Fattie2Fittie

Hehe, thanks guys! Sorry I didn't reply sooner...

2012-03-28T11:13:14.166+01:00

Hehe, thanks guys! Sorry I didn't reply sooner to your wonderful comments but I didn't set up my email notifications properly on my shiny new iPhone and didn't recieve any emails from anyone at all - even had my brother concerned I was ignoring him as I hadn't replied. lol. I'm beginning to feel old - I always thought i'm quite technologically advanced but then, when you've been used to the way one particular phone works for 2 years, it does take a little while to become accustomed to my new phone buddy. Oh, the only thing I have a niggle with, is the battery power - it drains very quickly, but then it's not surprising when you see what the phone can do. I get around it by buying a car charger and plug it in at home too every evening. I have yet to work out the video upload and editing with it, something I shall work on and hopefuly will enable me to bring better vlogs to YouTube.
Love recieving all your comments, you all put a smile in my heart! xox

4lb loss is fantastic! Also I am super jealous tha...

2012-03-26T23:00:09.095+01:00

4lb loss is fantastic! Also I am super jealous that you're getting an iphone. I want, I want, I want!!

Oh wow ! What a great loss ! You should be proud o...

2012-03-26T09:18:31.018+01:00

Oh wow ! What a great loss ! You should be proud of yourself ! Awesomeness!

I'm very happy to hear about your 4 lb loss. ...

2012-03-25T13:14:17.340+01:00

I'm very happy to hear about your 4 lb loss. I've also found weird relationships between exercise and loss. Usually the "long runs" trigger a huge upswing in weight the day or so after, then another 1-2 days that weight comes off again. I've been told it's from glycogen replenishment "overshoot", or at least that's how I understood it. I'm not sure.

The new iPhone should be fun. I need to move into the 2010's and get a smartphone! I've been waiting for my contract to expire on the old junker I have now. And I think it's actually time. I would also like an iPhone.

It's tough to schedule these races around our injuries. I'm still a bit ticked off at the timing of mine, just 2 weeks from the multi-month prep for the 10 miler! But then when I look at the bigger picture, the goal is not any particular race but it is to enjoy running as a hobby and a part of an active life, and so I just need to figure out how to do that.

I looked at barefoot-style shoes yesterday (the Vibrams) and discovered that they don't make my size!! That was another surprise and disappointment. But I suppose I could just run in my socks, lol.

I hope in time your various knee issues will settle down as you gain strength. I'm sure there is some type of happy zone for you, maybe a balance or compromise between speed and distance or how often you run, maybe style of shoe or technique. I think that's what a lot of this is about. We have to learn what our bodies will allow us to do I think! Some of us seem to be able to get away with more than others. Most that I've seen though with this runner's club are prone to one type of injury or another with running and they have to be aware of those things to avoid getting re-injured constantly.

I hope everything continues to improve for you. I...

2012-03-06T13:46:13.704Z

I hope everything continues to improve for you. I always feel like there's this balancing act between not doing enough and doing too much. I often find that if I scale back the intensity just a little bit here and there that I recover better and then feel so much more alive on the runs. But then, do that too much and I find myself sitting on the couch!

The knees are crazy things. I was shocked that I suddenly felt pain in my right knee after all these months of nothing. And on a short run even, not a biggie. I think I still have some weird cartilage problems in that knee as I said. I can honestly say that it's not from running because it was injured 15 years ago during a hike in the mountains.

I know what you mean about chomping at the bit. I feel that way all the time. I hate that I'm not running upwards of 20 miles right now. I'm serious!! I don't think it's that crazy anymore. But the knee reminds me that there are these stupid injuries just waiting to pop up when we get stupid. So, I must continue the slow progression.

By the way, totally different topic -- are you able to "follow" bloggers with this stupid blogger software? I've painstakenly added 7 blogs to it using their "add" tool (and there seem to be two versions of that as well), only to find that they never show up in my reading list, and it keeps telling me I need to add them again! I hate this interface. Why is it none of these online services ever really work? Any clue as to how to fix this?

Awww thanks Bert, I always love your comments. I f...

