I Can Feel It...

It's been 5 months now...

After the Goofy Challenge I played nice and went to the Doctor to finally solve the knee problem that has been nagging me for almost 2 years now. He told me to get an MRI. Another one. Why do they have to be so expensive?! I kept putting it off "until I could afford it".

I have not run since.

Meanwhile, I have felt the deterioration of everything I have worked for in the last 4 years. Endurance, cardio and lung capacity... Weight has started to creep back up. Clothes feel tighter... and all the while my knee feels just as screwed up as it did in January.

So this is definitely not one of those "rest and let it heal" injuries. If I remain standing up too long, it hurts. If I run in anything but "The Beasties" it hurts. If I run in "The Beasties" it hurts somewhat less but it still bothers me. Last week I finally tried running again. I barely made it a mile before I called it quits. 

This blog has never been about quitting. I always look at the positive angle, even in moments like this. If I sound a bit depressed, it's because I can't run like I want to run. I want to run. 5 years ago I would have laughed in your face if you told me I was depressed because I was sitting on a couch not doing anything. Yes. I'm complaining about not being able to run. How times change... and while I can't say that I'm in a good place right now, the fact that my "issues" have to do me wanting to lead a more active lifestyle then I can't help but think that's a good thing.

If I were happy or content with my current situation, that would be sad. That would be very sad.

So I'm gonna continue to try running. I'm also gonna try some cycling and cross-training to see how that feels. While some might think it unwise to run injured, I think it's important that I do run, even if it is at a lesser capacity than before. If I'm to get that MRI (and I am gonna do it, I promise) then it might as well show the full extent of what's wrong and that's not gonna happen sitting around the house. 

I'm also gonna be reviewing a product I've had my eye on for a while and now seems to be the perfect time to try it and report it to you guys.

So while The Fat Runner has been down for some time, he is most definitely not out and if he is gonna be down, then he is gonna go down fighting.

Silence... and a giveaway!

Sorry...

I know I've been out of it for bit but I can't seem to help it. It's the way it has been with me forever. When things get tough, I go quiet. This of course, is kind of stupid since the whole point of a blog is to share, especially the tough times, so that people can avoid the pitfalls and offer support where needed but, that is just the way the cookie crumbled and here we are.

First, there's the knee... again. There are no two ways about it. After Goofy, I'm gonna have to stop running, get it checked out and dealt with in some way or another. it is not gonna go away on it's own. I have wasted too much time giving it time "to rest" with no results whatsoever. In fact, I seem to get better when I'm running regularly. Something I have realized way too late and now I'm a bit behind on my training plan. I'm slowly catching up but it's gonna be close. No doubt about it. Do not worry though. I'm not harboring any thoughts of regular running as a recipe to get better. There is definitely something wrong and it will be taken care of... just not right now. If I ever intend to do a triathlon (a boat I missed again this year thanks to the knee) this will have to be solved for sure. Half-Ironman for my 40th birthday? We will see...

Secondly, there were a bunch of personal problems. This was the part that sent me into blogging hibernation. They were dealt with but I was sure going around depressed for a while there. At this point in my life, there are very few things that will push my buttons to the point of depression but oh boy, were they pushed. It happens. Not often but it happens.

Through it all, I ran. Maybe not with the same passion or determination and I surely missed a few here and there but I ran. Like so many times before I realized that running has become an important part of my life and that running actually helps deal with all the hard stuff. Even if it hurts -and it hurts- it is better than not running at all.

Ok, enough with the sad talk! Next week, as part of celebrating my return to Disney Marathon Weekend and (hopefully) tackling the Goofy Challenge I will be giving away... something. I'm not saying what it is yet but, it is something that helped me a great deal on my first marathon, especially in preparing for it and now I want to give the chance to a couple of people of having that same opportunity. So tell your friends, be on the lookout and get ready. The Fat Runner is going to do his first giveaway next week!

The Mystery of Running Shoes

Do any of you actually know when your running shoes are done? You know, that point when you can longer use them anymore for running?

Based on my experience, I'm kind of surprised no one has come up with something -anything, really- that lets us know for sure, that your shoes are done. That person would make a lot of money with that.

The thing is, that all the running shoes I have bought so far (OK, most of them) look just as good after I've used them as when I bought them. Right now, I have two identical pairs of Brooks Beasts: One new, one spent. They look the same and yet I can't run on the old ones without major knee pain.

