Running.. ugghh

[LePhillou]

Nooo... My wife was going to sign up for the Muskoka half and I don't think she did yet... I don't think I'll ever do those because I don't really like to exercise for longer than 2 hrs at a time.
Muskoka is a great course but hilly for sure. She's done it before and if you put the time in you will enjoy yourself. She's not fast at all either, but consistent and mentally tough and had a great time. 6 months is perfect to train for it and if you ever need any tips or advice I'm sure she would be happy to answer any questions to make it a better experience for you.

As spectators we do our own Ironman - we bring a 60 of vodka, a bunch of smoke and food and cheer all day.

Yeah i had to keep an eye on it because i knew it sold out fast but didn't imagine it would sell out that fast.
For my wife and kids i can't really expect them to wait around for more than a Sprint distance lol. The welland location was nice as there were seats/stands for them.
I'll probably take you/her up on the questions, i think it'll be mostly about the Muskoka course,
The book i'll probably try to get as an audiobook, itll be a breeze to listen to it while riding on my boring long rides lol

My father in law would still be alive if he took better care of himself. Dead at 52 from a heart attack. There were gout issues and I'm sure he wasn't as healthy as he let on.

His father died early 40s...heart attack...brother #1 at 45 (heart attack)...brother #2 at 55 (heart attack)...brother #3 at 56 (heart attack)...there's one brother remaining and he's early 60s so he's on borrowed time.

Honestly even if you THINK you're doing great, often times youre not lol.
That extra cookie... those extra chips, etc etc they add up. And they come to destroy all the efforts you make to keep in shape.

I barely lost any weight this year even though i was working out every single day. Food intake has a huge part to take into it..but imagine if i wasn't working out lol

 

[mimico_polak]

Honestly even if you THINK you're doing great, often times youre not lol.
That extra cookie... those extra chips, etc etc they add up. And they come to destroy all the efforts you make to keep in shape.

I barely lost any weight this year even though i was working out every single day. Food intake has a huge part to take into it..but imagine if i wasn't working out lol

I'd like to think that...but the last time I saw him the last thing he said to me was that 'this is the last time we'll see each other' and I told him to eff off with that silly talk...he died the next day.

 

[nobbie48]

Last summer I was up at a friends cottage and a 4yr old was on an inner tube out on the lake with his a Dad who is a lifelong and excellent open water swimmer. All of a sudden some strange current comes along and starts taking the kid on the tube away from our sheltered area and towards the big lake where big fast boats are often screaming along. The Dad started trying to catch the kid but he couldn’t keep up. My wife who swims regularly and does Ironman’s was the only one able to swim smooth and fast enough to catch up to the kid and we all felt that she probably saved his life that day. I need to learn how to swim better!

When our daughter was a toddler we took her to one of the Erie beaches along with my M-I-L. My wife and I were about to leave our daughter with the M-I-L to get some snacks when M-I-L says to our little one "Why don't you go play in the water". M-I-L was totally ignorant of things like undertow and the waves were crashing like bombs.

 

[nobbie48]

Yeah i had to keep an eye on it because i knew it sold out fast but didn't imagine it would sell out that fast.
For my wife and kids i can't really expect them to wait around for more than a Sprint distance lol. The welland location was nice as there were seats/stands for them.
I'll probably take you/her up on the questions, i think it'll be mostly about the Muskoka course,
The book i'll probably try to get as an audiobook, itll be a breeze to listen to it while riding on my boring long rides lol


Honestly even if you THINK you're doing great, often times youre not lol.
That extra cookie... those extra chips, etc etc they add up. And they come to destroy all the efforts you make to keep in shape.

I barely lost any weight this year even though i was working out every single day. Food intake has a huge part to take into it..but imagine if i wasn't working out lol

If your weight and activity were constant and you added one modest cookie a day the 100 calories would theoretically add a pound a month. Going from a regular coffee to black would theoretically cause you to lose a pound a month. It's not quite that simple but it's how so many end up obese.

Why we personally ignore the problem is a deep subject.

 

[SunnY S]

If your weight and activity were constant and you added one modest cookie a day

This stuff is actually pretty simple. Its not the one modest cookie that sinks everyone, its the whole bag.

Its not the Big Mac, its the double big mac, with extra large fries and Coke.

