I JOGGED (NSV)

[AmberFL 1,095]

9 minutes ago, SpartanMaker said:

You are killing it! Your point about calories is really on point as well.

I recommend any bariatric surgery patient read up on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). The simple explanation is that if you work out a lot, you need to eat more. If you don't, then you are a lot more likely to start having a hard time with things like fatigue, various injuries, getting sick a lot, lack of concentration and depression. At its worst, you can get really sick, leading to heart issues and worse. My personal experience is that women tend to struggle with this more, though anyone can be impacted.

Some people here might think it doesn't affect them because they don't consider themselves athletes, but if you are working out multiple days a week, it is a risk, especially considering how hard it can be for us to get more calories in. Over time, you'll hopefully learn where your personal limits are. For example, I've found that right now I can maintain my weight reasonably well up to about 30 miles a week, but beyond that I lose weight whether I want to or not.

Thank you! I have to agree, I noticed when I was making myself eat less, I cannot even work out well, I am lifting lighter or running slower because I am lethargic and fatigued. I do have to admit I am on the straight struggle bus with not being able to work out. I feel like I am eating too much however I am not eating near the calories I was. I do think it has to do with the dietician from my program shaming me into how much I was eating at my 6m appt. She told me that I needed to stick to 800 calories max, 100g Protein, 140g carbs and 40g fat. I told her that is just not possible with sustaining my activity. She got into my head and I have been avoiding my 1yr check up for this reason because now I eat even more but I weigh 25lbs less.

I wanna be you when I grow up! I was running 15ish miles a week and that was insane to me but 30miles? wow!!! how do you break that up? I would love to do a mini marathon though I am very intimated. I ran 5miles at once ONE time. The next day I couldn't move hahah

[SpartanMaker 1,433]

27 minutes ago, AmberFL said:

how do you break that up?

Well, it's highly dependent on where I'm at in a training cycle, but it might look a little like this:

• Monday: Rest Day.
• Tuesday: This is my speedwork day when I do intervals. What that specifically looks like is different depending on my current goals. For example, If I'm training for a shorter race like a 5k, I'll probably do more intervals at a faster pace, but the intervals will be shorter in duration. For example, I might do 8 total intervals at RPE 9 for ~2 minutes. In between each interval, I'll rest for 2 minutes. On either side of the interval work, I'll do a 10 minute warm up and a 10 minute cool down. Thus the entire run takes roughly 52 minutes. If I'm training more for a half marathon, I'll do more like 3-4 intervals but they may each be as long as 6 or 8 minutes. Rest periods will probably be ~2-3 minutes. Note that these are done at a slower pace, so more like an RPE of 7-8. Regardless of what the intervals look like, I always warm up and cool down for at least 10 minutes each.
• Wednesday: This is typically a strength training day for me. Sometimes I may run 2-3 miles afterward, though more often than not, I cross train on the bike, or sometimes do some rowing.
• Thursday: This is what I call my "Distance Run" day. It's typically going to be between 50% and 80% of my long run mileage, so if I'm doing 30 miles a week, it might be somewhere around 5 to 8 Miles. This is almost always done at an easy pace, but I do tend to add in strides toward the end. (Strides, for those that don't know are short 20 to 30 second accelerations followed by a minute or so rest. Because they are so short, they don't tend to add a lot of extra systemic or muscle fatigue or increase injury risk like you'd have for normal speed training.)
• Friday: This is when I do Race Specific Pace Runs, Hill Running, Tempo Runs or Threshold Runs. Again, this is highly dependent on where I'm at in a training cycle, but an example leading up to a half marathon might be a 10 minute warm up followed by 40 minutes at my half marathon goal pace, followed by a 10 minute cool down.
• Saturday: This is my other strength training day. Here, since I've accumulated a lot of weekly fatigue by this point, I'm a lot less likely to run afterward, meaning if I do anything after the strength session, it's going to be on the bike or rowing (or nothing at all if I'm wiped 😄).
• Sunday: This is my long run day. As a general rule, I don't want this to be more than about 30-33% of my overall weekly mileage. Thus if I'm at ~30 miles for the week, my long run won't be more than 10 or at most 11 miles. Most of my long runs are done at an easy pace, but I do sometimes add in some faster pace work toward the middle or end. It's all dependent on my goals.

