1st time 5k runner!

[stovebolts]

Well, I signed up for my first 5k :D

A little background. I'm in my early 40's and stopped smoking about 5 years ago. I smoked to the tune of 2 packs a day and I smoked for 21 years. Needless to say, when I first started running a month ago I could still taste the cigarettes and I've even keeled over wheezing it got so bad. I'm doing a lot better and after a run I feel like I've got smokers cough, but it seems to be clearing up and at least my lungs don't feel like they are on fire anymore!

I started running about a month ago and thought I was going to die! I started out running 1 1/2 miles stopping when I had to and built myself up to the run without stopping. Sunday I made my first 2 mile run non-stop. Monday I did my 1 1/2 miles and Tuesday I did 2 1/2 miles stopping a couple times because I ran after I ate and man did my stomach cramp!

I'm thinking about only doing my normal 1 1/2 miles tonight and resting tomorrow for Saturday's big day!

 

[LaMexicana]

Go you! Let me know how it goes!

I'm actually constantly working on my endurance and can currently run 2.7 miles non-stop...it's awesome! But I still have some work to do before I enter my first 5k.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll do awesome!

 

[JoJo]

How inspirational!

Thank you for sharing this with us. There are plenty of "reasons" I could give for not getting out in my neighborhood and running, but you have basically shot them out of the air! Okay, where are those running shoes? I know I saw them somewhere in 1988.

 

[stovebolts]

Thanks for the encouragement from both of you! To be honest, I'm scared and excited at the same time!

I think I over trained earlier this week because I felt really weak, but surprisingly not sore Wednesday after my Tuesday 2 1/2 mile run. I did my 1.4 miles yesterday and it's felt easier... I'm not going to run tonight so hopefully I'll have more energy for tomorrow's 5k.

It's pretty cool. I woke up both yesterday morning and this morning feeling this amazing change in my body. Breathing has become really easy and it feels... smooth?? for a lack of a better way to describe it. My legs, although they felt weak Wednesday are not tender to the touch anymore so I know that they are building strength.

When I first started running a month ago, my lungs felt like they were on fire. One time when I pushed myself too hard I actually got sick for about 5 days, but the day I pushed to hard, I had just sat down from my run and I began to weez really bad when all of a sudden I couldn't hardly breath as my lungs felt like they were collapsing. To be honest, it scared the kajeebers out of me. Anyway, I didn't tell my wife cause I didn't want her to freak out (I was freaking out inside my mind). When my lungs loosened up, they started filling up with fluid and I was coughing out phlem for the next two weeks. Like I said, my lungs don't burn anymore and I can feel this fantastic change in my breathing! It's wonderful!

I havn't run 3 miles (5k) in over 20 years so tomorrow is going to be a test and I hope I don't hurt myself LOL!

Question. I have a friend who's in his early 20's and he's going to run it with me. If I can't keep up with him I'm going to tell him to keep going without me. But what if he can't keep up with me? Would it be rude for me if I didn't slow down, or I didn't stop if he stops? Also, when I run, I don't keep a consistant pace. I think I've got a good grip on what my body is doing now so I break up my run by varying my pace and sometimes I'll even take it up to a mild sprint, and then bring it down to a very slow jog until I recoup.

I really want to see what I can do for this 5k.... but I don't want to be rude with my friend. Any suggestions?

 

[lovely]

Jeff, I just read this. I hope it goes well today, and I think it's great what you are doing...it is inspiring! The Lord bless you.

 

[stovebolts]

Hi Tina!

It was a fun run! I came in 25th out of like 58 :D
Funny thing is, they put the marker in the wrong spot so it was closer to 4 miles! BTW, I made it the whole way without stopping! And then I made the mistake of sitting down! Ouch did my calves cramp!!!

This picture was taken right at the finish line! I have no idea where I got the energy to run all out! Must have been all the cheers!
[attachment=0:13qr7zf3]RaceDay.jpg[/attachment:13qr7zf3]

 

[JoJo]

Awesome!! Way to go! I'm telling ya, you're an inspiration.

 

[stovebolts]

Well Jo Jo, dust off them shoes and start running!

The first couple of times out you may start to think that it's not worth it, but push through it because I can't tell you how good I feel now! BTW, I ran 2 1/2 miles last night and it felt absolutely wonderful! I slept great last night and actually woke up this morning before the alarm and I was refreshed when normally my wife has to boot me out of bed lol!

