First time Jogger at 270 lbs

bump! me too me too

i just started jogging/walk two weeks ago! it gets easier each and everyday! so keep going work through the pain! I Street to street walk and jog! i find it easier for me and keeps me doing it every day.. I get overwhelmed thinking about having to jog or run for 30 mins... so street to street or stop sign to stop sign has kept me going! It basically works out to walk a minute, run a minute... in time hopefully i can raise the bar some for now this is what works for me:) and in time hopefully can manage a straight jog:)
Keep up the hard work! and results will show!

Keep going! When I was in the military, I was super fast and strong. When I separated and had my first baby, I started doing other things like Pilates and kickboxing, but I rarely ran and if I did, I was hurting. After my second baby, I decided to go back to my ultimate love, running. About 3 months after giving birth, I went for my first jog. I felt like my whole body was put together wrong. My hips were loose and wobbly almost, my legs were heavy, my cardiovascular system was pathetic, and I was totally unmotivated, hot, and miserable. I made it about 100 feet down the street before I said no way and went home.

The next time I ran was about a month later. I ran just over half a mile before I had to stop. I walked home, defeated. I kept at it though, eventually working my way up to running a couple miles around the track at the gym; not fast, but I didn't stop to walk either.

In May of 2011, I decided to enter a 5K to see if I could do it. I had been in fire academy for the past 4 months and we'd been running laps and generally being physical in class, so I thought I'd give it a go. I finished the 5K with a decent time. That started my first race season. I set PR's at every race through the rest of the summer. Through the fall and winter, I started working so I got busy. March of 2012 rolled around and I decided to get back on board. I tried running after months of not running at all and I made it 1.5 miles before I cut out. I kept at it for the next couple weeks and worked my way up to 5 miles.

It's now July, I've ran two road races since May and I have another coming up next weekend. I have completed a 10K already and I'm training for a half-marathon in October. I'm still setting PR's at each and every race, which is incredibly encouraging.

The reason I'm telling you all of this is because if you just stick with it, you can get to any level you choose. YOU have the power to do it, you just need to push through the bad stuff to get to the good. I wanted to run to badly, and I want to be fast. I just want it, so I'm taking it. You can do that.

Don't be afraid to take it very slow the first few weeks with more walking then jogging. Staying injury free is going to keep you on track.

I started running at 325 lbs and am a big believer that no one is "too big" to do anything. Not after I went out there and did everything!

I signed up for my first 5k right after I started so I would have something to "shoot" for. I was very slow, but I finished and I wasn't last and it felt awesome.

My starting speed for 4.2. It's all I could do. I sort of do the C25K program, but I had to repeat all the first few weeks over and over again, which is fine I think. I did week 1 for about 6 weeks before I could move on. Pain in my feet stop me long before my lungs do now. It gets easier and your chest opens up and breathing isn't terrifying after a while.

Don't just get a good pair of running shoes, go to a special training shoe store and get fitted for the right shoes. They'll want to see what shoes you use now so they can see the bottoms where they have broken down. They'll watch you walk and they'll check out your arch. Then they will fit you for the right kind of shoe for how your feet are. This is so important for bigger girls (or anyone, really) but once I got the right type of shoe I stopped getting hurt all the time. They are expensive, but worth it.

Be patient and don't try to "keep up" with other runners. They have their own race to run, and so do you.

And if you like zombies, there's an awesome app for you phone called Zombies Run game that makes running outside a lot more like a video game. I find it helps me pass the time quickly :-)

Wow, this is so inspiring! I am about 245 right now and did not think I would possibly be able to run but seeing all these posts on here makes me think differently now. I love all the advice and info! I have what I thought were limitations, wide/flat feet, prior severely broken ankle, horribly unfit and overweight. Just put the Couch to 5k on my phone. Need some shoes, bra and something to run in - and a flat place to run (ankle injury makes it difficult to walk uphill, much less run...). Very encouraging! Thanks for posting.

I also am a big fan of good upbeat music, and "The Fighter" is a great song to listen to when you want to push yourself!

I have been doing this for nearly 3 months, just broke through with a mile of running with no walk breaks. The big thing is to not beat yourself up if you can't run as far as the last time and not to push yourself if you are feeling pain. I recently developed shin splints and am trying to make sure they do not get worse. STRETCHING is very important!

Also, pick up the book, "No Need For Speed". I bought it two weeks ago, and it has really educated me. I highly recommend it!

Keep up the good work!

"No matter how fast you run, you are still lapping everyone on the couch"

Oh and we were all nervous to go to our first running store ...

In fact my blog about my 2 year anniversary of the first time I went to Fleet Feet (our local running store) is located right here ...
Its amazing to me that a place that I used to cringe walking into is now seriously like HOME to me ...

You can find my blog here

www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/emmaleigh47

Bump!

When it comes to motivation....cheat yourself....well, kind of...

I found that my running/jogging was way more enjoyable and I did more when I ran outdoors - and a clear factor in that is that you are 'forced' to cover a certain distance in order to get back to your start point. To begin with I would run to a local park and do laps there, increasing the distance over time, and then run home - it's about 1km between my house and the park. But then I started running along the riverbank which is far more interesting in terms of variety of scenery, but also has the challenge that once I start my run along the river I need to go at least as far as the next bridge if I am going to be able to cross it and get home. I now have a 10k route which crosses back at one bridge and a 15k route which takes the next bridge.

You may be surprised how quickly your cardiovascular system adapts to regular running - I came back to it in January after a gap of bingeing and found I was struggling to keep jogging for 5k and it was taking me around 45mins....I'm now doing 10k in close to 45mins.

I recently started doing Bikram yoga and would recommend it as a great way to keep your muscles supple and the aches away. My experience at the local studio has been that you are equally welcomed regardless of fitness level or size...everyone gets out of it what they put in and no-one is judging.

Good luck!

I second the suggestion to run outside. I think about half the benefits I derive from running come from spending the time outside. Vitamin D FTW. I know I'll eventually have to move to the treadmill when winter comes in earnest, but I try not to think about that.

One thing I did have to get over to run outside was the embarrassment of being all sweaty and out of breath and red in the face in public, but I learned that I care way more about that than anyone else does.

Bump - my goal is to start running at 260. Hopefully, I can see that in a few weeks!

I ran a mile straight for the first time in my life in November 2010. I weighed 289 pounds, and ran it on the treadmill at 4.2 mph. I thought I was going to die.

Today I weigh 123 pounds and ran 6 miles in 49:53.

Just do it!!

I'm working on becoming a jogger and I was around the same weight when I started.

My only advice is listen to your body. I've tried multiple times in the past and like you had my feet cramping up and hurting and I convinced myself that I just needed to push through the pain. Eventually I got to the point where I had to stop or risk serious injury.

This time, I'm paying more attention to my body. I started off walking and have been gradually adding more and more jogging. I'm moving at a slower pace than I'd like to, but I'm making slow and steady progress. I can run further than when I started and my jogging intervals are slowly increasing. Sure it's taking me longer than I like, but usually I would have quit by now because I'd have pushed myself too hard and have been in too much pain. Yes, my feet still do ache at times, but it's nothing that stops me like it has before. Yes I feel like I could run further, longer, faster than I do, but my body hurts too much if I do. Someday my body will catch up to my lungs...

Slow and steady will be my mantra too. I was told that if I do aerobic exercise only, my results will not be optimal. Does anyone agree? Why or why not?