It’s Friday so I’m linking up with Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five linkup! Join in! Don’t forget to link back to your hostess and visit some other bloggers.
As I listen to podcasts and read blogs about fitness and running, two topics often pop up. Weight and Pace.
I am just as guilty as the next one in talking about both.
It dawned on me that there are a lot of similarities in wanting to LOSE WEIGHT and wanting to RUN FASTER (these are only in MY OPINION not based on anything else):
1. Quantity Matters
- In other words, if you have 50 pounds to lose,10 lbs come off a lot quicker than if you only have to lose 10 lbs. (This I know from a contest among my tennis friends).
- If you start off running a 40 minute 5k, you can shave 3-4 minutes off your finish time easier than a runner who starts out running a 30 minute 5k. (This I also know from experience too.)
2. The Plateau
Yes, it happens.
- You take off some weight and then it stops. No matter you do, it’s hard to drop more. In fact, you may even gain some back.
- You get faster and faster and then all of sudden, you do not. Your finish times stay about the same and for some races, your time is slower.
Frustrating, right?
3. Comparisons
Yes, everyone makes them. It’s normal.
- You compare yourself to others. “I wish I was as thin as…”
You compare yourself to you at a different time. “I wish I was thin like when I was …. years old”
- The same goes with running.
You wish you were as fast as someone else or as fast as you used to be.
4. Harder as You Age
- Our metabolism slows down. You naturally gain weight as you age.
I am at a heavier weight than ever and I am more active than ever.
So it goes.
- As you get older, your pace will slow down. There’s no formula for when this will happen (it depends on how long you’ve been running) but it will happen.
That is life.
5. Over Sharing and Social Media
Blogs, Facebook, Instagram.
- Sharing of weight loss journeys. Buff bodies, etc.
- Running photos, finish times, paces for runs.
Again I am not being critical because I am guilty of this too.
6. Not Satisfied rather than Grateful.
Wanting to improve is a good thing.
- So wanting to be at a healthy weight is great.
The negative is focusing too much on body image and how you look. (Thank you media.)
- Wanting to be a better runner and to challenge yourself is also admirable.
Running faster is not what running should be about.
This rings home to me right now as I have two running friends to undergoing treatment for cancer.
You need to be grateful that you are healthy and that you are able to run.
no pics in this post so I have added one of my current favorites.
Happy Running! Does any of this ring home to you? Do you think there is too much emphasis in blog posts on running pace and weight/dieting?
My First 5K and More... 
This is definitely a tough subject for me. Like you mentioned, I also exercise more than I ever have and I also weigh more than I have in 10 years. I don’t actually weigh myself but I can tell. I have kind of given up on the pace thing. I am now just grateful for every day that I can run pain free
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I don’t weigh myself either but I can tell. And the weight is in different places lol
I think about pace and then I remind myself how lucky I am to be healthy.
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Amen!! Gratefulness is where it’s at for happiness. Although my surgery was not life-threatening, it gave me a whole new perspective on what to be thankful for and what to let go. I had been riding a plateau for several years prior to incident…and it no longer mattered after that.
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same. I was never really slow so haven’t improved that much but when you have surgery, it changes everything. I am actually running faster than before but it doesn’t matter as much.
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You pretty much nailed it with this post. And yes to the emphasis on pace and dieting blogs posts – once in a while if you have an awesome pace, sure, post it, but I skim that kind of stuff otherwise.
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Yup. But to each his own.
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After I accomplishment what I set out to do in my running career (running Boston) I just feel like everything else is just icing on the cake. I can run races for fun and not put so much stress on myself.
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Boston is a big accomplishment for sure.
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I so love this post and that picture
I mostly don’t post my times here out of laziness when I’m compiling weekly run downs, but i’m not shy about my pace. I’m a proud turtle. Weight on the other hand, I won’t talk numbers. Not because I think anyone in the linkups would judge, but rather because it’s not helpful day to day. Like you said, lots of parallels between diet & pace, but sometimes I think diet eveb more of a whim in different ways — I weigh 2 lbs less than yesterday. My pace – outside of weather – doesn’t vary anywhere near that much. Plus I (personally) find weight loss conversations weird — if I say you look great because you lost 5 lbs, does it apply I didn’t think you did before? Way too fraught
Playlist in the queue for tomorrow is one on weight loss & marathon training. I’m very eager to listen to it
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Hope you run went well. My 16 happened. It was hard. But perfect weather. 50 more days. Yikes.
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It was hard, but solid.
So glad I didn’t run today, it got hot. Tomorrow and this week should be perfect
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yes this week looks good…in Rochester so at least I know where to run.
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