I used to go by pain. When I ran and my joints, hips and back started to hurt I knew it was time for a new pair. Most (sane) people will tell you that when you reach that point you are past the time to change them but that's what I did. But that was before I started to have knee issues. Now, the knee is the first thing that starts to hurt. Way before anything else. What's worse, I can't yet identify if the knee is hurting because I need new shoes or simply because it hurts. (Yes, it will hurt from time to time)

Ahhh... fresh pair of Beasties.

The newest pair of Beasties I bought last week were long overdue apparently. When I talked about my running funk and about how running didn't feel right, it seems the shoes where part of the problem. On the first run with the new shoes, I ran the fastest 3 miles I've been able to run in a long while. Probably since the Puerto Rico Half Marathon in March. Why? No knee pain.

This is bad news. Not because of the knee perse. I'm learning to deal with that and I'm hoping it gets better as I lose more weight. It's because now I have to buy shoes more often. On average, I've heard running shoes can go 300-500 miles before they are spent. I was already below that, reaching 250 miles if I pushed hard enough. This last pair was done with 210 miles. Crap.

Such is life. You know, Brooks Running should sponsor more Fat Runners. That, or I also hear that there's a bunch of stuff in the human body that there's two of that you could survive without one of them. You know, like kidneys and lungs and stuff like that. Apparently there is a market for that...

How about you guys? How long do your running shoes last? How do you know it's time to change them? Any tricks you can show me?

Galloway Method Tips

As many of you already know, I have used the Galloway Method several times during races, especially during longer races. It was a huge factor during the Disney Marathon and an even bigger one during the Philadelphia Half Marathon, where I scored an incredibly huge PR. It just works. In fact, unless you're particularly fast (like elite or near elite) I would venture to say that using this method can make you a lot faster, all while helping you avoid injury. How many things in running can make that claim?

Well, Jeff Galloway has partnered with several bloggers to share some tips with you all and guess what? I was picked, so you can benefit from these too!

I'm very excited because this method has really helped me during my running journey so now I get to pass it on. Here are some facts about the Galloway Method directly from Jeff Galloway himself:

"The training journey for a marathon or half marathon raises your body's physical performance capability and your sense of what you can do in life.

Running helps to bring body, mind and spirit together in a unique and wonderful way

In researching my book MENTAL TRAINING I discovered that running turns on brain circuits for a better attitude more vitality and empowerment better than other activities studied.

In researching my book RUNNING UNTIL YOU'RE 100 I found numerous studies showing that runners have healthier orthopedic units than non runners even after decades of running.

Training:

When a runner takes walk breaks early and often enough for the individual the muscles are strong to the end.  See RUN WALK RUN at www.jeffgalloway.com for recommendations by pace per mile.

The "exhaustion wall" can be avoided by running longer long runs up to or beyond race distance-using the appropriate run-walk-run strategy.

Marathoners tend to improve time by an average of more than 15 minutes when they increase their longest run from 20 miles to 26 miles.

To recover fast, run the long runs at least 2 min/mi slower than you could currently run in a marathon

The right run-walk-run strategy from the beginning of each run, gives any runner control over fatigue, injury-elimination, and recovery.

In numerous surveys, runners improved over 13 minutes when they shifted from running continuously to use of the right run-walk-run strategy."

I should point out that the last point he mentions here is no joke. I witnessed the improvement myself. My first Half Marathon, the Divas Half Marathon, I managed to squeeze out 3:26, and feeling like I was about to collapse at the finish line. For my second Half, I did the Philadelphia Half Marathon and did the Galloway Method in 2:1 intervals. Not only did I finish in 2:50 which is a huge PR, but I finished in much better shape at the end.

Be on the lookout for more great tips from Jeff here on the blog and my social media channels.

2014: The Year in Review

I remember writing this post last year. I distinctly remember two things: How full of numbers it was, as I excitedly reported on the tremendous progress I made. This one is not gonna be like that at all. I also wandered how I was gonna write the next one. How much progress would I make in 2014? But I digress...

Fast forward 11 months. I'm reading the year end review from the gals over at We Run Disney and one of them reports how 2014 was a year of ups and downs. In the comments, I wrote about how my year was essentially a bunch of bad races and missed goals and an injury up until my huge mega race in Philly and that while the year as a whole could have been better, I really couldn't complain. A couple of days later, as I was putting my thoughts together for this post, I realized that what I wrote there really wasn't true.

