How much does an extra 30 pounds effect your running?

grumpygit1962

I am just getting back into running at the age of 54 and with 30 pounds more weight to carry. As a 30 year old I was running sub 80 minutes half marathons as routine.
Now I am am that heavy looking slow chubby guy with no bounce in his pace.

But I have stopped smoking since I was running those great times, 12 years stopped now, and my diet is pretty good these days, just too much I suppose and maybe a little too much alcohol.

My question is this, how much does body weight or fat effect your potential. I am starting to suspect that weight is a big obstacle to running faster.

litsy3

I find even 5-10lbs affects my running; 30lbs would have a huge effect, way more than the extra 25 years.

grumpygit1962

I am really hoping so litsy, I am plodding at 10 minute miles at the moment, but I see no reason why I cannot get back t sub 8 minute miles if I take a good 20lbs off

litsy3

I don't see why not. I know loads of men in their 50s and over who can run that pace easily, and if you were a reasonable runner when younger you clearly have the aptitude.

SingingSingleTracker

grumpygit1962 wrote: »

I am just getting back into running at the age of 54 and with 30 pounds more weight to carry. As a 30 year old I was running sub 80 minutes half marathons as routine.
Now I am am that heavy looking slow chubby guy with no bounce in his pace.

But I have stopped smoking since I was running those great times, 12 years stopped now, and my diet is pretty good these days, just too much I suppose and maybe a little too much alcohol.

My question is this, how much does body weight or fat effect your potential. I am starting to suspect that weight is a big obstacle to running faster.

It has a drastic effect on your running (and cycling). You will be able to get back to your quicker pace with a combination of training, and trimming the weight. Losing 30 pounds will take you about 15-30 weeks depending on if you target 1 pound a week or 2 pounds a week of weight loss. You can still train and do pretty well by losing 1 pound a week. You have to eat enough to fuel the exercise, but still maintain a good daily deficit to burn the fat.

Hey, why not? You only go around once in life and I'm your age shooting for the best shape of my life.

Capt_Apollo

you can speed up by 20 seconds per mile for every ten pounds you lose.

i dropped about about 20 pounds, and took nearly ten minutes off my best half marathon time.

mitch16

With a 40 lb weightloss I took 2 minutes off per mile in shorter races (< 5K) (over 2 years time). I definitely think you can get back to near to racing pace if you lose weight and keep at it. Age might slow you down a little bit, but I am always amazed at the speeds of some of the Masters Men at the races I run!

Learn from my mistake--just don't try to run a half marathon while you are on an active cut--I was exhausted!

coreyreichle

grumpygit1962 wrote: »

I am just getting back into running at the age of 54 and with 30 pounds more weight to carry. As a 30 year old I was running sub 80 minutes half marathons as routine.
Now I am am that heavy looking slow chubby guy with no bounce in his pace.

But I have stopped smoking since I was running those great times, 12 years stopped now, and my diet is pretty good these days, just too much I suppose and maybe a little too much alcohol.

My question is this, how much does body weight or fat effect your potential. I am starting to suspect that weight is a big obstacle to running faster.

From my experience, about 6 minutes for an 8K.

McCloud33

I'm not your age, but I went from soccer player in HS and college @160 lbs to an overweight 30 year old @235 lbs. I started running again to get in shape and dropped from 11-12min mile pace to winning my first ever 5k with a sub-20min time @ about 172lbs...so, close to a 60lb weight loss over 1.5 years. I dropped 50 in the first 5 months and got my pace down between 7-8min/mi consistently. Both the closer you get to your ideal weight, the harder it will be to lose, and the closer you get to your fastest pace, the harder it will be to lower it even more.

kwtilbury

Not only will the extra weight affect your pace, but it's going to do a number on your back and joints.

_Waffle_

grumpygit1962 wrote: »

I am really hoping so litsy, I am plodding at 10 minute miles at the moment, but I see no reason why I cannot get back t sub 8 minute miles if I take a good 20lbs off

Dropping 20 pounds should put you closer to 9:00 miles. The rest will be gained more slowly as you're restoring your endurance and in your next life when you're 30 again and not 45.

grumpygit1962

_Waffle_ wrote: »

grumpygit1962 wrote: »

I am really hoping so litsy, I am plodding at 10 minute miles at the moment, but I see no reason why I cannot get back t sub 8 minute miles if I take a good 20lbs off

Dropping 20 pounds should put you closer to 9:00 miles. The rest will be gained more slowly as you're restoring your endurance and in your next life when you're 30 again and not 45.

I am hoping for much faster, I am a short guy who used to fight at light welter weight, 20lb to me would be much greater a loss for me than say a heavyweight fighter losing 20lb.

