So, I turned to hubby and asked him if as a favor to me, he would be willing to share his story. He has lost almost 25 pounds since introducing running into his life. At first, he was SO resistant to running, but now not only is he a better runner than me, but I might even wager to say he is more passionate about it too! I am so incredibly proud of him AND he looks fabulous! This wifey is loving it!
Hello. My name is Will and this is my story.
Let’s go back… way back. Growing up I was a stick, no thicker than a pencil. I didn’t even have to try; I ate crap and drank a lot of soda. I had minimal exercise and no matter what, I was a skinny boy.
Fast forward to age 27ish. Let’s introduce a new girlfriend (who likes to feed me) and a slower metabolism. Mix in my bad eating habits and you have a recipe for rapid weight gain. I quickly shot up from 165 to over 200 pounds in the next few years. Oh man…
Let’s keep moving forward, shall we? For some reason my new girlfriend agreed to become my fiancé, and then decided to become my wife. Maybe I drove her crazy, but her next big decision was choosing to become a runner. I don’t know what got into her. She set a goal to run a half marathon, and when she completed that, she wanted to run more.
And like any loving wife, mine wanted to get me involved. She tried to get me into the gym. She tried to get me to run outside. Honestly, I didn’t want to. Why would I?! And when I went out to run, I struggled to run a half a mile. My lack of exercise and bad eating habits were beating my body up. Worst of all, my brain was holding me back.
I’ll tell you something though. I can’t really explain it, but all of these races have some kind of mysterious power. It’s like some kind of black magic. I think they call it motivation these days. So I was motivated to do something. Now, let’s get one thing straight: that “something” was definitely no half marathon! I’m talking about a 5k here and there where I could run for a few minutes and then walk the rest.
Funny thing about these 5ks… I can’t really explain it, but all of these races have some kind of mysterious power. Oh, did I say that already? Well yes, they are motivating. I unofficially like to mark the start of my new running life with the Race for the Cure in October of 2012. I vaguely remember my time for running the 5k around just under 37 minutes total. My first official time!
At the beginning of the following November I downloaded the app “Map My Run”. This was an important point because the recording of my run showed me my progress and made me want to push myself. All of a sudden, I could run a mile without stopping. Then I ran a 5k on the trail without stopping. I saw my pace drop dramatically when during one race I actually ran the 5k in less than 30 minutes. My current personal record for a 5k is 27:12 which I ran in Long Beach in October 2013. 1 year since my first big race and I shaved off almost 9 minutes!
So in my brief running career thus far, I have run countless 5ks, two 10ks, a mud run and my two half marathons! And during this time my weight dropped down to 185 lbs.
My goal, however, was sub-180lbs, but I seemed to have stalled. I kept running, but I won’t lie; I felt discouraged. I was running regularly 2-3 times a week and was eating much better. So, what was my problem? Consistency.
Yes I would run often, but not consistently. So, I set my next goal. Two weeks before my second half marathon this past Sunday, I needed to get into shape quickly. So I ran… 6 days in a row! And just like that, I’m now below 180 lbs. Wait, regular exercise helps you lose weight?! Well, that just sounds crazy!
So ,here I am today. I’ve lost over 20 pounds and feel so much better about myself. So what have I learned?
Well one of the first things I learned was that 90% of running is mental. Sure conditioning will help you running longer and faster, but I found my biggest stumbling block was my brain. It stopped me from getting outside to run. It stopped me at mile 2 when I really should have stopped at mile 3 or 4. To help me get out of the house and start a run, I had to remind myself that I have never regretted a workout. While I ran, if I wanted to stop at mile 2.5, I told myself “not now; just a little further.” All of a sudden 2.5 miles turned into 4. 4 turned into 6! For my first half marathon, I ran 6.55 miles (exactly half of a half) before retreating to a run/walk plan. This was by far the most I’ve ran without walking… until my second marathon that is when I ran the whole race.
I also learned to be content with my runs. I know, I know…I just got done bragging about pushing myself. I find when I run, the competitive side of me will emerge when I see my time. “Oh, if only I ran 2 seconds faster… blah blah blah.” The truth is, running is not about time. Sure it’s a good benchmark in which to judge progress, but running is truly about finishing something most people think is impossible. If you told me 2 years ago that I would be running half marathons, I would have told you that you were straight up crazy. But here I am!
Lastly, I learned a lot about motivation. Sure I felt motivated by watching others run, but it still took me a long time to get off the couch. I usually find that motivation comes second. I don’t run because I feel motivated. I feel motivated because I run. The more I run, the more I feel motivated to run.
So there you have it. Of course, this is barely the first chapter of my running life and I’m very excited about my future progress. So, um… thanks for reading. Peace out.
The Prickly Pearl 