Runners Who Never Thought They'd Run

It can be done. No doubt. I know this first hand.

First, I have been fat most all of my life. Only in good shape when I was 23 and younger, but even then was overwieght. I tried getting into running when I was 18 or 19, but always developed a nasty case of shin splints and would stop. When I was 23 years old I had a knee injury that sidelined me for a long time, and I never got back into good health after that, always assuming I would trash my knee if I tried being too active.

January 2nd, 2014 I had just turned 42, weighed 316 pounds and was determined to be borderline diabetic, put on Metformin to help out and told to eat no more than 120g total carbs per day. I did this and started losing weight at a surprising rate.

On April 3rd, 2014 I had finished a follow-up appointment, weighing 284 pounds (32 lost in 3 months). My numbers were all better on my blood labs. I assumed I would soon hit a plateau on my weight loss and wanted to continue, so I decided to start a regular routine of walking. I walked 2 miles that day.

I continued walking nearly every day, increasing my mileage as soon as I felt the current distance was no longer a challenge. I wanted to feel like I worked out with my walks. I was walking 3 miles each time by the end of that first month, and by the end of May the next month was walking 4 miles and had begun walking EVERY day. By the end of June I was going 6 miles every day, taking about an hour and 50 minutes each time.

I suspected at some point I might not have enough time in the day to keep pushing myself further by walking alone. I began wondering while on my walks what I would do to go higher impact. The thought of running crossed my mind and I laughed, literally laughed at myself for the thought. My knees could never take up running! Especially at this age! So I assumed biking would be my next choice.

So July 9, 2014 rolls around and I go on my 6 mile walk. I was needing to either walk further or move on to my next activity like biking but I was strapped at that time, could not afford a bike. I decided to run for short bursts during my walk.

Looking back at the data for that day, and in the next few runs afterward, I would only run for a minute or so each time, if that. I ran 13 times this way on that walk. I kept doing this on each successive walk. However I did learn from some soreness that I should not do this EVERY day like I had been doing with walking. So I switched to running/walking 3 or 4 times per week.

By the end of July I realized I was regularly walking/running 6 miles all the time so I could complete a 10k with no problem, and live the rest of my life knowing I had actually done a 10k! So I signed up for one. By my final run before the race the longest single run burst I had completed was just under 1 mile.

September 20, 2014 was the date of my 10k. I had never run in a race and was told I should start towards the back and just pace myself with people as long as I could. I did exactly that, keeping up with those around me as we started. I passed mile 1 and kept going. It was at that point a personal record. I reached mile 2 and kept going! By the time I reached mile marker 3 I knew that there was no reason I could not actually run the whole way unless I just collapsed...and that was what I was focused on for the rest of the race. I completed the whole 10k running in 1 hour, 17 minutes and 41 seconds! I was SO TIRED, but SO PROUD! I can not describe the feeling in words.

That day proved a lot to me. I could run further than my mind previously was telling me. I could run so much further than I thought without dying or injuring myself! Granted, I was quite sore that night and the next day. But I recovered.

Knowing I could run 6 miles and being familiar with the concept of 10% increases per week (and also having looked at Hal Higdon running plans), I looked at upcoming races. In my mind I wondered if I could do a half marathon before the end of the year. The latest one in the year that I found in town was scheduled for November 15th, 8 weeks away. I realized I could actually follow such a training plan and reach that mileage in time for that race, so I signed up!

The next few weeks were a little harsh, I admit. I struggled to get further than 6 miles, and in the process learned a lot more about my body, and how to fuel it. One thing I will credit running for, it has taught me more about my physiology than any courses I ever took in school (Granted, I'm an IT guy, not my forte).

I managed to reach 12 miles as my longest distance run prior to the half marathon. I had great confidence I could do it. And I did, finishing in 3 hours and 9 seconds.

Those last few weeks ahead of that half marathon I looked back at the changes I went through over that one year alone, from January to then in November. It may sound strange, but I am not so much proud as I am humbled by it. I can do this, I know it now. I am pushing myself further still. I keep doing it because I still can. I don't know why I never did this before, especially some 20 years ago when all of this would have been easier. But I can do it, and I plan to never look back. If I step back, I can always look ahead again.

