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Re: Why don't you have a coach?

guest — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:52:00 GMT

Can't afford one. Oh, I could probably pay for one or two sessions assuming there wasn't an up-front fee too, but a coach and/or personal trainer is not something I will ever be able to afford.

Mary

[http://This message has been edited by MYoung (edited Mar-19-2007).|http://This message has been edited by MYoung (edited Mar-19-2007).]

Re: Why don't you cycle?

guest — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:03:00 GMT

The short answer is that I don't own a bicycle. I have thought about it; in part as a form of cross training and in part, because of a secret desire to do a multi-sport event.

The longer answer is simply that I don't have the nerves to ride a bicycle around Manhattan streets. I'd be a nervous wreck. I bought a bicycle, ostensibly as a mode of transportation in about 1980 when I still lived in Cleveland, Ohio, and I found very quickly that I didn't have "street riding nerves" even then. I was 23 in 1980. I surely don't have 'em now! I never rode in the street with traffic as a kid and it is just too late to learn for me. I live near Central Park, but frankly I'd go mad riding endless loops around the park drives. I had a hard time mentally doing more than two loops running.

I don't have a car, so it isn't like I can drive somewhere to ride (and I ain't dragging a bike onto the subway).

Mary

[http://This message has been edited by MYoung (edited Mar-01-2007).|http://This message has been edited by MYoung (edited Mar-01-2007).]

Re: 2007 Goals

guest — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 21:37:00 GMT

1) Get to my goal weight and stay there (Weight Watchers) or slightly below. Currently within 30 lbs.

2) Get to 50% age-graded for some race at some (any) distance. The best I've ever done is 47.4% in a 10K. I'm moving to a new age group in a few weeks; maybe this will help! LOL!

Mary

[http://This message has been edited by MYoung (edited Feb-02-2007).|http://This message has been edited by MYoung (edited Feb-02-2007).]

Re: Does being a better runner motivate you?

guest — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:31:00 GMT

Great topic.

I'm in a very similar situation; and about the same size (an inch shorter, a little bigger). I fluccuate between the high 150s to high 160s. Last year while attending Weight Watchers I got to 144 lbs briefly, and held in the low to mid 150s, but I lost focus on Weight Watchers when I started training for the New York City Marathon and never really got it back. (I went back the first few months of the year and got down to the low 150s, but I was miserable and realized I needed to find another way.)

I've been losing weight in stops and starts for the past eight years, started at over 250 lbs. I started running when I was about 220 and have thought that this would help me be motivated to lose weight. It hasn't. I've kept running because I love it. It is a good thing, because I am a terrible runnerI absolutely suck at it. There is a little part of me still somewhere inside that hopes if I could ever get to a "good" weight and stay there that I'd be able to run a "normal" pace (I'd be thrilled with 10 minute milessomething I've never even been close to). I don't run much faster at 165 than I did at 220. At 150, I still struggled to run a 12 minute mile. If I could ever get to my dream weight of 135 I don't know it would make all that much difference. This sucks the life out of me.

I like to exercise; but it only helps me with weight loss in that I'm more likely to make good choices when I'm exercising. I have to restrict what I eat in order to lose weight and that is hard to do for life and hard to do with so little pay-off (as regards running).

I don't really care how I look (it is never going to be good enough for me, and I've got way too much loose skin to ever think I'd be cute). I'd like to be lighter becaue like the OP, I do think it would be easier on my joints, I'd be less injury-prone, and that running would be easier all around.

Don't know if it will ever happen, but I'll continue to try.

Mary

Re: Do you ever feel that skinny runners look at you differently?

guest — Mon, 28 May 2007 01:01:00 GMT

I get "go walker" all the bloody time. I'm bigger than most runners (although no longer obese), I'm abnormally slow, and I have a shuffling, bad, running gait.

But I am running, not walking. Lots of walkers pass me; I'm not dissing them, BTW.

This is one of the reasons I am considering giving up entering races; it all seems like a lost cause.

Mary

Re: clothes rant

guest — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:49:00 GMT

I'm in the same boat, Patty. I don't want one of those shirts that looks like it has been painted onto my body! Geez!

I have the same problem with jackets in the winter. The women's jackets are TINY! And they only fall to the top of the hips! I really want it to cover my butt and be a little loose in the body, but to get that I have to get men's jackets and hold the sleeves up with rubber bands!