Overall, 30 miles per week is really not that hard for me at this point. Keep in mind, I'm retired now and my kids are grown so I don't have to worry about fitting this in around work or my kids needs. Now as I increase my mileage working up to 50-60 in prep for my fall marathon, I'm expecting that will be a lot more challenging. Physically I think it will be fine, I'm more worried about my ability to dial in my nutrition.

It will be a lot of extra calories burned in a week and my fueling strategy has to be really dialed in for the 18 or 20 mile long runs I'll be doing toward the end. I have a tendency toward hypoglycemia if i don't get my fueling perfect. It would not be good to pass out when running!

[AmberFL 1,095]

@SpartanMaker do you feel like 1 rest day is enough? How long does it take you to do those longer run days?

[SpartanMaker 1,433]

3 minutes ago, AmberFL said:

@SpartanMaker do you feel like 1 rest day is enough? How long does it take you to do those longer run days

I sort of think of it as 2 to 3 "rest" days, because that's how many days I don't run. While my lifting is still a good workout, I don't really accumulate a lot of systemic fatigue from it. Keep in mind too that I take a deload week about every 4th week. In those, I drop down ~25%-30% in mileage and typically also don't do any lifting. That means I truly do have 3 full rest days during those weeks.

As far as how long my long runs take, It obviously depends on the overall length, the terrain, and the pace I run it at. This can vary as my fitness changes. but also varies based on the weather and how I'm feeling that day. Right now, they probably last around 1.5 to 2 hours, but I have done a few that were in the 2.5 hour range.

I would typically advise folks that are training for a first half marathon to work up to long runs that will take about the same amount of time as they expect it will take them to complete the race. In other words, if you expect to be about a 2 hour HM runner, then you should be doing long runs leading up to that of about 2 hours. It will obviously be a shorter distance because you'll be running slower, but for this, it's time on feet that really makes the difference.

For someone training for a marathon, it may not make sense to try the same thing unless you're pretty fast. For example, I think the average marathon finish time is around 4 hours and 30 minutes. If you're a 4 to 5 hour marathoner, doing long runs that long would just be too fatiguing, so 3 to 3.5 hours would be about the max you should be doing.

[ms.sss 15,837]

chiming in to say i had a similar start to running like AmberFL.

(note though that i am a track or round-my-600m-neighbourhood-block runner, and not a follow-my-nose-runnner lol).

started off walking around the track/block, then jogging one side of it, to jogging 1/2 of it, to jogging every other lap to full on jogging non-stop, then doing the same progression, this time interspersing with running. then longer and/or faster runs. by the end of my running heyday, i was running at least 5K every day (sometimes twice a day) with a longer 10K maybe once a week.

then...i hurt my foot. didn't run for 3 months, and never went back to it with the same intensity. these days, i probably get a 5K in 1-2 times a week (less when its too cold). but i do get my exercise in other ways, so its all good.

as for fuel, its been a while, but i do remember feeling quite hungry after runs and would actually eat food before noon (not my usual M.O.), could also be because i always ran on an empty stomach (by choice, i hate - and still do - the feeling of something in my stomach when i exercise).

to the OP, its effing awesome that you are discovering a fondness for exercise...it really does make a world of difference, for your health, your sleep, your body's ability for recovery, your mental clarity....your overall well-being!

plus, it makes you feel grrrrrrrreaaat and look hawt.

❤️

[The Greater Fool 2,072]

Be careful of those whims!

At about 18 months post-op I was walking consistently. I felt that with the right push off that I could fly. We generally went down to the strip and called it people watching. One day we didn't want to go to the strip so we went to a local park that had a walking/running course. On a whim [There it is, all innocent] I ran the last hundred yards and it felt good. I decided to see if I could complete a C25K (Couch to 5K) program, and lo! in no time I could run 5K.

