eating issues. But oh well. Been a long time and I doubt it'll happen again. I just need to remind myself. I AM GOING TO BE 269 BY JANUARY 1ST. And I AM going to be 229 by the half-marathon.


But I did put on my old jeans this morning. Size 44, and they fit very easily ... in fact, they might need a belt soon. So that's great. Funny how on the way up buying 44 is so depressing and on the way down I'm excited! Plus I used to sell these DARE t-shirts for charity, and I have an XL b/c it's the biggest size they have, but it never fit me when I was living in Flordia. And so today I tried it on and it fits perfectly. Woo! I'm getting all my old clothes back. I wanted to wait to try them so I wouldn't be disappointed if I was still too fat, but I got lucky! And it's soooooo nice to be wearing clothes that fit instead of swimming in my old huge shirts and pants. Another six months and I can throw all these away and get some fresh, fly clothes and strut my shit up and down the street. Haha.

But I do have heartburn and feel pretty cruddy for the first time in months. It's amazing what a crappy diet for 2 days will do to you.

Oh, and in case I don't get online the next few days. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

:waving: (why is this the only icon that works)
 
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Marathon Man said:
Another six months and I can throw all these away and get some fresh, fly clothes and strut my shit up and down the street. Haha.

But I do have heartburn and feel pretty cruddy for the first time in months. It's amazing what a crappy diet for 2 days will do to you.

Oh, and in case I don't get online the next few days. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

:waving: (why is this the only icon that works)
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^^^ LOL I was wondering the same thing!!! I like your attitude about everything...that you WILL see your goal weight by the 1st and at marathon time. It is crazy how crappy food makes you feel once you kick it out of your diet - I get terrible stomach aches now when I eat junk!

Happy Thanksgiving to you to!!! OH, you should sign up for the 5K at State Fair park if you want... it's December 31st, at noon... upon entering you get a t-shirt and a bottle of champagne.... free beer and food after the race :)
here's the link if you're interested!


TTYL!
~ Sarah
 
Marathon Man said:
Well I fell completely off the wagon Monday and Tuesday nights. First time in a long time that I've truly done very bad. I used to eat A LOT. I wouldn't quite call it binging, but it was sick how much food I could eat. And I was pretty stressed last night b/c of my job and picking up shifts for my brother who's in Minnesota, and trying to apply for another job and still not having time to get there and apply despite trying for the past 3 weeks.

So I guess I still have some emotional eating issues. But oh well. Been a long time and I doubt it'll happen again. I just need to remind myself. I AM GOING TO BE 269 BY JANUARY 1ST. And I AM going to be 229 by the half-marathon.


But I did put on my old jeans this morning. Size 44, and they fit very easily ... in fact, they might need a belt soon. So that's great. Funny how on the way up buying 44 is so depressing and on the way down I'm excited! Plus I used to sell these DARE t-shirts for charity, and I have an XL b/c it's the biggest size they have, but it never fit me when I was living in Flordia. And so today I tried it on and it fits perfectly. Woo! I'm getting all my old clothes back. I wanted to wait to try them so I wouldn't be disappointed if I was still too fat, but I got lucky! And it's soooooo nice to be wearing clothes that fit instead of swimming in my old huge shirts and pants. Another six months and I can throw all these away and get some fresh, fly clothes and strut my shit up and down the street. Haha.

But I do have heartburn and feel pretty cruddy for the first time in months. It's amazing what a crappy diet for 2 days will do to you.

Oh, and in case I don't get online the next few days. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

:waving: (why is this the only icon that works)
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It makes you feel crappy because IT`S CRAP!!! ;-) Your body is rejecting it and letting you know to stay away from it. It`s actually a pretty neat built in defense system we have.

LOVE the feeling of old clothes fitting, congrats to you :-D
 
I think the reason I've been feeling so blah this week is that I haven't been hitting the gym much with working long hours and all the parties/holidays. And haven't really hit the weights good in two weeks. But I'm SUPER EXCITED to go to the gym and run 1.5 miles and do my first ever day of full body lifting w/ free weights tomorrow. I'm going to steal Steve's simple ABA workout and make that the cornerstone of my routine along with 3 days running. I SOOOOOOO want to run longer and more days, but hopefully the weights give me my energy boost back.

Probably going to put on a few pounds this week. Bummer, since that'll be the first goal I've missed if I don't weigh in 279 by Tuesday, but I'm rested up, rejuvenated and ready to attack December like a crazy man.

Hope y'all didn't succumb to the pumpkin pie as much as me!
 
skkroll said:
Happy Thanksgiving to you to!!! OH, you should sign up for the 5K at State Fair park if you want... it's December 31st, at noon... upon entering you get a t-shirt and a bottle of champagne.... free beer and food after the race :)
here's the link if you're interested!


