Being able to run 2 or 3.1 or 5 or 6.2 or whatever number of miles is great and everything (and I mean REALLY, really, REALLY great). But the true value of C25k is this.

Defeat the Blerch!

C25K Success Story (with pictures!)

http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/how-running-changed-me-bj-keeton-overcame-asthma



NAME: B.J. Keeton (@professorbeej)

AGE: 30

OCCUPATION: College English Instructor and Sci-Fi/Fantasy Author

HOMETOWN: Lawrenceburg, Tennessee

FAMILY: Wife, Jennifer; Mom, Judy

What prompted you to start working out?

My wife and I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter during the summer of 2010, and the attendant could barely click the safety harness of the roller coaster over my gut—and I was in the plus-sized seat. My seat only clicked once; everyone else’s clicked three times. I thought I was going to fall out of the seat and die. At that moment in the amusement park, I knew my life had to change. I couldn’t let my weight—which I had never cared about that much before—hold me back from living my life. I was 27 years old and a newlywed. I had my whole life in front of me. I needed to be able to enjoy it.

How did you start?

By walking. I downloaded the Couch-to-5K app and tried that. But it wanted me to run for 60 seconds at a time, and I just couldn’t do it. So I walked until my lungs were able to handle the strain, and then started the Couch-to-5K program. It also helped that my wife was a runner in college, and when she started exercising more regularly again, I saw what she could do, and something in my head said, “If she can do that, so can I.” So I went out on the hottest day of the summer at 3 in the afternoon, set my C25K app for week one day one, and figured that if I could do it on the hottest day of a Tennessee summer (a record high temp, too, if I recall), I could do just about anything.

What’s your regular workout routine?

I’m following a training plan for a half-marathon. I try to get about 15 miles in a week, running three to four days a week. On off days, I do calisthenics, dumbbell weight training, or yoga. I make sure I get on the treadmill and walk a few miles on off-days, if nothing else, and it’s really easy for me to toss my laptop on there and edit a manuscript, blog, or work on a freelance project and still be moving.

What was the biggest hurdle to working out and how did you get over it?

I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma about seven years ago, and that combined with my inherent laziness was almost a death sentence for me. After reading online about runners overcoming EIA, I talked to my doctor, and he didn’t think there’d be anything wrong with me puffing on Albuterol before a run. Since then, I take a hit after I lace up, and I’m good to go. When running in moderate weather, I don’t use the inhaler anymore. But in extreme heat, cold, or humidity, I need to either keep it handy or preemptively use it. I hope to be able to strengthen my lungs enough by my half-marathon that I won’t need to use it anymore at all. I always tell people that you can’t necessarily beat having asthma, but you sure can outrun it.

Did you have a weight-loss goal?

At my heaviest, I weighed 310 pounds, and right now, I’m 164 pounds. I’ve lost 146 pounds, and that’s more than I ever thought possible.

What’s the secret to your weight-loss success?

I kept things realistic, and I was happy for every single pound. I saw each pound as another few months alive, as another few months with my wife and my family, doing the stuff I love to do. I never thought it was possible for my body to be this size or this shape. But as I lost, I noticed all of these small details about life that I’d taken for granted. I mean, I love having people (even family members!) not recognize me in public, or being able to walk into a store and buy clothes I like without having to special order them. It’s the little things, and when I focused on them, the weight came off. I could push myself, and nothing seemed unreachable because I did my best to keep things in perspective.

What kinds of changes did you make to what and how you ate?

I changed everything. I wasn’t going on a diet; I was making a lifestyle change. Initially, I followed the low-glycemic index because in-laws had success with it, and the pounds melted away without much effort. I never felt deprived or hungry, so it was fantastic. I gave up sugar pretty early on, and now I splurge once in a while on sweets, but I don’t really miss them. If I want a cookie, I’ll have a cookie. But one cookie. Not four or five. When I started running more and more, I realized that I needed more carbohydrates, so my wife and I both started eating more whole and organic foods and fewer processed products, and we started cooking more and more at home. More than anything, my diet is about moderation and healthy choices.

What advice would you give to a beginner?

It gets better. Really. I promise. The hurting stops. The exhaustion goes away. The fatigue and cramps and blisters and all of that is temporary. I know it doesn’t seem that way, and I know that you feel like you want to die after 30 seconds, but it eventually becomes one of the best things in the world. But you have to stick with it. Oh, and those first two miles? They always suck. Always. For everyone.

What’s your favorite piece of gear? I kind of have a thing for running shoes. I love the way they look and how excited getting a new pair makes me. I guess it’s the knowledge that I beat the living crap out of the old pair, so I earned the new ones. So now, I get to beat the living crap out of them, too. I just love it.

What is your long term-goal?

With my weak knees and asthma, I just want to keep running. I want to be healthy. My dad died of heart problems at 60, so as morbid as it may sound, my long-term goal is to not do that.