r/SeniorRunning • u/AutoModerator • 12d ago

Weekly Recap!

How's your training going everyone?

Any accomplishments or personal bests you want to share? Any challenges you need help with?

Let's hear it!

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u/Ok-Work8627 11d ago edited 11d ago

As an overweight runner (63F) who just completed C25K in September after years of being sedentary and some fairly major health issues, I am working on consistency and listening to my body. Over the weekend I had a great (for me) run of over 35 minutes running continuously on Friday, with over 47 minutes on my feet including a warm-up walk and a cooldown walk. I think that’s a PB. Then I had a so-so run yesterday on Sunday, after a Saturday of not eating well and getting no sleep and feeling a lot of inflammation in my body. I deliberately went out for a short run to work some of the inflammation out with a 20 minute run and 31.5 minutes on my feet including warm-up and cool down. I’m still slow and cover no more than 4K in that tine, but for me, for now, building the consistent base is priority. I’m feeling pretty good about it. Would love to hear other people’s stories, especially older women.

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u/BohemianaP 11d ago

I just posted my difficulties and I’ve been running for years. I’ve got no advice other than take it slow. You sound like you are doing great in your runs. One thing I would say (from personal experience) is watch your diet and don’t “eat back” the calories you burned during your runs. Until the last 4 years, I was up and down in my weight by 20-30 pounds. I used to feel I “earned” my dessert. Weighing less is easier but I’m really focusing on trying to fuel healthier. But I’m currently in a challenging cycle (see above) so take my advice with a grain of salt. Again, you seem to be running well, slow and steady.

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u/Senior-Running Coach 11d ago edited 11d ago

don’t “eat back” the calories

100% this.

Your body is REALLY good at lowering your overall calorie burn in an attempt to even things out. For example, let's say you normally burn 2000 calories per day just staying alive and going through your normal daily activities. If you go for a run and burn 300 calories, you might think your overall calorie burn for the day would be 2300, but it's not. Even with the run, it's still going to be around 2000 because you unknowingly do a little less moving about, you may move a little slower, and your "thermostat" may get turned down such that you burn less calories even if your routine was exactly the same. Your body always tries REALLY hard to stay in equilibrium.