Comment by fredleblanc | Hacker News Reader

Comment by fredleblanc | Hacker News Reader

A few years ago I decided I was sick of being overweight and decided to make a change. My approach was two-pronged: 1) eat better, 2) exercise.

For eating, I cut out as much sugar as I reasonably could. For exercise, I made sure I "moved vigorously" for 30 minutes per day, every day.

I was never a runner. And in my early shape, that 30 minutes was just me walking. Eventually, though, I stopped sweating and being out of breath, so I started walking more briskly. Then eventually I moved to a treadmill and started jogging for bits of it.

And then I could jog the whole time. And then I could run while taking jog breaks. About 7 months in, I was able to run 5 miles in about 35 minutes. I did it every day.

The point was that I went every day. It wasn't about how much I did, but that I was sweating and moving for 30 minutes. Lost 75 pounds in about 9 months.

I took the winter off last year and fell into sugar again, so I restarted this past summer. A 5k every day, as many days as I can. I have to run outside instead of at the gym, so weather controls a lot.

All of this is to say I agree, mostly. 30 minutes per day every day can fix a lot of problems. It did for me. :)

I’m jealous, I’ve been jogging since May this year and 5 miles in 35 minutes is way faster than I can go. You could easily break a 20 minute 5k at that pace!

I've been running for 30 years, and 5 miles in 35 minutes was barely possible at the very peak of my training. There's no chance of pulling it off now, even though I'm in ultramarathon shape.

The point being, you run your pace. Congrats on starting and keeping up your running. It's a really good form of exercise -- inexpensive, readily available, and low-overhead. There will always be faster people, and there will always be slower people. You'll meet both at races (when races are a thing again), and mostly what you'll feel is camaraderie that you're all in it together regardless of your pace.

Agreed. My note on times wasn’t to brag, but to say that I never thought I’d run that far or that fast. Before this whole ordeal, my fastest mile was in fourth grade and it was 9:12.

And my favorite part of running is waving to other runners running the opposite way. I assume it’s the same way motorcycle people feel when they wave to each other.

I did one sub-20 5k and know I will never get back to that again. It was pushing it then, and I’m happy I did it, but it crushed me for a week or two. Also, that was treadmill time. I’ve come to learn that outdoor running is much more challenging for me. My best 5k outdoors is 22:46, and that’s good enough for me. :)

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