When I started this journey of running all the time I didn’t think anything was going to happen with it. Of course I knew that I would eventually lose some weight because I was moving more. I knew I would be able to run longer, but I never knew I would have so many small successes.
Today I want to share with you the small successes I have had while doing this. First, weight loss. My goal weight is to be around 200 pounds. I just feel like it’s a healthy weight for me, but also I don’t want to be running with so much extra weight.
At first the weight wasn’t really going anywhere. Maybe it was because I tend to do crazy fad diets and not try to lose weight in a healthy way. It was time for me to start eating better and really focusing on what I was putting in my body.
I love to eat—as my body totally shows—and I love to eat a lot. But when I first got on a treadmill and started to run things were happening on the inside that didn’t feel right. Every time I would run I had to get off and run to the bathroom. This would happen around the two-mile mark and it was constant. Once I changed my eating habits that got better. Now I can get a six to nine mile run in without needing a bathroom.
Since running I have only lost 16 pounds, but that has all been done without taking one supplement. If you remember, when we went to Hawaii I was taking supplements plus doing a crazy diet to drop a lot of weight. It wasn’t healthy and I told myself I wasn’t ever going to do that again. I am in fact sticking to my word and happy to say 16 pounds of weight loss has never felt so good.
Clothes are some of my very favorite things. But when you put on a favorite shirt and the buttons are about to burst or looks painted on you tend to lose your love. Lately I have been able to wear things that didn’t fit, even if I wanted them to. I have a pair of pants that I have owned for maybe four years and worn a couple times. They were just too tight, but I loved the fit and had to keep them.
I was doing laundry and didn’t have any of my favorite pants I wear. As I looked down at my pile of jeans I thought, let’s just give the tight ones a try. As I slipped them on they went on with complete ease. Not only that, but buttoning them was easy. They weren’t tight. I could move around in them comfortably and I was excited about it.
Then come the compliments. Ladies, you get where I am coming from here. When you lose weight you want people to notice. For me I don’t really care if people notice, but it was this week that people started to. I kept getting, “Jason, have you lost weight?” or “You look super skinny!”
You do this work for so long with no responses from people you think nothing is happening. But you put your clothes on every day (well, at least I hope you do) and as they get looser and start being too big you know something is happening. These were the moments that I finally was feeling good about how I was looking and that I wanted to keep it up.
Not only has the weight loss been a small success, but running has. Every year I run the Taylorsville Dayzz 5k. It’s only 3.1 miles and a super simple run, but I never really did that well. Two families I grew up with do it and they would beat me every time. This year was going to be different.
As the race started I started off quicker than I expected. You are stuck on a tight trail and I didn’t want to let the crowd hold me back. I ran along the side and passed the crowd. Suddenly I was passing members of the families that always are passing me. Was this going to be the year that I beat all of them?
As I got to the road my pace was set, my music was playing and I was in my element. Suddenly I was passing people and it felt good. I wasn’t pushing myself harder, but I was focused and confident in my running I guess. Running through the neighborhood of the family members passed me and I felt like the rest had to be close behind.
This motivated me to not stop, don’t slow down, I need to just keep going. Knowing the route like the back of my hand I knew I was about a mile away. I picked up my pace and just finished just over 28 minutes. My fasted 5k! Not only was it my fastest 5k, but I placed 5th in my age division and 58th overall. Again, it’s just a 5k and really means nothing, but when you PR and keep training you get these small successes that make you feel fantastic.
Motivation is a huge part of my success. I worry that once these races are done I will have nothing to work towards. But as I keep seeing my small successes and just feeling better in general I can keep this up. And who knows, maybe next year I’ll get back into a different thing—like triathlons.