January 2014 - The Disney World Marathon

Its hard for my big head to get around this, but I actually had my greatest running accomplishment in 2014. It just doesn't feel that way. The way it's set up, with the race being held in January, I did all my training in 2013 (and most of 2012) so in a way, running the marathon feels like a 2013 accomplishment but in reality it was this year. And what an accomplishment it was. Even now, its hard to put my head around the fact that I was able to run 26.2 miles. Not only that, I was surprised at how well I was able to do it. I ran strong and followed every interval. Sure I was sore at the end and I was walking funny for a week but man... That was pretty high on the awesome scale.

And that I guess, is part of the problem with having your greatest moment at the very start of your year. I'm not gonna say that there is no way to go but down but it becomes quite easy to do so.

Spring 2014 -  Superman Syndrome and I try for a Tri

So I ran a marathon. That means I can do anything right? Well, it sure felt that way. Suddenly, every other distance seemed like a walk in the park. At least on paper it looked that way but it is really faulty math. I figured, hey I ran 15 minute miles for the marathon so that means I can travel at the speed of sound for a 10K right? Wrong! A pretty loud wake up call in the form of The World's Best 10K let me know that wasn't so. I took off like a galloping horse and forced to walk after 4 and a half miles. Very humbling. While I PR'ed for that particular race it fell short of my overall 10K PR. I did get to meet Jared, the Subway guy before the race though.

On top of that, I also had a horrible case of Runger. After the marathon, I was like...

I gained some weight back of course, even though I was pretty active at this time. Some of you might remember it was around this time I took my first attempt at triathlon training. All I can say is, don't bring a knife to gun fight. It's not that you have to go buy the latest and greatest gear but you do need some basics and I did not have them. It sure made for some funny moments though. The image of me riding my wife's mountain bike (which I, you will also recall, broke) around the neighborhood is one of them. But hey quitters are not the ones who fail, its the ones who don't get up and try again and I will try again. But that's another post.

Summer 2014 - The Summer of Speed (Not)

To close out spring, I sort of dared my friend Al, that if he signed up for the Philadelphia Half Marathon, I would join him. He is a very busy guy. I wasn't sure he was gonna pull the trigger but sure enough, he did. And to be honest I was kind of happy about it though the pressure was on for sure. I had set a goal to run a sub-3 hour Half Marathon in 2014 and this race seemed like the perfect one to attempt the feat. But I had to get cracking. This, in hindsight, seems to be the point where I got my knee injured. As I focused more on speed, I might have stressed my joints a bit more than I should have. It was around this time where I ran a trio of 5K's that ended up being a bit frustrating as there seemed to be no progress in my times. I failed to PR in all of them. The 5K for Values, Altamesa 5K and Popular Bank's 5K all felt like I was behind. It was really a case of me aiming too high. By the end of the last one, my knee was feeling funny.

On the good side, near the end of summer, Mindy from Road Runner Girl introduced me to the concept of the Diet Bet. A game that allowed me to get back on track and lose what I had gained thanks to the bad case of Runger gone amok earlier in the year.

Fall 2014 - The Thrill of Victory... The Agony of Defeat

What a roller coaster of a season! It was at this point where two very important happenings took place. First, after returning from Las Vegas, I went to the Doctor, found out what was wrong and was asked to rest. The Philly Half was right around the corner and I was freaking out!. On the other hand, I was also featured on Today.com on an article about overweight people that have tackled a marathon. It was kind of surreal and the blog traffic sure went up during that time. I'm sure I've said this before but when I started this blog, it was for me and if some friends wanted to read it that would be awesome but here we are. The fact that people actually read this stuff is mind boggling.

Winter 2014 - I Surprise Everyone, Even Myself

Ans so it was time for the Philadelphia Half Marathon. The Doctor cleared me to run -but being careful of, course- and I trained as best I could under the circumstances. I knew I could PR. If there was anything good about the time of my first Half is that there was room for improvement. But under three hours? After the year I had? With a questionable knee? It certainly looked improbable from where I was standing.

