Two years from couch potato to olympic distance triathlete

stumblinthrulife

I figure it's time I made one of these here success posts. This is long, but if you're looking for motivation, I think you'll find it here.

In September 2012, after a number of incidents made me realize that I was on a very bad trajectory, I set out to turn my life around. At that time I was 220lb, I was 40+ percent body fat, my resting heart rate was 90+, my cholesterol was 250 and I got out of breath running for the bus. Things needed to change badly.

I started out by simply eating less. I wasn't tracking, I just reduced my intake. I started taking daily walks, at a pace that would leave me breathing heavy by the end of the walk.

In November, I started the couch to 5k running program on a treadmill. Man, was that hell. After that first 30 seconds of running I thought my heart was going to explode. But I persevered. On the days between running, I used the multi-gym machine at my community association gym. Oh how little I knew.

In December, I discovered MFP, and my diet approach become much more scientific. I started on a 1,000 deficit, but quickly switched to 500 when I realized it wasn't sustainable. I learned about macros. Soon I embraced IIFYM (seriously, guys, it's the way to go).

Fast forward to March 2013. I finished the C25k program, running a 5k in about 33 minutes on the treadmill. In May or June I started running outside. Rude awakening. Suddenly I couldn't run 5k anymore! At all! But I persevered. At this point I was trying to set a PR every time I went out running. Oh how little I knew. In October(ish) I started a proper running plan - intervals and stuff - and running really started to click with me. I ran in sun. I ran in rain. I ran in ice. I ran in snow. Over the next 9 months I would bring my 5k time down to below 23 minutes and my mile time down to 6m30. I brought my max distance up to 15km.

In about October of 2013, I started a proper barbell training regimen. Stronglifts 5x5, three times a week. What a difference that made. I suddenly realized I'd just been playing on the machine weights. I'm sure they helped, but they weren't where I needed to be. This was the real deal.

I started swimming. Suddenly, it was like being back to the C25k program all over again. But I persevered. I would swim as far as I could - often little more than 25 yards, rest, then do it again. And again. And again. I must have looked like a crazy person doing that for an hour. But eventually I could swim a mile without stopping.

In March of 2014 I bought a bike. I hadn't ridden a bike in 20 years. That thing scared me. You can guess how the bike training went - start small and work from there. 6 miles. 8 miles. 10 miles. 15, 20. By father's day I rode my first half century. Though that was a bad mistake. It exhausted me for about a week afterwards. Sometimes you can be too ambitious.

In May of 2014 I began specific training for an Olympic distance triathlon. Running three times a week. Swimming three times a week. Cycling three times a week. Weight lifting three times a week. My family forgot what I looked like. My friends are sick of Endomondo posts on Facebook. I'm pretty sure they'd like to shove a copy of the USAT rule book where the sun does not shine. But I persevered.

Then, just six days before the race - disaster! My first crash on the bike. I hit a patch of wet mud on the road and turned the bike over. Road rash and a nasty bruise on my hip. Bike was thankfully mostly undamaged. A trip to the doc and an x-ray confirmed that nothing was broken and doc grudgingly cleared me to race. Relief! The bike went into the shop and they checked it out and tuned it up. A new helmet was purchased.

And that brings us to yesterday. Race day. Ahead of me was a grueling 1500m swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run on a hot, humid Missouri day. It was hard. At times, I wanted to quit, especially during the run. But....



Pursue your goals. Don't make excuses. Do what you want to do in life, and don't let anything set you back. You can do this, if only you'd choose to.

SapiensPisces

Beautiful story. Congratulations!

ihad

I figure it's time I made of these here success posts. This is long, but if you're looking for motivation, I think you'll find it here.

In September 2012, after a number of incidents made me realize that I was on a very bad trajectory, I set out to turn my life around. At that time I was 220lb, I was 40+ percent body fat, my resting heart rate was 90+, my cholesterol was 250 and I got out of breath running for the bus. Things needed to change badly.

I started out by simply eating less. I wasn't tracking, I just reduced my intake. I started taking daily walks, at a pace that would leave me breathing heavy by the end of the walk.

In November, I started the couch to 5k running program on a treadmill. Man, was that hell. After that first 30 seconds of running I thought my heart was going to explode. But I persevered. On the days between running, I used the multi-gym machine at my community association gym. Oh how little I knew.

In December, I discovered MFP, and my diet approach become much more scientific. I started on a 1,000 deficit, but quickly switched to 500 when I realized it wasn't sustainable. I learned about macros. Soon I embraced IIFYM (seriously, guys, it's the way to go).

Fast forward to March 2013. I finished the C25k program, running a 5k in about 33 minutes on the treadmill. In May or June I started running outside. Rude awakening. Suddenly I couldn't 5k anymore! At all! But I persevered. At this point I was trying to set a PR every time I went out running. Oh how little I knew. In October(ish) I started a proper running plan - intervals and stuff - and running really started to click with me. I ran in sun. I ran in rain. I ran in ice. I ran in snow. Over the next 9 months I would bring my 5k time down to below 23 minutes and my mile time down to 6m30. I brought my max distance up to 15km.

In about October of 2013, I started a proper barbell training regimen. Stronglifts 5x5, three times a week. What a difference that made. I suddenly realized I'd just been playing on the machine weights. I'm sure they helped, but they weren't where I needed to be. This was the real deal.

I started swimming. Suddenly, it was like being back to the C25k program all over again. But I persevered. I would swim as far as I could - often little more than 25 yards, rest, then do it again. And again. And again. I must have looked like a crazy person doing that for an hour. But eventually I could swim a mile without stopping.

