dragitoff
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2007
I just found this board a few days ago, but I kept a detailed log of my training and weight loss so I thought I'd share that here.
DW and I decided last Christmas, we wanted to live a healthier life for our children and ourselves. We knew we needed to set a better example for them and to be honest, we weren't getting any younger! We were both very athletic in school. I played everything and she was a hardcore fast-pitch softball player year round. We knew our children were destined for sports greatness!
As God would have it, that was not the case. Because our kids weren't the most athletically gifted and outgoing kids, they soon began to follow our poor example of poor eating habits coupled with not enough physical activity.
My peak (actually should be valley to be truthful about it) was when I hit 255lbs around Christmas 2010. I've always been a bigger guy, but looking back at holiday pictures, I was so disappointed with how I looked. We made the decision to do better as a family.
I had been blessed with a great buy on a treadmill at Sears. It was a clearance model that had actually been sold and returned. It was already pre-assembled, came with the instruction book and all necessary pieces, and had been marked down from $1200 to just $360!
I bought it and told my wife I was going to start running in an attempt to lose weight. I had lost 30+ pounds many times in my life, but I had always had difficulty keeping it off because diets are not a lifestyle change. What I needed was a total lifestyle change.
She agreed we would do this as a family. She didn't have nearly as far to go as I did, but wanted to lose a few pounds and develop a healthier life for the kids as well.
My training regimen would be spending 20 minutes a day on the treadmill. I'd run as much as I could and then take brief walking breaks. That first day was so humbling. I barely made it a mile and a half. Here I was, Mr. athletic and I couldn't even run 2 miles in 20 minutes! I was determined to improve and improve fast. I pushed myself running 5 days a week until I could run the entire 20 minutes without stopping. It wasn't a great pace, but it was better than walking.
After achieving that first goal, I started speeding up a little, but still maintaining the 20 minute time barrier. Once I had gotten myself running at 7mph for the full 20 minutes, I decided to start stretching my time out a little.
I began at 25 minutes, then 30, and finally 35 minutes of constant running at 7mph. One day, I decided after the 35 minutes, I felt so good, I would keep going. I ended up running 5 miles that day. I was so proud of myself. I decided I wanted to run that distance every time.
I knew I needed to give my body some recovery time though. I had lost about 25 pound by that point, but knew that was a lot of weight still to be putting on my knees, even if it was treadmill running.
I pulled back the running to 3 days a week, but 5 miles per day. I was completing my 5 miles in around 40 minutes so I was pleasantly surprised by my pace. I had only been running for 4 months.
I kept up with this workout until I saw my weight loss hit 50 pounds. At 205lbs, I was the lightest weight I had been since college. I did this just before my 33rd birthday in July!
I loved running the distance, but realized it was taking alot of time to accomplish this. I work for my family's business as our international sales manager and work anywhere between 50-80 hours per week and also travel quite a bit. In May, I had also become the youth pastor at our church. Our Youth group averages about 80 so it's a big group and demands alot of time as well. This was also on top of having 2 kids in school and a wife that worked a full-time job herself. Time is of the essence to me, so I decided to change things up.
By this time, DW, who swore she would never be able to run a 5k non-stop, had gotten to the point where she could run the 5k on the treadmill in about 30 minutes. We had been talking of running a local 5k around Christmas 2011, but neither my wife nor I had braved the road running. We live in the country on a busy highway and were afraid to try it. I dont know which was more frightening, the cars, the snakes, or the fear of failure. I didnt know if my pride could take the hit of not being able to complete the 5k at all or completing it in a time I felt wasn't respectable. I had been running it for a few weeks on the treadmill at a decent pace. I couldnt go from a 21 minute 5k to something far less could I?
DW and I finally decided wed start a training regimen on our road early in the morning (which was the only time we had to spare). We invested in a few reflective vests and some bright headlamps and hit the road. The first day, we both made it about 1 mile before having to take a short walk break. The next time we made it 1 ½ miles. The third time was the charm. We ran the entire 3.1 miles in just under 30 minutes.
My pace was faster than DW so I would slow my pace to allow her to keep up. It was good for me because I didnt overdo it, but also good for her to push her a little. Now, were 2 weeks into our road training and weve shaved time off our initial speeds. Im down to about a 9 minute average and DW is not far behind. Our goals for the local run in December is under 23 minutes for me and under 26 for DW. My PR on the treadmill for the 5k was 21:20 so I think my goal is very reachable! My long-term goal is to train for longer distance races. Im shooting for the mini-marathon January 2013.
Having a great partner (not to mention beautiful one!) is a great motivator. Im also happy to say Ive not only gotten down to a weight Im happy with, Ive been able to keep it off for months now and I feel better than Ive ever felt in my entire life.
I think the greatest accomplishment through this all has been the change in my kids. They are now interested in running and have started doing light sprints combined with walking around our yard. I just recently bought DD10 a pair of New Balance running shoes and shes so proud and putting them to use. DD7 wanted a pair of Saucony like her Dad!
For anyone that cares, Im using Saucony Kinvara Pros. I changed from a pair of New Balances and love them! Im due for another pair of shoes and seriously thinking of buying another pair just like I have now. They wear quicker but Ive never had a lighter pair of shoes that still offered pretty good support and protection.
I'm totally into researching the shoes and gear I buy now. I feel it's a solid investment into my health and passion.
