Weight for it – my real running goal revealed

How do you incorporate weight training into your running programme?

When I signed up to the Wissey Half Marathon I had a secret running goal in mind, to shed some weight.

The training has been going pretty well. I’m managing a steady three-ish runs a week – short, middle, and a Sunday long run – in fact last Sunday’s run included a bit of August’s Run Norwich route – the steep hill at the end up through to Castle Meadow!

And I’m sort of following the TrainAsOne programme which gets emailed to me most mornings at 6am.

But there is one thing that doesn’t seem to be happening, the scales are pointing stubbornly at 13 stone (that’s 182 lbs for US readers, and 83 kg for our friends in Europe – yes they are still friends in my book!)

Has anyone got any suggestions?

owner/photographer

 

I can think of a couple of reasons for this – not least the two chocolate covered ginger biscuits I’ve had with my cup of tea – post 9pm too, which I know is a no-no if you’re really trying to lose weight.

I know it can be done – when I first took up running seven years ago my weight dropped from what it is now to 11.5 stone ( 161 lbs, 73 kg), but I was running four times a week, walking or cycling to work and swimming once a week with Tri-Anglia, and eating steamed fish and veg. But I was newly single then, with a point to prove, and a bit obsessive about my new found hobby, if I’m honest. Now I’m married with a young son, so no way have I got the time I had then.

May be I’m too old – but, determined to get the weight off, I’ve bought a new bike after mine was stolen last year, a long story but there was a lot of ‘grieving’ going on there before I finally got my finger out and claimed on the insurance and got a new Ridgeback Flight via Mandarin Cycles in Aylsham Road (do you know I just had to Google that because my mind went blank, what’s that about ..is it early onset, advancing age, the same reason I can’t shed any weight, is it just late??)

New bike
In my head this thing purrs like Knight Rider – but must remember not to leave it in St Gregory’s Alley like the last one

I’ve taken the bike out for a couple of trips up past Taverham Garden Centre, but nothing too serious yet..

Anyway, the weight thing has been on my mind for a while – so much so that last year I picked up a copy of a Runner’s World Run Your Belly bookazine from WH Smith in Gentleman’s Walk – actually digressing again, was anyone in the Walk this week and saw the big dust up between two blokes near the market opposite Lloyds Bank? I thought the big fella was covered in face paint, until I realised he was streaming with blood and had a cut above his eye. People, including me were just stood there gawping, until a little woman got between them and told them to pack it in as ‘there were kids about’.

Runnorfolk New Year goals blog pic crop
What chance this will happen?

That was enough to make me feel pretty puny on its own, but returning to the weight question…when my cousin posted on Facebook that he had some weights for sale, well it just seemed to be £50 well spent.

“What do you want those for,” a voice said, who just happened to be my wife. “They’ll just sit there gathering dust in the shed at the end of the garden.”

“They are to help me build resistance, get some tone, lose some weight.”

A memory stirred, of falling apart in the Edinburgh marathon, cursing my lack of long runs. May be, I’ve thought to myself since, a bit of core strengthening would have helped?

But yes they are sat the in the shed – for now.

But tomorrow is another day – and I have another book to read ‘Flatten Your Stomach In Six Weeks’.

There is still time to build up some tone before Wissey, though to be honest I haven’t a clue if it will make me a better runner.

Anybody got any insights on this..?

I think it will, and I shall be spending time in the shed trying to find out… and to prove my doubters wrong!

One comment

  1. My advice would be to throw your scales away. Surely if you’re running that much you’re now putting on muscle and that’s why your weight hasn’t gone down? As long as you feel fitter, I’d ignore your weight 🙂

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