Former 2nd Bat Ranger Looses His Mind

[McD]

January 1979, 6'1", 205lb, ETS out of Battalion
April 2009 quits smoking (30+ Years)
January 2011, 6'1", 235lbs, Decides to Get off his ass. 54 years old.
June 2011, 6'1", 190lb, doing 15-20 miles a week. Not fast but 3-4 miles non-stop 4-5 times a week.
Scored in the 80% in AFPT for age in the run.

Not easy.... RLTW

[Jim]

You have achieved a lot, brother. I'm envious.

[Slowpoke]

I'm awed at your determination...good onya Brother. A friend I served in RVN with got into "Clogging" (if you're not from the South, google it) about ten years ago and now, at 70 years old, is in better shape than he was in Viet Nam.

[Flesh Thorn]

doing 15-20 miles a week. Not fast but 3-4 miles non-stop 4-5 times a week.

I have found that I can bump my distance up, but I can not increase my speed. I have tried interval running and other approaches to increasing my running speed, but without much success. I have finally decided to just try to enjoy the fact that I can still run even if it only at a 9-10 min/mile pace. I suppose this isn't all bad as you burn more body fat at a slower pace. I have also found that finding a pair of shoes that fit has became more difficult.

[Ranger Ron]

Congratulations McD. I sure need to do the same. Wish I had started at 54!!

[Chiron]

Well done brother! I’ve had a bunch of set backs with my ailments but this summer will swim everyday in the sea and start with walking. If I can get rid of my cane and walk faster…..

Keep on going!

RLTW

[McD]

doing 15-20 miles a week. Not fast but 3-4 miles non-stop 4-5 times a week.

I have found that I can bump my distance up, but I can not increase my speed. I have tried interval running and other approaches to increasing my running speed, but without much success. I have finally decided to just try to enjoy the fact that I can still run even if it only at a 9-10 min/mile pace. I suppose this isn't all bad as you burn more body fat at a slower pace. I have also found that finding a pair of shoes that fit has became more difficult.

I am sort of in the same boat and have come to the same conclusion. I don't want it to become a chore so I am just running (my best Forest Gump impression). I bought a pair of Saucony ProGrid Kinvara... I loves these shoes!!!

[Oto-Man]

Congratulations McD. I sure need to do the same. Wish I had started at 54!!

Congrats...I guess I'll just wait til I', 54 to start!!! Good on ya stud...really..

[Earthpig]

So, what about knee pain? Don't tell me yours are fine. I tried to get out and run yesterday. I had to hobble (literally) for the first few laps until my body's natural pain relievers finally kicked in. I am nowhere near 4-5 miles at a time yet. I'm walking a mile, joggin a mile, walking a mile, etc. Right now, that's about all my lower back and knees will allow.

Glad you are able to do all that, amigo.

RLTW
EP

[RangerX]

So when I first hit this board, I weighed 280. I recall some flack I caught when I posted a picture. Hey, round is a shape.

I'm just over 230 right now, and my target is around 220.

I started a couple years ago, & I couldn't run more than a 1/4 mile before I was sucking wind. I changed a couple things, mainly by starting to use a treadmill. It helps to absorb some of the shock of impact, and it helps to keep from unconsciously accelerating and smoking yourself. I started by just walking. I kept a 15 minute mile pace from day one, working on increasing distance/endurance. I started around 2 miles/30 minutes, working up to 4 miles/1 hour over the course of a couple months.

Once I was getting "bored" with that, I started bumping up the speed. I got to the point of "jogging" at about the 13 minute mile mark. Once I got to this point, I picked 3 miles as my distance, then started working on time. This took a while, and earlier this year I finally got to the point where I can do 3 8 minute miles consistently. Now it's just a matter of maintaining consistency, with a goal of running every other day. I am intentionally avoiding increasing frequency or distance, but may bump up speed. Mainly I want to avoid hurting myself and screwing up the progress so far.

All that said, there were a couple of other changes that I think made just as much of a difference.

1st, diet. I was traveling a lot for work, and eating on the road just sucks. I tried to modify my road diet, as well as take advantage of hotel treadmills. Once I stopped traveling so much, things really improved. The wife-beast doesn't cook any pre-packaged foods, and we hardly ever eat out. Avoiding anything white, such as white flour, white sugar, etc. goes a long way. I also stopped drinking anything but water, coffee & beer. Alright, some KO when it was present.

2nd, I stopped sitting. I got a stand-up desk, and use that for most of the day, sitting only occasionally. I only did this a couple months ago, and the difference in how I feel is amazing.

I am in no way the pinnacle of fitness, but I sure do feel a lot better than I did 3 years ago.

[Flesh Thorn]

Stay Young by Running.

Pic kind of looks like a couple of you FOGs in a two or three years. :)

[Buzz]

Sounds like you are doing good, congradulations.

[McD]

So, what about knee pain? Don't tell me yours are fine. I tried to get out and run yesterday. I had to hobble (literally) for the first few laps until my body's natural pain relievers finally kicked in. I am nowhere near 4-5 miles at a time yet. I'm walking a mile, joggin a mile, walking a mile, etc. Right now, that's about all my lower back and knees will allow.

Glad you are able to do all that, amigo.

RLTW
EP

Bob, My knees were hurting at the start but I changed up how I was running and it helped a lot. Kind of a barefoot style where I am keep a pretty high cadence and taking a shorter stride. It keeps me on the balls of my feet and off my heel which makes for less stress up through everything. Check out the C25K site. It is a good place to start. I don't/can't run fast (8-9 min mile) but I'm doing 10-15 miles a week. All 3 miler's or more. I kind of enjoy it which is weird because I hated it in when I was in the Bat.... and was never very fast then.

[K.Ingraham]

Bastards. Now you're shaming me into it. Been thinking about getting started all year. Now I might have to.
Went with my mentee last fall and wound up having to take a couple sick days! I should've started off a little slower.

[Flesh Thorn]

I kind of enjoy it which is weird because I hated it in when I was in the Bat....

X2 For variety, I also like 6 -12 mile hikes as fast as a pace as I can maintain over national forest trails. A hydration or lumbar pack is usually all the load I carry. It hits my body in a different way than running.