<p>Thanks BB–thought I’d try here first and then I’ll start separate thread in Parent Cafe.</p>
<p>Running- Keep doing your jogging intervals and just go longer and longer. Keep the pace conversationally easy until you have built up to over 15 minutes of non-stop jogging. Make sure your shoes are good and cushioned. Way to go! I know lots of people who have started running at older ages. I started in law school, but have plenty of running friends who started in their 40s.</p>
<p>Injinji socks are great. I didn’t recommend them to you because the whole toe thing freaks some people out. They are excellent for blister prevention.</p>
<p>Got my 2nd epidural steroid injection this morning. The doctor who was about to stick a needle in my back was asking my advice on his shin splints… I think the first shot helped. My pace seems to be coming down and I feel that the left leg has a little more strength. I have a half-marathon next weekend, but it is NOT a “race” effort event for me. It has a gigantic hill (Whiskey Hill) and starts and finishes at the Jack Daniels Distillery! Finisher medals are made out of the whiskey barrel oak. Cool event.</p>
<p>Amesie–I did Couch to 5K when I started running (at age 48, weighing 200 pounds!). [Cool</a> Running | The Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan](<a href=“http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml]Cool”>http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml) It’s based on walk/jog intervals, just like you’re doing now.</p>
<p>I just bought my first size 2 petites last week. Now that “the Cracken” is gone clothes fit a little better. I’m 5’3" and around 122 lbs., no butt to speak of, but I’ve given my trainer that assignment. A friend was surprised to hear how much I weigh–she thought I was around 110. Must be my massive guns!</p>
<p>don’t forget you can get 20% till I think April 10th. I am going there today to get a raincoat that I tried on in B-ham- from the looks of the weather it will come in handy.</p>
<p>As for the vanity sizing- it really is nuts. I am 5’4" and weigh around 112. Can drop to 110 in hot weather and get up to 115 without freaking out. Not much butt and hips, but muscular calves/quads and not a scrawny upper body, so I do have muscle. I generally wear a 2 (in early 2008 I was 136 pounds and an 8), but when the 2s are big (should really be 4s) there is vanity sizing going on.
I think what happened with Chico’s was that it was originally targeting older, larger women (not huge, but the typical 50s weight gainers). The concept took off and the styles became appealing to younger and smaller women so they had to add the “lower” sizes like the 00s since the 1,2,3 sizing which was so comforting wasn’t working!</p>
<p>The doctor who was about to stick a needle in my back was asking my advice on his shin splints.
ugh hate shin splints.</p>
<p>Oh yay, I just saw that REI opens at 9am- It isn’t as nice as when it was by D’s school ( I still miss the smell of the creosote railroad ties & that wasn’t even the * old* REI my dad used to go to. but the coffee shop across the street is yummy.</p>
<p>You know what would be funny? If we were all to meet up and try to guess our identities. Now, some people would be easy because they have joined the underutilized fb group - so I would recognize MOWC & Very Happy - but otherwise, I wonder how accurate we would be. </p>
<p>I am gathering from our vanity sizing discussion that my since my legs and arms are so skinny, I have the torso of someone 10 pounds heavier. I have shopped for jeans recently and wear DKNY jeans and there is NO WAY those size two’s would go over my butt! And as a side note - that doesn’t bother me in the least. I know when I feel good so who cares what the number is on the tag. And for those of you on the FB page - you can see those skinny legs on full display as I racewalk in Central Park.</p>
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<p>Muscle is rather dense, which can cause you to weigh more without being/looking much bigger.</p>
<p>Regarding cardio if you are worried about injury from running…</p>
<p>If you do cardio indoors, consider rowing on a sliding seat rower like a Concept 2. Rowing is a full body exercise, so it can demand quite a bit of blood flow from your heart. As a bonus, the rower is also not as cumbersome in your house as a treadmill or elliptical.</p>
<p>Back when I weighed 125 I wore a size 8 or 10. Now that I weigh 145 I wear a size 6. Makes no sense to me. I probably am more muscular now, (upper body at least), but not hugely so.</p>
<p>Well, that’s a milestone. Jut completed Phase II of New Rules of Lifting for Abs. 16 workouts in Phase I and 16 workouts in Phase II.</p>