Its not the slice of pizza, its the whole thing. (Yes, that was me once upon a time, plus Beer and wings in the same sitting)


As soon as we realize and correct this, you can make progress. Diet first, Exercise simply enhances the effects.

Get motivated, instead of wishing and staring at idle equipment, start doing. Follow social media accounts and read articles and listen to podcasts on exercise, running and fitness. There is lots of good content out there. These keep me highly motivated.

 

[mimico_polak]

I'll agree with @SunnY S on this one. It's not the single cookie, hamburger, or slice of pizza...it's eating beyond the level of being full. I'm 100% guilty of this.

Last night fresh bread...I'm not hungry...but I enjoy it. 3 slices of bread with nothing on it. I love it. That's on me. Maybe I've got some mental issue, but I just enjoy good food and even if I'm full I enjoy it. Maybe I need a psych visit.

Maybe I remember the times when we barely had enough money for food and deep down inside I'm scared of that coming back so always need to get my fill and beyond? No clue. I'm happy that I've stayed within a consistent 175-180lbs for the last year and am hoping to drop down to 170lbs @ 5'6"...which is my goal weight. Actually it's to get rid of the beer gut, but I know you can't target just that.

 

[nobbie48]

I'll agree with @SunnY S on this one. It's not the single cookie, hamburger, or slice of pizza...it's eating beyond the level of being full. I'm 100% guilty of this.

Last night fresh bread...I'm not hungry...but I enjoy it. 3 slices of bread with nothing on it. I love it. That's on me. Maybe I've got some mental issue, but I just enjoy good food and even if I'm full I enjoy it. Maybe I need a psych visit.

Maybe I remember the times when we barely had enough money for food and deep down inside I'm scared of that coming back so always need to get my fill and beyond? No clue. I'm happy that I've stayed within a consistent 175-180lbs for the last year and am hoping to drop down to 170lbs @ 5'6"...which is my goal weight. Actually it's to get rid of the beer gut, but I know you can't target just that.

It is a psychological issue and very deep. Why can't we treat food like we treat gasoline to fuel our vehicles? We buy what we need.

If you have a Euro background it's usually worse. Huge bowls on the table and pile it on. Not doing so is an insult to the cook.

In some cultures belching and even purging is a compliment to the chef.

The single cookie sneaks up on you and you find that after thirty years of marriage you're thirty pounds heavier. If you get married and it's "Hey, we're stuck with each other so who cares" it gets worse. It's not hard to put on a pound or more a month. X 12= Supersized.

A colleague had a "bowls on the table" meal system and the whole family looked like sumo wrestlers in training. A daughter was invited to a friend's place for dinner and came home astonished and starving because the friend's family did the portioned meal thing.

A person goes on a diet / exercise regime and gets fit, feels and looks great. What psychological force drives them to put the whole thing into reverse? Picking up where you left off doesn't work after a heart attack.

BTW not all cardio attacks are fatal. Some just leave you a drooling idiot.

I started taking my coffee black a few years ago and now I can't stand the creamy sweetness of a regular. I tried different brands until I found one I liked and it's my go to.

A few weeks ago I gave up white sugar and cut back on the natural stuff in fruits. Squeeze an orange and measure that amount. That's a serving, not a tumbler full. I feel better with more energy even though the sugar industry tells you sugar gives you energy. Remember that car / gas analogy and don't flood the carburetor.

Eliminating white death also eliminates donuts, cookies, cake, rum and cola. Diet soda is as bad it turns out.

Christmas is coming and in another two weeks our homes will be loaded with cookies, candy canes, chocolate, booze and Christmas cake. I am the only one in the house that likes dark Christmas cake and will sacrifice myself to rid the world of one small dark fruit and sugar laden cake, preferably with marzipan icing. Then I will join all the other unicorn herders in making New Years resolutions to never do it again. This time I mean it, again.

Diets are a counterproductive scam. Numerous people (I know a couple) have done the Doctor XYZ diet and lost a ton of weight fast. Now they're heavier than ever. Most diets are similar. Work on the psychological part first.

There's little use in training your body if your mind has a different goal. "I want to lose 30 pounds so I can get back to eating like I used to" will not work.

 

[Matt Rain]

If your weight and activity were constant and you added one modest cookie a day the 100 calories would theoretically add a pound a month. Going from a regular coffee to black would theoretically cause you to lose a pound a month. It's not quite that simple but it's how so many end up obese.

