Trying to start running, have a question.

It's finally happened, I'm done with being a fat guy. I'm also considering enlisting in the national guard, which means I've gotta meet certain fitness standards.

I've been poring through info online, and admittedly quite a bit of it's over my head. It's stuff that's geared more for competitive marathon runners, and while I'd love to do something like that someday, I just want improvement now.

My main question is this: Is it more effective to focus on distance or speed for training? Will I see quicker improvements trying to run a couple of miles a day, or walking 4 or 5 miles a day?

Predictably, right now I suck at jogging. I'm trying to set a pace, maintain it for a minute or two at most, then go back to walking. Currently, I can cover a mile in about 15 minutes doing my walk/jog combo. I can walk a mile in 20 minutes, so there's a heckuva lot of room for improvement.

Also found a running shop in the area, so I'm gonna talk to them Saturday about getting a decent pair of shoes. Nothing against my New Balances, but they were 20 bucks and they're killing my feet.

Forgot to mention, I've also got a neglected mountain bike at my folks place, I'm probably going to go grab it this weekend too. I figured this would help on days when I don't want to run any more.

Racer1ab wrote: My main question is this: Is it more effective to focus on distance or speed for training? Will I see quicker improvements trying to run a couple of miles a day, or walking 4 or 5 miles a day?

I'm not a pro, but from one fat dude to another, you can do it. I have run, what, three half marathons now. So I figured out a couple of things.

To answer the above question- neither. It's all about time. Go as slow as you have to go to spend a decent amount of time with your heart rate elevated. That's for getting started. But ultimately, it's distance. Get signed up for an on line couch to 5k training program. This site helped me through my first half.

http://www.unitedrunning.com/us/info/

Then the only thing is to stick to the mileage. No matter what. If it's raining, get your miles in. If there's four feet of snow, get your miles in. If you stayed up too late last night watching Ice Road Truckers, too bad. You're going to have a crappy run while you... get your miles in.

You have to get kind of single minded about it. If you can muster being a morning runner, it really is best. Get it out of the way and the sward of Damocles isn't hanging over your head all day. But if you oversleep, have to go to work, then have to work late, don't get home 'till 10:30, it's dark, your car won't start, the basement is flooded because the water heater blew up, the roof was blown off by a storm and your power is out... get your miles in. Then go to bed.

And YES - shoes are everything. Really important. Usually half a size bigger than you normally wear, but a good store should be able to help you out. Don't skimp. Buy whatever fits you right. I ended up with tendinitis and bursitis when I was training for my first half because my shoes weren't big enough. Sucked, because even though it hurt like hell, I got my miles in- with the doctor's okay, of course. And a new pair of shoes.

I too am in this boat, although not exactly overweight, I'm definately not in shape and my cardio can be described as "lacking". I jot up the stairs, I'm huffing and puffing. I also do not smoke.

I'm not wanting to be a bodybuilder, or run a six minute mile, just wanting to tone up and possibly be able whoop some ass.

Thanks for the link to that website! I signed up for the 5k training program, and I can use that as the bare minimum. I can go out on a bike ride or just go for a longer walk on my off days.

Being able to run a 5k by Christmas would be killer.

I was pushing 220 when I started running. I've been slacking lately. I was down to 180. Up over 190 right now, but plan to get training for an even in Nov. next week. It really works, even if you run really slow like me.

What's your overall goal? Are you trying to just lose weight? Do you want to take up running as a hobby? Run a half marathon? Set your goal first and you can build a plan around it. I do weight lifting and I run. Typically focus more on lifting, and stick to 5Ks for running. But my wife has a goal of doing a half marathon, so I'm in the finishing stages of training now.

If your goal is to lose weight, running should only be a small component of what you're doing. You'll want to do intervals....1 minute sprint, 2 minute walk, 1 minute sprint, 2 minute walk etc... Distance running is a whole different animal which will give different results. Consistent long runs don't have as high of a "calorie burn" rate, and you can also burn muscle along with fat. They obviously build up your endurance quite well.