 

[JoJo]

Well, you've certainly given me something to think about. :yes

 

[lovely]

Jeff,

Wow! I'm impressed that you ran the whole way. You are going to just keep improving. I'm inspired. I am glad you got the picture, you look so intense there....like a runner! I think it's so cool when you start to feel the energy increase like that. Keep going, Jeff!

Running is a bit down the road for me these days, if ever, but I have started walking this past month. I can't quite do a steady mile yet (I know, weak. ), but I'm not going to quit. I have to take albuterol before I begin, and about halfway through...and afterward. :gah Unfortunately, with all the time I have spent in the bed my muscles are very weak and I have had some weight gain...the steroids haven't helped either...but most of my problem is just lack of breath. Anyway, stopped the steroids, and so I think I will do better overall. I have a long way to go to see my health return to where it was, if it ever does, but I'm inspired to try. Each time I reach another plateau, I get excited. I have to try and remain focused on how far I have come rather than how far I have to go, and your efforts really have inspired me to keep going by God's grace. Thanks for sharing.

The Lord bless you.

 

[stovebolts]

Go you! Let me know how it goes!

I'm actually constantly working on my endurance and can currently run 2.7 miles non-stop...it's awesome! But I still have some work to do before I enter my first 5k.

Raquel,
You should be able to breeze through a 5k! It's only 3.1 miles (Unless they mismark the track )


Tina,
Keep doing what your able to do and you'll keep getting stronger. As far as the photo, I think I was on the verge of passing out That afternoon I went home and took a huge nap and Sunday after church I had to take another one! That took a lot out of me. But the cool part was that Monday I ran 2 1/2 miles without any problems and Tuesday I ran 3 comfortably. I felt a little tired yesterday and didn't run (not to mention we had church), but I feel great today after giving the body a day for rest. Rest is important I'm finding out and with this flu thing going, I don't need to weaken my immune system by over exerting myself.

I found that at first the hardest part was my muscles because of my lack of exercise. Man I can't tell you how much pain my legs and knees were in the first three weeks. Also, like yourself I had breathing issues. Well, let me take part of that back.

I know that you have breathing issues, but I hope that when you are able to exercise that your lungs and heart will grow stronger and help elevate some of your problems. For me, if I keep my heart rate under or around 160 I'm easy sailing, but when I sustain 170 + I can run out of wind pretty fast so I need to keep working on my endurance from a cardiovascular perspective since my legs are just fine.

BTW, my max heart rate is 199. I'm pretty sure it was captured by my heart monitor about the time the photo above was snapped.

I don't know if you can get a heart monitor, but it's a fantastic tool. I've learned how far to push myself by my mistakes early on and I had to listen to my body. But I'm stubborn, so it's easy for me to over extend myself by getting stupid (picture above is point in case :D ). Having a heart monitor lets me pace myself by training in different heart zones. For instance, 155 is zone three, and I'm comfortable there. Above 165 is zone 4, so I want to spend time there, but not over do it and as far as zone 5 (180-199), I only want to spend a max of 30 seconds there which I can do with my stop watch and then cool down in zone 3 for three minutes before taking a 3 minute break. All this builds strength and endurance without hurting yourself while optimizing your workout time so for me, the heart monitor is a very valuable tool since time isn't something I have a lot of.

Hope to hear more on how your doing!

Jeff

 

[Kelli]

Wow! This is really inspiring, did it really only take about a month to be able to run a 5K? Were you in fairly good shape to begin with? If I thought it would only take a month or so of running to build my endurance up to run a 5K or even 1 mile, it would be so much easier to run. I think I have tried running a few times, I would run a foot or two... okay maybe not that bad, but I really have no endurance so I gave up after two or three days, because it looked like it would be such a long, long, time to ever get anywhere.

Thanks!
Kelli

 

[lovely]

Hey Jeff,

I'm going to start another thread....

 

[stovebolts]

Hi Kelli,

Well, I smoked for 21 years, so my cardiovascular system was kinda shot. Actually, about 5 years ago my daughter wanted to play toss football and I didn't have the breath to go out for a pass. It was at that point that I realized just how selfish smoking was because there was my daughter actually wanting to spend time with me, and I couldn't and I clearly saw the frustration in her eyes regardless of how hard I tried. So that was it for smoking. An no, smoking was not an easy habit for me to put down. It was one of the hardest addictions I've ever had to put down.

From a muscular standpoint, I've always been in decent shape even if I look a bit on the thin side. I've been in I.T. about 10 years and before that I was a roofer, so I was in Excellent shape. When I went into I.T., I dropped 10 lbs of muscle my first year but because of my role, I was logging 7-10 miles a day in the form of walking and often, it seemed like I was always in a hurry.