Why we personally ignore the problem is a deep subject.

Yap. It's a very fine line between creating a slight caloric deficit, and a slight caloric surplus.

I dropped 50lbs between February and July of this year and it was all about tracking calories. I want to drop another 20lbs of lard but the motivation is not quite the same since I'm already lighter than I've been for the vast majority of my adult life.

Back to the original topic - I just started running this week. My twin brother got me into it last weekend. I have a training plan and everything. I think the mistake that many, if not most people do is that they are waaaaaay too ambitious at first. It would've never occured to me to start so low and slow... first workout on Tuesday was 10-min fast walk, then four 30-second intervals at a 6:30/km pace, then a 10-min cooldown. That's it. Shins hurt the next day even though I've been exercising (biking) 5-6 days a week since May.

Running is hard.

 

[LePhillou]

@SunnY S Motivation doesnt work for me. I need to hammer in discipline. Then i don't have any excuse or reason to skip something that's schedules. Whether i do it, or i don't. There's no "lack of motivation" or "thing that gets in the way". Habits will last longer so i start them small and build on top of them. But it's easier for me to set in exercise habits; food habits are harder because ive got picky eaters for kids and we don't always feel like doing 2 meals after a day of work and when we don't have to cook for them, we want to splurge into gourmet deliciousness usually lol.

Honestly the "1 cookie or the whole row" (of oreos in my case) definitely is a problem. Going back for more and more AND MORE. But once you've gotten that under control, then the 1 cookie here or there can still nudge you towards lesser results. Because at the end of the day(or week), whether you eat the whole row in one day or one week, while one clearly gets less time to be processed by your body, it's the same amount of sugar that enters your body. Doing intermittent fasting for a while had helped me get back in touch with my actual feeling of hunger to help regulate cravings and mindless eating, aka I dont need to eat after 7pm until probably 9-10am the next day. But that good sugary and carby goodness releases a lot of feel good juices in our bodies so we're drawn to it understandably.

 

[SunnY S]

. I think the mistake that many, if not most people do is that they are waaaaaay too ambitious at first. It would've never occured to me to start so low and slow... first workout on Tuesday was 10-min fast walk, then four 30-second intervals at a 6:30/km pace, then a 10-min cooldown. That's it. Shins hurt the next day even though I've been exercising (biking) 5-6 days a week sinde May.

Running is hard.

def start slow, your body will adapt as you keep going. most people start with 10k runs, and figure out they hate running. Nobody is conditioned for this type of running as a beginner.

I started by doing short sprints back and forth when my boot camp instructor introduced me to "running". I'll never forget the exhilarating feeling I got. Then you start going longer and faster and challenging yourself. It's quite fun.

Also, very important, wear proper running shoes (not cheap), it's definitely a game changer.

 

[GreyGhost]

Also, very important, wear proper running shoes (not cheap), it's definitely a game changer.

Also replace them very often. It becomes a capital expense but it's cheaper than injury. Over time you'll figure out an interval that works for you but something like every 500 to 1000 km. For SK's wife, that's two to five pairs a year (or in money terms, ~1-5 dollars per day depending on interval and choice of shoes).

 

[SunnY S]

I have at least 10 pairs of runners. It's great to change them up and feel the nuances between them all. Keeps the running interesting!

When they are worn out. Trust me. You will know.

 

[shanekingsley]

Also replace them very often. It becomes a capital expense but it's cheaper than injury. Over time you'll figure out an interval that works for you but something like every 500 to 1000 km. For SK's wife, that's two to five pairs a year (or in money terms, ~1-5 dollars per day depending on interval and choice of shoes).

Yeah good shoes aren’t cheap!

We don’t break the bank and typically get New Balance which around $180/pair. We have found that we are replacing our shoes around the 800km mark and just looking at the wear patterns on my current shoes - it’s time to change them up.

A good GPS watch also helps. I use an older Garmin Forerunner 410 which does everything I want in a watch. I just bought a Garmin Forerunner 745 for my wife for Xmas. Looks like a pretty sweet watch for triathletes.

For anyone looking to get into running and do it nice and easy, the Hal Higdon website has a bunch of easy to follow plans for free.

I also find cross training really helps. Anything that helps improve strength, flexibility and endurance without over stressing the body between workouts can be very useful.

