I dont know how you run that much! Dont be afraid of a little good old fashioned walking if running is too much. I walk a fudge ton

I've always been able to run...never fast but always had decent endurance once I got in any kind of shape. It's always fun when I'm doing a race to pass "skinny" guys while maintaining my steady pace and see the look on their face as they watch my 250 lb ass go by. Anxious to see how different it is when I get below 200.

Day 4

Had the day off after a rare 5 in a row stretch...wanted to get up and run at 7 but slept in a bit. Got out there around 8 and it was cloudy with a light rain but still pretty humid. Did a one mile warm up then finished the rest of a 5K at the fastest pace I can do for now. Still not where I wanna be endurance wise but I'll get there if I keep this up!!

Went over a little on the calories today, had an unexpected lunch date but still managed to make decent choices. Back to the gym tomorrow, off day from running.

Breakfast: Usual-494 cals

Lunch: Grilled chicken sandwich w/Swiss, bacon and bbq, baked potato w/ butter-799 cals

Dinner: Had the last of the seafood gumbo I made a few days ago. Didn't wanna leave just a little and it's too good to waste so went a bit over. 18 oz gumbo, 8 oz white rice, 10 club crackers-998 cals

Snacks: Skinny cow-150 cals

Totals: 2440 cals (goal 2102) 149g protein

Running
Mile 1 11:19
Mile 2 10:47
Mile 3 10:40

5K total 33:45

Day 5

Off day from running so I hit the gym...was still a little sore from Tuesday but felt great after. Increased the weight by 5 lbs from last time on every set except for the leg press. Easy run tomorrow probably 3-4 miles then the long run on Sunday. Probably use the treadmill and try to get 5-6 miles in.

Breakfast: Usual-494 cals

Lunch: Starving after the gym so hit a local taco place, soooo yummy. 4 hard tacos w/cheese, tortilla chips (1 oz)-730 cals

Dinner-Breakfast for dinner! Omelette w/ 3 large eggs, American cheese and turkey, Pam, grits (.25 cup)-523 cals

Snacks: Skinny cow, 2 chewy granola bars-330 cals

Totals: 2076 cals, 112g protein

Workout:
Chest press
15x1x65
15x1x75
15x1x85

Shoulder press
15x1x35
15x1x45
15x1x55

Leg press
15x1x80
15x1x100
15x1x120

Seated row
15x1x55
15x1x65
15x1x75

Got out before 7 this morning and had my best run on the week, 4.0 in 43:51!! Could've gone a little further but staying conservative for now.

Day 6

Early shift at work so I dragged my ass outside to run at 7 am. Wasn't too hot and most of the 4-mile route was still shady...best run of the week. Went back to sleep and slept through my alarm so I grabbed McDonald's for breakfast blah. First and only fast food meal of the week. Sunday long run in the morning!

Breakfast-Sausage McMuffin w/egg, hash brown-600 cals

Lunch: Hamburger steak, mashed potatoes w/gravy, garlic bread-942 cals...steak was pretty bland. Gotta make sure I bring my lunch/dinner to work

Dinner: Wanted to limit the damage and I was tired after a 9 hr dealing shift...Special K protein (3.2 oz), 1% milk (12.1 oz)-504 cals

Snacks: Popcorn, Skinny cow-292 cals

Totals: 2338 cals, 104g protein

Running:
Mile 1 11:02
Mile 2 10:55
Mile 3 10:55
Mile 4 10:56

McDonalds is fine imo. They put the calories right on the menu so it's easy.

Day 7

Hit the gym to do my long run on the treadmill before work. Had hopes of doing a 10K but had to stop after 5 miles. Halfway thru my heart rate was 160-165 but all the way up to 175 towards the end. Max for my age (41) is around 180. Really happy with how the week went though...17.2 miles over 5 days. Off day from running tomorrow, gonna do strength training on the machines.

Breakfast: Usual-503 cals

Lunch: Back to the grilled chicken wrap! Grilled chicken (4.6 oz), tortilla, Swiss cheese, bbq sauce, pudding-467 cals

Dinner: Made breakfast for dinner (I do this a lot)...Hormel thick sliced bacon (1.5 slices), johnsonville sausage (2 links), Sara Lee honey wheat toast (2 slices), 5 scrambled eggs (was gonna have 3 but my son didn't finish his and it was too yummy to throw away), American cheese-880 cals

Snacks: 2 chewy granola bars, Tostitos (1.5 oz), Skinny cow-558 cals

Totals: 2408 cals, 146g protein

Running:
Mile 1 11:14
Mile 2 11:06
Mile 3 11:06
5K 34:40
Mile 4 11:10
Mile 5 11:06

