Last week I talked about my post marathon stomach flu – well that is over. I am past being sick, my muscles are recovered from my marathon and the weather is good and I am back! I am back to gym workouts at least once a week and trying for 10+ miles per week of running. I am back to leading by example in my fitness life!
Saturday Quarter Marathon
I proved that I was fully recovered from all of my post-marathon madness by spontaneously running a quarter marathon on Saturday.
Saturday morning was a beautiful and sunny, though a bit chilly, morning and I knew that I wanted to go for a long run. So I headed out to Schiller Park in German Village and thought that I would just run a few laps. Then I decided to run down to the Scioto Trail and then I was off to the races. I ran the Scioto Trail from the Brewery District to the Arena District and back through downtown.
My total run was almost 7 miles and felt great! I abandoned my run/walk strategy and ran pretty much the whole time. Once I hit 3.8 miles I slowed to a walk for a short time and then peppered in a few other short walks later in the run. But I did not include any significant walking other than my warmup and cool down.
It felt great!
Telling My Story: Clarity on Fire
Beyond getting back to killing it in my fitness life this was also another good week of telling my story.
In last week’s blog I talked about how one of my favorite podcasts, Clarity on Fire, interviewed me about my journey. On Friday of this week the podcast went live. Some of the topics we discussed during this interview included:
- What was the catalyst that made you want to make this huge lifestyle change?What were your biggest fears when you were just getting started?
- A lot of people start making changes like this, but they don’t see them through. What made you stick with it?
- How did you handle disappointments and challenges along the way?
- When you were losing the weight, you had a clear goal in mind. Now that you’re in maintenance mode, how do you continue to keep yourself motivated?
- What are the biggest things you learned about yourself through this whole experience?
- What advice do you have for anyone considering making a big lifestyle change, whether it’s weight loss or something else?
You can listen to this interview on your favorite podcast app or online at http://clarityonfire.com/losing-100-pounds-tony-weaver/.
The interview was fun and I really enjoyed doing it. One of the biggest things I learned from this experience was that telling my story is a huge motivator. After telling somebody what I did and why I did it I remind myself of what I accomplished and that I can do anything. It motivates me to work even harder to keep going because I am definitely not done.
Bigger than reminding and motivating me to keep going, telling my story also reiterates my belief that anybody can do the same thing I did. Anybody can set a big goal and make it come to life and feel great at the end. You just have to decide to do it, make a commitment and build a plan that works for you.
I really believe that part of my calling is to help in three ways:
- Inspire people to start their own journeys toward their goals by helping give them the confidence that they can be successful and it doesn’t have to suck.
- Motivate people to keep going and not quit in the middle.
- Provide the tools, techniques and support that people need to empower them to be successful.
If I keep focused on this calling I know that I will be able to help build a world where no goal ever dies of loneliness.
Thanks for reading… check back next week for more.
Last week’s stats (4/29-5/5):
Maintain avg. weight of 189-199 pounds: 200 lbs average
Run 10+ miles per week: 4 miles
Total walk/run miles: 20.7 miles
Weight training 2-3 times per week: 0 workouts
One race per month: January, March and April races complete. May TBD.
Continue to track & manage calories: 4,382 calories under budget
