Okay running friends, particularly those of you with bodies more like mine, I have some questions. I know I could probably dig around forever in news forums and magazine articles to find this info, but I'd rather hear from you, so I can ask follow-up questions if I want.
First and foremost, my previous attempts at becoming a runner were sidelined really early due to injuries, mostly severe shin splints. I thought that was because of my weight, but recent research has shown that it's not about the size of the runner. It's more likely to be about the shoe, or the form or taking on too much too soon. And I'm famous for the latter. So this time, I've managed to not have an injury. In fact, I haven't had anything beyond the pleasant kind of muscle soreness that reminds me I'm working my body, but doesn't keep from continuing to work my body. I have huge fear of getting an injury, however, and having this whole thing blow up again.
So with that in mind, here's my first question. I'm noticing that when I come back from walking for more than an hour (like during the mileage training on Saturdays) OR when I wog (that's my term for the walk/jog intervals I started last week) I have a weird aching feeling in my upper legs that's accompanied by a feeling of weakness. It roughly follows the tracking of my IT band, but it doesn't hurt like my IT band did when it got all tight in prior attempts. After a hot bath and a little rest (maybe an hour), it subsides, and I'm left with just that pleasant overall soreness. Is this something anyone else experiences? Does it mean I'm working just hard enough to improve or does it mean I'm doing too much? You don't necessarily have to know the answer for my body, of course, but I'm interested to know if anyone else has this experience.
The second thing that's puzzling me is around nutrition and how my body is reacting to all this. I've said (and meant) that this is not about a weight loss adventure. I'm doing this for many reasons, but the top one is curiousity about what I can do and joy in what I'm finding. I've changed my eating habits somewhat in response to how I notice I feel when I train. I'm drinking FAR less alcohol. And while I used to be a diet soda junkie, I now go for weeks without it. I drink a helluva lot more water. Eat more fruits and veggies. Focus on eating "clean" because deep-friend and processed just tends to make me feel yucky and I noticed that I was running out of energy early on the days that was happening. On top of this, I'm out three days a week for at least 30 minutes of training and then I have the going-on two hour long session each Saturday. I have not lost a pound. Not one. And I'm not noticing a great difference in how my clothes fit (which I would expect if I were replacing fat with muscle). That seems weird to me. I'm not doing this to lose weight, as I said, and I'm not going to stop, but it seems very weird that cleaning up my eating and adding all this exercise hasn't made any changes at all. Wait, that's not true. There have been changes in endurance and speed, but nothing apparent in terms of body composition. Is this a middle-age thing? Because even 5 years ago, I'd be buying new clothes right now. Should I talk to a doc?
And that brings me to the third thing. Since I've been doing this and paying attention to my body, as well as reading and thinking about what kind of pace I want to have and so on, I've been thinking that maybe I should lose some weight. But I adamantly do NOT want my focus to change to that and I am very scared it will. I kind of thought maybe just cleaning up my eating and adding all this activity would do the trick, but so far it has not. I'm considering a move to a borderline vegan diet to see what happens, but I have to admit to deep fear of tinkering too much with what I'm eating and putting a lot of restrictions around it. Once that happens, a host of other neurotic behaviors will be triggered and I'm doing so well with NOT having that happen! So how might I go about making changes and keeping the focus on what I want to do with my body (the athletics) without it spiraling into a focus on my worth and societal values (the aesthetics)? And what if the only way I can lose weight is to really restrict my calories? Might I just have to live with what I can do now with endurance and speed and know that's my limit? I'm being rhetorical at this point. I've done so well with keeping this focus on the curiosity and joy and I don't want to lose that.
Fourth thing. So I'm almost done with Christopher McDougall's "Born to Run," which fits in nicely with the reading on chirunning I've done. The science and arguments they offer are compelling, especially since McDougall is also a big person. I'm becoming thoughtful about my form and wanting to apply the things I'm learning to my practice. It seems like I'd have to be actually running - rather than jogging or wogging - for this form to matter? That's a question, because I'm having difficulty visualizing the form at a slow pace. Anyone have a clue what I'm talking about, and even better, thoughts or an opinion?
