5 Reasons Running May Not Help You Lose Weight

OK, nevermind.

Remember how I’d been going to the gym and using the elliptical 4 mornings during the week? Well, according to the above article that may have fucked up my metabolism and have a part in screwing up my weight. 

BUT… but… I ran 5k twice last week and I almost enjoyed it and I’d like to keep doing it at least once a week. I ran for 31-33 minutes at a time so I’m thinking that might not be overdoing it too much. 

This above article really drove home the need to do more weight training. I went to an Ashtanga/Iyengar-heavy yoga class last night and aside from my Saturday morning class, I’m going to do my best to stay away from Vinyasa/Power/Fire/Body Assault yoga classes. 

And then, this morning, I used my arm weights and did a couple free weight exercises and then put on my Barre DVD and worked on the arm module and about half of the core module. I’m going to use the shit out of that DVD.

This morning I also noticed that eating cold foods in the morning don’t sit well in my stomach. Back to oatmeal for me! #protein 

5 Reasons Running May Not Help You Lose Weight

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Workin’ It Out

I haven’t posted my exercise regiments for the last week or two because with my vacation, but I had a good run this week. I actually made it to 5k! I realized that I just have to slow way down when I run. J runs too fast for me, so I’ll have to slow him down when we run a 5K in early November.

I ran in Riverside Park and, as usual, I missed every entrance to the path along the Hudson, but what can you do? 

I’ve been to yoga twice this week and I’ll probably run again tonight, rest tomorrow, and yoga on Saturday. My FitBit alarm didn’t go off on Monday or Tuesday, so I didn’t go to the gym in the morning and I was totally lazy the last two mornings. I need more core work though. Any suggestions?  

Working out too much or just the wrong way?

I’ve been thinking lately that there’s a possibility that I’ve been working out too much. Or working out the wrong way. When I lost a whole bunch of weight from 2011-2012, I was mainly doing yoga and running (a mile here, a mile there). 

Now I’ve added the elliptical and weights. Then I did shit ton of sit ups for a while. My torso looked great.

With primarily yoga (half vinyasa, half ashtanga/iyengar), very minimal hand weights, and the elliptical, I’m not sure I’m such a fan of how I’m looking, or rather, how I’m feeling.

I decided to run on the treadmill on Friday night instead of doing the elliptical because I wanted to run and it was too hot to run outside. I ran for about 24 minutes; a little over 2 miles. I felt great afterward. Running on the treadmill is the worst but I watched a very old episode of SVU, so I was kept entertained. On Saturday morning I went to my hardest vinyasa class and lost half my body weight in sweat. It was awesome.

Which brings me now to the topic of yoga: I used to do primarily vinyasa classes, which I only do once a week now. I could do them more but they seem so boring (save for my Saturday morning class with one of my favorite teachers). I’m rediscovering my love for ashtanga and iyengar, and not just going for updog as fast as possible, and as many times as possible.

And lastly, I’ve read about working out too much and how important rest days are. As far as I’ve been concerned, at least in the past, rest days are for the weak. But maybe now I’m coming to terms with the cold hard fact that they aren’t. I need a rest day, or two. I’m thinking this could be my potential schedule:

Monday: Ashtanga/Iyengar Yoga
Tuesday: Running + sit ups
Wednesday: Running + sit ups + Ashtanga/Iyengar yoga
Thursday: Running + sit ups
Friday: Rest?
Saturday: Vinyasa 
Sunday: Rest or Run?

I’ll try it out this week and see how it works. 

First Hot Run

I hate running in the summer. It’s miserable. The heat and humidity are unbearable so I haven’t run for a month. Yesterday, J and I ran a quick two miles (his Nike+ app said two miles, so whatever) in Riverside Park and along the Hudson River.

It was not an easy run at all for me. We walked up along the river for 20 or so blocks after we stopped running so we got a bit of a tan. We were exhausted after that. 

I can’t wait to run in fall weather.

Running Shoes

Dear fellow runners: How do you know when to replace your running shows? I’ve had the same pair for the past two or three years because I don’t run all that often. I bought a new pair (basically the same as my current pair but with a different color scheme) last summer when Paragon Sports was having a huge sale (so they cost about $30). 

My current shoes have a tiny hole on one side but that’s basically the only thing I can see as being wrong with them. For all I know though, the bottoms are completely flattened out and not ideal for running (I’m making this up but it sounds like something that could be a thing). Here’s a photo of the bottoms:

To all the educated, experienced runners out there, how do my sneakers look? Do I need to toss them? 

A Run in Riverside

You know how I always say running sucks? Well, it’s still true: running sucks. It sucks even more in the freezing cold. It was hard to get out of bed on Saturday morning, but my boyfriend and I had signed up for the Hot Cocoa 5k a month or so ago and since it was starting just two blocks away from my apartment, so why not. But the morning of: he was not happy. To be quite honest, I’d have loved to stay in bed, too. 

The course was rough: lots of hills. But we did it. We both finished in 32 minutes. They were giving out free hot chocolate (hence the name) and bagels after at the race, but we didn’t want to wait on line, so I ordered hot chocolate at the local diner instead.

I’m glad we did it but eff running outside in the winter from now on. 

We ran an easy 2.3 miles yesterday before grabbing a croissant and coffee at The Hungarian Pastry Shop. We’ve started running along the Hudson in Riverside and it’s a nice change of pace.

The run would’ve been totally easy if I hadn’t gotten the route messed up and instead took us up Riverside Drive which has lots of hills. Whoops. 

Running outside is so much better than a treadmill, or even an elliptical. No matter what is on TV, it is always so boring. 

Sunday’s Run

Even though the 4-mile race that my dude and I signed up for is over, we’re going to keep up running because it’s a good burn and it’s fun to do together. I think we’re going to aim to do a bunch of 5k’s in the spring and just try to get faster. We’re both not distance runners, by any means, and also it’s been proven time and again that distance running is not good for your body. So, why would we ever wreck our bodies? 

I mistakenly paused my app from 98th Street until 88th Street and then realized it and hit go again. So, we did more like 2.5 miles. We ran down Riverside Drive, then in Riverside Park, and ended near Lincoln Center, so we went to get brunch at The Smith afterwards. I tried the banana french toast – so good, but such a huge portion. 

I had once toyed with the idea of running a 10k (I have, on my own, once) but I’m not married to the idea and if it never happens, I’ll be okay with that. 

This was my workout last Friday night. I ran down to my yoga studio and then took an intermediate yoga class. 

No matter how many times I do that, I never remember not to do it again because it just kills. It makes the running suck because I have to be somewhere at a certain time and it also makes the yoga suck because I’m so tired from the run.

One day I’ll learn.

My dude and I went on this run yesterday morning. I was keeping track on my iPhone and we ran this route until he gave the signal that we should stop. We’re running the God’s Love We Deliver 4 mile race in late November, so this was a good warm up. Last time we ran it was only 2 miles, so we upped our game. 

It felt really good and my heart rate monitor said we burned 477 calories. Good burn. We grabbed brunch at West End Hall on Broadway and 106th, a new beer garden with a fancy wooden version of Connect Four. The food was good and we were both pretty sore.

But it was totally worth it.