Word Online
From Fat to Fit In 2018
I have no idea how this is going to come out or across, but here goes anyway. I was out running this morning, on a miserable mid-December morning, and my mind started to wander, and I was thinking about all that has happened this year and I thought I would get something written down and share it with people.
First off and most importantly I am a normal 39-year-old bloke who just got fat. I am not a former supreme athlete, dietician, nutritionist, personal trainer etc. The only thing I have done is eat less and moved more. Apart from buying trainers (who knew you needed so may!!) and my running club membership that’s the total spend on equipment. There has been no gym memberships, personal trainers, magic potions or diet plans.
It was 16th December 2017 that I saw a photo of myself and I thought “Oh my god, look at the state of you”. At this point I knew I needed to do something but as it was nearly Christmas, I thought I would have a blow out and get cracking on 1st January. So that’s what I did.
So, this was the photo that sparked something in me. We were in Spain the week before Christmas and I had rolled in at about 8am after catching up with my brothers and cousins. I felt and looked terrible, hence the glass of water!! In this photo I am wearing an XL t-shirt and 38 Inch jeans, a new personal worst for me and I was just shy of 17st. This was rock bottom and as they say there was only one way to go.
Fast forward to January now and possibly the most important thing I did. I set the wheels in motion to join a local running club. My neighbour had seen me go for the occasional run since we moved in and she suggested trying one of the sessions at her club. I went along with an open mind and after 30 mins of the 45 min Tempo session I bailed out. Jack kindly ran with me on that first session. We were doing a 1:1 Tempo session which I now know is the easiest Tempo session going. As I ran with Jack, he was asking me what running I had done previously and asked what times I had achieved. I have run a lot of miles with Jack since that day and he has since told me that he thought I was talking rubbish when I told him my Half Marathon PB was 1hr 39 which I achieved in 2013.
The next positive step I took was going to my local Parkrun. Due to the parkland at Montacute House being wet and overused the first couple of runs were held on their B course at Ham Hill Country Park. Like many people do I had signed up years ago but only taken part a few times the previous year. So, I went there and dragged my sorry arse around the course in 28:19. I was blowing out of my arse, but I had done it, and little did I know I was hooked.
Struggling at my first Parkrun of 2018
74/265 runners in 28:21
I had managed to start getting out and run a bit more regularly by the end of January and made the decision that I was going to join the running club too. This trend continued into February. Combined with ditching the booze since the turn of the year and being strict with my diet I was now weighing in over a stone lighter than at the start of January. On the final Parkrun at the B course I was delighted to finish 16th out of 196 runners and clocked 23:54 in the process. This was a new PB too.
At the end of February, we went to my cousin’s birthday party and many of my family hadn’t seen me since my sister’s wedding at the end of September 2017 or the Christmas get together in December 2017. I received loads of positive comments about my near 2 stone weight loss. This did wonders for my confidence and spurred me on again.
By the start of March, I decided to bite the bullet and join the running club. Without doubt the best £30 I have ever spent. I had also been given an entry by a friend to the Yeovil half marathon at the end of March. I just stuck to running on my own in March as I was determined to beat my Half Marathon PB at the end of the month. The day of the race came, and we had a club meet up in the town. Even though my membership had not been processed in time to run for the club, they welcomed me none the less. I set off full of confidence and a friend who I started the race with told me to go on ahead of him at the 3-mile point. I finished the race in 1hr 38.
I took a few days rest after the Yeovil half and then on the 1st April I went for a run. Little did I know that this would be the start of my running streak which at time of writing is 262 days strong. I got to day 10 and thought I would do the whole of April to give my running a boost. During April I got back to Parkrun at Montacute and went on a 5-week run of setting a PB week after week. By mid-May I set a new PB of 21.07. I was blowing hard after this, but it was a result of hard work and effort rather than being overweight and unable to move. In April I also took part in the 1st of 6 summer 5k races which made up a series. The route I had run loads of times in my old job. So, when it was mentioned it was ideal for PB chasing I was all over it.
On the way to another Parkrun PB
At the Summer 5K series I set a 5k PB of 20:45 at an average pace of 6.38 per mile. I still couldn’t believe I was producing these results. I was 2 mins a mile quicker than the start of the year. Must be all that weight I had lost now!! More club training and Parkruns followed and then the 2nd race of the summer series came along in mid-May and another 5k PB of 19:51. I was now going toe to toe with some of the better members of the club and I wasn’t the fat bloke who turned up in January.
At the end of May I took part in my first championship race for the club. There were about 12 of us that went along to Weymouth on a very muggy May evening for the 10k race. I ran well and finished in 21st place overall in 42:23, more surprisingly I crossed the line 1st from the club.
