Last December I ran
my first Marathon after a 14 year break.
Since then I have continued training and raised the stakes even higher! I have logged over 1350 miles since January 1st,
2013. I have PR’ed ever race I have run
this year (5K, 10K, 15K, ½ Marathon and Full Marathon). In July I ran the San Antonio “I Ran
Marathon” and took 30 minutes of my marathon time from December 2012.
As a part of my
journey I decided this year I wanted to run an Ultra Marathon (any distance
beyond a “regular” Marathon…J), so I signed up for
the Cowtown 50K in February 2014. To
prepare for that race, I picked 2 marathons to run, first was the San Antonio
Rock and Roll Marathon and then the Dallas Marathon (formerly called White
Rock). Since I was running 2 marathons,
I decided to add a 3rd marathon so that I could qualify for the
Marathon Maniac Club (I must confirm the insanity by joining a club). One of the qualifications for this “maniac status”
is to run 3 marathons in 90 days, I figured I could do that since I would need
to keep my long distance running going between the Dallas and Cowtown races.
Why run like Forrest
Gump? I have no idea really, I just love
to run, I love to train, and I love breaking through barriers that most 45 year
old people would never attempt. What has
been interesting to experience is when I was running in my 20’s I was a slower,
seem to always have knee pain and did not really push my limits very far. Since changing my diet to plant based and
training smarter, I feel better than ever.
I am leaner, faster and fitter than I have ever been! Is this a bragging statement? Not really….it is a guy who wants to convince
others there are very few limits that cannot be overcome with the proper
training and nutrition. I hate to hear people
say “I can’t.” Well I just do not accept
that!
This year I
continued to make changes in my training and diet. I am almost 100% plant powered (no animal
products in the diet), I have cut out most of the processed foods and most of
the sugar.
Since I love a good
challenge, I started the 100 Days of Exercise challenge in August with some of my
FB friends. As of this writing I am on
day 130 of the challenge. Another
challenge I created was 30 days of No Sugar.
This meant I could not eat anything that contained sugar (fruit is not a
sugar for this challenge)– this is more difficult than it may seem. Almost 80% of all foods sold today contain
sugar, whether it is salad dressing, bread, condiments, etc. The reason I did the challenge was I need a
break from the sugar addiction. I would
still eat chocolate, ice cream and use agave in my coffee! I successfully completed that challenge and I
am on day 45!
The results of the
challenges are evident, my body has gotten leaner and I feel even better than I
did before. Waking up every day knowing
I do not need sugar, and wanting to include 20 minutes of some physical
activity is great.
After achieving the
success I have had, I felt compelled to reach out and help others on their journey. I have met and friended some really cool
people. I have been very active in the
local running groups sharing my knowledge and experiences.
If you want to
change your life and be healthy then I encourage you to do so. Life is much more fun off the couch and out
on the road! When I began this journey 2
1/2 years ago I had no idea where it could take me, and now I see no limits to the
possibilities. Whether you’re a walker,
occasional gym rat or just enjoy being outdoors on the trails, be the best that
you can be and never stop!
