My journey.....so far

[dragitoff]

I just found this board a few days ago, but I kept a detailed log of my training and weight loss so I thought I'd share that here.

DW and I decided last Christmas, we wanted to live a healthier life for our children and ourselves. We knew we needed to set a better example for them and to be honest, we weren't getting any younger! We were both very athletic in school. I played everything and she was a hardcore fast-pitch softball player year round. We knew our children were destined for sports greatness!

As God would have it, that was not the case. Because our kids weren't the most athletically gifted and outgoing kids, they soon began to follow our poor example of poor eating habits coupled with not enough physical activity.
My peak (actually should be valley to be truthful about it) was when I hit 255lbs around Christmas 2010. I've always been a bigger guy, but looking back at holiday pictures, I was so disappointed with how I looked. We made the decision to do better as a family.

I had been blessed with a great buy on a treadmill at Sears. It was a clearance model that had actually been sold and returned. It was already pre-assembled, came with the instruction book and all necessary pieces, and had been marked down from $1200 to just $360!

I bought it and told my wife I was going to start running in an attempt to lose weight. I had lost 30+ pounds many times in my life, but I had always had difficulty keeping it off because diets are not a lifestyle change. What I needed was a total lifestyle change.

She agreed we would do this as a family. She didn't have nearly as far to go as I did, but wanted to lose a few pounds and develop a healthier life for the kids as well.

My training regimen would be spending 20 minutes a day on the treadmill. I'd run as much as I could and then take brief walking breaks. That first day was so humbling. I barely made it a mile and a half. Here I was, Mr. athletic and I couldn't even run 2 miles in 20 minutes! I was determined to improve and improve fast. I pushed myself running 5 days a week until I could run the entire 20 minutes without stopping. It wasn't a great pace, but it was better than walking.

After achieving that first goal, I started speeding up a little, but still maintaining the 20 minute time barrier. Once I had gotten myself running at 7mph for the full 20 minutes, I decided to start stretching my time out a little.
I began at 25 minutes, then 30, and finally 35 minutes of constant running at 7mph. One day, I decided after the 35 minutes, I felt so good, I would keep going. I ended up running 5 miles that day. I was so proud of myself. I decided I wanted to run that distance every time.

I knew I needed to give my body some recovery time though. I had lost about 25 pound by that point, but knew that was a lot of weight still to be putting on my knees, even if it was treadmill running.

I pulled back the running to 3 days a week, but 5 miles per day. I was completing my 5 miles in around 40 minutes so I was pleasantly surprised by my pace. I had only been running for 4 months.

I kept up with this workout until I saw my weight loss hit 50 pounds. At 205lbs, I was the lightest weight I had been since college. I did this just before my 33rd birthday in July!

I loved running the distance, but realized it was taking alot of time to accomplish this. I work for my family's business as our international sales manager and work anywhere between 50-80 hours per week and also travel quite a bit. In May, I had also become the youth pastor at our church. Our Youth group averages about 80 so it's a big group and demands alot of time as well. This was also on top of having 2 kids in school and a wife that worked a full-time job herself. Time is of the essence to me, so I decided to change things up.

By this time, DW, who swore she would never be able to run a 5k non-stop, had gotten to the point where she could run the 5k on the treadmill in about 30 minutes. We had been talking of running a local 5k around Christmas 2011, but neither my wife nor I had braved the road running. We live in the country on a busy highway and were afraid to try it. I don’t know which was more frightening, the cars, the snakes, or the fear of failure. I didn’t know if my pride could take the hit of not being able to complete the 5k at all or completing it in a time I felt wasn't respectable. I had been running it for a few weeks on the treadmill at a decent pace. I couldn’t go from a 21 minute 5k to something far less could I?

DW and I finally decided we’d start a training regimen on our road early in the morning (which was the only time we had to spare). We invested in a few reflective vests and some bright headlamps and hit the road. The first day, we both made it about 1 mile before having to take a short walk break. The next time we made it 1 ½ miles. The third time was the charm. We ran the entire 3.1 miles in just under 30 minutes.

