Weight loss and life lessons learned by running 50 miles

In July of 2007, I participated in a 50 mile endurance run.  For some odd reason, even before I lost my weight, I always wanted to run an ultra-marathon.  What an experience the race and the process of getting there turned out to be.  I learned a lot during the months of preparation and a lot during the 11 hrs, 46 min, 51 sec of running that I did during the event.  The run was on a trail in the mountains.  It had two very steep, huge hills about 8 miles long each (running down those hills was a son-of-a-gun!).  When you run these ultra-marathons, you have a lot of time to think upon your life, your weaknesses, your strengths, and sometimes you learn.  I think that what I learned can be used by others to attain their dreams.

Here is what I learned and I hope it will inspire you towards your health and life dreams.

• A person can do so much more than they normally believe they can
• It takes time and effort to attain health, fitness, and life goals
• Putting your goals on paper is well worth the time it takes to do it
• Even though things get tough (I mean VERY tough) a person can still keep going.  Here is a picture of me just topping the mountain at mile 37.
• Not stopping/quitting is the surest way to get to the finish line or your goal
• Things can be like a roller coaster but that doesn’t really mean anything.  During a 50 miler, when things are bad it is ok because they are going to get good again, but when things are good they will most certainly get bad again.  It is a constant emotional and physical flow from great to bad to fantastic to difficult and then back to wonderful, etc, etc, etc.
• Preparing for the ups and downs of the race (and weight loss/life) will help tremendously when those times come.