Weird Things That Get Sore

A short list of the weird places (at least I thought so anyway) that got or get sore:

1. My neck.  You don't use your neck to run, right?  Well, apparently ya do, 'cuz it gets sore. This was definitely a problem when I first started running. I feel this is especially true for heavy runners.  I could feel that my arms and shoulders seemed to carry the weight of all my weight.   The tight muscles would give me a headache.  Stretching those muscles helped a ton, as did being mindful to relax them during running.  

2. F.U.P.  Yes, I went there (Google it if you know not of what I speak).  The very tippy end of my rectus abdominis was sore every time I ran for the first month or so.  Follow the bouncing belly!

3. Ok, so I wasn't sore here, but my hands were one of the first places that started to lose weight.  Weird huh?

4. Toenails. The rubbing of toes nail against the top of my shoes made them ache sometimes. My shoes aren't too small, it just happens when you are going down hills, etc.   Keeping the nails clipped short helps.  I am proudly awaiting my first blackened toe nail which I have heard distance runners get.  So far, no luck.

All the rest of the sore places are to be expected:  feet, ankles, knees, everything....

Is That a Flourscent Yellow Running Sausage?

So now that I'd decided to be a runner, I wanted to look like one.  Not sporting Just My Size baggie shorts and t-shirts, but those bright colored awesomely skin tight exercise clothes.   However, it was February in Vermont, which meant snow and ice.  So into the depths of my exercise clothes cache I went. Kept in a biggo Tupperware at the bottom of my closet, I have about 10 pairs of differing black legging thingies - shorts, capris, baggie capris, actual fitted long leggings. You know, because this new pair is going to fit better than the last black stretchy thing I bought.  The fitted leggings (that actually are Just My Size!) became my new best friend.  These beauties could be pulled up over my stomach rolls for support!  They just about touched my sports bra.  This is impetrative, so that you can focus on running and not the giggle of your belly. Sexy? Not so much.  But I wasn't going for sexy, I meant business with this new running gig.  For my first run, I layered these leggings with a long sleeve t-shirt, a fleece jacket, and top layer of my 3-layer coat.  It was probably 25-30 degrees.  But out into the night I went and I ran.  I ran in cold rain, I ran in slush and freezing puddles with wet cold feet, I ran in snow and 15 degree wind.  I ran in reflective vest.  Did I tell you I meant business? 

But as the weather warmed, I realized that the skin tight leggings and shirt could no longer hide behind a coat.  So real quick, I had to find the courage to put on clothes that made me look like a fluorescent sausage and run around town in them.  The thing is, when I put them on, I felt like a runner.  I didn't want to wear baggy workout clothes.  These running clothes were the most comfortable, esteem boosting things I had ever placed on my body.   I did, however, have one moment of seeing myself reflected in the glass of a shop window while running downtown.  I had an "OMG, you can totally see every single detail of my rolls" freak out.  But I was about to complete my first 3 mile run.  All the sudden I didn't give a shit anymore. What I was doing in those clothes was more important to me than what I looked like in those clothes.

My fluorescent yellow shirt and BFF leggings. 
I had just finished my first 5K!

My running clothes advice:

1. Get running socks!  They make a huge, huge difference! I buy mine at Walmart in the men's sock section (couldn't find any in the women's socks section).  They are moisture wicking.  I have run miles with wet feet and haven't had a blister yet!

2. Make sure you have a good supportive sports bra.  My girls aren't so big, so I don't have to worry too much about this, but as I've lost some weight, I know when it's time to get a smaller bra.  Ouch.

3. The form fitting clothes have saved me from chaffing. I haven't had to resort to Body Glide quite yet. (See the links below for more info on this).

4. There are a handful of name brand places that sell plus size workout clothes.  Most are pretty pricey.  I did get a pair of XL women's Under Armor running capris.  I like them a lot, but they don't quite pull up far enough over my tummy (this is an ongoing issue with most "plus size" clothes made by say Nike, still cut the same as smaller women clothes without room big bellies).  They will soon, but the evening I ran in them, my stomach fat actually hurt from not enough support while running.   So I would advise trying either men's sizes or look for larger sizes at Walmart or Target.  They do a pretty good job of having leggings that fit larger women.  They may not be as wonderfully cute as those Athleta outfits, but they will do the job.   I also saw reasonably priced workout clothes at JCPenny, Lane Bryant, and Columbia.

5. Wear the bright neon colors while running the roads.  People drive crazy these days, what with the texting and cell phones.   The more you can be seen, the better.