It is possible. I encourage you to just do it. Not trying to sound corny. Just start with what you can do, and just keep going.

Sorry for such a long post.

I never liked running up until a few years ago. I found I can't go running just for the sake of running. I will quit after a couple minutes. I need to be working to improve something. For example, 6 laps at my gym equals a mile (roughly). About once a month I would try to beat my previous month's time. Or there's one "run" that works out to 10 laps and 10 sets of stairs - again, I try to beat my previous time.

I need a goal for running. Maybe you do too? Running a distance faster than you did before, or running further in a set amount of time, something like that. I also love doing 5k "fun runs" and I did my first 10k last summer - it was trail running so it was way more fun than road running (in my opinion).

ETA: there's nothing to say you HAVE to run. If you don't like, you don't like it and there's nothing wrong with that.

I was a non-runner. I tried running often in the past but always failed. I just couldn't do it.
Then I decided to give it one more try. I downloaded the C25K app and followed it through the 9 weeks of training. I am now a runner and have been for just over 2 years.
I still can't go fast (12:00 mile) and I don't go far (5-6K) but I run it and I enjoy the experience. It's more than I could have hoped for all those years ago.
The difference between then and now? The program; it gave me structure and a goal. My speed; I was running too fast too soon in my earlier years & my body couldn't adjust.
Take is slow and stick to a program. You, too, can be a runner. You can do this. Weight isn't an issue in running; determination is.

As a young person I hated anything physical and as a result became an overweight couch potato until about 4 years ago. At first I just dieted and walked more but when that only went so far I joined a local gym and began to workout. I saw a lot of runners at the gym so I decided to try it and at first couldn't even run to the corner (I'm the second house from the corner), but I kept after it and finally could run to the corner, and then a little around the corner, and then a little further and a little further until I could run for a half mile and then a mile and then 2 miles, and then 3. I have since run The Broad Street Run in Philly this past year (10 miles) and a 5K on New Years Day this year. I have added strength training and some cycling and now that the weather is better will be back to running again hoping to be able to complete a half by the end of the year. It's been said that endurance athletes are some of the leanest people and so that's where I am ultimately headed and you can do the same but it has to be in slow and easy steps. I also did Bikram Yoga for about 10 months to rehab and ankle injury but I would recommend that to anyone as well both for endurance and weight loss as well as flexibility.

Yup, you are me a year ago. As the weight came off it got easier to move around. I moved more and as it got easier (and boring) I stepped it up. It finally got to the point where walking was boring. I took an eight week Learn to Run class from the local Running Room and haven't looked back.

There is a point where the cardio is energizing and I miss it if I don't do it. I've got to that point. I would not have believed myself if I'd said I would get this far.

I was so unused to running I had to tell myself to lean forward a bit (one running author described running as a controlled fall) for my first tentative steps. Running Room says you are ready if you can sustain a run (say, on a treadmill) for a minute. That's where I started.

http://jgnatbuzz.blogspot.ca/2015/02/before-and-after.html

Born to Run by Chris McDougall
http://fatgirlrunning-fatrunner.blogspot.ca/

I am not a runner, and I don't like it, but I did it. I went from huffing and puffing, and barely making it through the week 1 of C25K to then running two 5ks two weeks in a row. I took longer than the plan says and redid a couple of the last weeks (stretched them out to about 4 weeks), but I got through and lost 20 lbs in the process just by running 2x-3x a week and eating around maintenance. It got boring for me and I think 5k is the longest I want to run, but I tell you, from being a life long fatty to crossing that first finish line... it was a POWERFUL experience. You can absolutely do it. Take it easy, go at your own pace. You got this.

And, it is amazing what a weight loss of even 5 lbs makes for running. Once I hit the 5lb mark it actually was physically easier to run and has been ever since.

grimmeanor wrote: »

It can be done. No doubt. I know this first hand.

I'm sitting here fighting back tears in my dang cubicle. I love this!

When I was a kid in school and we had to run a mile or just run around the track, I hated it with a passion. I couldn't even run a mile, I had to walk the majority of it. I dreaded running!!
Now, after lots of hard work and weight loss, I consider myself a runner :-)
You can do it!! Everybody starts somewhere.