Nutrition is just as important, if not more so, than whatever type of exercise you chose to do. If you don't feed your body right, you won't get anywhere near the results you want. Most people think that losing weight or getting "in shape" means starving themselves. Nope. Your nutrition plan should be built around your exercise plan. Long distance running is very different than weight training or interval running and nutrition requirements are different.

And yes, shoes, shoes, shoes. You don't need to spend $150 on sneakers, but get a solid pair. You can probably get one for around $60-$75.

Do you like running?

how much overweight? ... say, 250 lb man running on knees made for 180 lb man not good

Start slow. Build mileage and/or speed gradually. Nothing will kill momentum like getting hurt.

Mix up your workout, but I would favor mileage over speed, unless you're going to compete.

I can't run anymore, but biking is a no-impact way for me to maintain cardiovascular health. I love biking! So, yeah. Get on the bike too.

Good luck!

Get a heart rate monitor. It will give you something to set goals against that is better than speed or distance. Those are arbitrary measures - but if you keep tabs on the pump and stay at a target bpm you make sure you get the right exercise and keep from over-working.

Good read: Mark Allen on Heart Rate Training

For loosing weight, distance is more important than speed. Distance gives time and time is what burns up the fat. You get your body reved up, but not over-reved, and hold it there. You can't do that by sprinting.

Start slow, start short, and gradually build up. GRADUALLY. Do it quickly and you hurt yourself.

Heart rate monitor is the greatest tool in my arsonal. Mine doubles as an MP3 player. So I listen to the tunes or whatever, and have the voice tell me what my heart is doing. I adjust my pace accordingly. Most of us try to go too fast too soon, and poop out early as a result.

Monotony can lead to injuries. If you plod around a flat track for an hour, you're moving the exact same way for that hour. Even if your form is good, you can do harm to yourself because of the repetition. Going cross country has you up and down hills, hoping over things and such. Breaks up the monotony and helps you avoid repetitive injuries. Though it can lead to new injuries after you trip over the curb and fall into a woodchuck hole.

There are good days, there are less good days. That's normal. Don't fight it. Some days you don't feel as good as others, some days are stink'n hot and humid, and some days you find the groove and fly. Just accept it and go with it. Tuesday I barely made 3 miles cross-country, and I had to drop to a walk twice. Thursday I did 6 miles on the same course, flying with ease.

Good clothes matter. I was darn slow learning this one. Trying to run in a cotton t-shirt and tighty-whities will destroy you. Having always done that, I had no idea I was being destroyed. When I finally bought my first set of those silly under-armor like running shorts and shirt, I was amazed. Not at the start of the run, but partway through it. Where the old t-shirt would be weighing a ton and the undies would be chaffing and bunching, I was now cool comfortable and light. Yippee! Next came those magic socks. Again, amazing. No blisters, no pools of sweat, no socks bunched up under my feet.

Shoes. Thick soles and big springy heels inspire lousy form. Look at the feet of those serious long distance runners. They are wearing minimalist shoes, for a reason. If you slam your heel into the ground, it should hurt, which would inspire you to stop that, and run right.

foxtrapper wrote: Shoes. Thick soles and big springy heels inspire lousy form. Look at the feet of those serious long distance runners. They are wearing minimalist shoes, for a reason. If you slam your heel into the ground, it should hurt, which would inspire you to stop that, and run right.

I kinda/sorta agree. When you are in good shape and have the muscle to support good form for a length of time without fatigue you can have minimalist footwear.

If you are heavy when you begin to run - the padding can protect you from injury because your feet were not designed to take a 230lb pounding in any way, shape or form. If you try to run barefoot or in a pair of those silly fingered shoes - all your feet will do is tell you to STOP THAT.

Getting fitted for a shoe to handle whatever pronation you already have established will let you get started and into shape... where you can deal with form over time.

For the OP: Pronation explained

You should see what the minimum requirements are for your age on the PT test. What are you interested in doing in the Guard, and why are you doing it?

