104 Pounds to 104 Miles

May 8, 2013 began the start of a new journey in my life. One that I had jumpstarted once or twice before, but never with a realistic hope of success. Until now.

I was more than 255 pounds and more than one doctor said, “While you don’t have weight-based health problems now, you will in a few years, and by then it will be harder to make a change.” So, the day after my birthday, I began a lifestyle change that resulted in more than 100 pounds of weight loss.

Cherry Blossom Time, April 2013

The first five months involved really restricted dieting, disciplining my mind and appetite, retraining all of the “helpful” people around me, and walking 10,000 steps a day, every day. The modified diet was protein and vegetables with limited fruit, and nutritional supplements to make sure I didn’t wreck my body during the stunningly quick weight loss. During this time, I learned how much my emotions fluctuated when I ate heavily processed carbs and how freeing it was not to eat them. The second key learning was that while people would offer me food two and three times if I simply said “no”, they wouldn’t tear at my resolve with multiple questions if I said the magic phrase, “I’m not eating that right now because of medical reasons.” The third key was that if I remembered what something tasted like, I could enjoy the memory without actually eating the food.

At the end of five months, I had lost the first 60 pounds. The company providing the nutritional supplements suddenly became very irregular in their supplement deliveries. Plus, I knew in my heart of hearts that my body was craving some real exercise.

August 2013

At a party in October, I met a triathlete coach who was also a dance instructor and a ski instructor. In the 11 months since, I have embarked on a physical fitness journey second to none.

The first big challenge was a 5K race (3.1 miles) in December that involved wearing jingle bells and Santa hats while running. I went from running a 14 plus minute mile to a 12 minute mile average for the first 5K. In January, I completed a second 5K, improving the mile time to 11 minutes a mile. During this time, I was using my 24/7 gym memberships to do cardio (mostly on a stationary bike, but sometimes on an elliptical), followed by weightlifting, followed by running 6 days per week.

December 2013, the first 5K

In late January, I started learning how to swim laps. While I had always gone swimming as a child in the pool in our back yard in the summer, I had never learned how to breathe for competitive swimming and this was a totally new challenge. One that I mastered well enough to complete a sprint distance triathlon in late February.

Completing the sprint triathlon in February 2014

Concurrently with the running and the triathlon, I also learned to ski. My first ski lesson was December 20, 2013. Due to a new program at the ski resort for first-time skiers, I qualified for an inexpensive second lesson and 40% off lift tickets with free lessons for the remainder of the season if I purchased the pass that day. Fourteen trips later, I had worked my way from the bunny slope through the green slopes, the blue slopes, my first black diamond slope, and the terrain park. I finally skied a double black diamond slope late in the season and was the only student to do so without falling in that particular lesson. On a proficiency scale of 1-8 (8 being skiers qualified for professional membership), I finished at a 6 in my first season.

Once ski season was done, biking season began. I used my first stock option bonus from work to purchase a quality cyclocross bike, which can function both as a road bike (light frame with dropped handlebars) and as a mountain bike (knobby tires that can ride gravel trails). Two days after the bike arrived, I completed a 10K (6.2 mile run) with an average mile time of 11 minutes a mile and then went on a 20-plus mile bike ride to look at the cherry blossoms in DC. A week after that, I went on an 87.5 mile loaded camping trip over the course of two days, travelling 37.5 miles the first day up the C & O Canal trail and camping overnight at the Turtle Run campground (which is reputed to be haunted by the spirits of Civil War soldiers killed in action in the area). The Potomac River crossing happened the next day using White’s Ferry, the oldest continuously operating ferry in the US, followed by a return to Bethesda via the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, 50 miles in total.

Cherry Blossom Time, April 2014

Bikes loaded for camping

It was late April and, at the triathlete coach’s suggestion, my sights were set on completing a century bike ride by late August. From mid-June to mid-August, I averaged over 100 miles per week with exception of two weeks—the week after my first bike was stolen while I was awaiting the replacement and a week when I was sick. I started biking with a local bike club in late July to learn how bike alongside others in a group, which was a necessary skill to achieve the objective.

From mid-May to mid-August, I got involved in a weight loss fitness challenge run by a local running store. Prizes were awarded for losing 2% of your body weight, 4% of your body weight, 13.1 pounds, and 26.2 pounds. Of the 50 women who participated, I came in fourth, winning all but the last prize and also finishing ahead of the 20 men who signed up.

On August 24, 2014, I weighed more than 104 pounds less than my starting weight (105.4 to be exact) and I biked 104.5 miles in a single day. I started at 7am and finished before 4:30pm, taking advantage of the host of rest stops along the way. On the really hilly sections, I had the joy of passing experienced bikers who were walking their bikes uphill after the 70-mile mark. The day itself was beautiful and relatively mild and I appreciated all of the scenery. What I enjoyed even more was the journey: the first time I biked down the Washington and Old Dominion Trail in April; the historic and cultural 20 and 50 mile bike rides I completed; the nature trails, dams, and swinging bridges I had seen; and simply knowing that, on my own power, I had biked more than 1,000 miles in a single summer.

Going up the steepest hill of the Reston Century

With the triathlete coach, Dave Flynn at the Reston Century

On my vacation at the beach this past week, I learned how to swim in the ocean and biked more than 50 miles just for fun. Also in the fun category was wearing the type of beach clothing I could never wear before.

This article is a response to the many people who have asked, “How did you do that? What was your secret?” It was certainly two heaping portions of eating less and exercising more, with a great deal of extraordinary odyssey on the side. As I look ahead, the running store is having another fitness challenge, I hear there are some zombie-themed runs coming up next month, I’m learning to dance, and another ski season dawns.

While my lifestyle and what I am capable of has changed forever, my current relentless progress toward a healthier me will be finished by April 5^th of next year. By then, a 23-month journey will be completed. In being a shadow of my former self, I will be an even brighter light to those around me. And I can live with that.