Thanks for sticking with me so far, this is part 3 and the final chapter in the story of “How That Guy Became This Guy”, pictured here as a reminder. I wanted to start the blog off with this story as to add context to everything else that will follow. I am not a professional athlete; I have a job, family, and other obligations. For all intents and purposes, I am just like you. If I can go from couch potato to someone who has run an Ultra Marathon, anyone who wants to do it can do it. Even if your goal is a 5k, 10k, or to simply get back in to shape, you can do this! In fact, the best outcome of all of this has been the improvement to my health, and my psyche! I have lost 130 pounds and have a resting heart rate of 41! In the morning, I wake up well rested because I have slept soundly, and I feel great. My wife has told me I went from sounding like a chainsaw all night to not snoring at all, and as a result, she sleeps better too! Awesome sauce for everyone!
Let’s bring this thing home then shall we. Two critical things happened at this point in my journey. In October of 2014 at a staff meeting of all places, a colleague of mine, Dave, noticed that I had lost about 45 pounds. We struck up a conversation and he said “Dude! If you’re running to lose weight, you got to sign up for the Great Manchester 10k. We put a team together every year, raise some money for charity, and it’s a blast!” Now Dave had asked me to do this the previous year, and I couldn’t do it because we were on that vacation that started this whole thing. But the truth is I wouldn’t have done it anyway, because I wasn’t ready. You cannot change people, people can only change themselves, and I wasn’t ready to make that change a year ago. But, I was ready now. So I signed up. Making that commitment helped me to stay focused and kept the momentum going.
The second thing that happened and it seemed so innocuous at the time, was a friend of the family, Jessie, gave me a Fitbit for Christmas. It was the basic track your steps, no bells and whistles, model, but it was all I needed to start. In my business, we have a saying, “What gets measured, gets done.” Being able to see how active or inactive I was kept me moving. When you add the social aspect of it, friends, family, and weekly challenges, I was a kid in a candy store. Not everyone is the same, but I love seeing my steps increase throughout the day and the calories burned jump up after a run! I knew weight lose came down to calories in vs. calories burned, and now I had both pieces of the puzzle in one easy to use app. Done.
After the holidays, I had a goal, The Great Manchester 10k, and I had a tool, Fitbit, that allowed me to track progress, and just as importantly, provided visibility to others to help hold me accountable. I went on line, found a 10k training plan, and ran. The race was in May 2015 so I had a little more then four months to prepare, more then enough time, and I set a goal of under one hour.
With the race fast approaching, everything started to click. I worked my plan, counted my calories in vs. my calories burned and set the Fitbit for a 500 calorie per day deficit, and the weight started to fly off. The lighter I became, the easier the runs were. The easier the runs became, the longer I ran! It was a virtuous cycle. To be honest though, even with all of the preparation, I was still nervous. This was my first race ever, and I didn’t know what to expect. This is exactly where your support system becomes so important. Remember Dave up there? We were always friendly, but I wouldn’t say that we were GOOD friends. Well, throughout this process we became friends. GOOD friends. Running buddies. In fact, let’s call him “Running Buddy Dave”… from England. During my training he answered questions and provided encouragement. “Fella, keep doing the right things and you’ll be good.” “Fella, I saw you ran three days in a row on Strava, don’t burn yourself out. You need rest.” “Fella…”. Quick aside here, is “Fella” an English thing or a Dave thing? I’ll have to ask him. Anyway, race day finally arrived.
Our company had 14 runners and we raised over 2,000 £ for our charity, so the day was a success before we even started! At the time, with this being my first race, I was astonished at how many people there were out to support this event. It was crazy, tens of thousands. I thought “Every race cannot be like this, can it?”. The answer is no. The Great Manchester Run is one of a kind. They do an absolute amazing job and I cannot say enough about how well it was organized and how many people are there as volunteers and supporters; incredible. Back to the race, I am toeing the starting line and I have all of these emotions going through me: excited, nervous, apprehensive, joy… it was electric. The crowd had an energy of its own. Then we start, and the strangest thing happened. After about thirty seconds, I was just out for a run. I wasn’t racing anyone but myself. Everything was stripped away and all I had to do was keep putting one foot in front of the other. That’s it; simple.
Don’t get me wrong I noticed the crowd, the other runners, and the bands at each kilometer marker, but it was the same way that I noticed cars or buildings when I am out for a run during training. I guess what I’m saying, is that it felt familiar, or normal. I was doing what I had done for the last twelve months. With the underlying energy of the crowd pulling me along, I crossed the finish line in 54 minutes! I had become “Joe the Runner”. And while I probably still weighed 25 pounds heavier then I am today, the transformation was complete. The rest of the weight had no choice but to come off, as my lifestyle had changed. Everyday was a new day to go a little further and learn a little more about nutrition, about myself. So that’s what I did. I asked myself “If I could run 10k, could I run a half marathon? If I could run a half marathon, could I run a marathon? If I could run a marathon, could I run an ultra marathon?”
The answer was yes! As of today, the furthest distance that I have run was during the Firenze Urban Trail Ultra Challenge. The challenge consisted of a 13km run on Saturday night followed by a 45km run on Sunday morning. I WAS capable of more than I thought, and so are you.
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