- did you test your max heart rate? using formulas (and it seems you do that) is completely useless. there are 20 year olds with 160 max heart rate or 50 year olds with 210 max heart rate. either test it properly or just ignore it.
- you should stop running too fast. you often write "i'll do an easy run tomorrow" and then you run as fast as you can. at least that's my impression. when doing an easy run, the pace should feel easy. when doing a long run, again, the pace should feel easy (but your body will be tired at the end due to the distance run).
you should COMPLETELY stop focussing on how fast you run a 5k in training, it doesn't matter at all. the only time when pace shouldn't feel easy while running is during intervals, during tempo runs or during races. but you're doing neither of them right now (and you should do neither, that's fine; except races of course, if you want to). you should NOT be out of breath during an easy run. if you are, it's not an easy run...

good job otherwise!

Is heart rate actually a concern like that? Ive never even thought about it before.

Tron,

I'm definitely not running as fast as I can during the easy runs but you're right, I do need to slow down so I can get more miles in. I did one tempo run last week and my pace was faster than the easy runs.

Haven't had my heart rate tested....was just going by the formula based on my age. The only time I ever know my heart rate is when I'm on the treadmill but it seems like when I get close to 180 that certainly feels like max effort for me.

Thanks for the feedback!

Monday morning weigh in:

255.2

Week 1 -5.4 lbs

Couldn't be happier about how the week went! I wasn't ever really super hungry between meals and didn't feel like I was depriving myself at all. Got used to that slightly full but not stuffed feeling after meals.

not sure what you ask. it's not a concern that he somehow "goes over his max heart rate". but max heart rate (together with resting heart rate) gives you a relatively good indicator of different training zones that you can / should train in to target specific goals (mostly aerobic / anaerobic system).

but at level of OP, this all doesn't really matter. easy pace == you are able to talk more or less normally with someone next to you while running. maybe you're not able anymore to hold a 3minute monologue, but you shouldn't be at a level where you only bring out two-word answers.
the feeling is more or less: "hey, this is easy, i can do this for a looooong time" (and then, towards the end of your run, it probably gets a little harder, but you're still not breathing super heavy). and for OP, i think nearly 100% of his runs should be in this pace / feeling range. (a weekly long run is fine, but the pace shouldn't be higher).

@OP: thanks for explanation about pace. just don't overdo it, that's all i wanted to say. it's easy to get carried away and run at your limit. but injury risk is MUCH higher then and the rewards in terms of fitness aren't. general guideline is to just use 100% easy pace until you are at ~25 miles per week on a regular basis.

Tron,

What do you think about interval training or hill runs?

I was wondering mostly in terms of safety. He made it sound like he was going to die if he went over that number and that scared a running newb such as myself who doesnt really pay attention

both are very good and very important, but "too advanced" for the level you're at atm. well, you can do hill runs, but it will probably involve walking the steeper parts. again, it shouldn't be very strenous. and running downhill carries a higher injury risk (especially because you're overweight). on the other hand, you never mentioned any running injuries (despite running severly overweight in the past), so that's a great sign. but you're 41 (iirc) and took a fitness break for over a decade. the most important thing imho is to stay injury free.
you wrote: " I was back up to 270 by February of this year. Since then I've run lots of miles" <--- do you keep a training log? if so, can you post weekly and monthly running totals? what's your average MPW over the last 3 month? i'd say if it's close to 20miles (or more), sure, include weekly faster runs. otherwise: easy runs is the way to go. build a solid base and give your body time to adapt.

that's nothing to worry about (as long as you're not old or have heart problems). at least imho, IANAD. but the body regulates itself, it's not possible to go over the max heart rate.
the only caveat: if you're very unfit, i wouldn't do an all out max HR test (those involve normally uphill sprint intervals with very short recovery breaks); but again, there's also no reason to do one at that stage.

Tron,

I've been extremely lucky, never had any running inquires of any kind despite running overweight for two years now. I use Runkeeper to track my runs. Here are my total miles the last few months:

March 78
April 65
May 27
June 13
July 95
August 37

My gym had a cardio challenge in July so almost all of those miles were on the treadmill, 80% or so running. This year I've done two 5K races, two 10K's and a 10 mile trail run. Planning on a 5K race this Saturday, a 5K at the end of next month and a 10K in the middle of October before the half marathon in November.

Day 8

Off day from running but I hit the gym before work. Not nearly as sore tonight as I was last week after working out. Increased the weight on each machine, went to fatigue on my last set on the shoulder press.