<p>Phase II is fewer reps (just 8 per exercise) and the idea is to lift heavy, which I did. I’ve ended lifting about as heavy as *this ol’ (formerly) fat guy<a href=“sounds%20like%20a%20PBS%20show!”>/I</a> can lift.</p>
<p>Felt good today. After 32 run-throughs, I’m starting to feel pretty good on the dozen warmup exercises – some of which were impossibly difficult (think dancing hippo) for me at first.</p>
<p>Core was really tough – pullling on an extension band with one hand while in plank and side plank, but I felt strong with it for the first time.</p>
<p>The weight lifting is brutal in this workout: stepping up and down with 70 pounds, push pressing a 35 pound dumbbell, front squatting with a 35 and a 25 lb dumbbell held in front of the shoulders, and chin ups. Felt fairly strong – like I was actually in control of the weights instead of the other way around. Actually had a little explosiveness on the push presses.</p>
<p>I can’t say enough good things about this workout program. It’s interesting, fun, and comprehensive.</p>
<p>Wow, idad, that’s fantastic. I admire your motivation even though you’re formerly fat. You’re just getting stronger and stronger!!</p>
<p>I had an epiphany last week: I saw an 83-year-old woman at the gym (I didn’t see her drivers license, but that’s the age she claimed) who was so hunched over and obviously osteoporotic. She marveled that I am as old as I am – she swore I could pass for 15 years younger, which was very nice to hear. (What a nice woman!!) </p>
<p>But the epiphany was seeing someone so hunched over and remembering why I am lifting heavy things – to avoid that bone disease.</p>
<p>Motivation hasn’t been too hard. Once I got a month into it, the results in strength and “athleticism” (used loosely in the context of a 57 year ol’ (formerly) fat guy) have been so obvious that wanting to keep doing the workouts is a no-brainer. This is the latest stuff from one of the top trainers in the country for adult general fitness. This stuff works. You can tell when you are doing it that every exercise is there for a reason and all the bases are covered.</p>
<p>It’s only three workouts a week, about an hour each. They are really nicely paced – fifteen minutes of bodyweight warmup exercises that are just terrific and get better when you can actually do them. Then, ten minutes or so of core exercises. Then, two supersets of strength exercises, alternating back and forth between two exercises in each superset. You just start with the warmup and the whole thing flows from there. I’ve been doing the optional fourth sets of the strength training – on an ongoing basis, I would probably just do three and get the thing under an hour.</p>
<p>I can see these being my base workouts for a very long time. It’s a great template, just plug in different core exercises/variations and whatever push, pull, squat, and deadlift that strikes your fancy. Do more reps lighter to make it more cardio oriented. Do fewer reps heavier to make it more strength oriented.</p>
<p>Phase III has a bunch of new stuff that I’ve been wanting to do: medicine ball slams, dumbbell snatches, Turkish get-ups, rear-foot elevated split squats. So, I’ll be in learning mode for a few weeks.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts about jogging. It is mind-boggling to me that I am actually enjoying the jogging intervals.</p>
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This makes a lot of sense. But I am still working up to “fit” as a goal (my exercise aversion runs deep). I started walking just to be doing something healthy. The main benefit I have seen is sleeping better. I think that the weight I have lost is because of changing the way I eat, not because of exercise. The very odd thing is that I did not decide that I ought to jog (in fact, I probably ought not to jog); the experience of it has been that jogging is just more interesting than walking. I do think I am going to do what someone suggested and take it organically and see what happens. </p>
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<p>I do need to remedy this. Right now I am wearing some kind of addidas shoes that I bought about six years ago for Disneyworld. My thought is the sporting goods store at the mall, or do I need a more specialized store?</p>
<p>Amesie, I highly recommend going to a store that specializes in gear for runners, and get fitted for shoes there. When you figure our what make/model works best for you, you can get the shoes from discounters such as 6PM, outlets, etc. Just do not get Nike running shoes - Nike makes great clothing, but their running shoes are lousy (my former D-I XC athlete’s advice). Good socks are very important, too. As soon as I started running longer distances, I figured that I can no longer get by with dollar-a-pair socks from Costco.</p>
