Runner's Forum: NOOB. First 5K in 4 Days!

Hi! Yeah isn't this page awesome! I'm am also overweight and have been using running, spinning, swimming and the gym to lose weight as well. I am down 68 lbs. I am so happy to see that you seem to be doing well because weight loss is very hard. Yeah I really enjoy running because of the connection you have with other runners. There is a certain understanding around the training and hard work that comes along with being a runner. Congratulations on your incredible weight loss! KEEP GOING! I have about 20 more pounds till I am at my goal weight and I am not quitting anytime soon. Keep looking ahead but always remember what you have already accomplished because 42 pounds it awesome! Good luck!

Welcome. I'm amazed by how much weight you guys/gals have lost.  Magraz- if you keep up your training (walking or running) you'll definitely be prepared to finish a 5K by the end of October.  I started running about 6 months ago and have been slowly losing a bit of weight at a time for a total of 20 pounds, which seems a lot in one piece but very little as it's coming off at less than a pound a week.  I don't even want to know what my miles/pounds ratio is.  Remember that even if you can't see immediate results, every minute spent on walking/running is a minute you didn't spend on the couch, and it wll make a health difference in the long term.

Djgray- how'd your 5K go?

magraz-I've only been running for about two months. I kinda started out without any type of training plan but found out afterward that what I had been doing all along was essentially C25K. I've been running essentially since the beginning of my weight loss efforts. I started those June 1st, 3 and a half months ago. I've lost 42 lbs in that time. I've also been doing strength training in the gym at work and started out w/ hiking and geocaching. I've been logging it all on my blog.

I'm much in the same situation wfoley. I'm planning now for possible alternatives this winter. The northeast can be brutal but there's still plenty to do. I'm thinking about pursuing snowshoeing.

magraz - i started running in july sometime basically on a joke. A coworker and I (both of us well overweight) starting talking about how we needed to lose weight and set a bet of $25 dollars on who could run a half marathon faster. We picked one in mid-October. I quit smoking (a pack a day habit) and started training later that week. Before it was nearly impossible for me to run a single mile in under 11 minutes. Now just a couple months later, I just finished a 5 mile run with an average pace around 9 minutes. I've recently hit the 10 mile mark in a single run and feel that I'm on track for atleast a 2:30 half marathon. The progress has inspired me to sign up for a full marathon sometime early next year. Although I haven't lost much weight, my resting heart rate has plummetted, I am noticably thinner, and feel great.