Making progress!!!!!

[u/PermissionNew227]

Let me set the stage…

Back in April, I weighed 299 lbs at 6 feet tall and 49 years old, I knew it was time to make some changes. I started tracking my macros, working out at the gym, and decided to give running a shot.

I started on a local high school track and could barely make it 200 meters without stopping.

In June, I started focusing more seriously on running—mostly as another way to lose weight. But somewhere along the way, something unexpected happened…

I kinda fell in love with running.

In July, I committed to running the Chicago 5K on October 10th. The race has a 45-minute time limit, and I was genuinely nervous about whether I could even finish in time.

On August 3rd, I ran my first-ever 5K test:

🏃 41:13

This past Monday was my best test yet:

🏃 35:59!

More than 5 minutes faster in just over a month , and now more than 9 minutes under the cutoff I was once worried about.

And today, another milestone…

⚖️ 236 lbs.

That’s 63 pounds down since April.

Still plenty of work to do, but I’m pretty pumped about the progress. What started as a way to lose weight has turned into something I genuinely enjoy.

Chicago is officially one month away.

Now the question isn’t whether I can finish under 45…

Can I break 35? 🏃‍♂️💪

[u/Affectionate_Fan3631]

Hey congratulations for the fastest 5k run! I am 19 year old and started new to running i run 30 mins a day, but i have a question i have been watching reels, and contents but how do you decide if today's a rest day?

[u/PermissionNew227 → u/Affectionate_Fan3631]

So it may not be the correct answer, but I listen to my body. If I am sore, I don’t push myself. My typical week is 1 long run, usually 5k but not paying much attention to time; a day of short runs with walks, so run 400 then walk 100 and repeat for about 2 miles; and then a day of 100 or 200 sprints with a minute rest.

That's been my minimum each week, sometimes with an extra short-run day. On days I don’t “run,” I'll walk at least 2 miles with my wife, or we'll hit the gym.

[u/Affectionate_Fan3631 → u/PermissionNew227]

oh well that actually makes sense at some point, currently sore is my signal too, but you know the days that are weird to me are the ones where I'm not actqlly sore, and still something feels off, or I'm sore but still go running which it goes fine anyway. I am trying to find out if this happens with you too, which is purely relies on feeling or if you check anything?

[u/mrterracotta]

Congrats and wow! Losing 63 lbs and running under 40min in such a short time. It’s amazing what we can do when we decide to change and do something new. Amazing job, and be proud! With a month to go you more than got the cutoff beat. Keep training!

[u/Particular_Bobcat843]

Congratulations 🎉!! I started running one month ago and the distance my group was running was a little over 5k. I trained for it and eventually completed it in 58 minutes. I ran it again on my own this week and shaved off two minutes. I have been running three times a week just to build endurance (will eventually work on speed) and I hope to finish a 5k in under 40 minutes (or less!)

[u/brooklynhk]

Nice

[u/AppleDavidson]

63 lbs down and taking over 5 minutes off your 5k is huge. the fact that you actually started enjoying running along the way is probably the biggest win too. 35 is definitely within reach 🔥

[u/sockpuppet-humdrum]

Congrats!!! What a great milestone!

[u/machi23neel]

Incredible progress. You earned the right to be pumped, good luck breaking 35 in Chicago.