Can an obese person build up to running 5K in 11 weeks?

[Anonymous]

I started c25k yesterday. I just followed along to a youtube program for a 1/2 hour and in that time, I ran/walked 1.75 miles. I used the treadmill on random (which changed the elevation off and on, but nothing too drastic), walked at 3.6 mph and "ran" at 4.1 mph.

I think the plan calls for running 3x/week, you'll be done with the plan in 9 weeks and should be able to run a 5K. Could I instead run 5-7x/week, or is that too much or too hard on a beginner? My son and I signed up for a 5K w/some of his friends and their parents and I don't want to humiliate him by not being able to do it.

To top it off, I am 250 lbs. (I'm mortified to type that out.) The race is scheduled for the beginning of April. Is this too ambitious for me? I've been a hiker off an on through the years, and I feel my fitness comes back to me relative quickly, even though I'm heavy, but I've never been a runner...even though I've always thought it would be amazing to love it.

[Anonymous]

I think if you're committed it's completely doable. I would try to be realistic about what your expectation is, though, you just want to be able to complete it without keeling over, in a reasonable amount of time (i.e., not last?) or you want to finish it under 20 minutes. Big difference.

[Anonymous]

The race is more about endurance than size. You'd be surprised by the number of bigger people that can run those. I agree if you're committed you should go for it.

[Anonymous]

How tall are you?

[Anonymous]

It's no ambititous to make finishing the race as a goal. I wouldn't train 5-7 x week given your weight as it might be counterproductive if you get fatigue-related injuries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think if you're committed it's completely doable. I would try to be realistic about what your expectation is, though, you just want to be able to complete it without keeling over, in a reasonable amount of time (i.e., not last?) or you want to finish it under 20 minutes. Big difference.

haha, good point! I think I'd like to finish it in under 40 minutes. Is that totally crazy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How tall are you?

I am 5'8.

fatigue-related injuries - that is because of overtraining, yes? At my size, what is a healthy amount of x per week that will still let me accomplish this?

thank you!

[Anonymous]

I don't know if I'd run 7x a week if you aren't a runner. But I'd think walking would be fine to do. So I'd run 3-4x a week a do a good walk on the off days. As your endurance gets better you can re-evaluate, but I still wouldn't run 7x a week. Your body needs time to recover from workouts too. And you don't want to injure yourself right off the bat which will set the whole thing back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How tall are you?

I am 5'8.

fatigue-related injuries - that is because of overtraining, yes? At my size, what is a healthy amount of x per week that will still let me accomplish this?

thank you!

You are a bit hung up on your size. It's much more about your fitness and strength. A 150lb person can get injured doing too much too quickly too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if you're committed it's completely doable. I would try to be realistic about what your expectation is, though, you just want to be able to complete it without keeling over, in a reasonable amount of time (i.e., not last?) or you want to finish it under 20 minutes. Big difference.

haha, good point! I think I'd like to finish it in under 40 minutes. Is that totally crazy?

I don't know your level of fitness, but for your first race, I would just go with finishing. Just my two cents. And good luck to you, you can do it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if I'd run 7x a week if you aren't a runner. But I'd think walking would be fine to do. So I'd run 3-4x a week a do a good walk on the off days. As your endurance gets better you can re-evaluate, but I still wouldn't run 7x a week. Your body needs time to recover from workouts too. And you don't want to injure yourself right off the bat which will set the whole thing back.

Yes, this. Even if your muscles and heart can handle it, the ligaments might not, and that could lead to injury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if I'd run 7x a week if you aren't a runner. But I'd think walking would be fine to do. So I'd run 3-4x a week a do a good walk on the off days. As your endurance gets better you can re-evaluate, but I still wouldn't run 7x a week. Your body needs time to recover from workouts too. And you don't want to injure yourself right off the bat which will set the whole thing back.

Yes, this. Even if your muscles and heart can handle it, the ligaments might not, and that could lead to injury.

Thank you all for this feedback. I'll stick to the plan, then, and walk on the off-days. I'm also thinking I'll get a knee wrap/brace right away to try to avoid a knee thing - which I now remember was a problem the last time I tried running. I'd love any other tips and I appreciate the support and good wishes!!

[Anonymous]

I think that you can do it but unless you are pretty tall, I think that it would be tough on your joints to be running with that much weight on you.

You would be better off concentrating on diet first. I'd honestly put this off until next year. I think you could be in great shape doing it April 2020.

[Anonymous]

Yes. It's doable. I'm also obese and I can run 5K although running is hard on my body so there are other things I prefer to do instead. My biggest concern about going "full throttle" would be injuries. You can always add in low impact workouts like swimming, biking or even just walking on off days and those exercises will help your cardiovascular health while being a little kinder to knees, shins, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started c25k yesterday. I just followed along to a youtube program for a 1/2 hour and in that time, I ran/walked 1.75 miles. I used the treadmill on random (which changed the elevation off and on, but nothing too drastic), walked at 3.6 mph and "ran" at 4.1 mph.

I think the plan calls for running 3x/week, you'll be done with the plan in 9 weeks and should be able to run a 5K. Could I instead run 5-7x/week, or is that too much or too hard on a beginner? My son and I signed up for a 5K w/some of his friends and their parents and I don't want to humiliate him by not being able to do it.

To top it off, I am 250 lbs. (I'm mortified to type that out.) The race is scheduled for the beginning of April. Is this too ambitious for me? I've been a hiker off an on through the years, and I feel my fitness comes back to me relative quickly, even though I'm heavy, but I've never been a runner...even though I've always thought it would be amazing to love it.

I trained for half marathon following a program by Jeff Galloway (http://www.jeffgalloway.com/). I liked that it incorporated running and walking, and gradually increased the running distance. This allowed me to gradually build up strength and endurance. Check out this link for 5-10K training: http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/5k-10k-training/ It is for 15 weeks, but probably you could skip some of these and see how far you get by 9.

The only issues with your size is that you need to be careful not to over do it and hurt your knees and joints. Running is harder on the joints than hiking and walking, so be careful not do too much too soon. If you hurt yourself and end up quitting, or would need to stop running, it will be counterproductive. For this reason, I would not run 7 days a week, because you will not give your body a chance to rest and recuperate.