From "The Roadrunner" Magazine
January-February 2015
Vol.35, N1 (Page 24-25)
I was an 11 time Marathon and 4 time Ironman finisher. However, I dropped off the wagon in 2004-2005
when I was deployed to the Middle East.
I lived a very unhealthy lifestyle and I never got back as seriously
into running until this year.
I was 40lbs overweight at 180 lbs. in June 2014. I was very disappointed with myself. I had dropped many bad habits but still
wasn’t feeling good. I complained
constantly to my wife about what I “use to be” and reminisced continually about
all my previous accomplishments. She
finally got sick of it and told me to do something about it.
So I started a plan back to fitness.
I set out making goals in running, nutrition and weight control. I started out very slow in my running,
started eating more fruits and veggies and started using supplements. I also had to overcome the fear of challenges. I tried my first race in many years, the Navy 10 Nautical Miler. It would be a benchmark for things to come. I had been running around 10:30/mile pace on good days so I felt pretty good going into it. But, the race was a disaster. My pace was in 12:00/mile. I was embarrassed.
I concentrated more on what my goals actually meant and how to track them. I utilized Running Apps and my phone’s GPS to track my miles while making a spreadsheet to monitor how they matched against my goals.
It became a game of accountability. For the month of June, my goal was 100 miles, but I pushed myself and ended up with more than 150.
I challenged myself even more by taking advice from a friend to join the MRTC . That same friend asked if I would join his Ragnar Team which would compete in October from Chattanooga 200miles to Nashville. Reluctantly, I agreed, but it gave me another goal, another measure of accountability.
That first MRTC 5K was filled with doubt. It was now July, the Navy 10NM still fresh in my mind. I felt like I had trained the best I could. I ended up average at the chip finish. I knew there were areas for improvement. I ended up with 200 miles for July on goal. I also found that running everyday wasn’t as taxing on my body as I thought.
The seriousness of running was just beginning. August was a huge month. I was part of a group of virtual runners. With the App, I could monitor my progression against others. I asked the group’s administrator what he record was? In March 2014, he (the administrator) completed 345 miles in one month. He said how hard and impossible it was to break and how difficult it was to even get 300.
Despite that warning, I was undeterred. Looking at my spreadsheet, my last two months and feeling my body’s capability, I thought it was more than possible to break.
I set the spreadsheet to 350 miles, just under 12miles/day. My strategy was to complete daily triples - that is, a run in the morning a good 5 miles around the Navy Support Activity Mid-South base in Millington, a lunch run five-times around a miler course I mapped out, and a 7.5mile run with my Spaniel. Luckily it was August so there was lots of sunlight, unfortunately a lot of heat in the afternoons.
As the sweat poured from the heat, so did the excess weight. At 17 miles a day and +20mile on the weekends, I hit 300 at day 20 and broke his 345mile record at day 23. But, with 11 days left and in such a great rhythm I went for more. I have a belief that “Mile Markers are NOT Stop Signs”, so I forged on. When I reached August 31, my total mileage for the month was 508. And I was not tired! I had blisters, a few knee and hip-flexor twinges, and a little sun burnt, but I was feeling really good.
The August mileage was good, but I wasn’t done. I kept running. I goaled out for another 350miles, 508 was just too much to try again. September was cooling down, but I was warming up. I was already in the 140s in weight, from 35 inch waist to 31inch, and had an incredible break through on the MRTC 10K. For some reason, I just let my light new body flow into the run, I didn’t think of it as a race, but a game of catching as many people as I could. I was running by people and not looking back. I just wanted my heart to pump, sweat to flow and enjoy the moment of being fast again. I was now running at 7:30 at 10K distance! I was taking hills with determination and flying down them with carless abandon. I felt young, healthy and alive.
I did not get another 508 miles for the month. I did achieve 423miles for September, 73miles more than goal. My spreadsheet also totaled 117 days of running in 122days since June 1st. I was running fast when I needed and running smooth at realist pace daily.
This was written on October 22, the day before I left for the Ragnar Relay race. Some are apprehensive about the miles coming up. On average each person has a share of 30-36 miles on this 200mile relay. My portion is 36miles. But I don’t even see it as a race. I feel it will be like the runs with my dog or the daily miles around my lunch miler course.
I have some pretty simple messages for Average Joe Runners:
- Just run, you don’t have to be fast, just determined to run what you can.
- Keep your promise to yourself when you goal out your miles for the month
- Believe you can do it. People are easily defeated before they start when the DON’T believe.
- Enjoy the run. The Good Lord gives us only so long on the road then takes our legs away. As Steve Prefontaine said, "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."
My goal is not to make this about me, but to inspire the Average Joe. WE CAN DO IT!
I finished out October with 406miles and also completed Ragnar with my
Team. I completed three separate legs
totaling 36.3 miles. The first leg was
just under 11 miles on a steep grade going downhill. I felt like I had wheels on as I flew down
the mountain in 7:02 per mile. The
second leg was 13 miles through a forest road where it was easy to get
lost. The third and final leg was at
4:00AM in cold darkness. My sweat was
seeping through my running gear creating a frost over my arms and chest. As sun took over the night at 6:30AM, I saw
the line in exhilaration but not because it was over, but because I completed
my Ragnar Ultra pushing myself and experiencing little pain. Some may think 45 is old, some may think I’m still young. I just Thank God I can still and that my age isn’t determining my distance. The will to make myself stronger, faster and last longer drives my fitness and running. Every step makes my life just a bit better.