TTYL!
~ Sarah
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Hmmm ... I'd love to do it, except I just picked up that Thursday during the day to get some overtime. Maybe I'll switch and get off if I can. I have a friend who just bought a condo out there. Might be a good reason to visit! Beer, food, champagne and a t-shirt. Woo!

thelast20 said:
It makes you feel crappy because IT`S CRAP!!! ;-) Your body is rejecting it and letting you know to stay away from it. It`s actually a pretty neat built in defense system we have.
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I actually wonder why I even ate the junk I did this week. All those sweets don't even taste that good and more than a taste just overwhelms me with sugar and makes me feel sick.

beginagain said:
I find your posts inspiring. Thanks for sharing the journey...

Jan
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Right back at ya. Let's all keep rocking it. I don't know if I'd be doing as well as I am and actually have the feeling that, you know what ... I WILL BE IN SHAPE, if it wasn't from all the positivity and inspiration I get from just checking in every day and hearing all your stories.

So on Thanksgiving, I want to say thanks to all who have stopped by left advice in all the threads and all the journals that you've all posted. Let's all rock out our goals and never forget the reason why we are putting in the work to change our lives. Remember our motivation, and the rest just follows.
 
Marathon Man said:
But I'm SUPER EXCITED to go to the gym and run 1.5 miles and do my first ever day of full body lifting w/ free weights tomorrow. I'm going to steal Steve's simple ABA workout and make that the cornerstone of my routine along with 3 days running.
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Having come to these forums with virtually no idea of what kind of workout I should be doing, I can fairly well attest to Steve's simple one. I'm doing an ABC split but just really simple, full body exercises: something for legs, something for chest, something for back. So simple, but just a few weeks later I've gotten damn stronger. My deadlift shot from like 40kg to 80 in three weeks.

Blabbing on, I know, but I just want an excuse to talk about how awesome Steve is :p

Right back at ya. Let's all keep rocking it. I don't know if I'd be doing as well as I am and actually have the feeling that, you know what ... I WILL BE IN SHAPE, if it wasn't from all the positivity and inspiration I get from just checking in every day and hearing all your stories.
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And all through my exams I felt exactly the same way. When I needed a break from study and something to keep me from bingeing on sugar and salt while in panicked cramming mode, I'd come here and just browse through some diaries. The daily struggles everyone has here reflect the struggles that we all have, and it's just nice to know you're not trying to do it all alone!
 
Thanks guys. Nice to hear you're liking Steve's workouts, Benji. Though I didn't get to the freeweights today b/c the gym was packed! I guess everyone else had the same idea and the day off.

And man, it's been hard the last week. Don't get me wrong, I struggled a lot over the last few years with really getting the weight loss going, but once I got rolling a few months ago and kept it going for a month, since then it's all been FAIRLY easy for the first 50 pounds. But since I took that week off of running. Dang, I barely got through 1.5 miles on the treadmill today (though I was at a slightly faster pace). And then I kinda took a few days off and ate like crap, and now I feel like I'm learning to control my diet all over again. I don't mean to be negative, I think I'm just mad at myself b/c I'm going to miss my goal for Dec. 1st now. Oh well, I don't know why I stress over a silly thing like weighing in 3 or 4 or even 5 pounds high. Just keep on trucking. End of my rant. I'll call it my sophomore slump and give myself a swift kick in the ass when I wake up.

But I worked out, and after a serious inner battle tonight to eat some left over turkey, I won, so hopefully I can get that momentum rolling again.

Another Turkey Day celebration with my friends tomorrow. I'm making apple crisp, but I don't plan on eating any. And if I don't let the drinks get out of hand, I should be close to back on track for my December goals.

2 miles and some actual free weights in the a.m.
 
Ran two miles, but I walked a few times b/c I kept my pace up and did some inclines. After running outside, I find I don't like running on the treadmill all that much anymore (especially when I leave my iPod at home ... grrr!), but today was my "long run" ... haha, so nice to only have to do 2 miles.

Then I did the freeweights. Bench pressing I used dumbbells that were 30 pounds each, did a cable row @ 140 and then the squat machine was broke, so I took the bar and tried just squatting it. WOW!!!!!!! I really suck. Definitely gotta work on my form next week, and my wrists were sore after so I must not have kept them in a straight line, but by the second set I felt like I couldn't even get parallel anymore! Maybe it's easier when you have the machine thing to hold the bar. DAMN!, only the bar and I was feeling it. Hopefully by the end of next week I'll be more confident in my form and routine. But I did it!

