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Know Your Limits, But Don’t Get Discouraged

Know Your Limits, But Don’t Get Discouraged

Lisa Eirene

About Lisa Eirene Lisa lost 110 pounds through calorie counting and exercise. She swims, bikes, runs, hikes and is enjoying life in Portland, Oregon. Her weight loss story has been featured in First Magazine, Yahoo Health, Woman's Day and Glamour.com.

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6 Comments

  1. Jennifer

    I completely agree with you! I think sometimes these TV shows push these people past their limits simply to make interesting TV. And it’s so dangerous! I think it makes some people, even I’ve felt this way, feel like they’re not pushing themselves enough. And maybe they’re not, but you also can’t push yourself to the point where you need to call 9-1-1!! I trained for my first half after doing a 5k, an 8k, and a 10k. I progressed slowly, and i’m a slow runner at that. Now I’m training for another half and contemplating a full…but I’m honestly going to take the training as it goes and see how far I can go. I may not make it to the full, and i’m OK with that, because I’d rather do it right and remain injury free!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Yes, I think the TV shows are unrealistic–especially Biggest Loser. If it’s dangerous, it’s not healthy.

      I have fallen victim to thinking my abilities were more than they were. I think I got sucked into the running blog world where people were running marathons all the time and made it seem so easy. They weren’t sore, they didn’t get injured…so I can do it too? Right?? Um, no…

  2. cindylu

    Yikes. Those kind of stunts would only happen on reality television. I would hope that there’d be some kind of disclaimer, like the old “don’t try this at home.”

    I hear of a lot of relatively new runners who get injured and then discouraged and stop running. I don’t know if it’s because they were pushing too hard. I credit my kinda low mileage (especially compared to some of the running focused bloggers out there) for avoiding injury. I do feel that fatigue in my legs when I try to exert myself more. I know I can’t do 50-60 mile weeks and stay injury free. I’m fine with my 25-35 mile weeks.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I was pretty new to running and was plugging away injury-free. I discovered the running blog world and was wrapped up in that. It seemed like everyone was getting injured. I thanked my lucky stars I wasn’t. Then about two years later I did get injured. I don’t know that I did anything “wrong”, so to speak, but all of a sudden I had to reevaluate my fitness. How important was it to me to be able to run 25+ miles a week? Or was it more important to NOT be injured and be able to do all kinds of fitness — even if it means running less? That’s what I decided.

  3. Rae

    Your post could not have come at a better time for me. I’ve been working out for 2 years now, but never took up running until recently. I despised it!

    Once I finally jumped over that mental hurdle, I ran 2 miles which was a huge accomplishment. That was 2 weeks ago and I’ve been running ever since. Yesterday I completed 3 miles for the first time ever. I felt great for the rest of the day, I “get” why people run now.

    Then came the “I wonder how much more I can do?” feeling for today’s run – then I read your post this morning. Once we realize what our bodies can do, we naturally want to see how far we can push them, it feels great to accomplish what we previously thought was impossible! But, I’m dialing it back until 2 miles becomes a breeze, then upping my mileage. Thanks for reminding us to take it slow!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Hey Rae! I’m glad you found some value in my post. Lucky timing.

      Congrats on learning to run and finally liking it. I liked it from the start but I struggled. It was really, really hard for me. But those times when I started to improve and see my ability grow, I got so excited! The feeling of accomplishment is addicting.

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