2012-03-02T18:12:14.102Z

Awww thanks Bert, I always love your comments. I feel like you know how my mind connects to my activity.
Yeah, I planned on doing some drills once a week - high kicks and exaggerated type running/jumping. I know my muscles don't fire properly (pointed out by my chiropractor) so I knew exactly what drills I needed to do once a week to help engage my muscles properly and then I was planning on doing hill reps once a week too. I was hoping to incorporate it all this week but my health issues have taken a turn for the worst. So, although I have the plans in my mind, I have to wait a little while longer before I can incorporate them. Which is kinda okay, I figure I have a 2-3 week window for injuries, illness etc. It's just totally frustrating because I just want to go run every day! Haha
Oh yeah, I'm chomping at the bit for a marathon, but this year I wull find out how my knees hold out on longer distances and yes, I often ponder on ultras! I like the idea of being able to run slow but forever. I could manage that because once I get into a comfortable 'zone', I could run forever. Hehe. I am always refining myself in at present. I often finish my current 4miles in the hills, thinking I could at least do double that distance. But I have to be patient, I'm increasing my longest run by 1 mile each week, so tomorrow should be a nice little fun 5-miler, I desperately want to go but my health problem might put a no go on that! Ugh!
Before I did my running, I did a lot of hiking and I'm planning on bringing it back most Sundays.
I will let everyone in on my little secret next week, the plans are drawn up so I think im good to announce it and why it means so much to me. Hehe. Have a good weekend my friend :)

Thanks Chris! Running has really gotten under my s...

2012-03-02T17:57:53.370Z

Thanks Chris!
Running has really gotten under my skin and feels Luke a natural part of me. It was the part of me that was missing all through my married years and to have it back again, feels like I've found myself again. My journey hasn't just been one about weight loss but about re-discovering myself after divorce and finding out that I can do anything if I put my mind to it.
Thanks again for your encouragement, it really does help :)

Hey, that sounds exciting about the better meeting...

2012-03-02T17:28:28.280Z

Hey, that sounds exciting about the better meetings. I hope they help you.

I'm also very excited by the weather changing. I'm also just very eager for more distance. I figure the speed will take care of itself for the most part. But as I said, working in speed or strengthening training wouldn't be a bad idea, maybe for either one of us.

I bet you feel this way too, but I'm really starting to want to do a lot more -- like marathon-distance more. I feel that I could go out and with enough water/food easily run 20 miles, today. And part of me is getting overly-anxious. I feel that these shorter distances are a bit of a joke for me now. I'm trusting in the coach, but after this half-marathon if I'm still feeling great I'm for sure looking at a marathon for the fall, if not beyond (maybe an ultra somewhere). I have to check with my heart doctor though, that's the only "catch" here.

Do you often feel anxious in terms of wanting to do vast distances? I think for me it's the hiker coming out. I like to explore and venture out, and running is like this new way for me to do that, and I'm very excited by it.

I'm looking forward to hearing what this new exciting announcement is! Yeah, I pretty much assumed it was either a wedding date or a baby, lol. Glad you cleared those two up for us!

doing great .. keep it up

2012-03-02T14:52:51.980Z

doing great .. keep it up

I'm going to copy what you've had for brea...

2012-02-27T22:03:50.801Z

I'm going to copy what you've had for breakfast and eat it tomorrow! I'm not sure what warm banana will be like but i'm intrigued!

I love the post, particularly at the end with the ...

2012-02-22T16:10:20.473Z

I love the post, particularly at the end with the keeping on trucking part. That's how I'm feeling right now. I feel that some part of me is fighting back and wants to regain all the weight. There's a lull when you hit "goal" weight (or for me weight ranges) and it's dangerous. That's always when I've regained in the past. It almost feels like to me that I have to keep the focus up just as I did with the loss, or I'll gain back. Which kind of sucks right now. I hope it changes.

As for shorts, I ran in them for the first time in a long while today, as it got warmer. I hate the longer jogging pants, I've always been a shorts person. I think you'll be fine as far as how it looks!

Haha Tim, oh yes, the smell of Deep Heat but the i...

2012-02-20T18:06:00.366Z

Haha Tim, oh yes, the smell of Deep Heat but the itching and pain when you spray on too much, too close! LOL. Oh, I havent showed you my medical chest that's under my bed and then there's the chest of dressings and bandages. They were mostly from when I had horses thoug. I'm not that accident prone - honest! ;)

You could open up a chemist with all that! Haha. I...

