Liza

[liza3]

Thanks @Llama , @FutureSkinnyLegend and @Cate!

I will have a couple more 10 mile runs before I try for HM distance, so that does feel good to have done that one successfully. I know last time I was doing this schedule I puked after a couple of those runs so if I can keep myself feeling good I will be happy.

Don’t worry about your deficit, I’ve heard it is recommended to have a deficit of 300-500 calories a day, so you’re good. I also feel hungrier when I exercise more than usual (especially when swimming), so eating a little more is normal.

Yeah I'm aiming for a 250 deficit on average per day...which would give me 0.5 pound loss per week...but sometimes its nice to get some extra deficit on the running days so that when I don't meet my goals on my other days it balances out. I definitely eat way more on running days--it burns a lot of calories...but the cronometer app allows for a lot more calories when I run, so that's all taken into account.

Yesterday I overate again...The hunger was just so with me. I mostly ate healthy foods, but just felt really hungry...
I did get a nice yoga/qigong/strengthening routine in the morning. It was a really nice combo. I hope to do those routines regularly on my non-running days.

So it was
stretch and strength--30 mins
walk--1 hour
calorie surplus +129

 

[Ben_In_NC]

Way to get that 10-miler in! (And good job not trying to jump too quickly to HM.)

 

[Llama]

Taking your time building up definitely sounds like the way to go.

I did get a nice yoga/qigong/strengthening routine in the morning. It was a really nice combo. I hope to do those routines regularly on my non-running days.

Excellent!

 

[Cate]

I think you seem to be in tune with your body's needs, Liza & fuelling up with healthy food has to be a good thing.

 

[liza3]

Thanks @Ben_In_NC ,@Llama and @Cate !

Yes definitely hoping to build to the 13.1 miles in a much easier way this time. I do notice too that I seem to be prioritizing my body's need to replenish rather than weight loss right now. I mean, I want to lose for sure, and am trying to stay at a deficit, but I really want to feel good more than anything.

Yesterday I was supposed to do a 36 min run, but it turned into 45 min as I was a little further from home than I wanted and was a bit late so just ran the extra 10 min. I was happy to see how easy that run felt. That's one thing about adding in longer distances and more challenging runs, all of a sudden a 45 min run feels like an 'easy run'!

Food choices were overall good, though I could have definitely used more veggies...need to remember to be sure to keep them in plenty amounts to have keeping in calorie goals much easier.

Run 45 min
walk 45 min
calorie deficit -226

 

[Llama]

45 minutes being an easy run sounds... incredible to me right now. But who knows!

 

[Cate]

I do notice too that I seem to be prioritizing my body's need to replenish rather than weight loss right now. I mean, I want to lose for sure, and am trying to stay at a deficit, but I really want to feel good more than anything.

I love this. A 45-minute "easy" run is impressive, Liza

 

[liza3]

45 minutes being an easy run sounds... incredible to me right now. But who knows!

yeah I mean thinking back to when I started when 30 second intervals at a jog felt like more than enough, this seems incredible to me! I'm sure if you keep at the running it will be the same for you.

I love this. A 45-minute "easy" run is impressive, Liza

Thanks Cate--yes feeling good is def number 1 for me right now--it just feels good to be getting back to healthier eating and back to building to 13 miles. Before I came back to the forum i could really feel myself slipping into bad habits!

Yesterday was a good day. Did my stretch and strength routine in the morning even though I felt tempted to skip it in favor of household chores. I chose instead to do some chores, get in the routine and save the rest of the chores for another day. I can get so absorbed in cleaning once I begin but I want to keep the yoga up. I think my body is especially appreciating the extra stretching as I increase my running.

Eating-wise--again not in a deficit...but again not going to get too hooked on that at the moment...was mostly healthy foods (I do still have treats daily though too)

Stretch and strength-30 min
walk-40 min
calorie surplus-+4 (lol--as if my calorie logging is ever that exact, but that was the number so there it is)

 

[Llama]

Before I came back to the forum i could really feel myself slipping into bad habits!

Aaand that's why I keep coming back here, even if I sometimes feel like an idiot for documenting I'm still not getting things right!

Did my stretch and strength routine in the morning even though I felt tempted to skip it in favor of household chores.

Heh, there's a sentence I've never needed in my life

 

[Ben_In_NC]

yeah I mean thinking back to when I started when 30 second intervals at a jog felt like more than enough, this seems incredible to me! I'm sure if you keep at the running it will be the same for you. Agreed! I started with intervals of 30 seconds jogging, 2 1/2 minutes walking.

Thanks Cate--yes feeling good is def number 1 for me right now--it just feels good to be getting back to healthier eating and back to building to 13 miles. Before I came back to the forum i could really feel myself slipping into bad habits! AMENI I found this forum because I *knew* I needed something just like this. It has been a godsend.

Yesterday was a good day. Did my stretch and strength routine in the morning even though I felt tempted to skip it in favor of household chores. I chose instead to do some chores, get in the routine and save the rest of the chores for another day. I can get so absorbed in cleaning once I begin but I want to keep the yoga up. I think my body is especially appreciating the extra stretching as I increase my running. Sounds great! Way to go!