My pace was faster than DW so I would slow my pace to allow her to keep up. It was good for me because I didn’t overdo it, but also good for her to push her a little. Now, we’re 2 weeks into our “road training” and we’ve shaved time off our initial speeds. I’m down to about a 9 minute average and DW is not far behind. Our goals for the local run in December is under 23 minutes for me and under 26 for DW. My PR on the treadmill for the 5k was 21:20 so I think my goal is very reachable! My long-term goal is to train for longer distance races. I’m shooting for the mini-marathon January 2013.

Having a great partner (not to mention beautiful one!) is a great motivator. I’m also happy to say I’ve not only gotten down to a weight I’m happy with, I’ve been able to keep it off for months now and I feel better than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

I think the greatest accomplishment through this all has been the change in my kids. They are now interested in running and have started doing light sprints combined with walking around our yard. I just recently bought DD10 a pair of New Balance running shoes and she’s so proud and putting them to use. DD7 wanted a pair of Saucony like her Dad!

For anyone that cares, I’m using Saucony Kinvara Pro’s. I changed from a pair of New Balances and love them! I’m due for another pair of shoes and seriously thinking of buying another pair just like I have now. They wear quicker but I’ve never had a lighter pair of shoes that still offered pretty good support and protection.

I'm totally into researching the shoes and gear I buy now. I feel it's a solid investment into my health and passion.

I’ll keep posting here anytime I get a new PR or make a breakthrough for myself or my family. Thanks for the support. This board has been great so far on that!

 

[dragitoff]

Lately, I've been feeling the strong desire to run longer distances. Up to this point, I had never ran more than 5 miles in a single non-stop run. I decided yesterday I would go for a slower-paced, longer run than my daily 5k runs. Since I had moved to the road instead of the treadmill, my pace has been slower, but I've been loving it.

Yesterday, I decided to get back on the treadmill. I had made up my mind, this would be a long-distance run. I'd go as far as I could without completely killing myself. I put a movie on the tube and set a slow pace (10 minute mile). Once I hit the 5 mile distance, I felt fantastic and decided I'd at least run a 10k since I was almost there anyways.

I passed the 10k pace and still felt great, so I thought, maybe I could run a mini-marathon today for the first time. Sadly, I got really tired at 8 miles and decided I didn't want to risk injury so I finished at 8.5 miles, but maintained the 10 minute pace throughout the entire run. I was so proud that I had gone that far and not had to walk at all. It was 85 minutes straight!

I've made the decision that I want to do that type of run a few times per month. Since DW and I run together and she's never run more than a 5k at one time, I'll have to do this solo and I'll probably do this on the treadmill, but I'm so excited.

I had set a goal to do the Disney half marathon in January 2013. After yesterday, I feel like I should be able to enter my first half marathon sooner than that!

Thanks for reading. I just needed to share my breakthrough with someone in the running community that would understand how big a step this was for me!

 

[dragitoff]

The cooler weather slowed me down a bit this morning. I was off about 1:30 on my 5k time, but I also tried to stay with DW better. I didn't want to leave her. She was also a little frustrated with her time.

I did start using the pre-workout and post-workout drinks from Gatorade this morning. Despite my slower time, I had way more energy and felt great after my run. I don't know if it had anything to do with the Gatorade stuff or not, but we'll see.

I didn't mention this in my original post, but people can certainly feel welcome to post any comments or whatever here.

 

[rubato]

Congratulations to you and your wife for getting back in shape. I think you are both doing great. I agree that you could certainly do a half marathon soon, like within a few months, if you're up to 8.5 and feeling good. In training for my first half, I didn't do a training run over 10, so you're almost there already.

 

[dragitoff]

Thanks for the encouragment. I really don't know alot of avid runners. My dad used to run 5 miles per day until he tore his MCL, LCL, ACL, and pretty much everything else in his knee in a skiing accident about 10 years ago. His wife used to run as well, and there's a lady at my church that does alot of the local 5k runs. Other than that, I don't have anyone to really compare our progress with.

