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Question:
Yesterday, I had a complete medical checkup and doctors told me I’m 70 lbs. overweight. I’m
about 5’6”, and apart from being overweight, I’m in relatively good health. I want to start
running, but I read recently that there is a difference between a jogger and a real runner.
I want to do a race. I want to become a runner. But when I run, since I’m overweight, my
knees sometimes hurt. Should I lose the weight before I start running? My goal is to run a
half marathon in six months. What’s your best advice?
Answer:
Well, I don’t think you need to lose the weight first. You can lose it while you are
training; the two go hand in hand. What I did when I was overweight was a combination of
running and walking. I just kept working up to the minutes that I wanted to do, extending
them periodically. Every couple of weeks, I added a couple of more minutes to my running
routine.
When you start to run, your heart rate is going to go up. Then the walking will help you
recover and lessen the impact on your knees. This approach will help you stay on track
with losing weight, too. Depending on your fitness level, I don’t know if doing a half
marathon in six months is reasonable. It all depends on your current fitness level and
what you’re doing now and that type of thing. You just kind of have to keep going and keep
doing it. I would suggest starting with a 5K and building up to a 10K. Then do a half
marathon. You have three separate goals that you can be working towards. I’m not at all
suggesting that you can’t do a half marathon, just saying you need to work up to it
gradually. Thirteen miles is a long ways!
Question:
I’m a little overweight and self-conscious about my appearance. What type of clothing
should I wear in my first race? It will be a 10K.
Answer:
What you wear depends on the conditions and weather, but I love to run in tights. In the
summer, obviously, I’m probably not going to wear tights. But I run in the mornings, and
it’s pretty cool here in the San Francisco Bay Area, so I almost always do run in tights.
I like Cool Max type fabrics that wick away the moisture. If you want to wear shorts,
because you get too hot in tights, I would say to wear the shorts and wear a long shirt
over them. That’s what I do. I hate wearing shorts in public, but when it’s hot I wear the
long shirt to cover my butt, so I’m not as intimidated and worried about my appearance. I
dream someday that I will be one of those cute little girls wearing like a jog bra and
running shorts. But I’m not there yet.
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