I am thinking of having the sleeve done, but I'm also planning on running a half-marathon on Jan 14. I'll have to start training at the end of August (8 week c25k, 12 week 5k2half). I'm wondering if I should wait until after the half to get the surgery, or risk getting it now? Are there other runners that can chime in as to when they were able to start running again post-op?

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All bodies are different when it comes to recovery time. Im 3 weeks post op and have no pain whatsoever, but feel light headed often because of the reduced calories my body now consumes. I would suspect that your energy levels would be not high enough to run a marathon 8 weeks out. If I were you, I would complete your marathon prior to your surgery and allow your body the time it needs to recover - however long that might be.

I mean if you have the sleeve now, you would probably be okay to start training by the end of august. C25K is pretty easy, by the time it gets semi hard, its the end.

I don't know your weight but I wouldn't run extremely over weight. You are just damaging your joints and risking injury. Your health is more important than a half marathon, there will always be marathons.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/why-weight-matters-when-it-comes-to-joint-pain

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When you walk across level ground, the force on your knees is the equivalent of 1½ times your body weight. That means a 200-pound man will put 300 pounds of pressure on his knees with each step. Add an incline, and the pressure is even greater: the force on each knee is two to three times your body weight when you go up and down stairs, and four to five times your body weight when you squat to tie a shoelace or pick up an item you dropped.

Losing a few pounds can go a long way toward reducing the pressure on your knees — and protecting them. For example, research has proven that a sustained 10- to 15-pound weight loss in obese young people can translate to a much lower risk of osteoarthritis later in life.

http://www.menshealth.com/health/biggest-running-myth-debunked

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Results showed that the force exerted on the knees while running was as much as 3 times higher than while walking, but this was offset by the time runners spent in the air and the length of their stride.

I'm not saying don't run, but losing some weight before can only help you.

I'm not extremely overweight. This will be my 2nd half marathon, and I do run/walk regularly. It's just very hard for me to lose weight, which is why I'm getting the sleeve.

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I wouldn't put off the sleeve for the marathon. If you are already in decent shape, then your recovery should be pretty easy. You can only walk/jog really for the first 6 weeks of recovery, then you can do more. You will probably have to find a way to up your calories to work out, which might mean extra protein shakes. So even if you had surgery early to mid august, you should be fine for C25K, because it is easy, the rest of it, the issue is going to be getting enough calories in to fuel long runs.

Badwolf... Im not extremely overweight either (10kgs above goal prior to revision surgery) and I have also exercised and remained fit right up until my revision surgery. Get your surgeons advice as he is likely to know what will be best in your own situation. I eat all my protein and drink all my water and have protein shakes etc but my energy levels are still really low. As I said Im only 3.5 weeks out but could not imagine running a marathon in 5 weeks despite my good fitness levels.

OutsideMatchInside... thanks for the advise. I like protein shakes, so hopefully getting enough calories won't be a problem [emoji2]

Bandy3sleeve... the half marathon isn't until January, not 8 weeks post-op. I couldn't imagine running 13 miles that shortly after surgery either! That's why I plan to start with a couch to 5k training plan.

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Usually they don't recommend running a half until you have about 6 months to a year of running in your legs. That is to prevent injury and for it to be a great experience. If it's a half where you can walk for a lot of it, I would say go for it. If there is a time limit, which there often are, I would say wait. What you can do is start running now. You'll have to start over again after surgery, but you'll have some running in your legs. Also, after surgery, your body will be under a lot of stress, training for a half is putting it through more stress.

I personally would go for the sleeve and postpone the half.

I'm a triathlete and best half time is 2h 14min (2nd half). Can't run right now due to back surgery.

Edited June 13, 20179 yr by Meryline

I'm not a runner so take this advice for what it's worth but if it were me and I was training for a half marathon and wasn't extremely over weight then I would also try to introduce some calorie reduction with my training and see how much weight I can lose without (or before) the surgery.

Trust me, I know how hard it is to lose weight and I couldn't have done it without the surgery and I'm loving my post-sleeve life.

Regarding recover, everyone is different so there is no good standard but at 7 weeks out, I'm not ready to get back to a full intense workout regime yet.

Either way, I wish you the best of luck on your journey!