Three years ago my role changed and I went from walking 7-10 miles a day to sitting at a desk for the most part and recently it felt like I was always tired and whenever I started a project, I ran out of steam quickly and oh yeah, if I got on my knees for anything, it hurt so bad it would bring me to tears which I attributed to all those years of roofing and like I said earlier, I couldn't run 20 feet without being winded.

Last Fall our work moved sites from a two story bldg to an 8 story bldg so I started taking the stairs. Actually, I made a point to go from the 2nd floor to the 8th floor at least once or twice a week. When I first started doing that, I couldn't make it all the way up the stairs without my legs giving out. I did that pretty consistent this winter which really propelled my ambition to get back into shape, so about a month and a half ago now I set out to start running again.

Even with the stairs a couple times a week, I still couldn't run a quarter mile without my calves falling out from under me and while running out of breath. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm stubborn and when I set out to do something, I get it done. It's just the way I am. Well, I started out with what I thought was a simple goal to run to the stop sign and back and as humiliating and painful that it was, I did it, and I continued to do it even when my knees hurt so bad it felt like I could feel the bones rubbing and grinding against each other.

I know that it took me almost two weeks to make the 1.4 miles round trip without stopping so it wasn't easy getting going. Actually, my hands and feet would get really, really cold because my body couldn't deliver oxygen effectively, and then i would get an ache in my shoulder, then a massive head ache. I didn't like the headaches so when I felt the headache coming on, I slowed down. It's all about listening to your body while continuing to push it.

My knee's have worked themselves out and one knee feels completely awesome while my left knee gives me some problems for about my first half mile, but then it works itself out and then feels great. My biggest problem is that I've pushed myself too hard too fast on more than one occasion and as a result I caught a cold for a week, but I'll bring some of that up in Tina's thread.

One last thought. I started running with a group last week and Saturday morning we actually ran close to 7 miles according to one gal with a GPS unit. It was a really slow pace for me as my heart rate stayed in the low 140's. Keep in mind that I usually run around the 170's so even though 7 miles sounds like a long way, the pace was much more enjoyable! However, I did it again... I can't explain the runners high, but I was on cloud 9 Saturday and I felt great! Err.. that is until around 7 pm when the pain set in and I'm still paying the price this morning with my left knee. I took a Motrin yesterday and I sure wish I had one now. Needless to say, I didn't run yesterday and although I want to, I had better listen to my body and sit at home tonight as well.

I don't want to scare anyone off by my description of the pain I've inflicted upon myself :D , but I can say that it's bee well worth it as I continue to learn my boundaries. Everyone is different and everyone responds differently to the pain when your body says you can't make it another step. But when you find that balance between pushing it the extra step without physically hurting yourself above and beyond the sore muscles that come with a good workout, and that's the trick that only you can regulate since it's your body, but yes, the gains do come quickly if you can make it over that first hump. For me, it was running my 1.4 miles any way I could for the first month at least 5 days a week. Sometimes it was a slow run, sometimes it was a fast run. Sometimes I walked half the way, other times I ran as fast and as hard as I could. I learned a lot my first month but more importantly, I am now better in tune with my body, but it takes being consistant and even though some of it was painful, I'll continue to run forward because the rewards are well worth it! I can't explain how great I feel!

 

[jasoncran]

Running also helps for the mild forms of asthma, and any cardio does for that manner.

 

[stovebolts]

Well, I can now run 3 miles pain free and feel good at the end of the run! I've got my second 5k this Saturday! Although my cardiolgist told me to keep my heart rate down, I can't wait so see the difference in time!

Jason,
I've noticed how much easier it is to breath! I love it!

 

[jasoncran]

i have also started to do more cardio and i got the asthma under control, thru jesus and my doc. I have more wind in bjj as well

jason

 

[Fembot]

I get more wind after my spinning class too :gah

 

[stovebolts]

That's cool Jason!

I think I was just reading something the other day in an article how moderate cardio workouts can actually eliminate mild asthma or at least reduce asthma attacks.

It's exactly three miles around my block, and a few months back it was everything I could do to make it around the block. Due to fatigue, my heart rate would be around 170+ toward the end (which I'm not supposed to do anymore) and I was short of breath. Tuesday I ran the block twice and only peaked at 160, and I wasn't short of breath!

Hey, what's bjj?

Fembot,
What's a spinning class?

 

[Fembot]

COngratulations on your running accomplishments.

Hey, what's bjj?

So am I.

Fembot,
What's a spinning class?

It's a group fitness instruction class where we ride stationary bikes and change the resistance so it's like we're going up and down hill.