What should i do to run 6 miles in 1 hour

Question

I am fat, overweight (85 kg, 28 Years, 5ft 9in). I usually eat lots of rice. I am vegetarian, do not take alcohol, sleeps at least 8 hrs daily.

I want to run 1 hr to cover 6 miles ( in order to ultimately shape up my belly).

I have on couple of occasions went till 4.5 miles. But i feel very tired after that (till next 2 days).

Now whenever i try, i give up within 30 min.

What should i do in order to increase my stamina, so that I can run continuously till 1 hr?
Is being overweight becoming hurder?

I am looking for food (to go for, to avoid), other exercises, drinking habits, other habits.

Also I want to know, is it ok to run 30 min, daily? (I feel I am not doing justice to my legs)? In the gym, I only do running, no other exercises. Should i mix it up?

Answer 1

You need to make your legs stronger by doing squats. You should vary your routine by including some weight training exercises like squats, pushups and lunges. Also, try high intensity interval training for short duration and build up to it for increasing your stamina.

Modify your diet by balancing out carbs and bringing in more fruits and veggies. Include almonds and other protein sources, if possible eggs. Lots of rice will not do you much good. Read up on the net for healthy eating habits. As a rule of thumb, eat more after activity or when you need to be active. Eat less when you need to rest or sleep.

This is a short answer to your question, but you need to research more and listen to your body. It is good to have a goal, but it is more important to change your habits for long term fitness.

Answer 2

You need a structured routine so that you don't give up after 30 minutes. There are some good training programs on the web for running 10k such as:

• http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51122/10K-Novice-Training-Program
• http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/138.shtml

As for foods, get at least one gram or protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Limit refined carbohydrates like fruit juices, soda, sugars, etc. Eat filling carbohydrates that are high in fiber such as fruits and vegetables and you'll naturally feel full while keeping your caloric intake down. Avoid alcohol. Eat a cheat meal once or twice a week.

Answer 3

Excellent answer from Silverhorse btw.

What I experienced as a vegetarian for over three years: Being vegetarian is not the same as being healthy. It helps a lot, but fries, pizza's, pancakes and lots of cheese are not doing any good.

Try to reduce the rice, it is a bit limited protein source (you are eating the brown variant, are you?). Have you ever tried Quinoa? It is a protein complete source so you don't need to worry about eating grains as well as nuts on a day.
What I found a nice way to get my basic needs of proteins, fibers and vitamins is to make a large bowl of (fat free) yoghurt with muesli (the whole-food or biologic variant), mix in a spoon of linseed and put some fresh fruit in it.
Stay large on the veggies and low on the potatoes, cheese and processed grains (like bread) etc.. Allthough, use a little bit of fat when preparing your veggies, because it will give a signal to your body it is eating "real" food (you get saturated faster; sorry, could not find my source) and some of the vitamins are fat soluble, so you get an higher intake of those ones too.
It is great you don't take any alcohol, I really applaud that.

How long are you running? I just started in August and I try to slow down a little bit. Doing to much will only get you injured, you need your body to adapt especially when you are overweight (allthough, being 85 kg is just slightly overweight don't worry about that to much). Only running will eventually get you there, but with doing additional excercises you get there faster. Do some weightlifting at your gym. You have a membership there, so that must be easy. Ideally with free weights; the machines only train one muscle group and won't add the benefits of gaining a better balance and posture. Stay away from cardio. If you are running, you don't need cardio. Mix the way you are running. On some days you do a long run, on others a shorter with a higher pace. Do some HIIT and negative splits.

Note: This is just a laymans advise from personal experience, but being in the kind of the same process I just wanted to share it.