Lessons learned from a habitual outdoor runner

Tag: weight

Why run?

people doing marathon

Photo by Snapwire on Pexels.com

I’ve had these questions asked in various ways.

  • Why do you run?
  • Why don’t you run races?

You know, there is this 5k here or this 10k there or this half-marathon, marathon, etc. Or the “you should” statements come out frequently along the same lines. Other questions that baffle the non-runners include:

  • Why would you run if no one is chasing you?
  • What is your motivation to run every day?

It’s sort of comical now after all these years and I usually answer with something like “running is my time,” “it’s what I like to do to stay healthy,” “I like to eat a lot.” These are all elements of running for me, but not all. There are books about getting in the “flow” when running and there are times I can relate to that, but most days, not so much.

I do find running provides health maintenance, but I’ve really come to the point where my morning is more of a meditation, learning, and me-time which I just happen to do while running 8+ miles. That 1.5-hour slot opens my day, and I would miss it terribly if I couldn’t exercise to start my day. The nice thing is I don’t hurt or have any real recovery time needed to do this routine.

I was reading today about folks who do like real runs and racing. I was reading about people who do 100-mile runs in 12+ hours. Wow, that pace and endurance must require a lot of training, and that’s cool for them. I do think about this kind of running from time to time, I’m just not sure that’s where I want my running to take me.

I do like to run in new places, new cities, parks, etc. When the surroundings are new, the miles seem to go by so quickly and with less effort.

Are you sick?

When you lose a lot of weight in a short period of time, you can make people wonder if you’re sick or dying. It’s true, I had the bold-folks come right out and ask, others would seek out a family member and ask with concern. I get it, when your skin starts to loosen and your body definition starts to alter, it can look like you may be getting treatments for something.

Your clothes start to get baggy, and your belt starts to get longer, you look and feel less than stylish, but it’s part of the process. I found Goodwill to be my friend. It doesn’t pay to buy new clothes that fit during this time, you’re a work in progress. I found a lot of clothes that helped me transition from XL to Medium and some small clothing at very reasonable prices.

On the flip-side, we found ourselves eventually donating hundreds of dollars of oversized clothing back to our local Goodwill and similar charities.

Don’t give away your large clothing until you’ve been your “new self” for at least six months! Your new lifestyle should be a routine and not just another goal. We can fall off the wagon, we can get tired of the work, our emotions get the best of us, stuff happens! Hopefully, you have a new-you, and you are stable enough to comfortably clean out the closets and purchase some right-sized outfits.

 

The Journey Begins

“I am not what I ought to be, Not what I want to be, Not what I’m going to be, But thank God I’m not what I used to be.”
— Quoted by John Wooden

I was… shall we say… fluffy?DSCN9656

I was in my mid 40’s and like a lot of folks, I somehow went from a vibrant healthy-looking 20-something to an overweight career person with two cars, two kids, a mortgage and less hair. I was more tired and sleeping less, the clothing had expanded numerous sizes and doctor visits were starting to appear more regularly on the calendar. How did this happen and how was I going to fix it? Was fixing this an option or had the momentum of the downhill slide been too great?

It seemed to be insurmountable, but the choices were not attractive; ride the downhill slide or do the work to get healthy. I looked into the face of my first grandchild and realized if I wanted to be a part of her life I had to make some changes. So the IMG_0046journey began the next day and here I am 60+ pounds lighter and down with a 30″ waist reduced from 38.

The posts that follow will unfold this story.

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