Tuesday, June 5, 2012

120 days of running- a wrap up?




This is me roughly at the start of the 120 day challenge back in Feb. I'm not certian but I weighed somewhere between 205-210 lbs. I was in decent shape logging about 12-15 miles per week and felt pretty good about it.

Since then, I have run every day for 120 days straight.




This is a picture of me from my 120th run today.

From a numbers perspective, here's the breakdown.
Days running:120
Total miles logged: 482
Average distance per day: approx 4miles
Longest single day: 50Km (31 miles) Ultra-marathon
Weight at the start: 205 to be conservative
Weight after 120 days (today): 176 lbs.
Total weight loss: 29 lbs and I have found 4 out of my 6pack.

I have benefitted hugely from the challenge in a number of ways that are not quantifiable. I've discussed some of this in my midway post. but here are a few new ones.

- Rather than sour me to running, this challenge has only deepened my passion. I can't image stopping any time soon. Sure I might take a day of eventually, but I really hope that running and specifically trail and ultra running is a part of my life for a long time.

- I'm waaaaayyy more conscious about what I eat in an unconscious way. The weird part was that this happened naturally. As I started to build endurance and fitness, my food cravings changed. I just realized that I basically eat a quasi-Paleo diet now without even thinking about it. It just happens to be the food that is appealing to me now. I can't even fathom eating a bowl of pasta at this point and would rather eat a giant salad.

- I have come to the conclusion that I really want to see others realize some of the benefits I've seen. This is the pay it forward stuff. This is happening both actively and passively. I am actively trying to get kids into running in my community through the 100 mile club (100mileclub.com) and I'm taking every opportunity to help folks run with better form. In a passive sense, there are a lot of my family and friends who are either getting into running, returning to running, or amping up their workouts. I'd like to think that my journey and my incessant Facebook posts have had a small something to do with that. One place where I'm 100% sure I am a major influence is with my 6 yr old son. This spring he has completed his first 5K and his first trail race. I'm so proud of him and I hope that some day he can pace me when my wife lets me do a 100 miler.

Bottom line is that I am not even remotely an athlete or a superhero. Anyone who can put one foot in front of the other can do this.

Try it out. It doesn't have to be 120 days. Give it a try for 30 days. I bet you get hooked!
- Cheers!

1 comment:

  1. Wow Brad... 29lbs! I know I was really feeling great until I had to bail at 45 with my achilles.. Been thinking about starting the challenge again, and you've motivated me to do so... My first 10 mile race on Sunday... I think perhaps I'll call that day 1! Congrats on completing your challenge with such awesome results!

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