In March of 2014 I bought a bike. I hadn't ridden a bike in 20 years. That thing scared me. You can guess how the bike training went - start small and work from there. 6 miles. 8 miles. 10 miles. 15, 20. By father's day I rode my first half century. Though that was a bad mistake. It exhausted me for about a week afterwards. Sometimes you can be too ambitious.

In May of 2014 I began specific training for an Olympic distance triathlon. Running three times a week. Swimming three times a week. Cycling three times a week. Weight lifting three times a week. My family forgot what I looked like. My friends are sick of Endomondo posts on Facebook. I'm pretty sure they'd like to shove a copy of the USAT rule book where the sun does not shine. But I persevered.

Then, just six days before the race - disaster! My first crash on the bike. I hit a patch of wet mud on the road and turned the bike over. Road rash and a nasty bruise on my hip. Bike was thankfully mostly undamaged. A trip to the doc and an x-ray confirmed that nothing was broken and doc grudgingly cleared me to race. Relief! The bike went into the shop and they checked it out and tuned it up. A new helmet was purchased.

And that brings us to yesterday. Race day. Ahead of me was a grueling 1500m swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run on a hot, humid Missouri day. It was hard. At times, I wanted to quit, especially during the run. But....



Pursue your goals. Don't make excuses. Do what you want to do in life, and don't let anything set you back. You can do this, if only you'd choose to.

Excellent work. Congrats!

:drinker:

Sharon_C

Wow. What an inspirational story. And this also is a lesson for those who are starting out. You can't do it all at once. Add things in one at a time and NEVER GIVE UP!

Thank you for sharing and congratulations!!!

nathalier71

That's awesome! Perseverance is one of the keys for sure!

115s

That is a very nice achievement! I bet you feel amazingly proud of yourself Congrats!

askme12

That's really awesome! Great inspiration. Congrats!:drinker:

37lbs_to_go

Thank you for sharing your success. I logged on today looking for some major motivation and I found it. I've always wanted to do a triathlon. You make it seem to doable.

RBXChas

Awesome story! Thanks for sharing! Congratulations on your achievements! Perseverance is key, and many of us don't have the patience to persevere. Stories like this help a lot

sbrookes9

This is an awesome story! Thanks for sharing

The_Enginerd

tam6van

Wow! What a great success story. Great job????! You must be so very proud.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

LauraFouhse

Way to go. My story is similar. 5 triathlons this summer. Totally addicted.

dbanks80

Great story great inspiration!!!

nucgirl13

Congratulations on your first triathlon! Hopefully you enjoyed the experience and it will be the first of many! I watched my sister compete in a sprint triathlon in March and it changed my life. I was not going to stand on the sidelines of life anymore, I wanted to compete. I bought a bike, joined a gym with a pool and started running again. I competed in my first triathlon in July and have 3 more planned for the the season. I've started tracking calories again to get to a decent race weight and plan to sign up for IMAZ 2015. There is just nothing like triathlon!

777Gemma888

Just lovely! Congratulations on your achievements. :drinker:

AglaeaC

Great writing and what a story!

robster160

Way to go ! Great story!

BinaryPulsar

This is wonderful!

chmtastic

Congrats!!! You are amazing!!!!

TriNoob

Congrats! Tris are addictive...you won't be able to stop.

Mommy23js

Such an awesome story!! ONe thing I loved about your post besides that fact that you could make a post like this, was that you started with some weight and HR numbers, and then never referred to them again. YOu only talk about all the new things you could try and succeed in--that's really what fitness is all about. Great job--congrats!!!

brandiuntz

Excellent!! You are awesome. Oh, love the reference to "how little I knew". My early workouts were much the same.

skinnyinnotime

This is briliant, you turned your life around 100%, congrats man!!

stumblinthrulife

Such an awesome story!! ONe thing I loved about your post besides that fact that you could make a post like this, was that you started with some weight and HR numbers, and then never referred to them again. YOu only talk about all the new things you could try and succeed in--that's really what fitness is all about. Great job--congrats!!!

Things like weight have definitely become secondary to performance numbers and general enjoyment of life.

But I'd be lying if I said I didn't still track them. For those that enjoy them -

I'm around 165lb now, having gone down to 155 and bulked up a little during training. My body fat percentage is in the mid to high teens, though I don't know an accurate figure. My cholesterol is in the low 100s. My resting heart rate is in the 50s, and actually dipped as low as 47 when my training peaked.

thinbi

Beautiful story. Thanks for sharing it.

kelly_e_montana

Thanks for sharing your story! I have a similar one (March 2012--weighed 235, couldn't walk easily, let alone run a mile), did 30 Day Shred, Couch 2 5K and have been doing Crossfit competitively & 5K trail races and am competing in my first powerlifting contest in November. I'm not really IIFYM though; doesn't work for me since I'm in ED recovery and I have learned which foods are just super triggering. But, for the most part, it works well! I didn't start out tracking either and I don't most of the time.

I think the basic point here is that not only can you not give up on yourself, you can transform yourself into something amazing, beyond what you think you are capable of with confidence, a plan, and COMMITMENT. I love your story. Thanks and many blessings for the future.

AND YESSSSSS!!!! ON SWITCHING THE FOCUS FROM WEIGHT TO PERFORMANCE.:drinker:

heartofviolet

You're a champ. Congratulations!!!

amos481

Thanks for sharing - Congrats!!! I know I will re-read your post many times.

Wasatcher

Inspiring...let no one give up on themselves or set the bar low...