2012-02-20T12:21:55.372Z

You could open up a chemist with all that! Haha. I love Deep Heat, I use it when I play football and it helps so much. Is it weird to say I love the smell too??

Yes, for sure I agree that not taking part in a pr...

2012-02-16T15:45:56.496Z

Yes, for sure I agree that not taking part in a proper structured running programme is a big cause of knee issues for many people who do suffer and also, those who insist on running in any old 'trainers' (sneakers). I see people who have shoes that are worn down so much and they wear these casual sneakers/trainers every day until they literally fall apart and they even try to run in them. I dragged my wobbly bottom all the way to London to go to a specialist running shop to have my gait analysed and the right shoes to fit my build, style and issues. I'm lucky that I have a pretty good gait and only very slightly over pronate on my right leg - the one with the bad knee! I can always tell when I need new running shoes as my shns start getting sore again! I have been having new shoes every year and at the moment I am wearing Nike Lunarglides (lightweight as opposed to the big heavy cushioned ones I needed when I started)at the gym on the treadmill. I am hoping to switch to lighter shoes when I get my new ones this year for road running. I also need to get new trail shoes too. Shoes are seriously important.
Can't wait to see your blog Bert, of course I will read it and I will try to help promote it as much as I can if you like. I'll link you on my blog too and put a wonderful post about you. hehe. But I do totally understand how you feel about the FB, YT thing etc. I am so happy to have the followers that I do and there may be more than the ones just listed on my 'Folowers' section on the sidebar - people who might just 'bookmark' my blog and pop in occasionally to read. My site statistics look good though and I have had a lot more page views recently. Blog can be a little slow to get off the ground but it will get there. I'm sure your usual gang will be interested to read about your workouts, whether they be hiking, swimming, cycling, running. We've followed you a long way on this journey and we want to see where you're going with it now. I think my needs have changed too. I didn't get much support in weight loss from others either and I think i'm just going to keep on trucking - with or without support as that's all I can do. But I'm more interested in the sporty lifestyle stuff now and talking with like-minds about it. The weight will come off - eventually - it has to with all the training i've got planned! haha. I'm just going to push my little boat off the shore and go wherever the stream takes me. xoxox

My asthma used to be really bad, mostly because I ...

2012-02-16T15:32:14.346Z

My asthma used to be really bad, mostly because I was overweight and unfit too and I remember when I first started running, how i'd always have asthma attacks when running in the cold, so I used to have to take a puff on my blue inhaler everytime before I went out for a run. But these days my asthma is so much better and funnily enough, I only really seem to have the occasional attack when I'm sat down watching telly! haha. The cold certainly doesn't affect me as much. Sometimes I sound a bit wheezy but it's not an actual asthma attack. Glad you found any of my info useful Randyor xoxox

I have suffered quite a bit with shin splints - du...

2012-02-16T15:28:38.958Z

I have suffered quite a bit with shin splints - due to having tight lower leg muscles (hence why I was given some of those stretches that you have Bert) and whilst I don't suffer from shinsplints as such now, I do find sometimes that if I ramp up the mileage then my shins are a little tender and warm the next day but my tubigrips feel so lovely and really help. I just wear them post run. Also - there was a programme on in the UK last night about drinking milk - and it was saying that if you drink a pint of milk after training then you'll suffer 50% less muscle damage. You'll recover quicker. Before that programme I have started drinking milk (lactofree) every day now and I do reckon there is a noticeable difference in how I feel as well as how my muscles feel.
I was told by a medical professional last week that my previous 'brown' inhaler was causing my frequent Tonsilitis attacks - apparently you should use the 'spacer' device especially with that one to reduce throat issues and Tonsilitis.

I also feel I am coming down with something, I use...

2012-02-16T13:27:57.724Z

I also feel I am coming down with something, I use a lot less now as since running, I've noticed an improvement in asthma. Thanks for your kind of information. Thank you!

medical cabinet

The compression stuff is something I will surely n...

2012-02-16T13:22:17.086Z

The compression stuff is something I will surely need to consider as time moves on with this. The longer runs will require different gear. As I approach 10 miles, I feel that things that I could ignore before are going to pop up.

