tri_bob Member

Rock ‘n’ Roll races are hideously expensive, but they are a lot of fun. Vegas is a good one, indeed.

At the risk of being repetitive, try to find the balance between doing nothing and trying to do everything all at once. Finding success at either end of that spectrum is highly unlikely. Make small changes to what you eat, gradually move more, and odds are you'll start to see something like progress. Small successes breed…

One of the mantras among runners is this: “The right shoes are cheaper than physical therapy.” As has been discussed, a good running store will help you find shoes that are a match for your feet and stride.

I can't agree enough with previous posters, about both diet and exercise. You could see improvements by eating a diet you don't enjoy and doing crazy exercises you don't enjoy ... but that would never last. As much of a cliche as it is, the best exercise program is the one you'll actually do. If you enjoy walking, walk.…

Going to the basics: What kind of shoes are you wearing? Not sure that this would be an issue after just one lap, but if you do want to start running it would be a good idea to get a good set of kicks.

A couple people above have already said what I would have. Motivation, willpower, whatever word you want to use ... it only lasts so long, and everybody only has so much. Even a powerful motivator like wanting to look badass in your wedding dress is likely to only get you so far. A different way of looking at it is to…

It sounds like you have a goal of being thin. It also sounds like you acknowledge that achieving that goal will require changes to your lifestyle, but that you're finding it difficult to make those changes. This isn't surprising. Doing easy things, even things we know are not in our best interest ... is still easy. Making…

The spotlight effect is real, and it sounds like what you were anticipating. Whether you stumble for no apparent reason while walking, or feel yourself surrounded by muscle-heads at the gym, or are struggling through your first Zumba class ... it can feel like the world is watching, judging, and laughing. Probably not, but…

Couldn't agree more with the general sentiment expressed above. It sounds almost too simple to say explicitly, but if you enjoy a given activity, you'll gravitate towards it because it's fun. The less you enjoy an activity, the more it will feel like "work," and the less likely you'll be to engage. I actually enjoy…

Nice. Non-scale victories are great, but let's be honest: part of why many of us are here is to get at least the occasional victory on that scale. Well played.

One thing to consider about rest days is that this is when the improvements in fitness occur. During periods of work, you stress your muscular and cardiovascular systems. The periods of rest are when they rebuild. The day or two after a hard workout, the discomfort you feel is muscles repairing themselves, and…

10 years ago, 38 years old, I weighed almost 180 lbs. I am not tall enough to weigh 180 lbs. It was actually Mrs. Tri_bob who drew the line. She saw me in a tailspin, and told me that if I didn't come up with a better idea I would sign up for a marathon. I did -- that marathon was a disaster -- but 10 years later I'm still…

If you ignore every piece of advice except one, make sure this is the one you follow.

If I could have stated what Brian did, as well as he did, I would have.

That recommendation to take it easy the rest of the day is a sound one. My experience has been that moderate steady-state efforts over the next two weeks or so are fine, but it takes about that long to go back to doing hard efforts (e.g., track workouts or hill repeats). You're not going to lose any fitness by taking the…

Good advice so far. Even if you're not planning to run a 5K, Couch to 5K is a good way to start. Most of them begin by alternating running with walking, which is a really good way to get acclimated. If you find you enjoy it and it's working for you, eventually you'll get to straight-up running with no walk breaks.…

People may well laugh. [impolite verb] them. The most important voice is the one in your head, and if that voice is telling you to get moving, then get moving. And who knows? You could well end up being the inspiration for somebody else who's hesitant to start ... to start. Finally, be prepared for running to be…

My response is similar to yours: I find it amusing. For me, track workouts create the most disconnect. Several intervals of sub-5K effort, with appropriate recovery, ends up looking like a leisurely jog. Not worth getting worked up about, but always interesting to see.

As has already been suggested: yes. Run, walk, run/walk, whatever. If you've never done a race before, it's worth having the experience. For some (including me), the vibe at a race is energizing and positive, regardless of how you expect to perform or actually perform. For others, it's less enjoyable. Might as well get…

I don't think anybody has mentioned Zumba yet, so I'll give it a plug. My wife had been doing it for a while, and when I finally tried it I was hooked. Yeah, there's a bit of a learning curve, but once past that it's a good time. YMMV, but at the end of an hour-long class I'm sweating profusely, wondering where the hour…

On a different note: If you see a machine advertising abductions, don't get in it. #strangerdanger

Nice. And for what it's worth, I'd lose the quotation marks around the word "race." If you're racing, it's your race. Own that [expletive deleted].

Well, the brains, brains, baked beans and brains hasn't got much brains in it.

Core [whatever]. My gym has a bunch of classes like Core Balance, Core Cardio, etc. I'm fine with any and all of it, until we get to about 40 minutes in and it's time to "hit the floor." To be honest, I'd rather spend that 15-20 minutes literally hitting the floor. With my head. That said, my relatively weak core is the…

Deviating from the purely physical, I submit a roughly chronological list of adjectives that runners cycle through to describe running over time:* Hate * Tolerate * Like * Love * Need (This is when the trouble starts.)

Can't really comment on particular brands, but in general I'd recommend not using running shoes. I see people in my classes wearing them, but they don't really have much stability going side to side. I some dance-specific shoes are reinforced under the ball of the foot because of all the twisting, but really any good…

"You really shouldn't run. It's bad for your knees." This, usually offered by people whose exercise routine consists mostly of getting up for another snack.

May your running shoes always rub across the tops of your toes.

You might try giving one of the Higdon plans a try. They have multiple versions of plans for various distances, including these for 10K. If you're fully engaged in SL, you might consider going with an intermediate plan to preserve your legs a bit. I'm curious about this sort of thing because I'm a long-time runner and I've…

There will be some carryover, but the point I was trying to emphasize is that trying to run longer distances at a faster pace than previous is more likely to induce injury than increasing one or the other on any given run. In other words, if you want to do next week's long run differently than last week's, either increase…