I never ran an official 5K but I did increase my distance. Eventually I was up to 10k. Then 15k. Then I decided to keep track of such things in miles. Then 10 miles, then 13.2 (yes, the Garmin said it so it must be true). I still had not participated in any official events. About this time I got it in my silly little head to run a marathon. I started training for a marathon.

Training was progressing well, when I had a business trip in SoCal. I saw there was a marathon in Long Beach that weekend, which wasn't far from where I was. My long training runs were up to 16 miles, so I thought it would be cool to use it as training run and have my spouse pick me up at around mile 16. To save y'all from an exciting mile by mile story, it should be obvious by now that I completed my first official race, the Long Beach Marathon.

I ran 5 marathons which including one in San Francisco where I got to run across the Golden Gate bridge (twice).

500+ pounds previously this was not even a passing thought.

All on a whim.

Good luck,

Tek

[Bypass2Freedom 1,037]

49 minutes ago, The Greater Fool said:

Be careful of those whims!

At about 18 months post-op I was walking consistently. I felt that with the right push off that I could fly. We generally went down to the strip and called it people watching. One day we didn't want to go to the strip so we went to a local park that had a walking/running course. On a whim [There it is, all innocent] I ran the last hundred yards and it felt good. I decided to see if I could complete a C25K (Couch to 5K) program, and lo! in no time I could run 5K.

I never ran an official 5K but I did increase my distance. Eventually I was up to 10k. Then 15k. Then I decided to keep track of such things in miles. Then 10 miles, then 13.2 (yes, the Garmin said it so it must be true). I still had not participated in any official events. About this time I got it in my silly little head to run a marathon. I started training for a marathon.

Training was progressing well, when I had a business trip in SoCal. I saw there was a marathon in Long Beach that weekend, which wasn't far from where I was. My long training runs were up to 16 miles, so I thought it would be cool to use it as training run and have my spouse pick me up at around mile 16. To save y'all from an exciting mile by mile story, it should be obvious by now that I completed my first official race, the Long Beach Marathon.

I ran 5 marathons which including one in San Francisco where I got to run across the Golden Gate bridge (twice).

500+ pounds previously this was not even a passing thought.

All on a whim.

Good luck,

Tek

I love this!

Seems like that whim took you far, and even better is that it was to places that your previous self wouldn't have even imagined you could do.

Really proud of you.

[SpartanMaker 1,433]

15 hours ago, ms.sss said:

plus, it makes you feel grrrrrrrreaaat and look hawt.

Not sure I'll ever look hawt, but my wife did say the other day (bless her heart), that I looked like one of those greek statues. I'm thinking it's time for her to get new glasses! 🤣

Edited January 22 by SpartanMaker

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,682]

Absolutely AWESOME!!!! I'm so happy for you

[Nomore2025! 0]

Yes congratulations!!!

[Bypass2Freedom 1,037]

So I went to the gym again at lunch time today, and it is my cardio day.

40 mins on the treadmill, and I decided to try jogging again, managed about 15/18 minutes in total at a faster pace today!

[SpartanMaker 1,433]

24 minutes ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

So I went to the gym again at lunch time today, and it is my cardio day.

40 mins on the treadmill, and I decided to try jogging again, managed about 15/18 minutes in total at a faster pace today!

Wow, amazing progress!

Do be careful you monitor yourself for musculoskeletal issues such as shin splints, achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, knee pain, etc. As I mentioned above, your cardiovascular system improves at a faster rate than your musculoskeletal system. Even if it "feels" somewhat easy for you to do this right now, you could be doing more than your bones, tendons & ligaments can handle yet. Running is a high impact activity and while that can actually be a good thing, we want to give our bodies time to get used to this extra load.

As a rough guide, I'd say try to keep the amount of running about the same each day during the week, then only increase a little bit each week. (e.g. 15 mins this week, 18 next week, 21 the week after, etc.)