Anyone know how long I should wait between sets. I waited like 60 seconds, but doing that the last two sets are much harder. Or should I wait a few minutes, try to recover much more, and then be able to hit higher weights the whole 3 sets? I'm doing 3x12 for each exercise and keeping the weights fairly easy for the first bit so I can get my form down.

Apple crisp in the oven and off to my friends soon. They said to bring some beverages. I'm bringing my crystal iight. haha! Hopefully then I won't waste too many calories on beer (which inevitably leads to doritos and apple crisp at 2am).

Hope you all had fun on turkey day! :waving:
 
Don't stress - it is difficult during the holidays, but you will get back on track next week. I have decided to just wait until Monday to try to really do well on the food thing. Too much socializing over the weekend, so I am not going to beat myself up over a few indulgences. Getting back on track on Monday gives me 32 days to lose the last 7 of my 10 pounds by the end of the year. That should be a piece of cake (no pun intended!!).

As for the weights, if you have never lifted before you will be amazed at how much adding muscle will increase your metabolism. When I last lifted weights seriously, my metabolism just went nuts and I could eat a lot more calories and still lose weight. I am buying myself a weight bench for Christmas so I can get back into it come January. It really helps keep me motivated to feel not only thinner but stronger. If I am going to lose the weight AND keep it off, I have to approach this from all possible angles!!

Enjoy the last of your turkey day celebrations...

Jan
 
Marathon Man said:
Ran two miles, but I walked a few times b/c I kept my pace up and did some inclines. After running outside, I find I don't like running on the treadmill all that much anymore (especially when I leave my iPod at home ... grrr!), but today was my "long run" ... haha, so nice to only have to do 2 miles.

Then I did the freeweights. Bench pressing I used dumbbells that were 30 pounds each, did a cable row @ 140 and then the squat machine was broke, so I took the bar and tried just squatting it. WOW!!!!!!! I really suck. Definitely gotta work on my form next week, and my wrists were sore after so I must not have kept them in a straight line, but by the second set I felt like I couldn't even get parallel anymore! Maybe it's easier when you have the machine thing to hold the bar. DAMN!, only the bar and I was feeling it. Hopefully by the end of next week I'll be more confident in my form and routine. But I did it!

Anyone know how long I should wait between sets. I waited like 60 seconds, but doing that the last two sets are much harder. Or should I wait a few minutes, try to recover much more, and then be able to hit higher weights the whole 3 sets? I'm doing 3x12 for each exercise and keeping the weights fairly easy for the first bit so I can get my form down.

Apple crisp in the oven and off to my friends soon. They said to bring some beverages. I'm bringing my crystal iight. haha! Hopefully then I won't waste too many calories on beer (which inevitably leads to doritos and apple crisp at 2am).

Hope you all had fun on turkey day! :waving:
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First off, squats are damn evil. At the start I could barely squat my bodyweight. I found a good exercise to get started with it was the box squat, where you put some shit on a box so its pretty high, sit down til you're almost on it a few times, and gradually move shit away so you're squatting lower and lower. You can hold weights or not, I didn't the first time. Helped me a lot to get a) the form right for doing squats and b) enough strength in my stabilising muscles/hips/joints etc to actually pick up the bar.

But yeah, you'd be amazed at the damage you can do by improperly squatting even just the bar. It's a pretty devastating exercise on your body, which is why it's so damn good!

Remember, take it easy while you're starting. Not to suggest you should slack off or anything, but start off with no weight or body weight and work your way up. AFAIK you shouldn't have too much stress on your wrists with proper form in the squat, they're there just to balance the bar across your back, so maybe start with some light dumbbells instead to get your strength up there.

For resting, you basically want enough time that you can do your next set of reps cleanly. 12 reps is quite a lot and if you're struggling at the end of the set give it a few minutes to shake it off. I'm sure there are benefits to pumping the weights faster/with lower rests, but we're in the kind of position where just lifting the damn thing up is going to work wonders!

I'm still new at this whole thing too, so if anything I say is plain wrong, feel free to jump all over it. We can learn together :p
 
Feeling pretty sore today. That makes me happy, b/c I didn't want to feel like I was half-assing it w/ the light weights. Looks like I'll probably be around 282-ish on the first, so that leaves me 13 pounds for December. Pretty sure I'll hit that easily since I've been kinda eating a bit and not working out too hard recently.

Feels good to make it through the birthday and Turkey Day celebrations alive! Now I can get back to precooking all my meals and working out six days a week with my new weightlifting program. Oooh, I love new things. It's going to be fun.

