FROM HALF MARATHON TO FULL RUNNING MACHINE (lots of pics)

This is my first post. I’m not done and still have a long way to go but wanted to share the success of reaching a huge milestone during my journey. Reading other people’s success stories has inspired me to keep going and not give up. It’s because of the encouragement from my many great friends on MFP that I’m able to posting this. Through their support, I’ve lost almost 60 lbs, gain a ton of confidence and become a running machine.

Like a lot of people, I was scared into weight loss. My doctor told me I was pre-diabetic and she wanted to start tracking my food intake. She suggested MFP as a means of recording what I ate…she actually put the app on my phone while I was in her office. This was the wakeup call I needed to get started. I was too embarrassed to record all the foods I wanted to eat so I made a change and ate at the deficit calculate by my new MFP app. After two weeks of recording, I sent my doctor a copy of the food I ate. She said it looked good but that I needed to also get frequent exercise.

I started to walk 1 to 2 miles, 3 times a week. When I first started, I had a lot of pain in my feet and back. I could go maybe a half mile at a really slow pace then I’d have to sit on the curb until the pains subsided a little. I did this for a month and worked up to walking 3 miles without breaks. Then I decided to jog. I remember every detail when I jogged my first full mile without stopping…I put my hands up in the air like I was crossing a finish line (the neighbors must have thought I was a crazy nut).

One of my friends at work mentioned running the Dallas Half Marathon. Without thinking, I said I wanted to do it. The nervousness of whether I could even cross the finish line in the 4 hour time limit started to set in, forcing me to come up with a plan of how to get it done. I found a 12 week training program online and faithfully put in the miles, rain or shine. I celebrated every time my pace got better. I started out running 14 minute miles and gradually improved to 9 minute miles. It was a really big day for me when I ran 3 miles under 30 minutes…I started to feel like a runner. Looking at previous photos, I realized I had gone from a fat guy who could not even walk a mile to someone who was fit and could run a half marathon in 2 hours.

I was absolutely heartbroken when Dallas Half Marathon got canceled due to an ice storm the night before. The next day when the roads were clear I started my training for the Cowtown Half Marathon. I decided I would pick up the pace on my training in order to reach a goal of one hour and fifty minutes. I ended up with a chip time of 1:46:05.

Now for the pictures:

Here’s me on vacation a month before I started using MFP.


Start of the Fort Worth Cowtown Half.


Mile 7.


Mile 8

At mile 10 I pulled my hamstring and still had another 3 miles left. I knew my time was good and wanted to beat my goal of an hour fifty. It was tough to keep pushing, but I had worked hard to be a finisher and was going to get across that finish line even if I had to crawl. As I approached the finish line the pain of the race and the emotion of reaching one of my biggest milestones hit me all at once.









I’ve been working hard to get my hamstring healed up for my next run this weekend in Sarasota, Florida. I’m shooting to break 1:45

I owe a great many thanks to my friends on MFP who have encouraged me and kept me accountable along the way. My biggest tip is to find some great friends on MFP and stay active and positive. The only thing that can prevent you from reaching your goals is not trying.

Thanks for reading!!!
~Ryan