I am glad some agree about weight being a massive obstacle, I used to smoke when I ran races without much effect, though some. Glad I gave the horrible habit up though, effects your health in other ways.
Somebody also mentioned excessive weight effecting joints, definitely.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

Sorry to tell you, but extra weight has a big effect. Keep at it though. The improvement you'll see as you drop weight is a huge ego boost.

Also, don't forget to incorporate strength training instead of solely running/ cardio.

filovirus76

2 secs per lb.

TavistockToad

Capt_Apollo wrote: »

you can speed up by 20 seconds per mile for every ten pounds you lose.

i dropped about about 20 pounds, and took nearly ten minutes off my best half marathon time.

I really need to stop stuffing my face!

mankars

Extra weight put additional wear and tear on your joints and ligaments in general... which in long run can cause injuries to them. Also, factor in age too.... a 20 yrs old over-weight can 'bounce' back quickly from those injuries, a 54 yrs old body might take a long long time.

filovirus76

OK, here is a link to a race time projections based on weight and age. Simply fill out the top portion, and it will tell you all you need to know. It's fun to play around with. It will let you know how weather will impact times, calculate race times depending on weight gain/loss, even calculate an approximate marathon finish time based off of a 5K race. Here it is (It is called the Jack Daniels' Training Tables and is the excel spreadsheet): http://www.electricblues.com/html/runpro.html
Enjoy.

robertw486

In simple terms mass x velocity is a well known, and mass is a huge factor in energy output for any activity where you have to move that mass.

And being in my 50s myself, I find that finding improvements is different than when I was 20 or even 30. But if you put in the work the performance metrics keep reflecting on that.

ninerbuff

Carry a 30lb kid on your back and run. Then dump them off. You'll see a big difference.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

pebble4321

For me.... weight has a huge impact. I lost about 20kg 4-5 years ago and loved to run, even managed a half-marathon (from being a complete non-runner).
I've kept running even as I've put weight back on, but it's a hell of a lot harder, I just feel slow and ponderous and find that I'm getting more pain in my knees and ankles - which isn't surprising when they are carrying more weight. And I'm considerably slower, and don't have the endurance I used to.

However, I know that I can do this (slowly and carefully, trying to avoid injury that will stop me), and I'm motivated to get back to it again.
The good thing I've found in the past is that once I get started, it's a positive cycle - I drop some weight and the running gets easier, then I'm more motivated to keep eating well and running a bit more... and that's great for my mental health and energy levels too.
I hope that can work out for you too.

grumpygit1962

pebble4321 wrote: »

For me.... weight has a huge impact. I lost about 20kg 4-5 years ago and loved to run, even managed a half-marathon (from being a complete non-runner).
I've kept running even as I've put weight back on, but it's a hell of a lot harder, I just feel slow and ponderous and find that I'm getting more pain in my knees and ankles - which isn't surprising when they are carrying more weight. And I'm considerably slower, and don't have the endurance I used to.

However, I know that I can do this (slowly and carefully, trying to avoid injury that will stop me), and I'm motivated to get back to it again.
The good thing I've found in the past is that once I get started, it's a positive cycle - I drop some weight and the running gets easier, then I'm more motivated to keep eating well and running a bit more... and that's great for my mental health and energy levels too.
I hope that can work out for you too.

The reason I am making the big deal of the weight at the moment is the fact that right into my 40's I was able at the drop of a hat or after stopping running for ages do a 5 mile run without a worry and usually at around 8 minute miles. That's not to say I did no exercise prior to that, I did some work in the gym and some cardio in other forms.
I have to say though in the last decade I have stopped smoking and my diet has been better than ever, though I eat healthy I probably eat too much healthy stuff, hence the weight gain.

I am just really surprised what 30lb or even 20lb does to you performance when it comes to running.

Have to say though, that even though my running is slow right now, already I am reducing my blood pressure and feel better in myself. I have done it my whole life, You force yourself to go on a run, and then when you actually do it you think to yourself during and after it, why the hell am I not doing this all the time, it makes me feel so good, it is like a no brainer.

Then the weekend comes and a poker game with the lads and a few pints and you go back to your old ways. I see this as the crunch moment in my life right now, I am not 24 any more when you can bounce back after any self induced punishment to run a 36 minute 10Km.

I can quite easily see myself going into my 60's and 70s fully able to do a lot in life still, but I can also see how people go the other way and where illness and injury becomes the norm due to neglect.

elsinora

Hurts my back more the more weight I carry and run. It's all the flab in the gut that pulls on my back, so while I could still run and do marathons/ triathlons, I was so much slower which was the most frustrating thing.

litsy3

OP, you're not just slow because you're older and heavier, but also because you are just getting back into running and have not done very much training yet. You'll get faster anyway even before you've finished losing all the weight, as long as you keep it up, because you'll be training the whole time.