I am joining to get inspired, keep motivated and if possibly pay back
I am on a long journey to get back in shape. I used to run everyday and be pretty lean when I was in my twenties, than I stopped running and started putting on weight. 10 years after I was around the 90 kilos and could not run 10 meters to get a bus and had a blood pressure over 200... This was 2013. I met an old friend and we went for a run (2 minutes then I was KO...).
By April that year I realized I had to do something to (quite literally) save my life and I got back into running. In September I ran my first half marathon in 1h 50'. Unfortunately instead of keep going I stopped again only to restart in May 2014... same story happened in September (half marathon in 1h 45' but the another stop). Last year went a bit better, I started in January and did the belfast marathon in May (4h 15) and then the half marathon in September in 1'39! I haven't completely stopped that autumn and this year I am trying to improve my shape.
I have ran a couple of marathons in Belfast (NI), a fairly tough one but didn't do very well...
I want to increase the miles I run per week and get a bit faster, but a couple of weeks ago I realized how bad my body was! 96 kilos 107 cm. BMI over 30!!! and in this condition I managed to run two marathons and a half marathon in 1'40.
This got me thinking: I should lose some (more than 16 kilos) weight and get my BMI to normal. I might also avoid blue lips at the end of strong long runs and to reduce the chances of breaking my joints...
so I joined the nhs program to drop weight and here I am, on a journey to get leaner and increase my mileage per week. 2 weeks ago I was at 35 miles fast training, I am currently at 50 (last two weeks) and I aim for the 70. My dream would be to run a marathon in 3h30 or less, but I am still very far away from that!!!
if you want to know more about my running you can ask of find my log here:
sounds like your pretty nippy already, i did read an intreasting article somwhere about weight and how much fast it will make you go not sure how truthful it was because i am not so fast but well within my BMI. I did my first marathon in April which i managed in 4hrs 27 minutes which i was pretty happy with, but not got my half time to under 2 hrs which is one of my goals this year. But since April i have been plagged by knee issues which i think i have finally shaken off now, but my running is slow and frustrating and only managing two 5km runs a week at the momennt but want to increase this to the 4 i was doing with 10km runs and long run with cycling on the other days.
But good luck i hope we can advise you or just even push you out the door when needed!
wow to get to 70 miles a week is a high target( for me it would be anyway by a huge amount!) ! You sound like you set yourself very high bar , your current training schedule of 50 miles is already brilliant! You've achieved a lot already you should feel proud of yourself but its also good to aim high too, i'd be happy to get a sub 2.30 HM at the mo!!! Welcome to the forum and i will enjoy following your progress, both with running and your weight loss
The really fast runners seem to me to be the small, thin ones. Look at Mo! Not an ounce of spare flesh ☺ To achieve that you have to eat clean. The diet becomes top priority, and something you might like to address in pursuit of speed. A good book to read is Eat and Run by Scott jurek. Lots of advice in it on how to fuel - not just for long runs but for life.
If you are running fast and long then you have to eat properly to sustain it or injury could result. It's quite a science so best be informed. If your diet needs an overhaul then now would be the time to set about it. Novak Jokovic has recently done this and we all know how good he is 😊
i have lost nearly 5 stones, quite a lot for a short arse and now eat well having ditched all junk food and drink. Making all your own meals, running snacks etc is a good idea but it requires planning to fit it all in. Having said that I am a rubbish planner but even I have managed it
Good luck and I hope with attention to your diet and training you can sustain your running goals. I assume you are doing some strength training as well?
You are right! In the last 3 years I did not look at the diet and kept the weight. I was lucky not to get injured! I have started a couple of weeks ago to worrying about my weight and last week I joined the nhs 12 weeks program and the forum. I'll get the suggested book, thanks!
I am doing some strength training, but probably not enough (finding it difficult to fit anything else in the day). I do not like gym, so do most of it in my house or office. I am looking into it as well.
I don't do the gym but use Jillian Michaels dvd's at home . Folks here rate Millionaire Hoy on YouTube. Pilates is excellent too, as is yoga ☺ Doing the squats etc really will help toughen up your core, which you'll need to sustain your running streak.
My biggest injury so far, since running, was down to over-running on a body that wasn't strong enough. Diet, hydration, strength required to support your running. Check out the posts of our resident tough guy Rignold 😊
Hi Marco, you are super speedy which is fantastic, clearly a natural!!! It sounds like you are doing amazingly well. My only advice if you want to have consistency in your running year on year is to enjoy it... aside from the focus of speed, distance etc actually go out with an aim to enjoy it and if you hit a dark patch change your target to something more qualitative like...' I will take a picture each time I run,' or,' I will try a new route once a week,' or something similar.I adjust my goals according to my mental disposition ( perhaps I am just a bit random!!)... its really great to have you here and I look forward to seeing your progress
wake up at 5.30 run until 7am take a shower and go to work... this works up to ten miles, after that, you have to go to work a bit later or wake up earlier (I guess this is why I am not that good in autumn and winter, it gets pretty dark and cold up here in Northern Ireland...
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