Had a cheat meal at work for lunch...I'm a sucker for seafood so fried shrimp and fish sounded too good to pass up. Slightly over for the day but worth it!!

Breakfast: Usual-516 cals

Lunch: Fried shrimp and fish, steak fries-1080 cals

Dinner: Grilled chicken (5.6 oz), tortilla, Swiss, bbq-438 cals

Snacks: 2 chewy granola bars, Skinny cow-330 cals

Totals: 2364 cals, 134g protein

Workout:
Chest press
15x1x70
15x1x80
15x1x90

Shoulder press
15x1x40
15x1x50
12x1x60

Leg press
15x1x90
15x1x110
15x1x120

Seated row
15x1x60
15x1x70
15x1x80

Day 9

Out early for a run before work...cold front came through and lowered the humidity thank God. Slowed my pace down and did an easy 4 miles. I'm signed up for a 5k race this Saturday, hoping the cooler weather hangs around til then. I did the same race last year when it was a trail run but it's a road race this year.

Breakfast: More like brunch...had a first date before starting work at 1. Went pretty well, definitely seeing her again. Grilled chicken sandwich w/bacon, Swiss and bbq, baked potato w/butter-799 cals

Lunch: Usual grilled chicken wrap-407 cals

Dinner: Taco Tuesday! 3 hard tacos w/cheese, taco sauce-453 cals

Snacks: 2 chewy granola bars, Skinny cow-330 cals

Totals: 1989 cals, 122g protein

Running:
Mile 1 11:12
Mile 2 11:08
Mile 3 11:35
Mile 4 11:19

At some point I'm not sure you can be a YTF follower if you're actually making progress, tracking every day, and doing consistent fitness activities. Not sure where that point lies, maybe it's much further from now than I realize.

Naw this guy is already miles ahead of ytf

Thanks for the support...haven't weighed less than YTF at any point during the last 2 years but I think I have an outside shot at it before the end of the year.

Day 10

The cooler weather is still here...felt amazing this morning during my run. Did another easy 4 miles and felt pretty good. Highest calorie day so far thanks to a Waffle House run on the way home from work. Limited it to just a waffle though so could've been worse. I know I've got some leeway with the amount of cardio I'm doing but still don't wanna go crazy and fall back into bad habits....knowing that it has to be logged and reported helps tremendously with compliance.

Breakfast: Usual-523 cals

Lunch: Grilled shrimp w/rice pilaf-540 cals

Dinner: Buffet at work for our quarterly 50K tournament. Limited myself to one small plate and no dessert. Baked chicken breast, pork tenderloin, Cajun rice (very small serving), cornbread (small piece)-543 cals

Snacks: Keebler crackers w/cheese, Skinny cow, waffle w/butter and syrup-938 cals

Totals: 2544 cals, 160g protein

Running:
Mile 1 11:19
Mile 2 11:24
Mile 3 11:29
Mile 4 -11:20

Day 11

Another 4 mile run at an easy pace today...gym tomorrow, no running then the 5K race Saturday morning. Had the day off from work but lots of errands kept me busy then I made another batch of seafood gumbo. I swear I would eat seafood every day if I could.

Breakfast: 2 egg McMuffins from McDonald's but they left the effing Canadian bacon off the second one and I was too far away to bother going back-555 cals

Lunch: Seafood gumbo (12 oz), white rice (7 oz), 12 club crackers-808 cals

Dinner: Seafood gumbo (10 oz), white rice (4 oz), 10 club crackers-606 cals

Snacks:Skinny cow-150 cals

Totals: 2119 cals, 106g protein

Running:
Mile 1 11:09
Mile 2 11:17
Mile 3 11:24
Mile 4 11:12

Day 12

Off day from running, hit the gym though. Stayed off the leg press since I'm doing a 5K race in the morning. I had another first date tonight but it didn't go as well as the one Tuesday...oh well, can't win 'em all. Worst calorie day yet due to a big dinner that included a bushwhacker. I drink very little alcohol though and never drink beer so it won't be a regular theme.

Breakfast: Usual-508 cals

Lunch: Seafood gumbo (11 oz), white rice (4 oz), 10 club crackers-649 cals

Dinner: Date at a really good seafood place on the beach. Got a grilled platter with shrimp, scallops and grouper, rice pilaf and garlic bread. Also had a small bushwhacker-1289 cals

Snacks: Chewy granola bar, skinny cow-240 cals

Totals: 2686 cals, 151g protein

Workout:
Chest press
15x1x75
15x1x85
14x1x95

Shoulder press
15x1x40
15x1x50
14x1x60

Seated row
15x1x65
15x1x75
15x1x85