That's why I was so excited to find these boards on the Dis site. As a WDW fanatic and now a running fanatic, I can combine both my loves! lol.

After last week, I've decided I'm going to try to do a long-distance run (more than a 6K) at least twice per month. I'll do it on the treadmill for the first few months to get my pace down, but after that, I'll cut it loose on the roads to compare my treadmill endurance vs. my road endurance.

This morning I felt as good as I've felt post-5k run EVER. Barely even breathing heavier than a normal breathing would be. Pace felt really good, but ended up being a little off my average pace.

 

[dragitoff]

I had a PR this morning! DW is still feeling the effects of a lingering cold/sinus infection. She's finally going to the doctor tomorrow. Since it was 43 outside this morning, she decided she'd run on the treadmill instead. That left me to push myself a little harder and go a little faster this morning during my daily 5k.

I started off with a decent pace and finished the first mile at 8:36. The second mile I fell behind again despite getting chased by a dog (both ways since the house is near my turnaround) and did the second mile in 9:55. I honestly think the added speed plus heart rate of the dog made me go MUCH slower when I wasn't being chased. I felt it honestly.

The third mile I finished strong despite there being a decent uphill climb (I really should re-think my route! lol) and finished with my best "road" time of 26:58. I've still got a ways to go, but considering my previous best was 27:46, I was really happy.

 

[dragitoff]

My baby brother, who ran the mile and 2 mile in high school track has decided he wants to start running again. He's 7 years younger than me, about 30 lbs lighter, and has always been a gifted runner. He actually had his school's record in the mile (it was 4 something), so I was honestly a little intimidated him wanting to run with me.

DW doesn't run on Wednesdays. That's normally a rest day for both of us actually, but I decided I'd go running with him this morning since he wanted to run. He marked off a 1.5 mile course that we'd run twice (with a slight variation the second lap) to acheive my daily 3.1 mile runs.

Since he knew the course, and was the newbie for distance running, I decided I'd let him show me the way. We finished the first mile in 8:03, which was a little faster than my normal pace, but I felt great so I kept letting him lead the way. He got winded and we stopped after the first 1.5 miles. I felt great because I hadn't even broken a sweat or started breathing heavy.

It was probably the first time in our lives I had actually been able to either keep up with him or do something better than him athletically. lol. We discussed how his philosophy for 1 mile training had to differ than longer distance/endurance training. He said he was trained to sprint the first lap, job the next 2 and sprint the final lap for 1 mile races. I told him, everything I read said use your 1st mile as a pacer to determine if you're speed and time is comfortable. Most people get fatigued and winded at the end by going too fast early on. You want to finish strong! I typically try to let my first mile be the slowest, then gradually increase with my best mile being the last.

Just thought I'd share today's entry. Please feel, free to comment.

 

[mrsxsparrow]

You should move your goal up and try the Disney half in 2012! Even if you can't run the whole thing yet -- you can run as much as you feel comfortable and walk the rest. I coupled my first trip to Disney World with the half this past January and had a blast. Disney races are the best!

Also, I wanted to put in a note about your kids. I'm 23 and have a brother who is 16. I was active throughout high school (I was seriously involved in dance), but my brother isn't to into anything active and after I graduated I wasn't either. Our mom started running and participating in races, and now we both do as well. We've all done at least three Disney halves together as well as various 5k's. Our dad, who can't run with us (he has some knee problems), is our "coach", and its become a whole family thing.

I see your kids are younger, but clearly they're already excited about being active just like you! It is truly an amazing thing when a parent can inspire a whole family to be active and healthy together. Congratulations

 

[dragitoff]

You should move your goal up and try the Disney half in 2012! Even if you can't run the whole thing yet -- you can run as much as you feel comfortable and walk the rest. I coupled my first trip to Disney World with the half this past January and had a blast. Disney races are the best!

