Finding Beginner Schedule too tough :( - Page 2 - Beginners

Twinkle8

06/10/2004 at 14:18

Tehuti
We've all been there - so don't give up. This may seem sacrilegious, but I used the following plan before I became acquainted with RW. You could maybe try some of it for variety.
http://www.runningplanet.com/articles/article_detail.asp?article_id=340

You will get there. I ran my first 5 miles yesterday. This time last year I couldn't run for 30 seconds.
Good luck.

Nessie

06/10/2004 at 14:23

Doing a rough calculation, that seems to be around 1200 calories a day, give or take. That may be what is causing your lack of energy, as you will be using those calories just for "existing".

Do you run before or after your evening meal? I doubt I could run half a mile if all I'd eaten all day was a banana/yoghurt/cereal breakfast and a yoghurt and fruit for lunch.

Nessie

06/10/2004 at 14:25

As Jill says, "water" doesn't need to be plain water. Add a little squash or try the flavoured waters as she suggests.

2 trenches

06/10/2004 at 14:30

For water read fluids - if you eat soup this counts. Obviously water is healthier than coke though.

Ceridwen

06/10/2004 at 14:46

Nessie, my timetable is a bit peculiar, more like a night-shift worker I guess. I work mainly as a freelance medical translator and work often arrives with an overnight deadline, sometimes not being notified to me until afternoon. This means that some days I have to work through the night until 3-4am or even until mid-morning if I've been landed with a tough document dealing with less familiar topics. When I do have to work late I then sleep for 3-8 hours (unless a client call wakes me), so "breakfast" can happen any time between 10.30 and 2pm, "lunch" at about 3-4 pm. Dinner, if I cook for my partner as well will be somewhere between 8 and 9.30 pm, but if I am eating on my own can happen any time up to midnight. Since this happens so frequently, my timetable has shifted so that I am rarely up before 10am and rarely in bed before 1-2 am.

Running and other activities fit around the work. I tend to run some time between 2pm and 6pm (am scared to be out alone later), while gym visits tend to be 8-9pm once the pool has become child-free. I specifically restricted yesterday's "lunch" to yogurt and fruit because I knew I would go out to run an hour or so later and therefore thought it inappropriate to have anything more substantial.

2 trenches

06/10/2004 at 14:49

Pixie, you have mail

Tehuti, what did you eat on the run/when you got back?

Ceridwen

06/10/2004 at 14:52

Hi 2T, I didn't eat while running - I was only out for 30 minutes. I had the beef casserole about 90 minutes after getting back.

2 trenches

06/10/2004 at 14:59

Hmmm, I would suggest energy drink on the run (don't need too much, try half a bottle of lucozade sport with half a bottle of water in it.)
Or add a banana right before you start running.

Nessie

06/10/2004 at 15:09

Jeepers - no wonder you are knackered!

I think it sort of boils down to probably not eating enough to really progress your running, and your unusual hours don't help.

It may come down to a choice between sticking to the diet and accepting that your running will take longer to improve, or eating more and focussing your eating patterns around your running if you want to improve.

Bootlegger

06/10/2004 at 15:39

Tehuti

Keep going. It will get better!!

One thought, after reading your thread.. You say that you have proper running shoes without many miles on the clock which you bought several years ago? (Sorry if I've misunderstood).

If your shoes are old and you've lost/gained/lost weight over this time perhaps your biomechanics have changed. P'raps a trip to the running shop to confirm your shoes are still right for you would also help?

I'm sure the diet thing is the main cause of your woes, though.

Good luck and WELL DONE !

BL

Jane B

06/10/2004 at 17:56

Tehuti,

I also started running on a run/walk program, and also needed to repeat the earlier weeks several times. I think perhaps my body needed that extra time to get used to the idea of running. I know it can be frustrating to not seem to be improving but you are getting stronger, and you will get better, honestly. Don't give up now.

I agree with the others that you need to eat a little more though... perhaps you could try having a banana as soon as you finish your run so your body has some energy readily available to replenish?

Good luck.

Singing (Christmas Carols) Angel

06/10/2004 at 21:27

Tehuti

When I started running I followed the beginners schedule on the Race For Life website www.raceforlife.org - why don't you give this one a go?

As for eating I agree you are probably not eating enough for the amount of exercise you are doing. As a rough guide your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is about 10 cals per pound weight so if you weigh 10stone (140 pounds) your body needs 1400 calories just to function, before you take into account daily activities and exercise. If you drop below this your metabolic rate will drop which leads to all sorts of complications.

