Sarahs Weightloss Blog

Hi Everyone!

Thought I would check in real quick to let you know how the half marathon went on Sunday

Me running through Wollaton park at around the 8 mile mark, feeling great

The first 8 miles felt great, the next few miles OK, then after 10 miles is was really hard and at 11 miles I wondered why I ever entered and wanted to walk . . . but I managed to keep going, despite the dry beating sun.  When the crowd told us that we had less than a mile to go I found some more energy all of a sudden and ran as fast as I could to the finish line – where I promptly felt like keeling over and dying! But managed to collect my medal and choke out ‘take me home, NOW’ to my husband who dutifully waited for me at the finish

I think this is me going for it when the finish line is in sight. I'm staring at the floor and just willing to keep going - I can keel over at the finish

I finished the race in 2 hrs 8 minutes and 4 seconds, a few minutes below my expected target of 2 hrs 11 minutes (which I didn’t think I would get!).  It was also my first half marathon so I started in the area expecting a sub 2 hr 30 minute time, so I am really chuffed with my self

Just finished, managed to force a smile but trying not to keel over - my legs feel like lead poles!

I’m feeling really elated, and only had a slight stiffness in my legs yesterday which has disappeared now and it’s only the second day after the race!  I’d seriously recommend training up for it, the atmosphere is really great.  A really spectacular experience – DO IT! Anyone can if they work up to it I will definitely be doing it again, and will try and train up to beat my previous time and improve my running.  For my next challenge I would like to train up to do a full length triathlon, rather than the shorter fun size triathlons I have previously done, as the 10K run feels like something I can now manage.

Finished under my target, which is a real suprise!

Till next time

Hey Everyone!

I know I told you about my half marathon target only a post ago, BUT it is now only 1 WEEK AWAY! So its kinda on the forefront of my mind, so apologies for going on about this so close to the last post.  I want everyone who reads this post to think and see how they could do something similar, regardless of how heavy they are to begin with – running is such a great way to lose weight, tone up, increase fitness, and keep weight off.  Its also really relaxing – really!

I’ve now built myself up to 10 miles on the treadmill at 6 miles per hour at 10% incline.  I have done less outdoor running, but have covered around 9 miles a few times, and felt as if I could definitely continue.  These are serious distances which you need to build up to.  But remember a year and a half ago I would have NEVER contemplated running AT ALL!  When you think about that, if you are determined, and put in the work, it doesn’t really take all that long to go from never having run before ever, to running 13.1 miles.  In fact I only starting jogging 6 months into my diet, so have only really had about a years running experience now, a week before the race date.  I also haven’t had a boot camp style exercise regime at all – really.  I had help to start with (for the first few months) from a personal trainer, but the rest of the time I have just increased the speed and distance at my own leisure and done it because I enjoy doing it, not because I’ve been forced to, or think I have to.  I haven’t done anything which would hurt me, I’m not a masochist, or have some weird competitive urge to satisfy, and I don’t have that much will power.  So I’m pretty normal really.  Therefore if I can manage to have the self discipline to do this, anyone can.

Now most advice says that you have to ideally have been running for a few years before contemplating the half marathon distance – to be safe and avoid injury.  Sensible advice, but I think a bit over cautious.  As long as you build up gradually, and are healthy to begin with (i.e. no bad joints, heart condition etc), hopefully you won’t have any problems, but you always proceed with the advice of a qualified professional (your doctor, physio etc).  Listen to your body, eat right and go at your own pace.

So how does a person who is morbidly obese (i.e. someone like how I was) end up running over 13 miles?  Well first off, you won’t be planning to do it a few years ahead – its way to far off, and you could well get disheartened.  Losing a lot of weight and getting fit is like trying to tackle a really long run and you need to break it up.  Here’s a way you could possibly break it down:

1) Increase your cardio endurance.

Rule one of any diet, you need exercise.  I see a lot of people in the gym who go on the equipment for an hour but don’t even break a sweat! And then feel disheartened when they don’t lose weight.  To burn calories and fat, you need to really raise your heart rate.  You can do this any way (cycling, cross training, weight lifting) but to be honest, running will get your heart rate soaring, which is why it’s so great for weight loss.  If you think you are too heavy for a high impact sport such as running (as I was at the start – it can put strain on your joints) start with a non-impact alternative, such as cycling or cross training.  To make sure you really work hard, do it in a class where you’ll be motivated.  Talk to the instructor beforehand and tell them your fitness level and ask them to keep an eye on you – you want to be worked hard, but at a level you can maintain.  They will then make suggestions for how best to pace your workout by setting an appropriate speed and resistance.

2) Vary your workouts.

Work on your speed and length.  Workouts which focus on speed are shorter, workouts which focus on length increase endurance and stamina by going for longer at a slower pace.  Both are really importance for your overall fitness.  It also gives variety to your routine and stops you from being bored.  Keep updating these – don’t fall into a routine you never change as you’ll hit a plataeu where you no longer lose weight and get any fitter.  Increase the speed and distance every few weeks.

3) Eat right.

You need enough energy to fuel your workouts, but not too much that you don’t produce a calorie deficit that won’t force your body to burn fat.  Case in point, when I ran 10 miles for the 1st time, I felt on top of the world as I was doing it, but about 15 minutes afterwards had to call my husband to rescue me from the gym as I was about to pass out.  On reflection I burned 1,200 calories in the run, and a further 250 cycling to work, with diet food to fuel it totalling 2000 kcals – way too little.  I felt full, but I hadn’t had enough and my body realised that pretty sharpish.  Use the shape up app to balance your calories.  If you work off 500 calories, you should really eat some of those calories.  Be honest with your calories burnt through exercise – i.e. don’t log a slow walk as power walking, or a jog as a run.

4) Recover.

Incorporate rest days into your training.  Training HARD 3-4 times a week is enough.  On the rest days do light activity (walking, pilates, yoga) to recover.  Over training can hinder your progress, as you don’t get fitter when you are training, you get fitter when you are recovering.

Basically I just kept increasing the length and intensity of what I did.  I hit a plateau 6 months in and decided to take it up a level and thought I’d give running a try.  The first time I hit the tread mill I could hardly run for 1 minute! But I kept trying to run for longer until I could do 1 km.  Then I trained to do 3 kms.  Then I tried to do it quicker.  When I was bored with that after a few months I upped it to 5 kms for the next month.  Then tried to do it quicker.  When I was bored with that I went up to 7 kms, then to 8-9 kms over the next few months.  Then I started running in miles; 5 miles, then 6 miles and increased the distance every week or so by 1 mile, until I hit 10 miles, which is were I am now.  In the beginning I had breaks when increasing the distance (e.g. running fro 3kms, walking for 3 minutes, then running till 5kms).  But as I got more experienced, didn’t need to do this anymore when increasing the distance.  All that really matter is that you work towards doing more and doing it quicker at your own pace.

Bottom line if you always challenge yourself, the skys the limit – maybe one day I will run a full marathon . . . but lets see if I’m still in one piece after the half

Till next time