<p>With respect to running shoes, there are some different schools of thought.</p>
<p>The usual school of thought is that, since most people heel strike, a well cushioned heel will make running more comfortable. However, those who pronate heavily may get knee problems when running on a soft, cushy shoe sole. For such people, there are “stability” and “motion control” shoes, which are soft on the outer edge but firmer on the inner edge to prevent overpronation. A running shoe store may have a treadmill set up so that your feet can be filmed to estimate whether you overpronate and what type of running shoe will work best for you.</p>
<p>The other school of thought is that since humans originally ran barefoot, the proper running technique is a midfoot or forefoot landing, so a minimalist shoe or no shoe at all should be used (this will definitely discourage heel striking, because it would hurt). If you are used to heel striking, changing to a midfoot or forefoot landing with a minimalist shoe or no shoe may result in sore calves which are now holding your heel up to keep it from striking hard with each step (rather than lazily letting the padding of a traditional running shoe hold up your heel).</p>
<p>In plain English, big ol’ fat guys and big ol’ (formerly) fat guys tend to have big ol’ wide flat feet with low arches. As we walk or run, our foot tends to roll to the inside (because we have no arches). A “stability” shoe will have extra firmness along the inside edge of the heel to keep the shoe from rolling inwards. Generally speaking, these shoes are appropriate for people with wide, flat feet and for people carrying a little extra weight. They tend to not be real cushy because a larger person would break down the soft materials in a cushy shoe right away.</p>
<p>Does any of this really matter? Probably not so much. The big thing for me is a shoe that’s big enough (quite a bit bigger than my measured size) and proper arch support (SuperFeet insoles).</p>
<p>ALERT! ALERT! Amesie- do not take another step in the old Adidas. Those sound like an injury waiting to happen.</p>
<p>Agree with going to a specialty running store for an analysis and fitting. There are many good shoes out there. I disagree strongly with BB’s advice not to get Nike. Even though I have a Brooks sponsorship, I “cheat” on Brooks with Nike. My best distance shoes are Nike LunarGlide2 and Vomero. The “cheap” Nike mall shoes are not good, but the specialty running shoes are excellent. I also have Nike Free Run and Lunar Fly. Nike has better forefoot cushioning than Brooks. I think both New Balance and Saucony are uneven as far as good shoes. Some models are great and some not so much. Brooks Ghost and Glycerin are good shoes and my daughter likes them the best right now.
I recently got some minimalist shoes from New Balance called Minimus, which are one of the barefoot transition shoes. They are great for short runs, but offer no support and not a lot of cushioning. On my running forums the most complaints seem to be about Asics right now, and they have traditionally made incredible shoes. It’s really all about what works for YOU and how the, hopefully, competent shoe guy analyzes you.</p>
<p>MOfWC, my information about Nike is 4 years old. They must have made some good progress in the past years. Our college runner said that even though Nike sponsored their entire team, their coach allowed them to “cheat” when it came to shoes, because Nike running shoes at that time were poorly designed. I happen to live next door to a Brooks outlet, so naurally all my running shoes are Brooks, and since I have not had any issues with them, I have not shopped around lately. My apologies for incorrect info.</p>
<p>I second MOfWC’s advice - it is time to throw your old sneakers in the trashcan. Treatment of any foot injury is more expensive than a full-priced pair of good running shoes.</p>
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<p>I’ve had two pairs of Asics over the last few years. One pair was good and the second was awful. Always giving me blisters when I ran, those shoes just hurt when I ran with them! And that second pair was a much nicer shoe and much more expensive than the first pair. I was not impressed and haven’t been back. I still have the second pair and occasionally wear them to run errands and such, but no longer as an exercise shoe. </p>
<p>For working out, I wear either Nike or Under Armour. I have two pairs of UA running shoes that I absolutely love. Unfortunately they are discontinued and I haven’t been able to find a new pair of UA shoes that I can tell are just like them. They are both getting pretty worn, but I continue to wear them for now because I don’t do a ton of running in them…</p>