beginning runner

[Trojan]

I'm 23 years old. I was a high school athlete (football
and baseball), but my training was strictly limited to
those sports. My playing weight was 220 pounds, but after
5 years of college and relative inactivity, I'm now 6'3"
and 250 pounds.

I've begun jogging around my neighborhood for two reasons:
(1) I want to make a lifetime commitment to staying fit
(2) I would like to lose some weight, for health and
aesthetic reasons. I'm already having a problem with my
right knee, and I think it may be due in large part to
toting around 220+ pounds for the last several years

I've determined a route that is 1 mile long and I've split
it into 7 nearly equal parts. I run every other day and add
1/7 of a mile each time. At this rate, I'll add a mile every
two weeks. Right now I'm at approximately 2.5 miles. My
current goal is to hit 5 miles, but I may raise that number
once I get there.

Is this a good way to get in shape? Does anyone have any
suggestions for me, since I have little to no experience
with distance running?

Thanks very much for anything you can give me!

~Trojan

[Bj]

If you are already having knee trouble, you might want to
consider sticking to walking at least until you strengthen
your muscles & lose some weight. And then edge *slowly* and
*carefully* into some running with the walking.

You can get a good workout with brisk walking! And you can
do it pretty much every day. bj

"Trojan" <morgasaurus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:82e0510a.0406052305.3b792ac2@posting.google.com...
> I'm 23 years old. I was a high school athlete (football
> and baseball), but my training was strictly limited to
> those sports. My playing weight was 220 pounds, but after
> 5 years of college and relative inactivity, I'm now 6'3"
> and 250 pounds.
>
> I've begun jogging around my neighborhood for two reasons:
> (1) I want to make a lifetime commitment to staying fit
> (2) I would like to lose some weight, for health and
> aesthetic reasons. I'm already having a problem with
> my right knee, and I think it may be due in large part
> to toting around 220+ pounds for the last several
> years
>
> I've determined a route that is 1 mile long and I've split
> it into 7 nearly equal parts. I run every other day and
> add 1/7 of a mile each time. At this rate, I'll add a mile
> every two weeks. Right now I'm at approximately 2.5 miles.
> My current goal is to hit 5 miles, but I may raise that
> number once I get there.
>
> Is this a good way to get in shape? Does anyone have any
> suggestions for me, since I have little to no experience
> with distance running?
>
> Thanks very much for anything you can give me!
>
> ~Trojan

[Swstudio]

"Trojan" <morgasaurus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> I'm 23 years old. I was a high school athlete (football
> and baseball), but my training was strictly limited to
> those sports. My playing weight was 220 pounds, but after
> 5 years of college and relative inactivity, I'm now 6'3"
> and 250 pounds.
>
> I've begun jogging around my neighborhood for two reasons:
> (1) I want to make a lifetime commitment to staying fit
> (2) I would like to lose some weight, for health and
> aesthetic reasons. I'm already having a problem with
> my right knee, and I think it may be due in large part
> to toting around 220+ pounds for the last several
> years
>
> I've determined a route that is 1 mile long and I've split
> it into 7 nearly equal parts. I run every other day and
> add 1/7 of a mile each time. At this rate, I'll add a mile
> every two weeks. Right now I'm at approximately 2.5 miles.
> My current goal is to hit 5 miles, but I may raise that
> number once I get there.
>
> Is this a good way to get in shape? Does anyone have any
> suggestions for me, since I have little to no experience
> with distance running?
>
> Thanks very much for anything you can give me!
>
> ~Trojan

Hi Trojan - running is a high-impact sport and I can tell
you that it's fairly well-known (unfortunately) that
beginning runners tend to improve faster in the
cardiovascular sense before the connective tissues and some
key muscles have time to get accustomed to it.

It's a time-lag thing that really does resolve itself, but
not before discouraging many runners to quit before they
ever really get started.

Your program looks good on paper, and makes me think that
there may be an underlying problem - perhaps you're
wearing shoes that are incorrect for your foot shape and
heavy body weight. Something as simple as getting fitted
with good shoes and /or a quality pair of aftermaket
insoles could do the trick. Go to a real running store and
pay the bucks. In the big picture, it's a fairly cheap
sport (unless you race often!)

