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.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

15 miles in 2:26:06

I went out today for my long run, a scheduled 15 mile run and a new longest distance for me. I was fresh back from the running store and I picked up a pair of new shoes (a birthday gift from the wife) as well as a few other running items and another pair of running shorts. My wife calls the shoes weird because they have an offset lace pattern that, instead of running the laces down the middle of the top of the foot, starts at the middle and angles down towards the big toe. Apparently, this is supposed to help me run more naturally. I'm not one to spend a lot of money and these shoes were by no means cheap, so I was a little nervous.

I got up in the morning and weighed myself, up again thanks to the devil incarnate (the Cheesecake Factory) where I got my dinner last night. I put on the new shorts and shoes, got dressed, and headed out the door with two water bottles today. My runs are getting to the point where one bottle is not enough for the time and distance I am running. I wore one of the bottles and put the other one in the bed of my truck, planning on doing a loop back to my house about half way through the run.

I took off on the run and was noticeably slower. The shoes I was wearing were heavier than I am used to and I was a little worried that these expensive shoes were going to cause me some problems. I kept running and, at about the 5 mile mark, a funny thing happened. All the little aches and pains that have cropped up on my runs disappeared. I notice my running gait was a little better and my times started getting faster every mile from that point forward. Most importantly, my knee that I was worried about felt 100% and didn't ache at all.

I kept going, getting a little faster each mile. I crossed the half marathon mark at 2:07:24, not my fastest but still a very respectable time. Most importantly, at that point during my past runs I was completely spent, but this time I was still going strong. I kept going and ended up completing the 15 miles in 2:26:06 averaging about 9:44 per mile.

I came home and cleaned up and I feel great right now. Don't get me wrong, I can absolutely tell I ran 15 miles today, but all the little physical concerns that have been popping up are gone. Maybe it is just that I am better conditioned now than I have ever been in my life, but I think the new shoes custom fit for me and my running plans really helped me pull this off today.

Today's run was the longest run I will be doing before my first half marathon race in exactly two weeks from today. I am so excited and I cant wait. If I could go back in time 9 and 1/2 months and tell the 325 pound couch potato me back then that I would be running a half marathon in October and be 90 pounds lighter by then I never would have believed it.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this incredible journey. When I cross the finish line in San Jose in two weeks you will all be part of that tremendous success.
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1 comment:

  1. That's great Travis. You're lucky to have such a supportive wife--driving 2.5 hours and forking out serious dough for shoes was good of her! :) A good pair of shoes is probably the most important thing for successfully training for one of these events. I had bought a pair from a similar store here in Southern CA ("A Snail's Pace") for one event but then decided I was an expert for the next event and bought a pair of New Balance on the clearance rack at Big 5 and wound up with blisters and black toe nails... New Balance are great shoes, but you have to know how to fit a pair of shoes to a runner and the event that the runner is training for matters too. Shoes are a great investment, they help motivate you when you're not in pain and are comfortable and they're much cheaper than medical costs for not being in shape or for fixing the injuries caused by poor fitting shoes.

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