OK, let's don't get carried away. I am not really a "marathoner". In fact, I am not even close to a decent long-distance runner. Coming from a team sports background and as a former long-sprinter on the track team, I used to think that taking more than one lap around the track was a sure sign of mental instability. I now confess that I am a full-fledged wannabe endurance athlete who has become totally hooked on the sport.

 

It was fall of 2006 and out of pure curiousity I stepped on the scale and was expecting to see the number "230", and was even prepared for something around "240". Shocked when three different scales listed me at an obese 250 pounds, I did some serious soul searching. A subsequent cholesterol screening gave me a score of 250+ (ouch!) and news of my sweet mother going to insulin shots was enough to motivate a change in my life. Two months later I watched "SuperSize Me" and that was the clincher. I was going to change! Though I had successfully lost weight before, I had never really transformed my entire lifestyle.

 

So here goes. I changed my entire menu lineup. To the bench went fast food (except for Subway, Panda Express, and believe it or not . . . In 'n Out Burger--more on that later), highly POLYsaturated fat items, and the high sugar junk; into the starting lineup went whole grains, fruits, nuts, and a lot of veggies. I now eat a ton of "superfoods". Do a Google search if you don't know what I mean. Red meat is now eaten less and chicken and fish are on the table more often. I stopped drinking sodas on a regular basis and smoothies/water became a regular thing for me. I do still eat chocolate (I didn't totally freak out!), but I have more often than not replaced milk chocolate with dark semi-sweet (lots of anti-oxidants--I also ate about 16 cookies after the marathon on Saturday). Yum! I am not on a "diet", I am living a new "lifestyle"!

 

Oh yeah, In 'n Out . . . stick with the regular hamburger and you are eating one of the freshest, healthiest of all burgers. Now, I know it is not a salad but when compared to the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburgers I used to down ...

 

Exercise . . . this was hard at first. I just started jogging ("yogging" as Coach Wilson refers to it) and lifting light weights 2-3 times per week. When I first started I could barely go 20 minutes without feeling as if a heart attack was inevitable! As I increased the sessions to about 4-5 per week, I noticed gradual improvement and the pounds started to disappear. The strength training was changing my shape as well. I then started lengthening the duration and intensity of my workouts while staying in my target heart rate zone. A visit to the doctor (first time in many years) was next to make sure what I was doing was healthy. Doc gave me the OK and a charge to keep rolling and to shoot for a weight of 195-200 pounds by August. As of August 27th, I am at 198.

 

So why a marathon? While working out one day in late April I had this weird feeling that I wanted to take this exercise thing much further.  This deep (?)thinking soon evolved into the insane thought of attempting something that would seem nearly impossible. A 5K? Hey, I could do that. A 10K? I could walk it if I had to! A marathon? Wait a minute, how far is that? Uh, 26.2 miles. The voice inside my head said "you are nuts". That was enough for me. I found a 4-month training plan, located a race, and set my goals.

 

When you are training for a marathon you have a lot of time to think while you are out there logging miles. Pounding the pavement one day it dawned on me to marry two ideas--endurance events and the dream I have had for many years to create a perpetual scholarship fund at R.H.S. Why not give scholarships to students who undergo significant health/fitness transformations? Why not encourage members and supporters of the R.H.S. community to participate in endurance events (walk-a-thons, triathlons, bike-a-thons, marathons, etc.) and raise money for the fund? I did the research and listened to all the naysayers and chose to tune them out. Instead, I listened to the many people who loved the idea and encouraged me to go for it. And, that is how this whole thing started . . . why don't you join us!! To me TRANSFORMnow is a win-win-win program. You/your family-friends/future Silverwolves will all benefit. There is no better time than now to get involved.

 

Read more at: www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695221041,00.html