Hi,

I've been wondering this question all my life. I'm fairly good at cycling but not very good running.

I'm 169 centimeters = 5.54461942 feet height with a very muscled/fatty legs and I believe that is the reason why I'm not good at running. Does it make sence?

After loossing some 36 pounds I weight now 11 stones 13 pounds and I bought my first running shoes because my old reebook classic don't do the work.

Anyway, I need someone to tell me whether "size" does or doesn't matter.

Thank you very much.

Diego
ESSEX

Okay, first off, being short does not matter in the slightest.

In distance running, something I've noticed as I've progressed has been that the faster you get, the shorter the runners around you are. Many of my friends and truly top athletes are decidedly short by the usual measures. Dave Mitchinson (64:20 HM), can't be much taller than you and neither is Jon Pepper (UK U20 XC champ). I'm quite routinely the tallest of the runners racing me at most races I'm at (I'm 5' 10'' btw).

Being short is viewed by many as a big advantage. Look at Bekele and Gebresellasie, they are both tiny and run 26 minutes for 10k!

What does matter is your weight to height ratio. Without (I hope) being too rude, if you continue to lose weight you will probably run faster. You clearly realise that through already losing 36 pounds (very impressive) and if you continue then you'll find running easier.

What is MUCH more important than any weight loss though is continuing to increase your training level at a reasonable rate (approx. 10%) and this will lead to the biggest gains. Running is something that is very hard at first, but the more you do it, in all honesty the easier it will get.

Keep up the good work. The "proper" running shoes will likely help (though at one point I ran in Reebok Classics myself!).

Thank you for the answer!
I will keep up running. I'd like to comite myself running three times a week Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Sunday is for the gym!

It still costing me a lot but I'm not going to give up. My main reason (being honest) is because is the cheapest sport I found and it only requires time and a pair of shoes!!!

I went for a run today and I'm absolutly shatered. I don't know how many miles I run, I would say yards probably No seriously I'd say I've done 3 miles on pavement.

How do you count the miles you run?

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Diego

I count miles by either using this tool (G-Maps).

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

I know the length of most of the routes I run though.

The other way is just by taking a watch out and seeing how long I run for, as usually within maybe 1/4 mile I can judge how far distance wise I've run from knowing how long and the effort.

Best way is to just time yourself though. Try to increase the amount of time you run for, not the pace and it's a lot simpler. Plus encourages you to not go too fast.

I think I have soo much to learn. I bet I do a lot of mistakes. Can I use a heart rate monitor? I found it really usefull when I use my static cycling.

Meg does road running, and we usually go around the routes in a car first to get an idea of mileage, btu ahd a look at this map and its fantastic, so i'm gonna plot his run on that, thank you Bryn

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Best wishes from Dawn

I'm 5ft 6in and about 13 stone - I only started running last April, and I'm running further and my times are also coming down steadily.

My weight didn't seem to change muchwhen I started running, though, because I went to the weights room in the gym as well as running. This isn't a problem at the mo', as my times are still falling.

Grant- generally if you're putting on muscle then that adds strength as well so isn't nearly as much of an issue. I've put on muscle weight before and ended up running faster. It's the loss of the fat that's the issue, not so much the muscle. When you need to start losing muscle to improve times you're normally at the elite performance level or extremely bulked up!

So does it all mean that running is not for weight lossers?

Hi,

I've ran today 2 miles in 23 minutes. How badly is that? Could you please tell me your thought?

Thanks,

Diego

2 miles in 23 minutes is fine Diego.

You will lose weight eating the right foods and running.

Try to be positive about what you are doing annd set yourself targets that
are reasonable.

It seams to me that your attitude is good and your reasons for running are the right ones.

Trust me,you will look back at this first post of yours in 3 or 4 months and be amazed by the progress you have made.

All the best......Dave.

Weight loss is about consuming less calories than you expend.

If you eat the right foods - plenty of protein etc, then you won't be using muscle to fuel your workouts.

Also - as your muscle mass increases, your metabolism increases, meaning you need more calories to maintain weight, but in a weight loss sense - you will have a larger calorie defecit and should be losing more.

I have only just started running and am running 2 miles in 23-24 minutes depending on the weather, on a reasonably hilly route (just because of where I live).

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I agree with Carl, running is a very good way to loose weight, I started running in mid January and have lost 2 stone, purely by cutting calories and training hard. I now only have 1/2 stone to reach my target weight, so will have to start increasing the calories soon!!!!

Jo

I know - the muscle helped me knock 4 minutes off my 10km time in a matter of months.

Dave,

Many thanks for your comments. I always found hat running was boring and only for tall and lean people. But I think, the cheapest and quickest (wake-up-&-go) sport!!!

I'm currently reading a book 'Fitness on a plate ' by Anita Bean that explains what people should be eating before exercise and the sort of food is right etc.

I find it very interesting and is helping me to select the food I eat more careful.