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MelAR05

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Posts posted by MelAR05

    Runners: What does your week look like in regard to fitness?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I started with c25k a little over two years ago.  I had never been a runner and had been working hard to lose weight.  I was getting tired of Jillian Michaels' DVDs and signed up for a 5k with a friend.  I figured I'd do the c25k program, run the 5k and then take zumba classes or something else.  Little did I know how hooked on running I would get!

     

    I run in the mornings before DH leaves for work.  I'm lucky that he doesn't have to leave until about 7:40, so I don't have to wake up ridiculously early.  I have a hard time fitting in a run later in the day if I skip a morning.  I'm just too tired in the evenings and it's too hard to skip out on getting kids ready for bed.  

     

    I have always taken one day a week completely off.  I started with running 3 days a week and now I typically run 6.  Here and there I'll oversleep or we will be out of town, but 6 is the goal.  The best advice I have heard is to consider running like a job.  You may have the flu and need to call in sick for a week.  You may take a scheduled vacation.  But, you don't just "not feel like it".  You get up and do it whether you "feel like it" that day or not.

     

    Running more miles is the biggest way to improve.  Run 45 minutes a few days a week and lengthen one run to 60 minutes.  You can also add in running on one of your current off days to add more miles.  My biggest tip to not getting injured is to mostly run easy, slow miles.  You can start playing with speed work a couple times a week.  Try to finish fast.  Add a few periods where you run harder for a minute and then go back to a jog.  Speed work is the second thing that will help you get faster.  Remember, the #1 thing you can do is just run more.  There are lots of plans of more formal type speed work that you can add once you've gotten to that point.

     

    I moved from the c25k into a Hal Higdon beginner half marathon plan.   I ran a half about three months after finishing my 5k.  Then I moved into a couple rounds of marathon training. I'm planning a fall half now and using a Hanson plan to try to improve my time.  I'm planning another marathon early spring.  

     

    But, not everybody wants to do halves or marathons.  It's fine to just run for 45 minutes a few days a week and be content.  I do highly, highly suggest running some races.  Do a local turkey trot.  Check with your local running clubs and see what they have to offer.  Races can keep you motivated and you can work to improve times.  And, the mornings I don't want to get out of bed, it helps to keep me motivated.  Races are fun.  You don't have to be fast.  

     

    I also joined a running group.  It was a great decision.  We met on Saturdays and did long runs together.  I learned a lot from other runners about the best socks to wear and different shoes.  How to hydrate and which gels taste the best.  What to eat before a run and what not to eat.  There are only so many hours my non running friends want to listen to me drone on about my plan for pacing for every mile of a marathon.  But, my running group never tires of running talk. ;)  Runners world also has a running forum.  They can be a little hard core (What, slacker?  You aren't running 85 miles this week?).  But, all in all, I've learned a lot reading there.  There is also a blog called saltyrunning.org.  It is a group of women who blog about running.  Some are recreational runners.  Some are overweight.  Some are looking to make the break into elite level running.  It's a great resource for people at every stage of the game.

     

    Oh, and I always have grand plans for strength training.  I *try* to squeeze in a Jillian Michaels routine here and there that does some arm exercises, squats, and planks.  My problem is, I want to spend all my free time running!  But, I think cross training generally helps running.  But, I think more mileage helps even more than cross training.  See the conundrum?

     

    Wow... I have way too much to say about running!!!

     

    Editing for two more suggestions:  Eat and Run by Scott Jurek was the first running book I ever read.  He is my running hero and his book was absolutely inspirational for me.  Another great book is Born to Run.  I don't buy the whole barefoot running conclusion the author makes, but in general, it is an inspiring book about how our bodies are made for running.  It helps me when I'm slogging through a run on a hot day.  Both are easy, fun reads that really help capture the joy of running.

    Great advice! And I love those two books!!

    • Like 1

    Mp3s for running?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I always start my races with Beautiful Day by U2.  I like several songs from Fall Out Boy and OneRepublic. I have my first half marathon this Saturday and am currently downloading new music right now. :)

     

    Some of my current favorites on my playlist now:

     

    Love Take Me Over by Steven Curtis Chapman

    Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson

    Love Runs Out by OneRepublic

    Shake It Off by Taylor Swift

    Lips Are Movin by Meghan Trainor (I need to get some more of her music) :)

    Wake Me Up by Avicii

    Sing by Ed Sheeran

    Day for the Dead by Zac Brown Brand

    • Like 2

    Weight Watchers?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I agree. I have estimated and have been fine because I don't do it every day. And when I need a ballpark because I"m just truly clueless, I look something up online. For example, if I want to know the calories of a piece of cheese, I google for 'calories pepperjack cheese', and lots of choices pop up. I look at several and choose the one that looks best to me.

     

    As for tracking forever, it really doesn't bother me at all. If I wasn't tracking points, I'd have to be tracking in some manner because it's too easy for me to overeat. Some people don't want to track so they eat a certain way, like low carb or whatever. I could never follow that kind of lifestyle. I don't want to deny myself any foods. So far it's not been an issue. I've lost 51 lbs. eating whatever I wanted to eat. I just keep to portions, and estimates when I don't know something specifically.

    Yes, this is exactly what i do. Tracking just lets me control my portions.

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