I've been exercising this summer to help with stress and weight loss. I completed my first 5K a couple weeks ago. My surgery was 2-8-10, and I'm down around 65 lbs. Today my heart was feeling good, and I didn't fatigue much during my run, so I kept going. I completed 4.2 miles in around 55 minutes. I think I could have gone farther, but I had to get to work. I've never ran that far in my life. I feel really good about that. Eight months ago, I got exhausted getting into bed with my sleep apnea mask. When I bent over to pull the blankets over myself I got winded, and had to sit up to catch my breath. My sugar level bottom out around 1 pm today. I'm not taking insulin anymore, so I think the run must of done something to my system. I'm calling my doctor tomorrow to see if he wants me to cut back even more meds. Just wanted to share my excitement. I never thought I'd say I enjoyed running, but I love it. Never in a million years did I think I'd like running. I guess God blesses in many way we never thought of.

That is so awesome! Thanks for sharing as it provides both inspiration and motivation.

That is an unbelievable accomplishment! My goal is to be able to finish a 5k. During my football playing days I could run 2 miles. Your story certainly gives me a lot of inspiration!

Awesome! Keep up the great work.

That is huge! Good for you!!

I'm hoping to work my way up to 5K, too. The thought of going further is a very distant dream.

Great to hear! I'm looking forward to running as well.

Thanks for all the kind comments. I really look at this as a paradigm. I would never have thought I can do 4 miles, and now I'm looking to see if I could get to 5 miles. Hope everyone that chooses to run can be healthy, and motivated. I feel blessed that my ankles, back, feet................., have felt good. Good luck!!

Well I surpassed my goal again. I got in 5.4 miles today. Not the fastest at 1 hour, 14 minutes, but I didn't stop until I finished. I felt like I could have kept going. I was maintaining a heart rate at 139. What a blast.

Congratulations! I love running and can't wait till I can progress towards it again. It is such an awesome feeling! Your story is so inpiring about getting winded just pulling up the covers to running over 5 miles! I would recommend that you buy a marathon training book - or I'm sure there's tons of info online. I'm not saying you need to run a marathon (but it is a blast!) but you might want to educate yourself about adding distance, etc. so you don't injure yourself. What a bummer that would be!!! I ran 2 half-marathons and I can't wait to get back into running. I found that once I could run 4-5 miles, adding distance was very easy. You basically want to do 3-4 maintenance runs a week and one LONG run per week. Each week you increase according to a schedule. Never worry about your speed...just doing it is all that matters! I have been walking a very 3.5 mile hilly route in my neighborhood almost everyday. I can start running next week according to my post op instructions (4 weeks out on Monday). However, yesterday I was feeling pretty good so I jogged a little on the flat and downhill portions. OMG, I am sooo sore today! It feels great! I keep thinking I should lose another 15 pounds before I really start to run so I'm not too hard on my body, but I may force myself to swallow my pride and just jiggle though the hood anyway Congrats to you!:thumbup:

LOLOL @ "jiggle through the hood." Hilarious!

I've been overweight all my life and have never been a runner, but I've often had dreams (those super-realistic ones) about what it feels like to be one. Now that that dream has become possible, it is my immediate goal to run a 5k by January. Thank y'all so much for the motivation.

Congratulations! I'm happy for you.

Congrats!!! I am with you. Running has become addictive. I truly love it. I wish that I could find a running buddy. But, everyone I know is either way too fast or only interested in walking. But, any whoo wishing you well.

Brigette

Congratulations! I love running and can't wait till I can progress towards it again. It is such an awesome feeling! Your story is so inspiring about getting winded just pulling up the covers to running over 5 miles! I would recommend that you buy a marathon training book - or I'm sure there's tons of info online. I'm not saying you need to run a marathon (but it is a blast!) but you might want to educate yourself about adding distance, etc. so you don't injure yourself. What a bummer that would be!!! I ran 2 half-marathons and I can't wait to get back into running. I found that once I could run 4-5 miles, adding distance was very easy. You basically want to do 3-4 maintenance runs a week and one LONG run per week. Each week you increase according to a schedule. Never worry about your speed...just doing it is all that matters! I have been walking a very 3.5 mile hilly route in my neighborhood almost everyday. I can start running next week according to my post op instructions (4 weeks out on Monday). However, yesterday I was feeling pretty good so I jogged a little on the flat and downhill portions. OMG, I am sooo sore today! It feels great! I keep thinking I should lose another 15 pounds before I really start to run so I'm not too hard on my body, but I may force myself to swallow my pride and just jiggle though the hood anyway :wink2: Congrats to you!

Thanks for the kind comment. It feels kind neat to hear I may have inspired someone. Never expected that. I like your idea about the marathon strategy. My boss runs in the half marathons, but I think I'm going to make that my next goal. The idea of running 3-4 maintenance runs, and a long run sounds great. I'll have to get in 6 miles on a Sat or Sunday. Can't imagine getting there. Thanks for motivating me. Good luck to you also.

LOLOL @ "jiggle through the hood." Hilarious!

I've been overweight all my life and have never been a runner, but I've often had dreams (those super-realistic ones) about what it feels like to be one. Now that that dream has become possible, it is my immediate goal to run a 5k by January. Thank y'all so much for the motivation.

Congratulations! I'm happy for you.

Thank you! It all starts by setting a goal. I said I wanted to do a 5k this summer, but didn't have a date. I was looking at one in mid July, but knew I would be on vacation/out of town that week. My cousin passed away in a motorcycle accident, so I didn't leave. I didn't train that well thinking I wasn't going to be here, and on Saturday I ran the race. At the end it took all I had, but I thought about my cousin, and the opportunity to live a better/healthier life, and pushed to the end. It was all fun in games until the paramedics were called. The end result is a crossed the line.

Congrats!!! I am with you. Running has become addictive. I truly love it. I wish that I could find a running buddy. But, everyone I know is either way too fast or only interested in walking. But, any whoo wishing you well.

Brigette

I feel the same way about finding someone that I can keep pace with. My iPod is like generation one, so the battery doesn't last long. What keeps me going is knowing that each lap I complete is fighting against my diabetes. If I knew it would go away forever, by running a 1,000 miles, I think I could finish those 1,000 miles in a day. Thanks for the well wishes. Keep it going yourself.

Edited August 13, 201015 yr by lap5280