I was well and truly hooked on this running thing now. After feeling positive I decided to enter another local half marathon and go PB hunting. June couldn’t come quick enough for me. The training had been going well and the structured sessions were paying off for me. Race day came for the Heron Half Marathon, and I was ready to go for it. The course was great but was lonely in places due to the location. The big bonus was that our club were running a water station at the 6-mile point and at around 12 miles. I had set of hard trying my best to hang on. At 11 miles Dan from the club who I regard as a quick runner went past me. Surely I couldn’t blow up with 2 miles to go? At this point I still didn’t own a Garmin so was working out the pace in my head and using a normal digital watch to time the run. I hung in there and crossed the line in 1hr 32 and more surprisingly 20th out of 274 entrants.
A week later, at the end of June, came yet another PB at Parkrun, I was now under 21 mins at 20:49. It is worth pointing out now that by this point, I had been interacting with some positive and inspiring people via Twitter. Too many to mention them all but the main ones were Paul, Kerry, Will and Stu. Before I knew it, I had been persuaded (very easily but don’t tell Kerry) to sign up for Manchester Marathon and an Ultra Marathon in 2019.
I also made the decision at this time to target the club championship race in October to do something I would never have believed achievable in January. I was going to run Bristol Half Marathon in under 1hr 30 mins. That was the goal and I was going to achieve it. To keep me focussed I decided to raise money for charity at the same time. The challenge was on.
The summer 5k series continued in July and August and I set a PB of 20:04 in July only to run 19:03 a month later in August. I deliberately pushed hard in my training in July and August as I was going to Spain for 3 weeks on holiday. I set another Parkrun PB prior to my holiday finishing 7th in a time of 20:21. The Half marathon Tempo sessions had started with the club in preparation for the Bristol Half in September. How was 3 weeks away eating and drinking going to affect effect things? I kept the streak going while away. This included running hungover on more than one occasion and having to be disciplined enough to get out early before it got into the 30’s temperature wise. No surprise that my first session back after holiday was a shock to the system. I had 7 weeks to go until the Bristol Half and I needed to be ready. I was on course to raise over £1000 for a charity very close to us as a family. Nothing was stopping me now. As the training ramped up, I lost the few pounds I had gained on holiday and was approaching a 3 stone weight loss. I was the lightest I had been for years now at 13st 12.
So, the day had come of the Bristol Half and I was ready for it. For some unknown reason I decided to drink 6 pints of cider the night before, but I still felt fine on the day!! This was the first big race I had taken part in. There were over 10000 runners. My inability to be able to pace a race sensibly came back and I went of very quickly. I clocked the first 10k in about 40 mins. I had by this point bought a Garmin, so I knew where I needed to be all the way round. I had a wobble at about 10 miles as the quick pace caught up with me. Luckily the combination of some energy gels and entering the city where the crowds were vocal and supportive, I dug in and I had done it. Me, the fat bloke in January had completed Bristol Half in 1hr 28 and 44 secs.
I had achieved all I wanted to do running now for this year, except I wanted one more shot at a final Parkrun PB. This came in November when I went hard and finished 7th out of 338 in a time of 19:55. I was now content for this year.
As well as hitting some personal goals this year I have had great pleasure in helping others achieve their own goals. In September at the 5K summer series I paced a fellow club member to his own PB. I have also been a pacer at Parkrun where I managed to pace another club mate to his Parkrun PB. I have also started attending a club group with the aim of getting people to a sub 2 hr Half marathon time. We had our club dinner at the beginning of December, and I was a little gob smacked to be voted best new comer to the club. In the last few weeks I have gone through the 4st weight loss barrier too. I posted a before and after picture on Twitter a few weeks ago. The reaction I got was unexpected. Complete strangers liking it and messaging me saying I am inspiring. There are a few people who have inspired me in the latter part of the year too. Keely and Andy amongst them. There are honestly too many people to mention who have in some small way been a part of it all. As I said right at the start of the piece. I have done nothing special other than eaten less and moved more. I suppose you could say that with the help of Parkrun and my running club I have fallen in love with running too. So, if you have stuck with this to the end and you’re thinking “Can I do It”? The answer is yes you can. Just believe in yourself take that first step into running, it gets easier the more you do it. You will meet amazing people along the way, and you will achieve great things you never thought possible.
So that is how I went from Fat to Fit in 2018
17st on the right hungover and someone who did little to no exercise, and 12st 11 on the left after deciding to change my lifestyle habits.
Paul the Runner 