But what ensued on that cold November day, I never would have guessed. With the help of fellow Team Run Disney member and friend Natalie (who I thank for running with me every time I tell this story) I ran a race I just never thought I had in me. Not at this point in time anyway. You would think running so high above what I'm used to would be hard and tedious. That with every mile I would be panting and squirming in pain but to cap it all off I had an absolute ball doing it. I ran, I talked, I high fived spectators, I cheered and I even danced a little. What a race...

I learned so much about myself during that race. About what I can do and could be doing. During the year, there wasn't much progress from a numbers standpoint. But the Philly Half was more then enough proof that sometimes you can't measure progress from a numbers standpoint alone. I can say that I am a much better runner today, crap knee and all, than I was last year. And if this year was interesting to say the least, I can tell you right now, my plans for the next one are even more exciting. Sure, there were some hard lessons to be learned but I intend to use those lessons to the fullest next year. Looking at 2014, I see a "rough" sandwich. Two incredible experiences acting as the bread for a pretty rough middle in between. But here's to new beginnings. A new year full of potential and I hope that you dear readers, are able to tap into that potential and fulfill whatever you are cooking up for 2015.

So, what have I been up to?

I did something. I don't know what. But I can't log my workouts on Dailymile -or any other place that is not Garmin Connect for that matter- anymore.

For a while now I have been searching for a solution but ever since Garmin made a major update to their site and overall software to bring in their latest and greatest watches, I can't log my workout outside of their site. What's worse, it seems to be a problem with my model of GPS watch (FR 410) which kind of gives me the impression that they have stopped supporting the watch altogether. I could be wrong. It could be that I just haven't figured it out but I switched computers recently and took the opportunity to do a clean install of everything needed to make the watch work and still, no dice.

So, if you are my friend in Dailymile and you read that I haven't done any running in three months, it's a lie! Nothing wrong with Garmin Connect and I love the new interface and tools but I like the social aspect of Dailymile better and I kind of miss it. 

In other news...

While it hasn't been three moths since my last run obviously, I did take a small break, if you can call it that. A week after the Philly Half, I did a 3 mile run where my knee exploded in pain. I limped the entire first mile. It got better after that but it reminded me that I still had some healing to do so I decided to not run for a week or two and let the knee do it's thing. The problem with taking a "training vacation" is that all those things you had pending because you were training, are now in your face ready to be done. Oh, and your spouse is more than happy to remind you of all the stuff that has to get done, "you know honey, since you're not running..."

So the last 3 weeks, amidst all the Christmas shopping and decorating, I have been battling with the roof of our home, applying sealant to it so it hopefully won't leak. Hasn't been easy. Ironically, I pulled a hamstring while doing it. I can do that while training you know? 

Before

After

We also put the tree up of course!

So the roof is fixed, so now we can paint inside. Our daughter's rooms needed it pretty badly as the paint was literally falling off the ceiling because of the leaks. And, since we were in there, Veronica, the middle child, needed her bed to be converted from toddler bed to twin as she hardly fit in there anymore. And well, since we had to do all that, why not make it over altogether...

Right before starting the job

Check out the ceiling. Yuck!

Sometimes, I even amaze myself. It took two days, but we went from "Princess Room" to "Anna and Elsa Wonderland". (Emphasis on Anna) We still had some things to do when I shot this video but you get the idea.

My daughter, is ecstatic. She can't stop talking about how happy she is with her new bed and room. Seriously, we can't get her to shut up. And the oldest is now complaining about when will I paint her room (emphasis on Elsa) so still not out of the dog house but still, it was nice to see her reaction. All I gotta say is, I hope this Frozen thing lasts a lot longer because after I do my oldest daughter's room I am not doing one of these again for a while.

The good news is that the time spent "resting" seems to have been for the better. The knee feels OK and I will probably be up and running this week. it doesn't hurt when I bend it anymore but it does still hurt when I crouch (as I painfully found out on the roof).

Next, I will post my end of the year recap. It's been pretty interesting to put that one together. After all, it turns out it was a pretty interesting year. Stay tuned.

And I'm Off!

What an adventure this has been...

Tomorrow, on my birthday of all days, I take a plane and travel to Philadelphia to run a Half Marathon. Injury, and training snafus have all conspired to make this particular training cycle the most challenging I have faced so far but hey, if everything simply came out perfect, would life be as entertaining?

