Journey to the Marathon

Monday, May 16, 2011

Choosing Your Hard!

People ask me all the time, "Was it HARD to lose all that weight?".

My answer is simple, YES, Losing weight IS Hard, but then again, so is NOT losing weight.

Lets see, at almost 500 lbs :

Walking is.... HARD
Climbing Stairs is.... HARD
Fitting in most seats is.... HARD
Dealing with "fat jokes" is.... HARD
Fitting in clothes is.... HARD
Flying in an airplane is.... HARD
Going on rides at amusement parks is.... HARD

Whats involved with losing weight and why is it so HARD?

Measuring/Tracking what you eat
Exercising on a regular basis
Cleansing the kitchen and keeping a supply of HEALTHY foods
Replacing clothes 2 or 3 or 4 times, sometimes more
Financially taxing (Replacing Clothes and Buying Healthy food isnt cheap!)

However, take a minute and compare the two options...

Go ahead and CHOOSE YOUR HARD!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Launching the NEW site!

Today I launched the new and improved www.500lbs2marathon.com site!

It is still a work in progress but after taking a look at the site, I hope that everyone enjoys the changes Ive made so far.

Some changes besides the overall look I would like to point out are:

-Easier Navigation

-Direct Link to the blog

-Advanced Event Calendar

-Check the dates on the calendar and click on the individual events to find a link to that event's details

-Contact Me form which can be used to send me any sort of questions/comments/feedback

I will be adding other pages and content in the coming days/weeks/months

Please let me know of ways I can improve the site or things you would like for me to add!

Im also gonna be blogging more, so check back here as well!

Thanx for all of your continued support and encouragement!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Run Across America with Dean Karnazes

Just got home from my run with Dean Karnazes.

Got to the beach at around 6:30 and waited until about 7:30 for Dean to arrive. He came and gave us a pep talk before the run, sounded off the bullhorn and we were off!

After about 1/4 mile in (glad i didnt have my ipod on) I heard Dean coming up behind me with some people. He jogged at my pace for a few moments, and we talked! He remembered me because I had posted on his facebook page which he had responded to. He told me he was inspired by ME... DEAN, isnpired by ME! And when he asked how much weight I lost, and i told him 171 lbs, his mouth dropped and said that was a lot more then he weighed!! He told me never to give up, and to finish strong! He then proceeded to leave me in the dust!!

I was hoping to see him at the finish, but by that point they already whsiked him off (more to come about that soon) I DID however have the lady doing the PR stuff call me over to the mic after i finished, and she asked me about my site, and about my story, and the crowd applauded me, I cant even describe how that made me feel. I had people come up to me and asking me about my story and about how I got started. Amazing..

I then got to meet Dean's parents, who actually came up to ME, and they were great people, so glad I got to meet them.

So I then find out that he was whisked away because he was going to a local Walgreens for a book signing/1 mile walk.

We got there about 20 minutes before Dean got there, and then he took to the podium to talk about his journey across America. During his speech, he said "inspiration goes 2 ways" he mentioned how he learned about so many different stories on his journey that keep him inspired and then singled me out! He told everyone about how this morning during the run who had lost 170lbs and has a goal to run in the marathon!

I then got my book and race bib signed by Dean and went on the 1 mile walk with him.

As far as the 5K run, it was an untimed fun run, and I was so caught up in everything, i never bothered recording it on the Nike GPS, but a rough estimate would have me finishing around 44-45 minutes.

Today is a day I will never forget, and will have this story to tell for the rest of my life. And for all the people who dont like Dean, I say this, Meet the Man, talk to him, Dean is one of the most down to earth and friendly "celebrities" I have met.

Thanx for reading this! This day meant a LOT to me, and will carry these memories all the way into the NYC Marathon!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

NYRR 4 Mile - Central Park

So, yesterday I ran the NYRR 4 Mile run thru Central Park. It was a cool day, a brisk 44 degrees, which wouldnt have been so bad except for the RAIN!! And the rain never let up at all, was a cold soggy 4 miles, but somehow managed to have my best run ever in my short running history!!!

Got to Central Park with my wife around 8AM and met up with Amy Shapiro shortly thereafter, who had run there from her house as warmup!!

Amy volunteered her time to come out and pace me for this run,and even in the crappy conditions came out to do this for me.

Race started promptly at 9AM, my corral crossed the start line at around 9:08AM. First mile was hard mainly due to a lousy hill called "cat hill". Well instead of taking it easy up this hill, i tried to push myself, my quad didnt appreciate this much and soon after hitting the apex of this hill, my quad let me know! Mile 1 was sub 15:00 which I was quite pleased with!!

Miles 2-3 were pretty good, nothing as bad as Mile 1, there were some hills, but plenty of downhill time to make up for lost time.

Got to the 5K mark at 47:10 which was more than 2 minutes faster than my prior 5K PR!! Unfortunately by this point my Quad really was in pain and i started to slow down a bit, but when we got closer to that finish line gave it my all and pushd myself to get thru tht finish line strong!

Amy crossed the finish line and i crossed 3 seconds behind her with a finish time of 1:00:13!!!! I paced at 15:04 which CRUSHED my prior best 5K pace of 16:20!

Also met up with Dahlia from the RWOL forums afterwards who totally kicked butt during this race!!

This was my first New York Road Runners race of im sure MANY to come. Even though the conditions were miserable, this surely will be a race I will remember for a VERY long time.

Amy, whom Im very priveleged to call a friend, taught me a very valuable lesson about Running in general. Its not always about finishing for a prize, or finishing to set a PR. Theres so much mor to Running than that,and just makes me appreciate the sport and my fellow runners that much more!

Next run is May 9th with Dean Karnazes during his Run Across America!

Thanx for taking the time to read this, and a BIG thanx to my friend Amy!!!!!!!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Hangover 5K by poet611 at Garmin Connect - Details

Getting ready at the start

And We're off!

Approaching Mile 1, ran the whole first mile at just over 15 minutes

Going strong into the midway point

Waving hello as i turn into the last 3/4 mile

Finish Strong!

Post race with Runner's World forum buddy Carly and her friend

At home with my New Hoody

Hangover 5K by poet611 at Garmin Connect - Details

New PR! 49:19!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Ugggggh, WINTER!!!!!!

So, its been a while since i made a post in my blog, and thats because there pretty much has been nothing new to post about.. Why???? Cause this winter has been HORRIBLE! Snow, Snow, Snow, ICE, and more SNOW!!!!

The race scheduled for 1/1 got postponed to 1/30, then postponed again until 2/27!

I learned my lesson, no more scheduling races in January!

So hopefully Ill get to run the 5K on 2/27, next one after that has not been scheduled as of yet, but I may be running a 5K in Suffolk county on 3/27.

Im also thinking about trying my first 10K on 5/1 depending on how training goes.

As far as weightloss goes, Im currently down 137 total now!

Thanx for your support and following me on my journey!