Time – 50:00
Distance – 4.03 miles
Pace – 12:24 min/mi
Elevation – 0 ft. (1% Treadmill)
4 min warm-up walk, 5 min cool down, running 5.2 mph at 1% the whole way. Miles like this make up for the afternoon hours on the 4th Saturday in June.
Something About MeWho am I, you ask? What do I have that makes me think I can do this? Where’s the pedigree? How about time and money to pull it off? Am I skilled enough? WHERE DO I GET OFF THINKING I CAN DO THIS?!
(Breathing heavily into a paper bag)
Okay, let’s start again…
My name is Adam. I’ve never run more than 15 miles in one workout (and, if I remember right, it was on a treadmill), and I have only three half marathons to my name. My dream has always been to do Ironman. I’ve done a few sprint triathlons, which I enjoyed immensely, and I know I have the ability to get it done in under 17 hours.
But I’ve adjusted the bucket list. The life plan is altered. THE GOAL has been changed. Why?
We’re pregnant. Wait, I think I need more gusto with that. WE’RE PREGNANT! Hooray! Seriously, though, we’re super excited. It’s a girl (we are referring to her here as “Baby Girl” for the time being), and our first. We have also two boys: my wife’s biological and my adopted 14 year-old, and our 4 year-old (I have soiled the gene pool…). Full disclosure, both of my boys are autistic, but that’s not relevant to our story. You may, however, hear more about that later.
Back to the task at hand. We’re pregnant, and my Master’s will be completed soon. I need something to keep me busy (as if three kids isn’t enough), but not too busy. Ironman training is awesome, and just what a distractable puppy like myself needs (Squrriel!), and it will NOT fit into our timeline or our budget. We just don’t have enough to make life work and for me to acquire the necessary gear to do Ironman.
I was coming up as a triathlete back in the early to middle 2000’s, during the time that Scott Jurek was in the process of showing Lance Armstrong the clean way to dominate one’s sport. Jurek pulled off an amazing run of seven consecutive wins at Western States. So, I’ve known about Western States for a long time now, and it was one of those things that I saw as something that crazy people do, like go on the Maury Povich Show or vote for the Green Party.
Running does, however, lend itself well to two things: 1) It doesn’t take a lot of time if you train smart, and 2) It doesn’t cost a ton if you buy shoes on sale. #1 can get solved by The Plan. #2 requires internet research and patience for sales (I can do patience, I have children…).
So here I am. I have the proper amount of time (as long as I need, I’m only 38). I’m motivated to reach THE GOAL because I’m a glutton for punishment (see said Master’s, three kids, and Ironman dreams as Exhibits A, B, and C). The last reason is the big one. I’m finally in a place where I CAN do it. I’ve lost, in the last 8 months, 118 pounds (Talk about burying the lead!).
Left: Father’s Day, 2017 Right: Star Wars Rogue One Release, December 2016
Yes, it’s true. Through a combination of diet and patience (again, children are key to this…I’m not kidding), I’ve dropped an entire Olympic Women’s 1500m medalist (more than one, actually, Dibaba is only 93 lbs.). No gym work, no running (until now), no weird pills or foods. I just ate what people are supposed to eat, and here I am. The diet was through my chiropractor, Frye Functional Medicine in Glen Carbon, IL (I am in no way compensated for telling you about them). They have a program Shape Reclaimed that is amazing. Completely changed my body, how I feel, and how I move through the world. Which, apparently, it will be at a moderate pace whilst running in Northern California for a period of time not to exceed 24 hours, if all goes as expected.
This isn’t an advertisement; it’s just a part of my story. Without the significant change in my weight and my diet, I wouldn’t be able to pursue THE GOAL. There’s no way I could have done it as a 331 lbs. guy. Knees (or most mountain trails, for that matter) wouldn’t be able to stand up to the pounding. Plus, I’m afraid that I would have looked so much like Sasquatch that I might have been shot…
Regardless, I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been, and I’m going to use it. Onto the next step. Trials of Miles, Miles of Trials.
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