Last Sunday, I did my last long run. A 10 miler where every step was misery thanks to the fact I was very sick. The congestion would not let me breathe and I felt like my face wanted to explode but I did it and was handsomely rewarded with a time that was below my expected time. This picked up my spirits for sure. If I could pull this off feeling terrible, there is a good chance I can run a decent Half right?

On Monday, I went to the doctor and explained my situation. He promptly prescribed a bag full of meds and a shot. Thankfully, I'm feeling a lot better. There is still some congestion and coughing but I'm trusting that if I keep taking all the stuff he gave me I'll be even better by race day.

I also received emails with final instructions and bib number. I'm in corral 7 which I would be very surprised if it wasn't the last one. I arrive in Philly pretty late on Friday (technically Saturday actually) then I pick up my bib on Saturday and race on Sunday morning. On Monday I'm back on a plane to Puerto Rico.

As usual, I will be reporting all my adventures through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and taking some pictures along the way to hopefully make my Flickr account a bit nicer. Also, you can track my progress during the race by going here and signing up to receive updates. You can look me up by first or last name (Frank Pizarro) or by bib number (33135) I have also set up runner tracking on my Twitter account so if you follow me there you will get the updates (I hope).

And that is it folks. Wish me luck, stay tuned to my social media channels and I'll see you all on the other side.

Training Update

Less than two weeks to go for the Philly Half. Where do I stand?

Well, not where I want to be, but that was kind of a given in this case. First, the not so good news:

1. The knee hurts. Every time: There is no way around it, really. After I run, it hurts. How much it hurts depends on the distance I run, which means that long runs are especially bad but it is what it is.

2. Goal A is pretty much out the window: Also a given I guess but it doesn't make it any less hard to swallow. At the current pace I'm managing to run at this point, I'm a minute behind per mile to go sub-3. I know that because of the wheather and because it's race day, I will run a bit faster that day but a whole minute faster? For an entire Half? I don't think so. If I manage to PR at all, it will be wonderful.

3. Avoiding everything that is not straight up running: Any other type of runnning is out right now. Hills, speed work, tempo... anything that is not keeping a constant pace is out in favor of protecting the knee. There is no need to agravate the knee any further but I miss the variety.

4. I'm way behind: Between the missed runs because of the pain and the time the doctor told me not to run at all, I'm way behind on my training schedule, which has been heavily modified.

And the good news...

1. The knee hurts, but not when I run: Which allows to me to run without major problems. It'll sting once or twice during a run but nothing too bad. I have found a manageble pace and form that pretty much lets me run as long as I want so I'm running and that is good.

2. I have adapted: It took a bit of time. You invariably have to make adjustments to your stride and form to protect the injured area, but when I run, it feels good. That wasn't always the case. The first few runs coming back from the doctor-imposed break were awkward and I was sore in places I had not been sore before but it's been relatively trouble free for a while now so everything seems to be falling into place.

Ironically, I seem, to be in the very same place emotionally I was last year before the Disney Marathon. Those who read this blog back then will remember I was freaking out a bit because of all the uncertainty and like any normal first time marathoner I was not sure about a lot of things. Well, its kind of like that.

Next Sunday will be my last long run. I plan to to do it using the Galloway Method at a 2:1 interval to see how that feels and test if I can improve my pace a little without any problems. After that, I will have a clearer picture of what my race day strategy will be.

We Keep On Running

So the Doctor says I have to take it easy. That I need to cross-train. That I should try cycling and swimming... (sniff, sniff... I'm smelling triathlon for some reason) I take his recommendations very seriously and I seriously intend to do all those things.

Just, not right now.

I have a Half Marathon to run and not a lot of time to pick up my lost training so I have to train. That doesn't mean that I'm gonna try to cram in what I haven't done up to this point. That would be pretty stupid but for the time being I have to focus on running and running only. After the Half, then I can worry about how I'm going to deal with my training in the long term.

The sub-3 hour Half Marathon might have to be put on hold. I'm not completely discarding the idea but I don't think it's gonna happen. In order to increase my training mileage I have to take it easy. I'm pretty sure it was my search for some speed that got me on trouble in the first place. Last week, I ran a couple of times after seeing the Doc to test the waters and managed to find a comfortable pace around the 14's which is short of my goal (sub-3 has to be run in the 13's) but still would mean a PR if I manage to maintain it so I can't complain too much.

