Finally Airborne...: A half marathon is going to be tough

One day, I took my 325 pound couch potato self to Disneyland for a vacation. It was around Christmas time in 2009 and I wanted to show the family a good time. Then, the unthinkable happened. My world came crashing down as I was kicked off of a ride in front of everyone because I was too big to fit in the seat. It was humiliating, embarrassing and unexpected. But, it changed my life.

I realized that my life needed to change. I also realized that I have missed out on so much in my own life because I never took control of my health. I missed out on serving in the military because I was too big, I missed becoming a police officer because I was too out of shape, and I missed achieving some of the dreams in my life.

Not any more. I threw away the fear of failure and dared to do something impossible. In one year, I lost over 100 pounds and did something that I never thought I could do – I ran a marathon. I achieved the impossible and it was the most amazing thing ever.

The next year, I traveled the country, seeing new cities 26.2 miles at a time on a marathon tour, all while training for the impossible - the title of IRONMAN!

On June 24, 2012, I crossed the Ironman finish line in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, listening to Mike Reilly announce me as an Ironman, after a long day and 140.6 miles.

I am continuing on my journey, getting through the ups and downs of maintaining a new, fit lifestyle. Life is good, and I want to live it to the fullest.

This blog celebrates our ability to achieve things that seem impossible.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A half marathon is going to be tough

Yesterday I started my training regiment for the 1/2 marathon I want to run in November. This is going to be a tough thing, 13.1 miles is a long distance to run! My goal is to run the whole thing and com in under 2:15:00, keeping a 10 minute mile pace, but that will be really tough. I can easily run a shorter distance at that pace (yesterday I started the training runs and went 4 miles in 40 minutes) but I hope I can build up to the half marathon distance in time for the run. Fortunately, some runner family members have given me lots of advice on how to train and I am working on a training plan that should have me doing well if I can stick to it all.