Another option is to try easing into fitness with other
sports as well, along with the running. This can also
prevent future injury, anyway since you will be working on
different muscle groups. Also, the more you can get
accomplished on a weekly basis will dictate how fast you get
fit, so cross-training makes a lot of sense. I like the
exercise bike a lot, and sometimes I swim. This really helps
my running, as it allows me to "train more" with less wear.

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org "The most
insecure people are the ones you see putting other people
down constantly."

[Joe]

Hey dude, I'm a big guy too so these points may help. I'm
definitely no expert though so I'd seek some advice if
you're worried.

1) Always use good running shoes - they protect you from
the impact and help support your feet. Go to a
specialist running shop where they let you try on the
shoes and watch you run to get the best ones for you. My
gait is awful - I have no arch on my left foot, but a
decent pair of Asics got me through a marathon last
year. The rest of my running gear is about as cheap as
it's possible to get, but I never try and save money on
my shoes - a good shop won't necessarily sell you the
most expensive pair anyway.

2) Always warm up and stretch before and after a run - this
is very important for us big guys. Leg exercises down the
gym can help strengthen the muscles around the knee, but
some hands on advice from an expert will sort you out and
confirm you can run ok.

3) Noone laugh at me for suggesting this! As I'm big, I
take a lot of fish / cod liver oil, and eat oily fish
for my joints. This may be mind over matter, but I
damaged my knees in a car crash a few years ago and need
to protect them. If it's mind over matter... break it to
me gently :-)

Cheers, Joe.

"Trojan" <morgasaurus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:82e0510a.0406052305.3b792ac2@posting.google.com...
> I'm 23 years old. I was a high school athlete (football
> and baseball), but my training was strictly limited to
> those sports. My playing weight was 220 pounds, but after
> 5 years of college and relative inactivity, I'm now 6'3"
> and 250 pounds.
>
> I've begun jogging around my neighborhood for two reasons:
> (1) I want to make a lifetime commitment to staying fit
> (2) I would like to lose some weight, for health and
> aesthetic reasons. I'm already having a problem with
> my right knee, and I think it may be due in large part
> to toting around 220+ pounds for the last several
> years
>
> I've determined a route that is 1 mile long and I've split
> it into 7 nearly equal parts. I run every other day and
> add 1/7 of a mile each time. At this rate, I'll add a mile
> every two weeks. Right now I'm at approximately 2.5 miles.
> My current goal is to hit 5 miles, but I may raise that
> number once I get there.
>
> Is this a good way to get in shape? Does anyone have any
> suggestions for me, since I have little to no experience
> with distance running?
>
> Thanks very much for anything you can give me!
>
> ~Trojan

[Becca]

"Joe" <joe@ninety.com> wrote in message news:<rYLwc.274$xo1.175@newsfe3-win.server.ntli.net>...

I really like your conservative approach and how you are
adding 1/7th of a mile at a time...

> Hey dude, I'm a big guy too so these points may help. I'm
> definitely no expert though so I'd seek some advice if
> you're worried.
>
> 1) Always use good running shoes - they protect you from
> the impact and help support your feet. Go to a
> specialist running shop where they let you try on

Amen! Amen!!! Amen!!!!! And if they blow you off because
you aren't running 50 miles per week, take your money
somewhere else.

When I first crossed over from swimming (190 lbs. - mostly
upper body muscle and running only 10 mi/wk), one local
running shop recommended a cheaper pair of shoes then what
I believe I need. After running in those pair with
worsening knee problems, I trashed them at only 6 months
(less than 250 mi on the shoes). I went to a different shop
and they spent more time evaluating my stride (barefoot and
in various shoes on the treadmill). The shoes I have from
them now have over 300 mi on them and I still very little
knee pain.

>
> 2) Always warm up and stretch before and after a run -
> this is very important for us big guys.

I agree more with the warming up part...stretching (like
hurdlers, butterflies and quad stretches) has not been shown
to significantly reduce injuries.

