As the title says, I’m new to running. Due to medical reasons I was never allowed to do any sports. Which turned me into a 40 yo fatass. Well my horrible diet didn’t help either.
Finally had enough and started running, prolly the first time in my life, about 3 months ago. It went worse than I thought. 1min at 7km/hr and then 4-5min walk cycles for a total of 5 mins running was all I could manage the first few weeks.
I kept at it, slowly increasing running time and walking pace. Got stuck at 15min running, just couldn’t go longer. Last week I said fuck it and went for a full 5k. At the 15min mark I had my usual dip/shutdown, but pushed through and finished the run with a HR at 172-176 for the final 20 mins. Repeated the 5k twice now and the last time my max HR was at 156-ish.
Found my unconscious breathing was holding me back. When I focus on proper breathing I can keep going.
Next goal is upping from 8km/hr to 10 for the 5km, then extending the runs. End goal is doing some 10mile races next year.
Started running for weight loss, which so far has been great. +130kg to 110kg.
Hey, that’s great to hear! Solid progress ✊ I’m down to about 225-230lb now, so we’re probably a similar size.
I picked up BodyGlide and put it in my thighs to help reduce the friction and that’s helped a lot. Running can offer some embarrassing or nasty pains. People aren’t usually shy about talking about ways to overcome them though!
I’ve been reading and watching videos on “Zone 2” running to build one’s aerobic base. Basically, for non-race runs: slow down. When the heartrate is too high to muster a few sentences while running, you should go slower. I was skeptical, but it’s worked. I guess the heart is a muscle, too, and maybe an important one. So now, every time a new song starts in my headphones, I go through a breathing exercise to take 5 of the deepest breaths I can and semi-slowly release them. It forces my legs to slow their pace.
Sorry for the soapbox moment. I wanted to say good job 👍 keep up the good work. You’ve made solid progress