I ran in junior high and high school, and just started again after a long break earlier this year. One thing that I noticed was that taking flax seed oil (I mix the actual oil with a protein shake) really helped my knees. I ran out of protein powder for a week, and my knees went from being great to absolutely horrific in that time span. I was carrying about 10 extra lbs. at the time, so taking the flax seed oil is great preventative maintenance.

I'll echo the other comments here, a heart rate monitor is a great tool to monitor progress, I recently picked up a Garmin Forerunner 305 that combines a GPS and a heart rate monitor. It's a great way to automatically track your workouts, and you can upload everything online and see your progress over time. You can even share it on FaceBook, that's a good way of having some accountability.

Proper shoes are important (especially if you're heavier), a good running shoe store can really guide you in the right direction. By good store, I mean they take the time to see if you pronate, etc. and then will let you take the shoes out for a test run. It's worth the extra $$$ to make sure you have the right equipment. Start slow and build the mileage slowly. Try to prioritize losing weight before picking up speed, as the faster you're going, the more pounding you're doing. Once you loose some weight then worry about going faster (if that's your goal).

A bike is a great cross-training tool, and can really help by giving your knees/joinits/etc. a break. Mixing running and biking together will help you from getting burnt out doing either one alone.

Good luck!

Check out the couch-to-5k program as mentioned above. Its free and its a nice way to ease into running. I've used it to get back into some sort of running shape, nothing like I was when I ran cross country in high school but got the rust off the joints anyway.

And shoes shoes shoes. Get fitted for good running shoes designed for how your feet work at a running store, and don't be afraid to replace them when stuff starts hurting as it means either the shoe isn't right (at the beginning) or they're wearing out (after a bunch of miles). FiveFingers and the other 'barefoot' type shoes are great... if you have been running, have been running barefoot, and are willing to take the time to retrain your legs and feet to run that way.

If you're just trying to loose weight however, a long brisk walk might end up being more enjoyable in the end with nearly the same results so long as you walk fast enough to get your heart rate moving. My father started walking after work a few years ago when he was still working to de-stress from everything that was going on and it helped him a lot mentally and physically.

• another one for using a HR monitors. Know your ranges, and while you start, try to keep the rate under control while you pile on mileage. You can then mix up rates depending on the workout goals.

As for shoes- I'm big on the minimalist shoes. Except. This is the third year in a row where I've hurt my foot under the ball of my foot. Not sure if it's the gait or the shoes- this year it's a strees fracture. If you were a teen ager with decent weight, I would fully be on the band wagon of minimalist shoes. But for starters, outside of a run around the block, go with more "typical" shoes.

Good luck, don't go too much too fast, enjoy the surroundings, and run outloud!

Just some observations from a retired soldier and recovering semi-fat guy:

Ditto on most of the previous - have a plan, keep good shoes, take care of your feet.

Habits matter. Develop the exercise routine as a habit, and get rid of those habits that are in your way. My bad habits involved food, and still do.

Push a little, but don't push too hard. Listen to your body. Injuries can break those good habits you worked so hard to grow. I still have Achilles tendon issues from 1987.

The military isn't really interested in specialized athletes as soldiers. Soldiers need to be adaptable on the fly. Generally good aerobic health, stamina, some lifting/carrying/climbing strength, and some agility will take you far on the physical side.

If you smoke, stop now.

I started running May 29th. I am 125 miles so far. Once you start don't take several day off. I was doing great and then I took the family to Hawaii. Getting back to running was almost like starting over.

Personally once you get in the groove it is great!!

Ditto to what foxtrapper says about monotony. My knee problems went away went I got off pavement and onto trails ~6 years ago. Nothing crazy, just decent trails through the woods. Softer surface, a bit more variation, less direct sun and way less boring. If you're clumsy this might not be the best way to start, though.

I run ~4 miles every other day. The breaks for your body to rest up are critical, IMO. Some people are built for running, but those people are freaks. :) If I run every day I wind up with injuries. To make up for not getting quite enough running in, I walk a lot. 20-25 miles per week. It's more fun than the running is. I look forward to it rather than (slightly) dreading it. A long walk feels like what my body is designed to do.