Ill keep posting here anytime I get a new PR or make a breakthrough for myself or my family. Thanks for the support. This board has been great so far on that!
DW and I decided last Christmas, we wanted to live a healthier life for our children and ourselves. We knew we needed to set a better example for them and to be honest, we weren't getting any younger! We were both very athletic in school. I played everything and she was a hardcore fast-pitch softball player year round. We knew our children were destined for sports greatness!
As God would have it, that was not the case. Because our kids weren't the most athletically gifted and outgoing kids, they soon began to follow our poor example of poor eating habits coupled with not enough physical activity.
My peak (actually should be valley to be truthful about it) was when I hit 255lbs around Christmas 2010. I've always been a bigger guy, but looking back at holiday pictures, I was so disappointed with how I looked. We made the decision to do better as a family.
I had been blessed with a great buy on a treadmill at Sears. It was a clearance model that had actually been sold and returned. It was already pre-assembled, came with the instruction book and all necessary pieces, and had been marked down from $1200 to just $360!
I bought it and told my wife I was going to start running in an attempt to lose weight. I had lost 30+ pounds many times in my life, but I had always had difficulty keeping it off because diets are not a lifestyle change. What I needed was a total lifestyle change.
She agreed we would do this as a family. She didn't have nearly as far to go as I did, but wanted to lose a few pounds and develop a healthier life for the kids as well.
My training regimen would be spending 20 minutes a day on the treadmill. I'd run as much as I could and then take brief walking breaks. That first day was so humbling. I barely made it a mile and a half. Here I was, Mr. athletic and I couldn't even run 2 miles in 20 minutes! I was determined to improve and improve fast. I pushed myself running 5 days a week until I could run the entire 20 minutes without stopping. It wasn't a great pace, but it was better than walking.
After achieving that first goal, I started speeding up a little, but still maintaining the 20 minute time barrier. Once I had gotten myself running at 7mph for the full 20 minutes, I decided to start stretching my time out a little.
I began at 25 minutes, then 30, and finally 35 minutes of constant running at 7mph. One day, I decided after the 35 minutes, I felt so good, I would keep going. I ended up running 5 miles that day. I was so proud of myself. I decided I wanted to run that distance every time.
I knew I needed to give my body some recovery time though. I had lost about 25 pound by that point, but knew that was a lot of weight still to be putting on my knees, even if it was treadmill running.
I pulled back the running to 3 days a week, but 5 miles per day. I was completing my 5 miles in around 40 minutes so I was pleasantly surprised by my pace. I had only been running for 4 months.
I kept up with this workout until I saw my weight loss hit 50 pounds. At 205lbs, I was the lightest weight I had been since college. I did this just before my 33rd birthday in July!
I loved running the distance, but realized it was taking alot of time to accomplish this. I work for my family's business as our international sales manager and work anywhere between 50-80 hours per week and also travel quite a bit. In May, I had also become the youth pastor at our church. Our Youth group averages about 80 so it's a big group and demands alot of time as well. This was also on top of having 2 kids in school and a wife that worked a full-time job herself. Time is of the essence to me, so I decided to change things up.
By this time, DW, who swore she would never be able to run a 5k non-stop, had gotten to the point where she could run the 5k on the treadmill in about 30 minutes. We had been talking of running a local 5k around Christmas 2011, but neither my wife nor I had braved the road running. We live in the country on a busy highway and were afraid to try it. I dont know which was more frightening, the cars, the snakes, or the fear of failure. I didnt know if my pride could take the hit of not being able to complete the 5k at all or completing it in a time I felt wasn't respectable. I had been running it for a few weeks on the treadmill at a decent pace. I couldnt go from a 21 minute 5k to something far less could I?
DW and I finally decided wed start a training regimen on our road early in the morning (which was the only time we had to spare). We invested in a few reflective vests and some bright headlamps and hit the road. The first day, we both made it about 1 mile before having to take a short walk break. The next time we made it 1 ½ miles. The third time was the charm. We ran the entire 3.1 miles in just under 30 minutes.
My pace was faster than DW so I would slow my pace to allow her to keep up. It was good for me because I didnt overdo it, but also good for her to push her a little. Now, were 2 weeks into our road training and weve shaved time off our initial speeds. Im down to about a 9 minute average and DW is not far behind. Our goals for the local run in December is under 23 minutes for me and under 26 for DW. My PR on the treadmill for the 5k was 21:20 so I think my goal is very reachable! My long-term goal is to train for longer distance races. Im shooting for the mini-marathon January 2013.
Having a great partner (not to mention beautiful one!) is a great motivator. Im also happy to say Ive not only gotten down to a weight Im happy with, Ive been able to keep it off for months now and I feel better than Ive ever felt in my entire life.
I think the greatest accomplishment through this all has been the change in my kids. They are now interested in running and have started doing light sprints combined with walking around our yard. I just recently bought DD10 a pair of New Balance running shoes and shes so proud and putting them to use. DD7 wanted a pair of Saucony like her Dad!
For anyone that cares, Im using Saucony Kinvara Pros. I changed from a pair of New Balances and love them! Im due for another pair of shoes and seriously thinking of buying another pair just like I have now. They wear quicker but Ive never had a lighter pair of shoes that still offered pretty good support and protection.
I'm totally into researching the shoes and gear I buy now. I feel it's a solid investment into my health and passion.
Ill keep posting here anytime I get a new PR or make a breakthrough for myself or my family. Thanks for the support. This board has been great so far on that!