I'll check in with you all tonight and read up on your progress. Working a boring overnight shift so I'll have plenty of free time. Gotta go for now, but trying to keep up my daily posting so I stay accountable and all you can YELL at me if I don't hit my goals.
 
beginagain said:
As for the weights, if you have never lifted before you will be amazed at how much adding muscle will increase your metabolism. When I last lifted weights seriously, my metabolism just went nuts and I could eat a lot more calories and still lose weight. I am buying myself a weight bench for Christmas so I can get back into it come January. It really helps keep me motivated to feel not only thinner but stronger. If I am going to lose the weight AND keep it off, I have to approach this from all possible angles!!
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Exactly, I was getting myself so dang excited about the running progress that I pushed the weights to the side. All I did were three simple exercises with free weights, took me 20 minutes without anything very heavy ... AND I'M SORE ALL OVER. I think it's going to help me with not overtraining on the running splitting my workout days between running, cycling and weight training. Plus make my routine so much less monotonous. We got a few weeks left before the next round of holiday meals, so lets both stay on track and hit our goals. Let all the other suckers wait until the January 1st to start their program. We'll lose another 20 pounds between us before then!

Benji said:
Remember, take it easy while you're starting. Not to suggest you should slack off or anything, but start off with no weight or body weight and work your way up. AFAIK you shouldn't have too much stress on your wrists with proper form in the squat, they're there just to balance the bar across your back, so maybe start with some light dumbbells instead to get your strength up there.

For resting, you basically want enough time that you can do your next set of reps cleanly. 12 reps is quite a lot and if you're struggling at the end of the set give it a few minutes to shake it off. I'm sure there are benefits to pumping the weights faster/with lower rests, but we're in the kind of position where just lifting the damn thing up is going to work wonders!
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Thanks for the advice. I tried doing it with dumbells when I saw the machine was out of order, but I didn't like holding them, and the position I held them in changed my center of balance ... just made if feel weird. I like how the bar makes me lean forward and stick my ass out more and then I don't feel like I may tip over in front of everyone. :)

And my grip on the bar was messed up b/c I was holding the bar by myself. On the machine I'd be comfortable without my thumbs underneath the bar and just pressing it down. But I wanted a good grip so I didn't accidentally drop it. But I never did it before, so I'm sure I can only improve. 12 is a lot, but I'm following Steve's plan where you slowly add weight each week and then by like the 8th week I think you're only doing 4-6 reps for most the exercises. I think I may just rotate between 2 or 3 lifts so I can get my routine done faster AND give me more time to rest.

Next up is my first ever deadlift on Mon or Tue, so we'll see how I can mess that one up in my B set. Haha.
 
Today is my one day off, so that was good, well actually I worked until 10 am then hit the treadmill. It was pretty dang nice to feel like I had some enduarance again, and it's nice to do intervals w/o having to walk now. I can actually recover with a slow jog. Woo!

5 minute warm-up @ 3.5 mph
-5.0 for 1.5 minutes, 5.5 for 1 min.
-5.0 for 1.5 minutes, 5.6 for 1 min.
-5.0 for 1.5 minutes, 5.7 for 1 min.
-5.0 for 1.5 minutes, 5.8 for 1 min.
-5.0 for 1.5 minutes, 5.9 for 1 min.
-5.0 for 1.5 minutes, 6.0 for 1 min.
-5.0 for 1.5 minutes, 6.1 for 1 min.
Cool down

A little over 1.5 miles I think.

I really wanted to keep going and upping the intensity for another mile or so, but I'm sticking to my gameplan of not running too many miles, so I hopped on the cycle for 20 minutes. Felt pretty darn good today. :)

Ate slightly over my calorie limit I think, but all healthy, and I've got some meals prepared for the next few days, so I'm ready to see those 270's again! I realized at like 4 I hadn't drank really ANY water all day, then set a goal of at least 3 big bottles ... just realized I haven't drank any since 4. Ooops, no wonder I ended up snacking tonight.

This is seriously going to be a fun month. I'm going to kick December's ass.
 
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Ended up missing the gym today. Arghh! I was only going to weight set B, with pull downs, shoulder presses, step ups and dead lifts, but I got bad news ... turns out after months of waiting that I heard through the grapevine my job is definitely going to be gone. :-( Not sure how reliable the source is though.

So I decided to quit screwing around and go apply at a new place. Stinks, b/c I love my job since I get tons of overtime and it's easy, which would have allowed me to do my coursework once I start working on becoming an RN this summer. Oh well, the economy sucks ... got a new job (hopefully) lined up if it really goes. I just want to know already. I'm a stress eater damnit!! So despite being perfect all day, I did get surprised by a pizza at 7:00 and had a slice.

So now tomorrow I get to do weights, the bike, and pick up my first EVER race packet for my 5K. I'm so excited, even though I haven't gone over 2 miles in 2 weeks ... so I'm a little nervous it may be tough. Can't wait for Saturday and my first ever 5K. Woo!
 
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