OK, I have a question for you. I started dieting and exercising at the beginning of June. Part of my workout routine has been to walk/jog the track at the local Rec. Center. I have gotten to the point where I can officially jog a complete mile without any walking intermissions, and on some days I can get 1 1/2-2 miles jogging. Generally, I walk and jog intermittenly about 4 miles. I do this about 3 days a week. I will generally walk a bit, then jog a bit, walk some, jog some, etc. to get my goal.



So, here is my question. Have I become a runner yet?

I think most runners (of which I am certainly not one) would probably say no. Most of the runners I knew were fanatical about not walking at all during a "run".

Are you running? Then you are a runner. Are you ready for a marathon? No, but you are still running.

You are a jogger, in my opinion. Try developing your endurance by running more, even if you have to run a little slower than if you were walking/running.

Some trainers will tell you there are five speeds of running:
1- Barely running
2- Jog
3- Race pace
4- Near sprint
5- All-out sprint
Try varying between 3, 2, 3, 2, 1.

I was really just curious what others thought. I did jog 2 1/2 miles without a break yesterday, then walked 1/2 a mile, jogged another 1/2 miles, then walked a last 1/2 mile, for a total of 4 miles at the track.



My time is pretty slow, I ran the 2 1/2 miles in 30 minutes. I know that a true runner can do it much quicker, but remember I began going to work out on June 1 of this year anc I could not jog even 1/4 of a mile. I have made huge gains in endurance, but I still would like it to be smoother and quicker on my running.

Let a wild bear chase you. I bet you can run MUCH faster that way.

Better yet, just carry a gun and you won't need to kill yourself doing all that running.

We're trading in our elliptical for an uphill treadmill.
Usually walk a mile every other night with the lil dog, but when winter comes, we do the treadmill thing.
No running for either of us (Back surgeries seized my running days, and my wife has Rheumatoid arthritis... couple of old farts before our time.)
If you can do it though - DO IT ! I agree with Staybrite (and in a sick way, Sabidoo), that running past the age 40 can do more damage than benefit. Being in the medical field, I've seen a lot of well-intentioned patients cause damage by over-doing it. Listen to your body. They say no pain, no gain - at our age, no pain is good !

My dad is past 50, and he still does a lot of jogging. He can't do much sprinting, but he's a decent runner in my eyes.

OK, storytime.



I was born with a heart condition (WPW, you can Google it if you would like). It caused my heart to race upwards of 200 beats per minute, with very little provocation. This went undiagnosed until I was about 33. I knew I always felt weird when I tried to exercise, but didn't know how dangerous it had actually been, it was just "my normal".



When it was diagnosed, I had a surgical procedure to correct it. That was 10 years ago this month. I have tried, unsuccessfully for the most part, to get into an exercise routine ever since then. I would work out for a few months, then something would come up and I would get away from it.



By May of this year, I had gotten up to 315+ pounds. I decided I had to do something. I joined the local Rec. Center, and began working out. I committed to going to workout every day of June, except for Sundays because they were closed. I made it. Every day I would go and ride the stationary bike for 35 minutes, then walk 2 miles, then lift weights. Actually, I began at lesser amounts, but by the end of the month, this was my typical workout. With all of the work and a low fat diet, I managed to lose (drumroll please) 5 whole pounds.



I couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing more weight, because I was really hitting it hard at the gym. I found that the most probable problems were too little water, too much sodium, and too many carbohydrates.



On July 4th, my wife had to work, and I went in with her. She works an hour from home, and on the way we talked about the situation. I told her about what I had been discovering, and we decided that we would go to Sam's club after she got off work that day and buy low carb foods and try that approach.



We agreed that we did not want to do an Atkins approach, lots of fatty meats and such. We tried that before and couldn't handle it. Instead we decided that we would cut our pasta (an incredibly large part of our diet at the time), rice (second place only to pasta in our diet), refined sugar products, bread, and pretty much all other carb rich foods.



We began eating lean proteins (lean beef, pork, and lots of chicken), lots of green vegetables (salads, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, etc.), lots of nuts (in appropriate portions, 1-2 ounce portions) and lowfat dairy (cheeses, yogurt, etc.). I completely revamped the food I was cooking. As my wife works an hour from home, I cook most of our meals.



I also continued going to the Rec center and working out on a regular basis. I am continuing to work out 4-5 times a week, but not every day as my schedule just doesn't allow for that now. I have gradually worked at more jogging and less of the other exercises because I have always wanted to be able to run, but because of my heart condition, I just couldn't ever run. Once my heart was taken care of, my lungs and the rest of my body were just not developed to be able to run, especially with my ever increasing obesity.



I only jog at the Rec center because it is temperature controlled (not 105 or 35, which is the range we have had through the past 4 months outdoors), and it is level. I really hurt my ankle a few years ago trying to jog outdoors, and that led to lots of other problems as I gave to that weakened ankle for the next several months.



And that is pretty much where I am now. I am trying to continue my exercise program and lower carb lifestyle. Since that decision on July 4, I have lost 55 pounds (give or take, depending on the day), my wife has lost about 20 pounds, and my daughter has lost about 20 pounds. I went to the doctor yesterday and he cut my two of my blood pressure meds in half, and let me drop my cholesterol meds. My total cholestoral was 216 ( a bit high, but unmedicated as I had dropped that medicine about a month ago due to the side effects I was having), and my triglycerides which had been 325+ a year ago are at 90 (with a fish oil regiment). I have dropped from 315 to 255 in about 4 1/2 months and I feel better than I have in years.



For some reason, the jogging seems to give me more of a boost in my attitude than any of the other exercising, and that was what led me to start this silly thread. I am not, and probably never will be, a runner. But I am now able to run better than ever.



And so, in the words of the famous Paul Harvey, you know the rest of the story.

Man, that is excellent ! So good to hear of the weight loss and better health. I know what it is to have bad health, and to be on the upswing feeling better with diet.
Way to go ! Keep it up !

Wow, what a fantastic account (thanks for sharing that). I'm glad you are finally seeing some results. I am sure you have also heard that as you exchange fat for muscle you will likely see less weight loss (because muscle is supposedly heavier than fat).

nazpastor wrote:

... I have tried, unsuccessfully for the most part, to get into an exercise routine ever since then. I would work out for a few months, then something would come up and I would get away from it.

Hey that sounds familiar....just like something I might have said.

Very good nazpastor.
I started to bike on my race bike again after being injured to my back for 8 motns.
A bit more to move is very good for me too.

Staybrite how is it with you to loose weight?

Not sure if you read my success story I posted about 4 months ago, but:
I lost 46 pounds and regained energy that was all but gone... all through diet.
Cut out all sugar, caffeine, fast food, and some meds I was on that caused weight gain. A healthy serving of fish each week along with Fish Oil supplements dropped my total cholest from 210 to 151 and my Triglycerides from 366 to 118.
Was able to taper off my heart meds cuz the lack of caffeine and sugar allowed my Mitral Valve Prolapse symptoms to settle down (which included panic attacks, severe anxiety and feelings like a heart attack).
My wife and I have adopted totally new cooking habits that are phenomenal. The only thing we're lacking is a more disciplined exercise regimen.
Diet is first and most important to address when it comes to ANY health problem.