Monday’s run was terrible. I had high hopes for hitting 5 miles, but set a mental minimum of 4, yet I couldn’t do it. I had to stop at 3. Why? Because my legs were burning so badly, I couldn’t contemplate another mile. I hadn’t actually felt this spent during a run in the past three years, so I had to consider why it was happening, and I had to listen to my body.
To be fair, I had run 4.5 miles the previous Monday, 3 miles fast on Wednesday, and then walked all day at the Texas Renaissance Festival on Saturday. Sunday morning, Sherry and I rode 9.3 miles on our bikes, and then I set out for a long and slow run on Monday. It seems like I was being too aggressive, and my body was screaming at me. I tried to push on. The extreme soreness actually started when I hit mile 2, but I pushed onward to at least complete 3 miles. Then, I stopped.
I took Tuesday off, and today, I feel much better and prepared to hit another four mile run this afternoon. The weather should be nice enough, and my legs feel strong enough. I’m hoping to hit at 10 minute/mile pace or better, but I’m not pushing it. At this point, I’m trying to hit distances, not speed. I work on speed during my 3 mile and less runs.
The lesson in this is while we all set goals and we work hard to meet them, it’s important to listen to your body to avoid hurting yourself. I probably could have pushed to go to 4 miles, but at what cost? And for what good reason? There were none. Now, I feel rested, ready, and able to hit 4 miles tonight. I’m actually looking forward to it.
Paleo Marine 
Question: you appear less than a spring chicken, and I wonder, could you run before you lost all that weight? I, myself, am you before you lost the weight, as in, I have a lot to lose. Did your joints etc, improve? I’m hating the stairs these days…
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Hi Michele! I was unable to run before I lost the weight. Heck, I even had trouble climbing the stairs in my house to go upstairs to see the kids! I lost about 130 lbs before I even tackled exercise. I started with push ups. Yes, the lowly push up. I was only able to do 7 when I started. Within three months, I was up to 100. I did push ups until I started feeling a burn, and then I’d stop. I literally worked my way up to 100 push ups with no discomfort, sore arms, etc. Once I was able to do those push ups, I started walking for 30 minutes every other day. Soon, that became a slow jog, then a fast jog, and finally, one day I literally just decided to pick up the pace and found myself running. I haven’t quit since. My recommendation, based on my personal experience, is focus on the nutrition to lose the weight first. Once you get to a more comfortable weight, start an exercise program. If you must start something now (I get it; exercise helps us mentally in so many ways), find some non-impact exercises like bike riding, swimming, or yoga. Yoga is extremely difficult; I tried it a few times, and even being in good shape right now, I still find it difficult. You’ll definitely work up a sweat. Just remember that weight loss happens in the kitchen; getting fit happens in the gym (or on the street, if you’re running).
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I forgot to add that once I lost the weight, my joints felt better which allowed me to begin running. Stairs are nothing to me now.
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