When I first started, I couldn't do 5.5mph on a treadmill for more then 5 mins at a time. I got a horrible metallic taste and i felt as though i'd been shot.
It's just about pushing through that discomfort, I started cross training with gusto, I built up to 30 mins at a fast pace (can't remember off the top of my head it was 2years ago now!) and then did small running intervals.
My first real run came with five colleagues who were all casual racers and runners in their spare time, I was the newbie, the chubby and the useless but I joined in with them on a woodland hill interval session and managed to complete a few intervals, they were far superior and I really struggled but after that I realised that I could do it, that I wanted to make it look as easy as them so I just kept trying!
Now I can run 10k pretty easily, haven't pushed further than that yet! Do 5k 3 times a week, with a speed time of 25mins and a leisurely pace of 27mins
You can get through this, if it makes you feel exhausted, it's meant to!
When you can casually run to places if you're slightly late, cross the road like a ninja or just enjoy it a little bit.. it changes your life!

You can do this if you want to. I realized that a year after baby #2 at age 35 that I weighed 223 lbs and was 5'3" I got winded just going up the steps and was into a size 18. I've never been thin, but I never disliked the way I looked until then.

I started using MFP in March 2014 and in July I decided my measly 1200 calories were not enough so I should exercise so I could eat more. I started walking first. After a couple of weeks I decided I'd burn more running. I started the C25K app and almost died on day 1.

It was completely demoralizing to know I couldn't run for 30 seconds. However, some of the members on here told me I was trying to go too fast and to slow down to a slow jog. The important thing was to just complete the day. I did have some muscle issues and minor injuries. THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO AS A BEGINNING RUNNER IS INVEST IN A GREAT PAIR OF SHOES!

Sorry for the caps, but I can't stress enough that you really should go to a running store and have them fit you out. I was getting hurt by wearing shoes that didn't fit correctly and I never knew it.

I've been running now for about 6 months. I can run a 5k. I even did a run a couple of weeks ago that was 6 miles. Now, I'm not fast. I run a 12 minute mile so I won't be winning any races. However, I never thought that a level 2 obese exsmoker could like running. I run several times a week now and am working up to a half marathon next. I'm still 190lbs so don't let anyone tell you that fat chicks can't run.

I'm hopeful that running will help me lose the 47lbs I need to reach a healthy weight.

When I was in high school, I was a long-stick (giggle) defenseman in lacrosse and a lineman in football, not to mention an awful, high-fouling basketball player for some *kitten* city league team. I never thought I'd run... until I tore my ACL playing lacrosse. No more sports that require you to quickly change direction. Wound up running cross country that year! I didn't do so great, but I always finished races.

Gained close to 100 lbs. in college and didn't move my big *kitten* ever.

Flash forward to now, I'm training for one *kitten* of a half marathon and planning a six-mile, hour-long run for after work today.

You can do it. Take it slow. Be dedicated and always, ALWAYS enjoy what you're doing. Enjoy the fact that you're using your body in ways you haven't been able to for a while.

Good luck, but you won't need it; you got this.

http://www.hap.org/health/programs/healthieru/docs/calendar_C25K.pdf
this is the pdf version if anyone is interested in the couch to 5k program

I developed arthritis in both of my hips when I was 14 and spent a great deal of time on crutches. When I was 24 I had my right hip replaced and when I was 44 I had to get it re-done and had my left one replaced a few weeks after that. I had been told by everyone for decades I would never run, which only made me want it even more. When I was 53, I read "Born to Run" and said screw it and just started running... slow, ugly and painful. After a few weeks I switched entirely to minimalist shoes and that is what made the difference for me.

On May 1 of this year I will have been running for 4 years... I ran 1,800 miles last year, ran a couple of ultras and a couple of weeks ago crossed the 5,000 mile mark. Because I never thought I would run, I love every single one of my runs. Even (and maybe especially) the ugly painful ones. I love the fact that I have the opportunity (gift, maybe?) to suffer through s long brutal run... Don't give up hope...every step of every run IS your hope...

I posted this a few months ago on why I love to run...

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1439225/why-i-love-to-run/p1