I'm going to bring as much of this up as I can with my coaches on Saturday, but those conversations are always a little rushed (since they happen while we're walking very fast) and none of my coaches seem to be dealing with the issues I am. Of course, that could just be my perception and I'm open to that possibility. Still, the more talking I can do with fellow walk/wog/jog or run type folks, the better.
I'm not a girl and don't quite share body type with you, but have had some similar experiences that might be relevant as you process through this. When I started training (like serious 6 days a week stuff) for my first Olympic distance triathlon (1.2 mile swim, 56k bike and 10k run) I too has some initial leg/shin issues to deal with. My friend who happened to be coaching me was an ironman triathlete and suggested my weight, which happened to be about 210 starting, and my lack of exercise prior to training were the culprits. He suggested 1) don't stop training 2) don't push too hard, but don't let your self slack off and 3)If you're generally sore after a workout, but feeling better within a day, then you're doing it right. I never ran fast even at my peak performance (I may have pushed a hard one mile run at 7-8 minutes, but mostly, truly the vast majority of the time, I found myself plodding along at about 10-11 minutes a mile, regardless of how far I ran (jogged, really). I too struggled with my lack of weight loss. I trained hard, super serious no bullshit hard, for 6 month leading up to my first big tri and I think I might have lost a total of 15 lbs. I counted every calorie, logged every workout, nearly eliminated the junk food and still was barely outside the Clydesdale class. It was frustrating because I wanted to lose weight and based on those ridiculous charts my ideal weight should have been about 170. I've finally accepted the fact that those charts are pretty much useless. I am a bit surprised that you haven't seen any weight loss, but there's always loads of factors to consider. There's the truth my coach kept reminding me: muscle weighs more than fat. Any truthfully, I should have done a better job monitoring that indicator. Based on a few BMI readings I did take, I can safely say I went from about a 25-28% BMI to somewhere between 18-20%. if you can, find someone that can help you monitor that number - its far more important than just weight and I can assure you, if you're patient - you'll see changes there. As for form, I tended to be a really high strung jogger. What I mean is that I was tense, clinched my fists, and tightened muscles - unintentionally of course. Actually, I didn't even realize I was doing it. My coach would jog behind me and tell me to relax my hands, open my chest, stand up straight, align my spine, etc. You get the point. This helps your posture (mine is terrible), helps you breath by opening up your lungs, and relaxes your muscles to minimize the chance for injury. So yes, as a fellow slow runner, form matters, at least for me. Most importantly, be proud of yourself and hold onto the truth that your body can do way more than your mind lets it believe. That's a fact.
ReplyDeleteThis is super helpful. I may treat myself to a personal trainer next year. This year with the group it just doesn't work the same (though I will still be asking these same questions on Saturday) because I only see them once a week. I could really use someone to stay with me through the first 8 weeks of training, and particularly, to give me that kind of instant feedback on form. I know there are some chirunning coaches in the area (at least one), so maybe that will be my big expenditure next time around. Immediate feedback is SO important! And thank you, as always, for being my best supporter! :-)
DeleteWhat does your weekly exercise regimen look like? It has been my experience that I run faster as I do three things. One, I have worked through the C25K plan a few times now. Once I get to running consistently (as opposed to wogging), I start out at abut a 12 minute mile. Even now, at 250ish pounds. The second thing is losing weight. When I drop weight, I get faster. My fastest time was 10:50/mi at 212 pounds. I would assume that I will only get faster the more I lose. Thirdly, I notice that I build endurance more rapidly if I add cross training and weight training to the regimen on the off days. If I only run (or wog) 3 days a week, I do not feel significantly stronger from one week to the next. But if I weight train, and cross train on other cardio equipment, I start to feel unstoppable on my runs. It's very noticeable for me if I miss a day or cardio/weights. My week looks like this:
ReplyDeleteSat - rest
Sun - long wog
M-W-F 45-60 minutes of weight training with 30 minutes of cardio
T-Th 50-60 minutes of wogging
What I plan to add to the regimen is yoga 2 days a week. I am doing this because I experience the stiffness and achiness you describe, but for me it's the calves and back. I'm better in about a day, but the day after a long run can be brutal. I talked to a trainer at the YMCA and she suggested perhaps I replace some cardio with yoga on T or Th, and do another yoga session on Sat. That means no rest day, but I'm okay with this, because each activity I do is varied and I see it as active rest. With my injuries in the calf, hip and plantar fascia, I can't not stretch or I will be out with an injury. I've learned that the hard way.