But there is something called dynamic stretching that's
being recommended by sports physios and PTs.
(http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/articles/scni8a2.htm). I
do the leg swings, hip stuff and arm swings described on
the page. I also include knee circles (basically knees
together, slightly bent and circle gently/softly in one
direction for 15-20 seconds then reverse directions) and
ankle circles (stand on one foot, rest the ball of the
other foot on the ground and circle that ankle in one
direction and then the other).

> 3) Noone laugh at me for suggesting this! As I'm big, I
> take a lot of fish / cod liver oil, and eat oily fish
> for my joints. This may be mind over matter, but I
> damaged my knees in a car crash a few years ago and
> need to protect them. If it's mind over matter... break
> it to me gently :-)

Not sure about the oily fish...but both me and my horse take
glucosamine for our joints! (If you think your running heavy
- look at a horse. A racehorse has 1000 lbs. of weight on
legs that are very slender. Even if you divide by 4 that's
still over 250 lbs. per leg!) I take the
glucosamine/chondritin combo, though not as religiously as I
should. I'm fairly certain that there is a fairly good body
of evidence to support glucosamine/chondritin.

Other advice -

If your knee continues to be a problem (even with correct
shoes and glucosamine), go see your doctor to get a referral
to a PT. You may be right that the weight is contributing to
the problem, but the football history makes me worry that
you may have other contributing factors/injuries as well.

Knee problems can arise for a variety of reasons and making
sure that you are physiologically sound will help.

I also like the cross-training advice that Donovan brought
up. I truly don't think that swimming causes significant
weight loss without a lot of time investment (3+ hrs/day),
but it is a great weight to help develop a strong core and
be active on a non-running day. Biking is some of the best
cross training I have found and it's a nice break for the
knees. And I just learned that if you continue to have knee
pain while biking - it may be a sign of IT band
problems...always interesting to learn more...

I think you have a great approach. Keep a positive attitude
and give yourself a lot of positive reinforcement. You can
do it and you are doing it! Like Donovan's latte, I love to
go buy that a book or rent that movie I've wanted to
read/see forever after my long run.

You might also considering getting involved in a fun team
sports again. It doesn't have to be anything serious...maybe
a weekly drop-in basketball game, an adult kickball league,
or my favorite - a pick-up or rec league ultimate game.
Nothing is more rewarding to me for putting in the mileage
than playing a great game of ultimate. Getting done and not
being exhausted and knowing that I played well because I
trained well is just such a positive reward. (On the other
hand...nothing is more frustrating than a really horrible
game... = ) ).

peace, ~b

>
> Cheers, Joe.
>
>
> "Trojan" <morgasaurus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:82e0510a.0406052305.3b792ac2@posting.google.com...
> > I'm 23 years old. I was a high school athlete (football
> > and baseball), but my training was strictly limited to
> > those sports. My playing weight was 220 pounds, but
> > after 5 years of college and relative inactivity, I'm
> > now 6'3" and 250 pounds.
> >
> > I've begun jogging around my neighborhood for two
> > reasons:
> > (1) I want to make a lifetime commitment to staying fit
> > (2) I would like to lose some weight, for health and
> > aesthetic reasons. I'm already having a problem with
> > my right knee, and I think it may be due in large
> > part to toting around 220+ pounds for the last
> > several years
> >
> > I've determined a route that is 1 mile long and I've
> > split it into 7 nearly equal parts. I run every other
> > day and add 1/7 of a mile each time. At this rate, I'll
> > add a mile every two weeks. Right now I'm at
> > approximately 2.5 miles. My current goal is to hit 5
> > miles, but I may raise that number once I get there.
> >
> > Is this a good way to get in shape? Does anyone have any
> > suggestions for me, since I have little to no experience
> > with distance running?
> >
> > Thanks very much for anything you can give me!
> >
> > ~Trojan

[Swstudio]

"Becca" <BradleyQT@yahoo.com> wrote in message <snip>
> I also like the cross-training advice that Donovan
> brought up.
<snip>
> Like Donovan's latte...
<snip>

When the heck did I become Donovan? jeeez!

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org "The most
insecure people are the ones you see putting other people
down constantly."