Mary

Re: To register in races in this catagory: Pro/Con?

guest — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 20:08:00 GMT

I am so slow it does not matter. Registering as an Athena would just give me another category in which to finish last.

If I were faster, I might register as an Athena just because winning something would be wonderful incentive. If I were anywhere near fast enough to place in the open categories, I would not register as a Clydesdale or Athena, irrespective of how much I weighed.

Mary

Re: swallowing problems?

guest — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:01:00 GMT

I had trouble swallowing for years. Frequently choked on certain foods. I thought, as my mother always told me, that I was simply eating too fast.

While getting a test for GERD (which I do have) I found out that I had a large thyroid nodule (goiter) that had pushed my esophagus to the right. That's why I was choking all those years. My doctor told me that it had probably been growing for 5-10 years!

Eventually, I had it removed (after it had grown down into my chest). I could tell the difference swalloing within a week!

Mary

Re: Hungry all the time

guest — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:53:00 GMT

I am another Weight Watchers member (joined in October 2005 @ 199 lbs) have about 20 lbs to go to get to my goal. I'm 5'5", 154 lbs, almost 50 years old. Last year I got down to 144 lbs before I started training for the 2006 New York City Marathon. I was doing well on WW, following the Flex plan, losing weight.

When I upped my mileage for marathon training (and I was doing nowhere near the mileage you are) I also found that suddenly WW stopped working for meI was starved; literally starved! So, I stopped following WW while marathon training and over two months gained about 15 lbs from my low point for the duration of the training. Ran a bad marathon (not weight-related, though) and added almost another 20 in the two months left in 2006. Like other posters have told you, I was not eating enough. The problem is that WW doesn't really have a way to deal with extremely active people. But for me, "listening to my body" or some similar advice simply doesn't work for meif I did that, I'd be back over 250 lbs and gaining again in NO TIME FLAT! I need structure and support.

I resumed WW in January and have lost much of the weight I gained. This time I'm doing Core and trying to be a little more flexible (I'm trying to eat more while accepting a slower loss).

In my experience, when you're going through a period like this all the "tricks:" fiber, water, mini-meals, something inane like eating 10 almonds with an itty-bitty yogurt, don't help quell the hunger at all. But take it from me, you do not want to pack on 10-20 lbs either.

I know you're a leader and I realize the restrictions you're under, but my suggestion is that you eat more, but make it healthy, controlled portions. But it is important NOT TO LEAVE A MEAL HUNGRY! I'm assuming you're eating all the extra points they allow: the 35, plus however many you get for being at goal, plus the ridiculous 28 extra they allow for exercise weekly.

It is hard, believe me, I know. During the two months after the NYCM, I still ran (although a lot less) and I certainly wasn't following WW, but I didn't exactly eat like food was going out of style. I did not resume my pre-WW eating habits or amount. I ate what I wanted, but did not stuff myself. Stopped when I was satisfied. I did not go out of my way to eat fatty stuff, but I didn't look for low-fat either.

I know this is long and rambling; I just want you to know that I hear you and commiserate!

Good luck.

Mary

Re: Do you really care about how you look/self image question

guest — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:22:00 GMT

Hmmmm?

I'm female, almost 50, 5'5", 154 lbs. I need to lose 20 additional lbs. I am a very, very, slow runner; my training runs are usually in 13-14 min/mile pace and have been for years. Races are 1 to 1.5 minutes faster per mile.

Losing the last bit of weight is not going to make me run that much faster; it certainly won't allow me to be able to run at a normal pace (I'd be thrilled to run a 10 mintue mile; something I've never done). Nor will it make me look like a runner. I'd be thrilled if it stopped all the "go walker" comments I hear, but it won't. And it certainly won't ever make me lose the loose skin so I could actually wear shorts, sleeveless tops or a bathing suit (exercise won't help this, btw).

What it will do is make it a little easier on my joints, tendons, and ligaments and hopefully prolong my running career. I already have arthritis in my left hip (was hit by a car) knees, and lumbar spine. If I can carry around less weight it will be easier and help allieviate some of the problems I have because of this.

To answer the original question; yes there is a part of me that cares how I look, but at this point I'm more interested in my health. I will admit that this is in part due to the fact that I'm never going to look the way I'd like and that even if I did, it isn't going to make much difference. I can positively affect my health, however.

Mary