Lastly, sometimes it’s good to have a training group of sorts to help motivate you. Doing it all solo takes more inner resolve than some of us are consistently going to meet.

 

[GreyGhost]

Yeah good shoes aren’t cheap!

We don’t break the bank and typically get New Balance which around $180/pair. We have found that we are replacing our shoes around the 800km mark and just looking at the wear patterns on my current shoes - it’s time to change them up.

A good GPS watch also helps. I use an older Garmin Forerunner 410 which does everything I want in a watch. I just bought a Garmin Forerunner 745 for my wife for Xmas. Looks like a pretty sweet watch for triathletes.

For anyone looking to get into running and do it nice and easy, the Hal Higdon website has a bunch of easy to follow plans for free.

I also find cross training really helps. Anything that helps improve strength, flexibility and endurance without over stressing the body between workouts can be very useful.

Lastly, sometimes it’s good to have a training group of sorts to help motivate you. Doing it all solo takes more inner resolve than some of us are consistently going to meet.

My wife used to have a Saucony shoe that worked really well for her. Lucky for me, SVP used to have them in stock. One generation older than current but whatever. $50 instead of $180 and they worked well for her. SVP doesn't have Saucony anymore.

 

[shanekingsley]

My wife used to run in Saucony as well but the model became discontinued and so she bought several pairs (we could only find them still in Florida), but they have long been worn out. Those were $60 each and just as good it seems as the New Balance she wears now.

There is a store in Waterdown called Along The Road and he’s a multi sport coach who sells all kinds of triathlete apparel including running shoes for very good prices. We used to run with his running group and he would always tell me I’m running too fast! And sure enough I was frequently getting injured.

Now I’m older and wiser.

 

[nobbie48]

Yap. It's a very fine line between creating a slight caloric deficit, and a slight caloric surplus.

I dropped 50lbs between February and July of this year and it was all about tracking calories. I want to drop another 20lbs of lard but the motivation is not quite the same since I'm already lighter than I've been for the vast majority of my adult life.

Back to the original topic - I just started running this week. My twin brother got me into it last weekend. I have a training plan and everything. I think the mistake that many, if not most people do is that they are waaaaaay too ambitious at first. It would've never occured to me to start so low and slow... first workout on Tuesday was 10-min fast walk, then four 30-second intervals at a 6:30/km pace, then a 10-min cooldown. That's it. Shins hurt the next day even though I've been exercising (biking) 5-6 days a week since May.

Running is hard.

I don't know what the safe limit is for weight loss. My gut feeling for myself is a maximum of a pound or less per week.

There is a lot of evidence that starvation diets train the body to live on the reduced caloric intake. You lose weight but can never eat like you used to or you gain it back and more. I knew one obese person that gained weight if they ate more than 1100 calories a day (A Big Mac Combo)

 

[Matt Rain]

I don't know what the safe limit is for weight loss. My gut feeling for myself is a maximum of a pound or less per week.

There is a lot of evidence that starvation diets train the body to live on the reduced caloric intake. You lose weight but can never eat like you used to or you gain it back and more. I knew one obese person that gained weight if they ate more than 1100 calories a day (A Big Mac Combo)

I did keto for a few months, partly because one of the claims is that it doesn't slow your metabolism. No clue if that's true or not. I was eating 1400 calories ar the beginning, before I got into cycling. It did work quite well, although I got sick of eating the same foods over and over. Eggs, sausage, bacon, canned fish, skyr, sardines. F*cking sardines. #ew

I'm eating 3000-3300 calories these days, just a Standard American Diet. Haven't lost (or gained) a pound since July.

 

[TK4]

No skin in the game, but I've been buying my shoes from these folks for years - Running Free Canada
Buy online, their return policy is exemplary.

 

[Sochi]

Anyone else run even though they hate it?? lol

you only hate it when you run - and it is only about an hour a day, but you love it when you are done and tired and satisfied and all (assuming one in decent shape and not hurting too much) - so positive outweighs negative = Running FTW

 

[SunnY S]

No skin in the game, but I've been buying my shoes from these folks for years - Running Free Canada
Buy online, their return policy is exemplary.

Thanks, will check them out. Not a fan of running room

I usually get my stuff from NB Canada directly, and always scoop up deals at the NB outlet in Niagara