As far as food goes, I am losing about 1-2 pounds a week by keeping my calories between 1500-1700/day. I hit a stall pattern if I eat more, and eating less makes me feel like crap which hurts my performance. Like you, the cleaner I eat, the better I feel, but I have no desire to eliminate meat from my diet. I just try eating lean cuts of grass-fed beef from happy cows, as well as organic turkey and chicken breast and wild Pacific salmon.
Hope that helps.
Right now I'm pretty closely following the Portland Fit model - which has kept me injury free so far. It looks something like this:
DeleteSun: rest
Mon: easy - 30 - 40 m (my easy pace is usually around 16:20)
Tues: tempo - 30 m (I usually wog these, pace varies, but averages to around 15:00)
Wed: rest
Thurs: easy - 40 - 45 m
Fri: rest
Sat: long wog (mostly walk at this point - 8 miles tomorrow)
My first race is on May 5 - a 10 K. My first half is the RnR, which is on May 19.
At this point, I'm trying to decide whether I should stick with the PFit program at least through the RnR, or if I should continue to use my tempo and long days to introduce longer segments of jogging. Thoughts?
Addendum... so if I'm coming to peace with speed and distance, it doesn't mean I don't want to increase endurance so that I can run most (or all) of a half. :-)
DeleteOh, and as mileage increases past 13 miles, you NEED to eat more. Don't expect to train for a full marathon and lose weight. I have yet to see anyone do it.
ReplyDeleteWell that's the thing... losing weight won't become the focus for me. I won't let it. I'll compromise and stick with halfs and the size I am if it comes to having to really count calories. I just can't go that route - it will bring the end.
DeleteI think part of what's happening here is that I'm also coming to grips with limits I may have if I don't want to count calories and obsess about my weight. I may compromise speed and distance. I'm getting to be okay with that. It's still hard because I have been an athlete at various points in my life, and I still find that urge to push, but if pushing equals pain and a re-entry into neurosis, it's just not worth it.
I'm not female, but going by your Fitocracy profile, I'm the same height (5'10"). Back in 2011, I dropped 25 lbs (BMI went from 24.3 to 20.5) in about six months by doing three things:
ReplyDelete(1) I ran about 25 miles a week (at first, I could barely run one continuous mile) and cross-trained about twice a week with weights and cycling/rowing.
(2) Like you, I tracked calories diligently and ran a calorie deficit of ~500 per day. Since I was exercising a lot, it wasn't overly restrictive or anything. I think I netted about 1600-1800 a day, which means I was actually taking in more like 2200-2300.
(3) At night, I drank a lot of cold water whenever I thought about snacking.
Now that I've gotten to a pretty lean state, I eat a lot more. I still track calorie intake, but I'm also running about 35 miles a week, and I've maintained this weight for close to two years now.
That's probably right around where my caloric intake is now. I occasionally track for awhile, just to see what's up. I tend to stick around 2K when I'm left to my own devices. I think part of what's happening is just a weird hormonal/age thing. My body is changing, so it makes sense this will change too. We'll see what happens. I'm not going to stop moving, that much is certain.
Delete