Foruminlägg av Jussi Kallioniemi

Hi,

noticed this discussion thread while surfing through blog statistics.

I am just an average morbidly obese binge eating middle aged male desperately trying to find ways to motivate myself to keep going.

Running a marathon with same amount of kgs as I carried in fat during my first marathon in 2011 seems like the right thing to do.

For me the marathon carrying 60 lb will be a huge challenge and a fight for survival. Just like the first marathon.

That's all.

Thanks, wishing the same for you all. Enjoy your runs! :)

Fredrik hinted me about this thread and asked for comments / ideas. I do not have much magic wisdom to share, but I will try and write shortly about some of my experiences.

My personal reasoning for trying a weight vest is my history as a morbidly obese person before I started working out in year 2009. I wanted to kind of travel back to those days and feel the burden that I was carrying day by day.

I first bought a weight vest that can hold total of max 30kg weight. One like this (finnish) http://www.compactfit.com/product/90/painoliivi-heavy. When I started using it, I added weights quickly and aggressively. Everything went well for a while, but then my personal history got a revenge. My hernia umbilical popped out dramatically and I ended up in hospital for christmas 2015. It was due to the burden and pressure that the weight vest had put on my stomach side.

For some time, I thought I will never run again with extra weight.

Things change, and in one month I started planning again. But this time more carefully and with a plan. I also got the idea, that I want to go and break the record for a marathon run with a 60 lb backpack (27.2 kg) in October 2016. There is no magic, this is what I did:

- created a "normal" marathon training plan

- replaced first 1-2 of my weekly with a weighted run (this amount increased to about 50% (of weekly mileage) runs later on)

- added weights first very slowly. About 2kg per week.

- if I felt any abnormal pain, I skipped a weighted run.

- once I reached a milestone, I stayed there for a while. Eg. I run with a 16kg west for one month before going forward and again gradually increasing weight.

- once I had been building up the base for around 5 months, I changed the strategy a bit. I replaced my long run with a weighted run. During the summer I run 6 half marathons and two marathongs with backpacks varying from 20 to 28 kg.

Overall. Just a couple words.

* PUSH your mental limits, but do not push your physical limits too quickly. If it hurts in your joints, take it easy. Your body WILL adjust, but give it time.

* For me, once I reached kgs over 20kg it was actually easier to run with the weight in the backpack and nothing on the stomach side. This is probably due to my personal history, but nevertheless I recommend experimenting putting a bit more of the weight on the backside - this allows you to breathe more freely as well.

* For me, running with extra weights has done magic. I have broken many barriers which I did not once believe possible for a heavy guy. I currently weight around 110kg and I can easily clock kms starting with 4:xx for a longist time (marathon) :)

I think weighted running is not for everyone. But for me it is like charging superpowers. The same idea powered me when I started getting rid of my fat, weighting 155kg in year 2009.

Go for it and the Everest!