Also -not gonna lie- the knee bothers me. It hurts the day after I run so dealing with some pain will be something I will just have to get used to. Speed work is out of the question for now so I will be just straight up running for the time being but I'm hoping I can do it at least 5 times a week. It's not gonna be pretty but if I take it easy, totally doable.

So wish me luck boys and girls. I will keep you informed on how I'm doing.

Please! Not Now!

I'm injured... 

For about two months, I 've been having some trouble with my right knee. Weird kind of trouble. It was slight at first but now it's really an issue. It doesn't hurt when I run at all. But after cooling down, it starts to act up and hurt. By the next morning, it really hurts. Then, it gets better to the point that I venture another run (usually the day after) and the cycle begins all over again.

Two weeks ago, I went on an 8 mile long run and then on Monday, I could barely walk. The Philly Half Marathon is in 1 month now as of this writing. Time to go to the doctor.

So I went to the Doc and after an X-Ray and a check up, and after telling me not to worry too much, he told me two things that raised an immediate red flag in my head:

1) He prescribed Cataflam, an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. I've never taken Cataflam but I know of it. My Mom, who has had chronic back issues most of her life, calls them her "knock out pills". My Mom is one tough lady so if this is what she takes, it must be strong stuff.

2) He also prescribed an MRI. Never had an MRI either but I know this: That's what Doctors tell football players to get right before they tell them their season is over. Not a good sign.

Oh yeah, pending the MRI results and my next appointment with him, I can't run. My reaction:

I calmly tried to explain that I was running a Half-Marathon in November and that I was concerned the "don't run" indication was going to be a problem. He explained that the MRI was just to discount a few theories and that before taking any action he wanted to be certain of what was going on... blah blah blah...

Look, the guy is awesome (I've visited once before) and he actually operated my Mom, one of my cousins and an uncle so he comes very well recommended but all I heard was "You can't run." With the Half so close, I'm freaking out a bit. It's not so much that I can't run. It's the race, for which I already paid airfare, hotel and registration. The knee, I can deal with. Traveling to Philly to be the World's most expensive race spectator... not so much.

The MRI results

So I get the MRI and subsequently, the results which I don't really understand, of course but I read some stuff that seems to be good news. The L's are OK! Or as the results say, "unremarkable". You know the L's right? MCL, ACL... the stuff that gets pro athletes in trouble. Every time I hear of serious injury to the knees, these are usually mentioned so in that regard those are good news.

Further down though, some concerns. I see the words "tear", "cyst" and "defect". All these related (I think) to the meniscus. Now, you can't "tear" a meniscus (it's a bone right?) but you can tear stuff related to it. Maybe I shouldn't be jumping to conclusions and let the professional tell me where I stand.

Well, I hated the appointment. First, he looked at the MRI results and said there were several problems then I got the kind of ambiguous doctor talk I hate to hear but it boiled down to this:

1. There is a meniscus issue but it is very small. He doesn't think its the cause of my pain.

2. There are some degenerative issues that are causing the pain and discomfort. The Doc recommends lower impact exercises like cycling or swimming. Long term he could perform surgery. A kind of "cleaning" (his words) of the knee area.

3. It's not that I can't run anymore, but putting too much stress frequently on the knee will not help the situation. Cross training will be very important. (See #2)

4. Losing weight will help. (duh)

Based on what I know of the situation here is my take on it:

1. Up to this point in my running journey, I didn't have any major issues. The advantage of being a slow runner is less impact on the knees. Since my focus had been on just finishing, there were no problems.

2. This year, I vowed to pick up the pace. Many of you know that my goal for Philly was to run a sub-3 Half Marathon. As I increased my mileage while running faster, that's where the problems began.

Obviously, the Doc doesn't know how much I love running so I can't blame him for the way he looks at it. He just sees an overweight guy that runs and the solution is to not run and try something else to keep losing the weight. But I want to keep running.

He told me to take it easy with the training and run the Philly Half and if a couple of weeks from the race I was having too much pain, to go to his office and get an injection. Not exactly what I wanted to hear but I'll take it. With so little time left, there is no room for a new strategy. I just have to suck it up and run but the prospect of a sub-3 is looking grim. Long term, I'm gonna have to restructure the entire way I look at training and weight loss will have to happen faster. At least if I want to keep running long distances.