 

[Cate]

I think keeping a journal, especially an online one has more benefits than we think. I'm glad you came back. I think you're doing a great job & seem to have a lovely balance happening in your life. Your running is very impressive!

 

[liza3]

Heh, there's a sentence I've never needed in my life

lol...it was probably only because i wanted to have a good excuse to not do the strength and stretch. Although my body loves it, it's still a routine that I have a hard time incorporating for some reason...

I think keeping a journal, especially an online one has more benefits than we think. I'm glad you came back. I think you're doing a great job & seem to have a lovely balance happening in your life. Your running is very impressive!

Thanks Cate! I'm also glad I came back. Yes the diary, the daily reminder of movement toward healthy living, the comradery etc is all so beneficial. I have learned so much since I came on here and still am learning so much on a regular basis. And yes the accountability piece is huge too!

@Ben_In_NC --oh you also started out with those short jogging intervals! Good to hear. when did you start running? You seem so advanced!
Today is a short run planned and I'm going to try and incorporate what you (@Ben_In_NC ) wrote about keeping it at an easier pace. I'm not sure how that will go with the hills as I don't know if I can run those at a pace where I could keep a conversation--but for the flat sections I will definitely try and keep it slower...I really appreciate your explaining that piece in your diary...I always thought it was just about having a shorter distance and haven't been paying attention to the pacing.

Yesterday was a 7 mile run. It felt a little more challenging after having that 4 mile run on Monday, and I was starting to feel my ankle again...hopefully adjusting how I pace things will help in the future for that. I am also going to have to buy a new kind of protein powder as the one i like isn't available in town and the one I ordered online says it will take about a month to get here! What???? I am just about out of my protein powder and I definitely don't want to go without.

I did some reading about why we need that extra protein after workouts and how it helps prevent injury and really I think I'm actually feeling a lot better having added the powder in on a regular basis...so will have to buy whatever's available here...I still fall short of recommended protein amounts usually even with the powder!

So yesterday was:
run 90 min
walk 30 min
calorie deficit -541

 

[Llama]

Your enthusiasm for running really helps me stay motivated. Currently every run is a struggle for me - or at least putting ob my shoes and leaving the house is - so I need all the help I can get!

 

[Ben_In_NC]

@Ben_In_NC --oh you also started out with those short jogging intervals! Good to hear. when did you start running? You seem so advanced!
Today is a short run planned and I'm going to try and incorporate what you (@Ben_In_NC ) wrote about keeping it at an easier pace. I'm not sure how that will go with the hills as I don't know if I can run those at a pace where I could keep a conversation--but for the flat sections I will definitely try and keep it slower...I really appreciate your explaining that piece in your diary...I always thought it was just about having a shorter distance and haven't been paying attention to the pacing.

Oh gosh yeah! I re-read the start of my thread, and I guess I didn't really go into much detail on my history. I weighed over 280 pounds. I wasn't running at ALL! Too much pounding at that weight. Slowly progressed to biking, walk/run intervals, and it was months before I started doing run-only, and then it was just 30 minutes for a good while. My first run of 90 minutes or more in 2021 wasn't until I was down to around 203 pounds, which was early September--six months after I started working on my health.

On the hills, if it's an easy run, it's all about the easy effort....just walk until you catch your breath, then run slowly, then walk, etc. I've heard that from multiple running coaches on podcasts, and I had to do it on just about every run. (I used a HRM so I had my running watch barking at me to start walking whenever I went over the prescribe heart rate.)

 

[Cate]

So yesterday was:
run 90 min
walk 30 min
calorie deficit -541

Well done, Liza!

 

[liza3]

Your enthusiasm for running really helps me stay motivated. Currently every run is a struggle for me - or at least putting ob my shoes and leaving the house is - so I need all the help I can get!

oh good! I'm glad that my love of running is encouraging you. I really love all the aspects of it. The wonderful feeling in my head during and after, the feeling of meeting the challenges in the hills or distance, the beautiful scenery i get to run through, the feel of my body getting stronger and healthier...I'm so glad to have discovered it and to found a way to do it sustainably!

My first run of 90 minutes or more in 2021 wasn't until I was down to around 203 pounds, which was early September--six months after I started working on my health.

You've made such amazing progress!

Thanks for the tip about going to a walk on the hills if too much...I really slowed my pace yesterday--geez i thought i was a slow runner before but now i'm even slower lol!
A HRM would be handy--instead I was trying to see if i could say a few sentences to myself comfortably as I ran lol. Now I look like the crazy lady out for a run!

So how many runs are you trying to do at more of a faster pace? Or are you doing all your runs at a slower one? I mean I guess the longer distance ones for me are automatically slower to pace for the longer distance...
My current run schedule is : monday short recovery run, wed mid-length run, Thurs-recovery run, Saturday longest run.
Would I do all those at a slower pace? Sorry--you don't have to answer all my questions if you don't feel like it!!

Well done, Liza!

Thanks Cate

Yesterday did the 2 mile run--slowest ever! haha...was happy to not feel any ankle or knee pain after feeling my ankles on my 7 mile one on Wed. Maybe due to slowing the pace...

