I have made mention of my immense weight loss in 2008 on numerous occasions. The impetus for that weight loss was two-fold: to get in shape before student teaching began and to impress Stacie. One of those things happened. The other did not. I digress. After getting myself into pretty good shape, I stayed in pretty good shape for about a year. I started sliding down the slope in August 2009. Between different struggles and hardship, the move from Orland back to Tinley, and a nasty illness, I got out of a normal workout pattern. As life’s body blows began to increase, I spent even less time at the gym and more time wallowing in self-pity. Between August 2009 and September 2011 I never even stepped on a scale. I noticed a “muffin top” beginning to form, and I noticed my clothes becoming tighter and tighter. I finally bit the bullet and stepped onto the scale.
I was horrified to discover that I had gained over half the weight I lost in 2008. All the hard work and triumph was gone. This time, the only motivation I had to lose weight was my disgust at falling off the wagon. That was the only motivation I needed.
Starting in October 2011, I worked out seven days a week. As I had done in 2008, I used the elliptical as the focal point for my workouts. Unlike 2008, I focused less on speed and more on intensity. Five days a week I burned 1000 calories whilst on the elliptical. I “rested” the other two days by only burning 500 calories. By the beginning of December, I lost all the weight I had put on. I was in the best shape of my life, but I began to get bored of the elliptical.
Around this time, my dad mentioned that he was going to run another marathon and invited my sister and me to run the marathon as well. With my sister’s work schedule, marathon training was impossible, but I decided to give it some thought. Never mind that I had not run since conditioning before basketball season in junior high. Never mind that I had never run more than 2.5 miles without stopping. I decided to take up running, and by the end of December I would decide whether or not I was up for doing a marathon.
I decided to do my running on the treadmill because I am not a fan of the elements (despite living in the greater Chicagoland area my entire life). I started with three miles. Then I moved up to five. By the end of the year I could run 8 miles. Not only could I run longer distances, but my mile time kept improving. I went from running 10 minute miles to running miles in under 8 minutes. I decided to accept the challenge.
From what I now understand, it is not common for a novice runner to run a marathon. Getting one’s body in marathon shape generally takes a great deal of time and practice. However, if you know me, you know I like to rush things a bit. I do not follow conventional wisdom, especially in terms of establishing timeframes for goals. I was going to do this, and I was going to do it well.
Marathon training was not fun. I ran four short runs during the week and a long run every Sunday. The long run started at 8 miles and increased by one mile every week. For the first five weeks or so, a crazy thing happened. My average mile time got faster with the longer I went! I finished a half-marathon at an exceptionally good clip.
Once I got past 15 miles in my training runs, my body really started to feel it. It would take a couple days for my body to get back to 100 percent. I was able to make it outside for my 18 and 19 mile runs. It was good for me to be able to get out into the elements and away from the controlled environment of the gym.
So, on May 5, 2012, I finally ran a marathon. I was well-trained, but no amount of training could have prepared me for exactly what I was going to experience. It was colder, windier, and damper than I both hoped and expected it to be. The beginning of the race was full of people who should have started much farther back based on their pace. I had to get past all that.
And get past it I did! My goal before the marathon was to not only finish the race but also to finish it in less than four hours. I know… I have the tendency to set some lofty goals. Despite the terrain being damp and somewhat hilly during the first half of the marathon, I was absolutely flying. I made it through the first 20 miles in around 2 hours and 50 minutes. I was well on pace to achieve my goal.
Somewhere between mile 20 and mile 21 my body hit a wall. At this point (and until the rest of the race) we had to run into a pretty nasty headwind. I hit the wind and it literally froze my body in its tracks. Both legs gave out simultaneously, and I was completely spent. My only goal at that point was to finish.
Because my legs were in the condition they were, I pretty much had to drag myself through the last 5.5 miles. Around mile 23 I seriously considered calling it a day and having medical personnel transport me to the finish. My body wanted to quit, but my mind said no. I had come too far to fall just short. I have fallen just short of the prize too many times in my life. I would not let it happen this time.
Eventually I made it to the finish line. I mustered up just enough strength to run as fast as I could through the finish (and looked like a total dork doing so). I finished 37 minutes later than I hoped to finish, but I completed a marathon. The guy who had a muffin top just 7 months ago ran a marathon, and ran it like a complete star for most of it.
I’ll probably never run a marathon again. I don’t need to. I set a goal for myself back in December, and I achieved that goal. I’ll find something else to strive to achieve.
I really do appreciate all the kind words and messages I have received throughout this entire process. I am extremely relieved to be finished, and I am extremely excited that my body isn’t going to feel like total junk anymore. I’m not some sort of superhuman for doing this. Just because many of you haven’t done something like this doesn’t mean that you can’t do it. Just takes time, energy, and a lot of stubbornness. Let NOTHING stand in your way.
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