Ceridwen

07/10/2004 at 11:28

Thank you all so much for your advice and encouragement. About not eating enough - that's a real toughie! I'm 11 stone 6 at the moment (having dropped from 14 stone) and want to get to 9 stone 7, which is around the middle of the healthy range for my height. At my current rate of weight loss it's going to take six and a half months, and the thought of it taking even longer is daunting. On the other hand, I also want to run better...

ermintrude75

07/10/2004 at 13:11

Just wanted to second what other people are saying about the food, I have had similar issues with WW in the past but at least you can add extra food if you exercise (not done SW so not sure about that). I have now decided to focus on fitness and running better (plus eating sensibly), and hope that weight loss and toning will follow!

Just a thought, if you are very achy the day after a run, are you stretching out properly?

Do stick with it, as you can see you are not alone! ps - are you the tehuti from BCUK? :)

Ceridwen

07/10/2004 at 14:55

Hello ermintrude, I am indeed tehuti on BCUK, and in many other places as well :)

Re food, SW does let you have some foods as unlimited: meat/poultry/fish on original days, pasta/grains/pulses/potatoes on green days, and all fruit and most veg on both. Eggs are also unlimited. You also get 4 portions of original freebies on green days and 4 of green freebies on original days. In addition to all that, you can have 5-15 "sins" per day, where 1 sin is more or less equivalent to 20 calories. The trouble is, while that worked for me for the first 2 stones lost, I then ground to a standstill and found I could only lose more by cutting sins down to perhaps 20 a week most weeks, cutting down the free portions to 2 a day and cutting down on free food apart from fruit and veg.

Stretching.... ummmm..... blush.... don't know any stretches.

Avalaf

07/10/2004 at 15:03

I used here to learn about stretches

Red Haired Girl Down Under

07/10/2004 at 15:53

Right, to lose weight effectively you shouldn't go below your daily calorie requirement by more than 20% (10-15% should be sufficient).

If you eat too little (and as everyone seems to agree, that possibly is the case), your body will panic, think ooh it's a drought, I'm going to hang on to all the fat I can get until it passes - clever things bodies! So your metabolism slows down, becomes less efficient and you stop losing weight. Your body just learns to survive on less food.

So boost your metabolism, eat quality to fuel your exercise, (your SW diet will be based on someone who's not doing any/much exercise so you need to make up the extra to carry on losing) get a copy of Anita Bean's Sports Nutrition book if you want some good reading on the subject.

Good luck, sure you'll get there in the end. After all, the aim should be to develop a healthy, sustainable way of living rather than to lose lbs, that's just a by product.

Jane B

07/10/2004 at 17:30

I second Red Haired Girl's advice!

You could also try
http://www.runningforfitness.org/
for an idea of your minimum daily calorie requirement. It may seem a lot at first but if you're also running you'll probably find you will lose weight more easily if you eat that amount than if you eat less. And then your running will improve, you'll be enthused and run more, and then you'll lose even more weight. It's a vicious circle in reverse.

07/10/2004 at 18:05

Tehuti - I can't help with any suggestions on diet, but I started running when I was 50 and it was very obvious that it I found it much more difficult to get going than younger running friends. The first time I ran I seriously started to calculate how long it would take for the ambulance to reach me (9 minutes at best!)
It also took me much longer to recover from each run, so it was some time before I could manage to run more than twice in one week.
I was very stiff after each run and, on reflection, put some of this down to falling oestrogen levels.
I'm pretty sure now (5 years on) that I had started "running" too fast but it's difficult to think that that could be the case when you're at the back of a pack of slow runners. It's only recently that I've started to be able to run for 6 miles or so without walking breaks.

I have a sports massage every four weeks or so (painful but effective) and I think that has made a big difference for me. I also try and massage my feet and legs as often as possible and particularly after a run. If I'm short of time I just do feet, calves or quads, then another bit the next time, using quite firm hand pressure or with a massage roller.

It might be worth getting your shoes checked, too - the design side of things has come a long way.

I'm a bit self-indulgent with respect to my running - I know how much fitter I am now than when I started so the massage is a treat and an appreciation of my legs for their efforts.

Do you keep a training log? It's nice to look back on.

All the best. Keep at it - it's wort it.

K2
(3 marathons down, lots more to go!)

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