Found a new protein powder--Will try that out today probably as I just used the last of my old one yesterday. Glad to find another based in pea protein, (but also with more brown rice protein than my last one) with no flavors or sweeteners (so many use stevia--the flavor I cannot stand!) In my shopping around I also found a pumpkin seed powder that I might buy to just have an additional easy to add protein since I'm finding it so hard to meet the recommendations even with the powder.

Ate over my goal again yesterday. It wasn't a great food day actually. Ran out of veggies so for lunch it was just rice and lentils. Did do some grocery shopping in the afternoon, but was too lazy to cook some veggies up for supper...I did add some sauerkraut to the meal though.
But yeah also overdid the sweets. Oh well.

Yesterday was run 29 min
strength and stretch 15 min
walk 70 min
calorie surplus--+30

 

[Ben_In_NC]

Thanks for the tip about going to a walk on the hills if too much...I really slowed my pace yesterday--geez i thought i was a slow runner before but now i'm even slower lol!
A HRM would be handy--instead I was trying to see if i could say a few sentences to myself comfortably as I ran lol. Now I look like the crazy lady out for a run!

So how many runs are you trying to do at more of a faster pace? Or are you doing all your runs at a slower one? I mean I guess the longer distance ones for me are automatically slower to pace for the longer distance...
My current run schedule is : monday short recovery run, wed mid-length run, Thurs-recovery run, Saturday longest run.
Would I do all those at a slower pace? Sorry--you don't have to answer all my questions if you don't feel like it!!

Yesterday did the 2 mile run--slowest ever! haha...was happy to not feel any ankle or knee pain after feeling my ankles on my 7 mile one on Wed. Maybe due to slowing the pace...

Ate over my goal again yesterday. It wasn't a great food day actually. Ran out of veggies so for lunch it was just rice and lentils. Did do some grocery shopping in the afternoon, but was too lazy to cook some veggies up for supper...I did add some sauerkraut to the meal though.
But yeah also overdid the sweets. Oh well.

Yesterday was run 29 min
strength and stretch 15 min
walk 70 min
calorie surplus--+30

On talking to yourself: I heard one coach say that if you don't have a HRM, try singing the "happy birthday to you" song out loud.

Faster pace runs--I'm currently working more on volume than speed, so there's only one dedicated fast run a week (Wednesdays,) and then I throw in some up-tempo effort during the long run. I'm shooting for a weekly total of 80% easy, 20% faster pace. As far as what to do when, the only guidance I'd have is not to try to do speed work on back-to-back days. When I was a bit younger, (the FIRST time I lost 100 pounds ,) I could easily handle Tue-Thu speed work and a Saturday long run with speed work sprinkled in. Now at age 53, I'm not sure I want to try that.

30-calorie surplus ain't too bad! You'll get back on track.

And nice walk there to go along with everything else!

 

[Llama]

A HRM would be handy--instead I was trying to see if i could say a few sentences to myself comfortably as I ran lol. Now I look like the crazy lady out for a run!

I kind of love that!

was happy to not feel any ankle or knee pain after feeling my ankles on my 7 mile one on Wed. Maybe due to slowing the pace...

Excellent. Health (as far as reasonably possible) is so much more important than running time.

 

[Cate]

I really love all the aspects of it. The wonderful feeling in my head during and after, the feeling of meeting the challenges in the hills or distance, the beautiful scenery i get to run through, the feel of my body getting stronger and healthier...I'm so glad to have discovered it and to found a way to do it sustainably!

This is so good, Liza. Running is really benefiting you

 

[liza3]

I heard one coach say that if you don't have a HRM, try singing the "happy birthday to you" song out loud.

Awesome! I can look even crazier!!
Thanks for all the tips on pacing...I will continue to play around with it and see what feels right.

I kind of love that!

Excellent. Health (as far as reasonably possible) is so much more important than running time.

Yeah for sure. I think even just doing this schedule for a second time is helping with keeping me more aware of avoiding injury and over-doing things. It's nice to run alone too so I don't feel that pressure to try and keep up with others...the other day I was running and a woman about my age passed me and ran on way faster than me and I could feel that urge to pick up my pace, but then I smartly realized that I have no idea what her running experience is and how much more advanced she is, nor what her training plan is...and I just stuck with my pace and what felt right for me.

This is so good, Liza. Running is really benefiting you

Yes I really feel that body-mind benefit in the running for sure!

Well yesterday was mostly good in the morning and then quite rough into the later afternoon and evening and night. Anxiety hit HARD. blech. When it hit I ate a lot of chocolate to try and smother it. I thought I would be way over calorie goal but actually in the evening all I could stomach was a protein drink and an apple so I didn't go too far over calorie goal despite all the sweets.
Not ideal for sure and I don't feel great this morning. (never do after anxiety bouts like that)
I was glad to at least get the protein drink in. It's a combo of protein and greens and vitamins and stuff so it was an especially good one to have since I couldn't eat properly.

Anyways for my weekly official weigh in, still at 141. Would be nice to see the scale coming down, but as I mentioned will get more focused on that after I complete the 13.1 mile run in the next few weeks.