Also, I wanted to put in a note about your kids. I'm 23 and have a brother who is 16. I was active throughout high school (I was seriously involved in dance), but my brother isn't to into anything active and after I graduated I wasn't either. Our mom started running and participating in races, and now we both do as well. We've all done at least three Disney halves together as well as various 5k's. Our dad, who can't run with us (he has some knee problems), is our "coach", and its become a whole family thing.

I see your kids are younger, but clearly they're already excited about being active just like you! It is truly an amazing thing when a parent can inspire a whole family to be active and healthy together. Congratulations

Thanks! It's really a shame because my kids are alot like most kids today. They're uninspired. As a youth pastor, I see so many of my kids emulating the people they see on TV because they have no one in their lives who is worth modeling their lives after. DW and I realized we weren't setting the best examples as parents. It was one thing for us to tell them stories about how we used to play outside from sun up to sun down, but even as adults, we have to show them the joys of being active!

I had actually STRONGLY considered doing the Disney 5k or even 1/2 marathon in 2012, but I have a business trip in Orlando right after that which the family is going and we're doing a few parks, so we couldn't we really do 2 consecutive weekends at Disney. I do plan on moving my goal up and doing one my first 1/2 marathon next year, rather than 2013 and definitely want to do the 1/2 marathon or full marathon at Disney in 2013 as well.

 

[dragitoff]

I'm entering my first 5k race in 2 weeks. Today, I went to the course where the race will be to get a feel of the course. I've ran part of it before, but this race has a little trail running and I hadn't done that part before.

I'm happy to say I finished in my best time of 25:54!I wanted to finish sub 25 today, but my time today was a minute better than my previous best. I felt good about it especially since there was some trail running.

 

[lurkernj]

Thanks! It's really a shame because my kids are alot like most kids today. They're uninspired. As a youth pastor, I see so many of my kids emulating the people they see on TV because they have no one in their lives who is worth modeling their lives after. DW and I realized we weren't setting the best examples as parents. It was one thing for us to tell them stories about how we used to play outside from sun up to sun down, but even as adults, we have to show them the joys of being active!

I had actually STRONGLY considered doing the Disney 5k or even 1/2 marathon in 2012, but I have a business trip in Orlando right after that which the family is going and we're doing a few parks, so we couldn't we really do 2 consecutive weekends at Disney. I do plan on moving my goal up and doing one my first 1/2 marathon next year, rather than 2013 and definitely want to do the 1/2 marathon or full marathon at Disney in 2013 as well.[/QUOTE]

Good for you and your wife! Sounds like you are setting a great example for your kids while they are young. Mine are teens and my oldest (16) is a runner and self motivated (gets that from his father), my youngest is much like me and a bit on the lazy side, so I'm hoping by me starting to exercise more will motivate him to put down the chips and get off the couch too. He's 13 and pretty stubborn so I'm just hoping for the best!

Congratulations and keep up the good work!

 

[dragitoff]

My plan today is to log a very long run on the treadmill today. Ultimately, I'd like to log at least 10-13 miles today. Last time I did this, I got 8.5 miles in with no walking. This time, I've got a little more time to do it, so I'll probably walk a little. Wish me luck! I'll report back tomorrow on my progress!

 

[dragitoff]

Well, I didn't quite make it 13.1 miles today, but it wasn't for a lack of endurance. It was soley due to a lack of time. I got in 11.1 miles before I had to go pick my DD10 up from school. I averaged 10mm by running 5 minutes and walking one. Naturally I was tired afterwards, but could have done even longer had I had the time. This was quite encouraging for me to say the least.

 

[dragitoff]

This weekend, I had a convention in Atlanta. I was a little bummed because I thought I'd have to run on a treadmill since I didn't know anywhere to run downtown Atlanta (at least anywhere I felt safe and knew the distances and all). Fortunately, my hotel had a running track on the 4th floor. It was fairly short (10.5 laps was 1 mile), but it wasn't running on the treadmill. Each day I got to run right at sunup so it was a pretty spectacular view honestly.