Also, do be careful about going too fast too soon. I'm oversimplifying a lot here, but an ideal percentage of slow to faster running really should be roughly 80% slow and only 20% faster. This will significantly reduce injury and overtraining risk. After all, it's best to think about running as a lifelong activity. If you start going faster and faster each time just because you can, you're going to significantly increase your risk of injury, which could do a lot more harm than good to your fitness and health.

Again, this is a drastic oversimplification, but I'd recommend trying to keep your heart rate below ~75% of your max heart rate when you run. If it's a lot above that, you're probably going too fast and should slow down. I could go into a lot of detail why this is the sweet spot in terms of heart rate, but suffice to say it's going to do a better job of increasing aerobic endurance than you'll get at faster paces. Most people that are new to running seem to balk at that idea since it seems a bit illogical that going slow is actually better. The truth is this has been shown over and over in scientific studies, as well as in the training plans of the worlds best runners.

Best of luck!

[Lilia_90 612]

That is AMAZING!

Nothing beats the feeling of achieving a new PR! And it feels so good to discover that your stamina has picked up and that you are able to go for longer (whatever that is you're doing), or do things you were never able to do before.

Disclaimer: it is addictive.

While I worked out my whole life, including while being obese, I was never fond of running. I did all sorts of cardio (Spinning, HIIT, BodyAttack, BodyCombat, Step, you name it) but I hated running with a passion. Found it boring. Although I was able to run for 6-7 km straight I rarely ever did.

Fast forward to my foot injury, I was so immobile I was in pain walking, so I did a lot of jump rope and spinning to compensate but my weight never budged. 4 months Post VSG I started getting into serious fitness again and I discovered this newfound love for running that I run every single day now. I do 5-6k once a week and 3k every day after my lifts and I LOVE it with a passion, how times change LOL.

I have a feeling you will too. Although I don't know you, I am very proud of you and hope your journey is full of such pleasant surprises.

[Bypass2Freedom 1,037]

6 minutes ago, Lilia_90 said:

That is AMAZING!

Nothing beats the feeling of achieving a new PR! And it feels so good to discover that your stamina has picked up and that you are able to go for longer (whatever that is you're doing), or do things you were never able to do before.

Disclaimer: it is addictive.

While I worked out my whole life, including while being obese, I was never fond of running. I did all sorts of cardio (Spinning, HIIT, BodyAttack, BodyCombat, Step, you name it) but I hated running with a passion. Found it boring. Although I was able to run for 6-7 km straight I rarely ever did.

Fast forward to my foot injury, I was so immobile I was in pain walking, so I did a lot of jump rope and spinning to compensate but my weight never budged. 4 months Post VSG I started getting into serious fitness again and I discovered this newfound love for running that I run every single day now. I do 5-6k once a week and 3k every day after my lifts and I LOVE it with a passion, how times change LOL.

I have a feeling you will too. Although I don't know you, I am very proud of you and hope your journey is full of such pleasant surprises.

Thank you so much for your lovely message ❤️

Really amazing to hear about your journey too - so happy you have found your passion for it!

I actually did a LBT class on Monday (am still aching), and I have also signed up for a Body Pump class - my colleague keeps trying to convince me to come to BodyAttack but it sounds terrifying and I worry I won't keep up!

[Lilia_90 612]

On 1/29/2025 at 11:39 AM, Bypass2Freedom said:

I actually did a LBT class on Monday (am still aching), and I have also signed up for a Body Pump class - my colleague keeps trying to convince me to come to BodyAttack but it sounds terrifying and I worry I won't keep up!

My I had flashbacks of my LBT, BodyPump and all things LesMills days! I used to do an hour of BodyStep followed by an hour of BodyAttack! I don't know how I did it but there is no way I could do that now, nor do I want to haha.

And you're right, I used to call BodyAttack heart attack as it was crazy intense. I'll stick to running LOL.

Edited February 2 by Lilia_90