I haven't delved into the medicine stuff a whole lot. I should have my inhaler around though, that's a good idea. I don't usually have attacks these days but for an emergency especially for something like a half-marathon I think that would be really important.

Very interesting and thorough post. I know I'...

2012-02-16T13:14:46.594Z

Very interesting and thorough post. I know I've heard you mention parts of this story here and there but this is the first time I really grasped the full extent of what happened to you.

You know, going through what you went through with your leg, especially knowing how much running meant to you, would throw just about anyone into depression. I see you as every bit of a serious runner as "Jonesee" and others in the community who run, if not moreso. But having the knee problem really puts a damper on it. That and your struggles with the hypoglycemia.

I really believe that as you say one of the worst things for knees is being obese. Especially because of the rule of 1 lb weight = 4 lbs force on the knee. I myself noticed dramatic differences when trying to run at, say, 260 lbs vs. 220. The difference is night and day. I haven't felt any pain or discomfort in my knees for months now, and even my problematic ankle has subsided.

I think that maybe for some people running does destroy their knees, but likely they are running with bad form, overdoing it, or other things. I mean, being obese especially, I can damage my knees by hiking in the mountains for too many hours or with a heavy pack. There are dumb things we can do which destroy our bodies! And then we try to blame the activity instead of our own stupidity. I agree with you, I think that running done properly (as with all other training) actually strengthens you rather than damages you.

My wife also had some severe knee damage when trying to do some dancing while being very obese. She's lost a lot of weight from that point, but still has knee pain and struggles (and still needs to lose a lot more). I do hope that she will shed those lbs as I think it would give her a much better quality of life on the damaged knee.

Thanks for posting the blog. I hope to get online with my own this weekend! Maybe only you and one or two others will read but that's ok. I'm lucky to have some online friends such as yourself. YouTube has at least paid off for me in that respect.

Thanks Tim. I'm going to be taking a more seri...

2012-02-12T18:48:07.660Z

Thanks Tim. I'm going to be taking a more serious approach now and trying my absolute best to work on my speed issues. This year I'm going to hit ALL of my goals. I'm pretty sure that as I get closer to the weight goal, my running speed will naturally improve. xoxox

Good luck with your running plans this year. I'...

2012-02-07T21:10:06.684Z

Good luck with your running plans this year. I'm excited to see how you do!

Hello David. I tried the email on your profile but...

2012-01-26T22:19:16.831Z

Hello David. I tried the email on your profile but the link didn't work. Feel free to ask your question here and I'll try to be as helpful as I can :)

Hello, I have a question about your blog, could yo...

2012-01-26T21:31:25.150Z

Hello,
I have a question about your blog, could you email me?
David

This is a really great post! I'm so happy for...

2012-01-23T17:06:15.059Z

This is a really great post! I'm so happy for you Jackie.

First, mega-congrats and beating the plateau and pushing the scale downwards again, that's huge. The psychological lift can really give you some momentum now. And maybe all the water drinking helped as well?

Second, the running thing. That's very interesting. And I wonder if the hypoglycemia also is tied into the more rapid heart rate? I've noticed this odd thing about my own situation with (presumably) blood sugar. If I eat a lot of sugar (like candy), my pulse seems to elevate. And it will stay elevated for awhile, sometimes almost an hour, before settling back down. I sometimes get this from heavy meals in general, so I'm not totally sure it's just from sugar (of course, "heavy" meals can contain lots of sugars). Anyway, if I hit the cardio during the rapid heart rate thing, the heart rate actually SLOWS to a more normal level very quickly upon doing the activity! So, it seems I may have a tendency to the opposite problem. I actually feel better with the activity often times. So it makes me wonder if in your case actually adding the sugar will cause your rate to go down. Just a thought.

I'm going to have to fine-tune the eating and drinking for running as I get into the beyond 10k distances I think. I'm going slow enough now (and it's so freaking cold out) that it hasn't been an issue, but I'm sure that will change.

Looking forward to your vlogs too! Nobody is vlogging today!

Good fighting words at the end! It will be inter...

2012-01-20T18:37:47.605Z

Good fighting words at the end!

It will be interesting to see how you do this Saturday with the Healthy & Filling to compare with last week.