First things first... One of my favorite things about Christmas- Christmas Cards!!! I would LOVE to send out a Christmas card to you lovely bloggers out there, so if you are cool with emailing me your mailing address, I'll send you one! I know, a little random, especially with me being fairly new to the blogging world, but I am a Hallmark fanatic (I blame it on the fact I worked there for two years... I will not touch a card that isn't Hallmark unfortunately) and love to send out Christmas cards to friends and family. A lot of you have been a big inspiration to me through your blogs, and I think snail mail is a more personal way to say thanks and send warm greetings. My email is on here, and if you can't find it, leave a comment with your email or something and I'll send it to you. I look forward to sending out some of my cute cards! :-)
Moving on...
I had an awesome post planned today about the benefits of organic eating and other diet goodies, but that will have to wait... I had a doctor's appointment today for a basic physical- You know that whole "Check with your doctor before taking on any fitness routine" shpill? Well, I actually listened. Shocker, yes.
I digress...
I talked to the doctor about the fact that am on a weight loss journey to lose a total of 100 pounds (I've lost 50, and have 50 to go- Woo Hoo!!), but I also have a half marathon in March that I'm dying to run. Basically he told me:
1) I can't lose weight and run a half marathon at the same time and expect to be successful at both. For losing weight, you are restricting your calories while doing exercises focused on overall fat loss and muscle toning. For running high mileage, you up your caloric intake in order to sustain yourself for the rigors of running the higher mileage.
2) If I start upping my mileage (I'm at 3 miles 3x a week, with a 6 mile long run on Saturdays) any more than 10% a week while I am still carrying this extra 50 pounds I want to lose, I'm at a very high risk for a stress fracture. He put it like this in the end: "I'm going to give you two options. You can take it slow, lose the weight, and then slowly build your running and forget about the medals and short time frames (see post about me loving bling) and do it safely. OR you can take the risk and go ahead and train and run, and if you end up with a stress fracture or hurt ankle, I'm putting you in a boot for 6-8 weeks. Your choice."
........ Wow doc, alright.... When you put it like that, I guess it makes a little more sense. No one likes being in a boot. And I have read posts on here from runners that have dealt with this exact scenario and end up frustrated and disappointed.
The doctor is officially recommending that I focus on losing the weight first, and THEN look at running higher mileage and racing. He said, "Why don't you do this: from here until your 25th birthday (which is August 5th, 2012 by the way), focus on losing the rest of the weight. Then make your 25th birthday the starting point for all your specific fitness goals. You want to do a marathon? Train for it. Ultra? Train for it. But until then, put your energy into losing the weight. That way it is off by 25, and you won't have to worry about it for the rest of your life."
So why then, if he made it so dadgum (yes, I said dadgum... from the South, remember?) clear to me, am I still struggling with this? My boyfriend, friends, and DOCTOR are telling me to take it much slower and lose the weight first, and yet I don't want to let go of the half marathon in March. Anyone have any insight on this? Thoughts? Have you dealt with anything like this before?
I would love to hear from voices of experience on this. I love running and can still do the 10K (which two of my best friends are actually doing the 10K) and other 5Ks and small races throughout the year, but he thinks anything more as far as mileage would be detrimental in such a short period of time. Would love some input. Thanks guys!
Random side note: I have been freezing at work for the past two weeks because the heater has not been working right in the office. This morning, I decided to be prepared today and was proud of myself for thinking ahead, and I wore a long sleeve shirt as well as a big thick sweater on top. I get to work.... They fixed the heater.
Have a great rest of the week!!
Another sidenote: Stop by RuntotheFinish and check out her Glam Headbands giveaway!
I know it's hard to give up the March half, but personally I'd listen to your doc.
ReplyDeleteI know what it's like to have an extra 50 lbs hanging around because I was 50 lbs heavier at one time. I hit the weight training hard and lost 35 lbs before I started running. I have running to thank for the last 15.
Even after I lost the weight, I ran 5k/10k for a couple of years before ramping up to half and full marathon.
August will be here soon enough. I'd go with your doc's advice. : )
Thanks for the comment, I appreciate your insight. I think this is one time I need to actually listen to other people and get over my hard-headedness. Like my boyfriend told me last night: One goal at a time. Lose the weight, then worry about other things.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion this is just a different choice. I have lost 130 lb while training for my Disney Marathon coming up here in January. In my opinion you can do both. Then again i'm not a doctor what do I know lol. To give some background I was 375 lb and miserable in August 2010. Since then I have lost 130 lb by running/biking/swimming. I would say go for your half-marathon. I was about 75 lb down with much more to go when I signed up for my marathon and I have done 2 half marathons since and a triathlon. Have you tried other workouts? There is no reason you have to stop your goal of a half marathon if you are careful with your fitness and recovery. I am 6'6" and 240lb at the moment and signed up for Ironman Arizona 2012. About 11 months to go and I want to lose about 30 lb before then. My advice would be to get a fitness trainer or coach, doing both is possible. Congrats on your success so far, keep going.
ReplyDeleteThanks! :-) I have started doing CrossFit again, because I loved it so much before. It helps me get weight off fast, plus it's great for overall fitness. I'm thinking instead of doing the half in March (since it's so soon) I will aim for the one in October that a few of my friends do. That way I keep my half marathon goal, but it gives me some time to focus solely on weight loss. Congrats on the Disney Marathon!! I hope to run that someday... But like my doctor said, one goal at a time. :-) Keep me updated on how it goes!!
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