2014 was a pretty monumental year for me in regards to fitness.
In May, I became fed up (once and for all...?) with my lack of fitness. Through some strength training, bicycling, and running I lost 55 pounds (going from 240 to 185) in about 5 months. Additionally, I kept the weight off through a busy fall semester of teaching... and even through the holidays.
My final weigh-in for the year was 187.4 lbs.
In May, I became fed up (once and for all...?) with my lack of fitness. Through some strength training, bicycling, and running I lost 55 pounds (going from 240 to 185) in about 5 months. Additionally, I kept the weight off through a busy fall semester of teaching... and even through the holidays.
My final weigh-in for the year was 187.4 lbs.
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| the last 35 weeks of 2014 |
I've had "before & after" pictures that I've shown to some family, but been reluctant to share them here for what I assume are the normal reasons that people don't post scantily clad photos of themselves on the internet. But the transformation is significant enough that I thought it would be worthwhile (a few of you have encouraged me to do this as well, although I suspect you are just tricking me into posting lurid photos of myself online)
[update: photos removed. sorry. too weird.]
Anyway, I think the weight-loss is something worth celebrating, but it's not my biggest takeaway (or potentially the biggest benefit) of this "season of fitness" in my life. That honor, I believe, would go to my newfound love for running. Which is still something that I can't imagine I ever would have written.
For me, 2014 was the year I really began to appreciate running (despite "participating" in the past, I don't think I ever really appreciated the physical and psychological benefits). This year was the first time in my life where I felt a "need" to go run at different times -- whether to clear my head, settle some restlessness, challenge myself physically, or a multitude of other potential reasons. I ... and I can't believe I'm writing this... I *liked* running in 2014. Weird.
As a result, I ran a lot in 2014. Especially in the second half of 2014. Here are a my workout totals for the last few years...
Obviously, there's a spike in runs this year, but I only went on 10 runs total prior to May. In fact, the vast majority of those miles were logged between August and December -- where I ran 129 times (in 152 days) for a total of 689 miles. I don't think it's a stretch to say that this level of activity played a crucial role in my unusual preservation of fitness through the late fall.
I've written about the running goals I accomplished here, and I've written about my marathon experience here... but for the rest of this post, I want to establish some new goals. Where to go from here?
Here are my current running goals:
5k - break 20 minute mark (current PR 20:49)
10k - 43:23 - sub 7min/mi (current PR 45:44)
Half Marathon - 1:44 - sub 8min/mi (current PR 1:49:14)
Marathon (Chicago) - 3:30 (current PR 3:54)
For these, I think the 10k and Marathon times are most ambitious. I'm not sure when/if I'll train for 5k & 10k times... but I will start training very soon for a half marathon in May, and if all goes to plan, I will try to "race" the Chicago marathon for time... to see if I can hit that goal in October.
All in all, 2014 was a great year for fitness. One of my deepest fears is that I will regress in 2015. I hope, instead, that I continue to improve, accomplish goals, experience success, and generally avoid turning back into the big fat pig that I know is still lurking somewhere inside me - waiting to strike.
I'll have to strike first... and fight the fat.