Once your body is used to it, it's not the running that's bad so much as the anticipation of the run. If you don't feel like doing it, tell yourself you're just going to go out for 3 minutes and come home. Invariably you'll start to feel better a minute or two in and manage to do the whole routine.

Whatever you do, if joints or tendons start hurting STOP. It's incredibly easy to wind up with an injury that just never heals 100%. I'm 33 and have some foot and knee problems from when I started running at 20 that never quite went away.

ppddppdd wrote: it's not the running that's bad so much as the anticipation of the run

I tell my wife all the time "It is the best feeling in the world while you are doing it but you never want to do it again, you know... like how you feel about sex"

Racer1ab wrote: It's finally happened, I'm done with being a fat guy. I'm also considering enlisting in the national guard, which means I've gotta meet certain fitness standards. I've been poring through info online, and admittedly quite a bit of it's over my head. It's stuff that's geared more for competitive marathon runners, and while I'd love to do something like that someday, I just want improvement now. My main question is this: Is it more effective to focus on distance or speed for training? Will I see quicker improvements trying to run a couple of miles a day, or walking 4 or 5 miles a day? Predictably, right now I suck at jogging. I'm trying to set a pace, maintain it for a minute or two at most, then go back to walking. Currently, I can cover a mile in about 15 minutes doing my walk/jog combo. I can walk a mile in 20 minutes, so there's a heckuva lot of room for improvement. Also found a running shop in the area, so I'm gonna talk to them Saturday about getting a decent pair of shoes. Nothing against my New Balances, but they were 20 bucks and they're killing my feet.

get some asics or another GOOD running shoe.
Back when I could run I did track and cross country in high school. I always felt alot better from doing a distance run (at least a 5k) than from doing anything less than half a mile.
on a distance run you can basically set a pace barely quicker than walking, and just keep going through the pain.
You may want to start out walking though, just to get used to it.
make sure and stretch very well though, regardless of what you do.
Good luck!

ppddppdd wrote: Once your body is used to it, it's not the running that's bad so much as the anticipation of the run.

That's me. For years, I hated getting ready to run. Changing clothes. Lacing shoes. Yuck. Now that I've started back running in my small way, I still do. Once I get going, it's OK.

A nice surface and good scenery helps.

As others have mentioned, make the run as enjoyable as possible. I prefer running at night. It's significantly cooler, there's not much traffic, and the air is easier to breathe. I also don't feel as creaky. I have tried running in the morning a few times, and I just hate it.

A great site to use is mapmyrun.com . It's an easy way to keep track of mileage. I prefer to break my runs up throughout the week; a few short ones, a few long ones. If you increase your weekly distance 10% each week, the first few weeks won't be too long as your body adjusts, but the miles will really start racking on after a few months.

The next point: Just keep with it. I lost a fair amount of weight, about 25 pounds, just by running consistently over a four month period, and I was only mildly overweight when I began. I found that when I exercise more, I automatically improve my diet. I don't want to squander my exercise efforts. The best part about running a lot is that you feel much better throughout the day. You breathe easier, you run up steps two at a time, and you simply have more energy throughout the day. Your first "runner's high" is pretty amazing, too.

If you are more interested in being fit than being a runner, mix it up with another form of training. I was once at a point where I ran six times each week, and it was getting tedious. I replaced one of my runs with biking, and another with swimming for the course of a few months.

Well I guess I will throw my .02 in as well. I am a guy that went from 250 to 160 with running as a big part of my program. I have run 5k 10k and 1/2 marathon in the past few years since I started.

To start out with I was only doing 1 mile run/walk. I would run until I could no longer control my breathing and then I would walk with my arms above my head until I got my breath under control, then start running again. Once I got to where I could run the whole mile I added on distance in 1/2 mile increments every few weeks when I felt it was getting easy just by doing loops of blocks in my neighborhood.

Here are my 4 tips. Get good shoes/clothes, stretch before and after, eat more fruits and veg, challenge yourself but don't overdo it.