Tough Start-First day 5-5-08

Weak legs, out of breath after 5 minute jog, not good. Finished the workout holding on to my hips and gasping for air and trying not to empty my stomach in front of everybody..


At 280 pounds, on May 5th, 08 I laced my running shoes, rejoined my running group lead by a an elite runner and former Olympian coach, and began the Beat the Heat program of the Kenyan Way running club. I have done this 12 week program before, it can be tough, but it's a lot of fun and the results are always good. Starting at 6 AM three days a week, workouts consisted of running hills on Mondya, running speed intervals on Wednesday, and then a Saturday long run. This is all relative of course, what I consider is running fast or for a long distance, might be slow and easy for others. That's actually why I like running,walking, etc, because you can do your own level of intensity and still reap the benefits. This time though, I am training to lose weight first, which means I cannot stop after 3 or 4 months, it has to be a lifestyle change. I now believe that I am one that needs constant exercise( at least 5 days a week) to keep the weight off. I know from experience that when I slack off the weight creeps back up again. Unfortunately, it's that simple. To be on the positive side, when you have a lot of weight to lose, and you start moving, you burn so much more fat and calories than the relatively lighter person. Again, it's simple physics, you are working harder to move your weight around, resulting in bigger and harder effort, which translates into larger calorie deficit(assuming you are watching portions.. more on that front). But because I'm carrying all this weight, I had to relearn how to stretch, warm up before running, and recover from my workouts.