A little inspiration for those of you who THINK you CAN'T BE

CommandaPanda

[I’m at work and I keep hopping back and forth between writing this and doing actual work, I apologize in advance if there are any inconsistencies in this]

So, I’ve started this thread to inspire anybody who feels as though they either aren’t physically capable of becoming a runner or might have their doubts/interests but are unsure… I will express this later on in the thread but I I’d like to say this again here… I can’t help you with your long-term goals (running), but I CAN help you get yourself started.
I would also like to place a **DISCLAIMER** that I’m highly outspoken and tend to go on and on. So at any point where you feel like you’ve gotten the “gist” then stop reading because I am a talker.

First, a little background about myself to add legitimacy to my claims; I’m not just a person who was born a fantastic runner. Throughout my entire school years, I saw myself as having an extremely mesomorphic body that just cannot fit into a runners profile. As I gain muscle (just as easily as fat), I assumed that my build was not optimal to ever be a runner; every time I tried I was just dead afterwards and that was discouraging. Beyond my body-type, I became addicted to smoking .. yes, I’m disgusting I know. On top of that I was relatively overweight (230 lbs), but luckily I felt a need to lose it. I knew that running was the best for someone of my weight so one day I said to myself, “no more excuses.” I started doing 1.5 mile runs with generous breaks around the neighborhood and eventually that transformed into 3.5 mile runs without stopping around the same neighborhood. I know, I haven’t gone from 300lbs to 170 lbs or anything but I am a lazy couch potato gone EXERCISING.

One major factor that inspired me to run was the smartphone application (Androi/iOS) “RunKeeper.” I got some of my friends to start running on it as well and before I knew it we ended up turning it into a competition to see who could put more miles on in one week. I would say that this application was certainly the single-most beneficial entity in my endeavors on becoming an active runner (past losing weight). Everybody strives on competition, look at technology today. Android would not exist if it weren’t for Apple’s iPhone. If any of you are considering starting up RunKeeper, then add me as a friend! (my username on that is CummingsNU)

Having said that, I don’t believe there is a person in the world who doesn’t have anything physically disabling them from running who isn’t capable of doing so. I ran through the smoking and turned myself into a runner who competed in triathlons by the end of the summer. Since then, I’ve quit smoking because it started to make my body feel like poop and I’ve gained from it. I’ve tried going back since and I feel physically sick afterwards, not with myself either.

When I started to run around the neighborhood, I suffered from shin splints pretty badly. Once I got back to my house, I would just lay down on the floor to take any weight off of my legs. This is when I thought about how many different brands, styles, and types of shoes they offer and why any company might do that outside of making money. They make different shoes based off the consumers athletic needs. This is when I went to New Balance and they entertained me with a customer support representative who not only taught me about pronation (http://weartest.newbalance.com/Learn/Index.asp?Reference=RunningGait&~=) but also gave me guidance and recommendations on what might be a good fit for MY needs. I ended up buying a pair of NB 1225’s because I over-pronate when I run and at the time this shoe offered considerable support and the price was where I wanted it to be. There are many factors that come into purchasing a good pair of running shoes; I am not trying to endorse New Balance, they are just the brand that works for me with quality and build coupled with fantastic customer support. As NB works for me, Nike may work for you. You’ll have to do some personal investigation into this subject.

Eventually I discovered the treadmill. After a couple of weeks of running outside, I went to the gym and tried them out. They were GREAT! I can run in place while being entertained at the same time?! I’m picturing anything keeping me mentally entertained while going on a run outside and I imagine jesters following me around, but television is one better. Now when things get difficult, I’m able to focus my attention on Jersey Shore or whose car got stolen on Fox 25. Amazing.
For this I started off with 20 minutes on manual. The first 10 minutes would be set to 3.0 with 0.0 incline as a light warm-up walk. The next 10 minutes would be a jog/run that varied. When I first started running on the treadmill I was at 5.0 and then slowly moved my way up to 6. I’d have the last minute be my “final sprint” so that would usually go up to 8 or 9 (I don’t know if I recommend this). Then finally, a 5-minute cool down walk at 3 again. This is how I started, I consider myself at this point to be a treadmill pro so if you need help coming up with any sort of plan then don’t hesitate to send me a message.

In conclusion, I would like to say that I lift almost 5 days a week (depending on how I feel, I try to stick to my plan) and during each lift, I actually look forward to the run. Because of this, I’m encouraged to not mess around with lifting so I can get to my run faster. You’ll often hear about this “runner’s high” and it does exist. But to get to that runner’s high, you need to work hard to get to a point where you’re comfortable with running and don’t dread the moment that you have to put on your running shoes. Just remember “no excuses” the next time you think about quitting on yourself. This mentality helped me push through running even when I was a smoker. To quit smoking… well that’s a whole other story that involves the mindset “I’m better than that.” I hope I’ve been able to inspire and hopefully encourage you in some manner. If you need any extra encouragement or advice, feel free to add me as a friend or send me a message and I’ll do my best to help. I’m not well versed about nutrition, which is another reason why I’m on this website, but I can give advice with weight lifting and GETTING STARTED on running. My goal is to run a marathon within the next 24 months, but until I make it to that point I wouldn’t label myself as an expert or experienced runner.

So in summary:
- Heavy smoker (2 packs a week; eventually quit… 4 weeks ago)
- Never thought I could run because of my weight and body type
- Inspired by RunKeeper (competitions amongst friends) and weight loss
- Eventually went from struggling with going for runs under a mile to 5k without problems
- Lost 30lbs from running and reasonable nutrition

Anyways, I hope I’ve been of ANY use to the MFP community.

As always, I wish for you everything that you wish for yourself!

-Panda.

Improvised

Thanks for posting. I've always wanted to take up running, but have been intimidated by it. I'll have to give it a go.

cmriverside

I'll give it a little bump for the team......

srp2011

Great post - I'm a converted runner too - I never thought of myself as an athlete, but when I turned 40 I decided to take up running, and now I'm addicted to running 5K races, and push myself to beat my previous time. One question, though - I don't think I've ever experienced a runner's high, but I don't know - what exactly does it feel like? Is it something you can't miss?