6. Be proud of embracing your body as it is, even in these more reveling clothes.  You are literally working your ass off and deserve to be proud of yourself.   You are an athlete now.


I came across these fellow heavy runners blogs and they have some great advice: 

http://arlington-va.patch.com/articles/a-fat-runners-guide-to-being-a-fat-runner

http://www.saltyrunning.com/2012/08/30/plus-size-running-guide/

Running Shoes: "Industrial Strength, Please."

Google Search Entry #1:  Shoes for heavy runners
Search Results:  Lot's of articles on people who run a lot.  Like, a lot a lot.

Google Search Entry #2: Shoes for fat runners (sigh)
Search results:  3 articles by "experts" that say we are all flat footed and over pronators.  And yes, we know we need to lose weight to minimize the impact on our bodies, thank you for that.

This is how much padding I was thinking would be necessary!

Case in point: 
http://www.runningshoesguru.com/2010/09/the-best-running-shoes-for-heavy-runners/

However, I am finding I glean the most information from the comments after the article.  I find I also get a fair amount of new knowledge reading "real people" forums.  You have to read a little more, but you can usually find some real life larger runners and see what works best for them.   The best advice everyone gives is going to be fitted at a proper running shoe store.  I have yet to do this 'cuz, I live in a very small town and needed shoes asap to start training.  I will however, be doing this for round two of shoe buying! 

I chose a pair a Brooks.  I really like them so far and feel they provide padding where I need them.  I also bought a pair of Asics Gel Kayano's which I use as my everyday non running shoe and I love them.

My Brooks and a stopwatch!

Forums/articles to check out regarding shoes heavy/larger runners:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/961973-best-running-shoes-for-heavy-runners

http://www.runpals.com/running-shoes-for-heavy-runners.html (this one has many of the shoes recommended that I have seen in many real people forums)

http://www.mizunousa.com/running/blog/article/big-shoes-for-big-runners (this is for their shoes, but actually gives some good info and I'll be checking them out too.)

I take great care to protect my feet and make sure I stretch them before and after a run.  I have trouble with plantar fasciitis in my left foot, activated prior to running (a 4 hour barefoot awards banquet dance session....fun for everything but my feet).   If my feet hurt after a run I ice and roll.  Fill a plastic water bottle with water and freeze.  It's great for rolling tired, sore feet over and the ice helps with inflammation. 

I have read of other heavy runners having trouble at the shoe store with staff not wanting to sell them running shoes.  They point them instead to walkers.  I went right in an said, "I have challenged myself to running a half marathon.  I am a big girl, so I need maximum support.  Which do you suggest?"    Be confident.  It doesn't leave room for their nonsense!

February 2013: First time, fat runner.

I'm fat ya'll.   Always have been.  Well, since the age of 5 when I started sneaking spoonfuls of Miracle Whip and hiding in the closet to eat it.  Makes me gag a little to think of doing that now, but I digress. Though heavy (which is the term I like better than fat), I was always somewhat active.    Hiking, biking, the occasional dance class, flag football (playing the line of course, so I could flatten all the skinny fast girls with my sheer brute size), summer softball, canoeing, walking. I figured I would make a good athlete, but was always thinking I was too fat to try it out in earnest.  So as the years passed, I went from thinking I could be sporty, to in actuality being a 280lb binge eating mess.  Once, at the bottom of a pound bag of plain M&M's, I realized I needed to change.  And then later that same day, 3 Dr. Peppers and a whole bag of chips later, that no, really, I needed to change or they wouldn't be able to find a coffin big enough to shove my dead fat ass into.  Morbid, I know, but imminently true.  So over the next eight years, I took a hard, honest look at what made me eat, what made me unhappy, what made me hate myself, what made my body feel bad, and started to slowly change it, heal it, and love it.  During this time, the little healthy skinny me that lived inside of all this other mess, kept saying she wanted to run a marathon.  Fat me laughed and laughed, but secretly wanted to, too.

Me, at my heaviest, 280lbs, circa 2006.

So I find myself now, on the brink of my 40th birthday, training for a half marathon.  My eight years of healing has led me to a 60 pound weight loss, but I have at least 60 more to go.  I was inspired to begin this journey, when I saw a woman on FB who was challenging herself to her first marathon while raising money for an awesome animal rescue group, Running for Rescues.  I'll post about R4R in an upcoming post.  But this was my sign that it was now my time.  So I set a date to start training.  February 13, 2013.  My plan:  Train for a 5K, then a 10k, then the 1/2 marathon.  I weighed 234lbs.   Now I just needed some shoes!

Feb. 12, 2013 - The day before my first run.