Sunday, I went out there to run and there was a young woman out there running. She seemed to be running pretty quick. My male ego kicked in and said "DO NOT LET HER PASS YOU!". I used to run with my sister-in-law, who played soccer in school and was a great endurance runner. We ran a course on my property and she'd lap me 2-3 times in our 2 mile runs. I guess that's where my fear came in. lol.

I got out there and started trying to run at a pace I could handle, but also one that would allow me to not get lapped. I ended up lapping her 3 times (once because she had taken a walking break towards the end of her run for a lap), but the best part was I finished in my best time so far off the treadmill. I did my 5k in 24:34. That was 1:10 better than my previous! With my first race this weekend, I was very encouraged. My goal for this Saturday's race was to finish sub 25 minutes. Now, I know I can at least do it!

 

[dragitoff]

Also, if anyone knows how to post a picture saved on a hard drive of a computer to a thread, let me know. I have a picture that shows a little of the weight I've lost.

 

[Robert 31320]

Great JOB!

I've just got started running, actually started walking daily on Aug. 29. This morning I RAN 2 miles with no walking, which is my personal best to date. I'm envious of your time but I'm currently more interested in endurance as I have just signed up for my first ever 5K on Thanksgiving morning.

I look forward to reading more of your journal for my own personal encouragement.

 

[dragitoff]

Great JOB!

I've just got started running, actually started walking daily on Aug. 29. This morning I RAN 2 miles with no walking, which is my personal best to date. I'm envious of your time but I'm currently more interested in endurance as I have just signed up for my first ever 5K on Thanksgiving morning.

I look forward to reading more of your journal for my own personal encouragement.

Thanks for the encouragement (and the envious of my times comments means more than you can imagine! lol).

 

[dragitoff]

I haven't been missing my runs, but due to the weather, travel, and DW being sick and not able to run, I haven't been running my normal course on my road. This morning DW and I headed out for our 5am/5k run. DW has been trying to finish in under 30 minutes (we thought we had been, but had incorrectly marked off our running area and just found out 2 weeks ago)
so I paced her to do so. It wasn't the best weather this morning. We had a light drizzle on us the entire run, but managed to finish in 30:30.

It's considerably slower than my normal pace, but I feel it's safest for us to run together since we live on a busy highway. DW keeps telling me to go ahead and run my pace, but I can't just leave her out there. We do our Saturday runs at the place where my race is this Saturday. Those days, she's on her own! lol. Of course, we're running in daylight as opposed to pitch-black dark with headlamps, reflective vest, and strobes! lol.

It felt good though to get back on my familiar running route. I had run a few times with my brother and then at a track while out of town this past weekend. I've even logged quite a few miles in the past week on the treadmill.

Definitely missed my road though.....dogs, cars, dangers, and all. It's my road and I own it!

 

[lurkernj]

Chivalry is not dead!! Very sweet of you to not leave her by herself.

I actually like walking (haven't run in it yet, but assuming I will like it too) in the light drizzle. Helps me to feel a bit cooler and less likely to stop when I'm sweating.

Sounds like you are really sticking to it. Great job to both you and your wife. I'm looking at her time of 30:30 and wondering if I will ever get to that number. That's awesome. I will need to cut about 13 minutes off my current time and that's on my treadmill!

Keep up the good work!

 

[dragitoff]

We were both so frustrated because we were finishing in under 30 minutes when we first started and she was excited because it was actually faster than she had been doing on the treadmill. She thought it was because I was pacing her and I'm faster than she is normally. Unfortunately, we realized it was because I had miscalculated our distance by about .2 miles. How I did that, I have no idea, but I did nonetheless.

I was worried it would discourage us both, but I've actually gotten my times down about 3 minutes since we figured that out. Granted, our road has some decent hills on it and the better times I've done on relatively flat tracks or trails.

Running on the road has made my treadmill runs so much easier. If the weather is too bad, I've run on the treadmill instead and it's cake now.