Wow, seems the first focus is to get some weight off. Just think what your body is feeling like getting pounded with an extra 50 lbs on the frame.
Take is slow. Get in the pool. Get on a bike. Cross train. And stay away from the quantity of food.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1612485;

BarryP's philosophy has helped me a lot. I dont think you need to be doing intervals right now ---- get a long run over 6-8 miles once a week. Run more.

"Running is primarily about raising your body's ability to tolerate heavy stress. The easiest, most efficient way (arguably) is to run a lot!.....or in the case of the struggling runner, RUN MORE. The more you run, the more time your body is stimulated to improve its "endurance" and the more time your body builds a resistance to stress.

The easist way to run more is to A) SLOW DOWN and B) RUN MORE OFTEN. You don't slow down for the sake of slowing down or run more often for the sake of running more often. You do it so that you can run more. If you struggle with running and typically get 2 runs of 45min-1:30 at 85% of max heart rate (Gordo's Moderately Hard zone), instead try running 6 times at 65%-80% of max heart rate ("steady" or even "easy"). Each run can be as short as 15 minutes. Once you get used to 6 short easy runs a week, gradually build the distance of 2 or 3 of them. Start off running no more pre week than you currently do, and then add 15 minutes a week over the course of several months until you get to 3, 4, ....as much as 5 hours a week of running (admittedly this may not be a "well balanced program".....but if you struggle on the run, you may need to shift your training to be "run heavy").

For the Ney Sayers out there, correct, this is not the end all be all of run training. Intensity is needed to achieve peak fitness. Time limitations can become an issue. Many have succeeded on a "hard all the time approach." However this is targeted at the struggling runner who has never tried a high mileage, high freduency, low effort approach. 9 times out of 10 I find this to be a neccessary 1st step in building a foundation for one's career as a runner. I highly recommend giving it a try for a good 4 month block and see the results." ---BarryP

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You know though, my doctor says its completely healthy based on my frame. I'm 6'6" so 50lbs spreads out quite a lot. However, I do need to get in the pool. My fiancée has been paying for a gym membership I'm not using at all.

Intervals

I am 6'5", 160

I do have a small frame but I do not like to jiggle when I run.

.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Establish a benchmark. Do a 5k or neighborhood loop 2 mile run. Yes, you will be so much slower than you used to, and it will hurt and suck and demoralize you. But after that subsides, it will motivate you, and a week or two later you can go back, and pace better or just feel better and go a little fast and see some progress. And then it will feel good and keep you going. You have to forget your former times and accept your times now and work on those.

Also, changing from school/training life to working life is tough if it's what you've known for the last 11 years. Finding ways to make it easy, fun and natural are best. Staying active in other ways can really help. Are you able to bike commute at all? just being active, racing up an overpass for 45 seconds a few times a day, etc, it adds up, keeps the blood flowing and metabolism up, makes the effort of your runs go from 60-100 rather than 0-100. Standing desk, if you've been at your job 2 years employer should help out, esp. if you can get a doctor or PT note. That can go far in warding off that afternoon lethargy, keep you just a little fresher and more awake to go tackle your runs.

Finally, smile, nod and ignore anyone who says "boohoo! I work 70 hours a week, lost 100 pounds and KQ'd!" Yes, it's impressive, but it's not that helpful and in the grand scheme of things not that impressive. It's just what they got to do to keep going through their own life. You've got your own experience, go live it on your terms.

What kind of workouts were you doing during your 11 years of running?

I see what you're getting at, but I don't remember 6th grade. Then high school is kind of a blur too, as was college. when you get up to 70 miles a week the memorable workouts aren't exactly what you want to be doing in my situation.

Thanks, nice perspective and good advice!

Thanks man, I need to check this out!

Here's my progress back into reasonable shape following BarryP's approach of run more, run slower ---- you can see it began week of 3/16. Have lost 5.5 pounds in the last month as well.

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no one was saying boohoo or any such thing... I was being supportive and offered suggestions that I know will work
i.e. take it easy to start with, don't rush the intensity and it will come, and that 50 hr work weeks are not the end of the world, there are ways to get around it and still participate in sport and life.

Are your figures in miles or km's?

miles ------ not a gradual build up, but I was feeling okay so went with it

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I agree, you touched on it in a helpful fashion, but it reminded me that I have sometimes seen that sentiment here laid on pretty thick and when it's all people say it can be frustrating.

I've done a similar thing at about the same time this year. My mileage is higher (stabilized between 40 - 50) but I have decades of background. And, 2 years (recent) of injury, so I'm trying to be careful - AND still competitive, a tricky balance.

But, there is no substitute for some frequency and distance (not that I know of, anyway).

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

It's actually really simple. Just run more. More runs per week and more miles per run. Set targets and measure yourself on them. Be accountable to your plan.

If I'm in your shoes, I try something like the barryp plan with the goal of getting to 35-40 ish miles per week running. Make it your 8 week plan, don't build too fast and take recovery weeks. That puts you on your feet somewhere between 5-7 hours per week. Measure your weekly progress in terms of time on your feet per week, rather than speed on a run. It is hard. It is a change. But in the end it will work. It's okay to run slow, these will still be "good" in helping you get in shape.

Build slow, focus on low intensity which burns fat faster than high intensity. If you want, make one of those days a hard day so you remember how much fun it is to go fast.

You'll slowly get faster as you build your base and then you can add in more intensity in about 2 months as you can handle it.

Good to see you back!
My only advice is to just keep at it, and I definitely second what the guy up there said about getting in the pool. I've been swimming some what regularly lately after coming off a short break myself, and it's coming back very nicely, it also has helped improve my running a bit as well!

I'd rather be with my family than train/work. So they took priority here. Before her I was the complete opposite, lost many friends because I was entirely devoted to training, now that I'm out of it, I'm doing the exact opposite, which I wish was what I had done from the beginning.

If I had, I'd probably still be racing to a degree.