365 days later - what a year...

One year on... so much has changed.


Apologies if this post is a bit self-congratulatory (and very long, again), but today marks the anniversary of my weight loss / fitness regime, a year in which my life and attitude to it has changed more than I ever expected it could... 

In the past year I've gone from confirmed couch potato to total exercise addict and tonight's anniversary run pretty well summed up how different my life is now. Any time before 2011, a cold, rainy and windy night in January would have been the perfect excuse to stay at home, playing on the Xbox with the boys and eating leftover Christmas chocolates and biscuits.

Tonight however, there was only one thing I wanted to do to celebrate the anniversary of my epiphany, and that was to go for the longest, hilliest run I feasibly could, with as many running friends as I could muster... And what a run it turned out to be - there were 5 of us running, Ellie and Stuart (my regular running partners), Andy next door and Kieran (younger son).

Kieran will be 13 years old in 14 weeks time, and wants to build up to half marathon distance before his birthday. He also loves running hills, so we mapped out a very undulating 8.5 mi route and set off at about 7:30pm. The original plan was for Andy to only run the first half of the route with us, partly as 8.5 miles is over 2 miles further than he's run before, ever (he only started running with me a few weeks ago), partly because he was trying out some borrowed running shoes (my new Brooks GT Racers), but mainly because he'd told his wife he'd only be out for 30 minutes!

As it turned out, when we reached the point when Andy was going to turn for home, he was enjoying the run, and the shoes (which are much lighter and less cushioned than his usual Asics), so much that he decided to do the full route! By mile 7, when we reached the final big climb, Kieran was struggling a bit with cramp, but Andy's expert stretches helped him to get going again, and he did brilliantly to get through the final mile.  Andy was a total star too - he  was into unknown territory for the final 30 minutes, not to mention that the further he ran, the more marital trouble he was potentially running into when he got home! 


Here's where we went.
http://runkeeper.com/user/MikeW30/activity/64903042 

As usual, Stuart made the whole run look incredibly easy, and tonight Ellie made the 2nd half of the route (which was largely uphill), look like a walk in the park too. I've no doubt they are both going to easily manage the Silverstone marathon which we're doing in just over 9 weeks time.

Tonight's run was a fantastic way to enjoy my new found fitness and to consider just how far I've come since 4th Jan 2011.

Here are a few of my proudest achievements of the past year: 

• Weight: was: 217lbs (15st 7lbs), now: 154lbs (11st 0lb) 
• BMI: was: 32.0, now 22.5 
• Body Fat % was: 25%, now 13% 
• Waist: was 38in, now 30in 
• 5K PB: 21:47, I'd never run that far before 
• 10K PB: 45:03 - even 6 months ago I never thought I'd run a 10K. 
• Sprint Tri PB : 1hr 11 mins - never dreamed that I'd be able to even complete one, let alone get a reasonable time. 
• Best Parkrun position : 7th overall out of 70 (though admittedly many regular speedsters didn't run that day). 

What I'm definitely most proud of though isn't the times or distances that I've managed so far, but the way I feel about myself and my life. I can't remember a time when I've felt happier, fitter, healthier or as young as I do now.

Over the last year I've spent more fun times, doing more healthy things, with people that I care about than ever before - my kids, my parents, many of my friends, my wonderful girlfriend Sarah, even my neighbours and I've loved every minute of it. 


I've also felt better about myself than ever before, not just because I feel like I'm fitter and look better / healthier, but because many people have said that they too have started to get into fitness / exercise / healthy eating, because they've seen what I've done. 


I'm going to write a less self-congratulatory post tomorrow with some thoughts about what I'd like to do this year - fundamentally though I want 2012 to be a continuation of 2011 - for this to be another year when I feel fitter, healthier and even happier at the end, rather than most past years when I've always thought "I wish I wasn't this fat"...


To sign off I just want to say a quick, but heartfelt set of "thanks" to a few of the many people who've helped the last year to be so great and so successful / fun from a weight and fitness perspective. My kids, James and Kieran, my Mum and Dad, my other half Sarah, and all my running / bike riding friends: especially Ellie & Stuart, Andy next door, Jono, Martin and Aussie Mark. 


All the best and thanks to everyone for the continuing feedback.


Mike


Here are a couple of my favourite pics from the last year to really finish:

Stuart and I at the finish of the Edwinstowe 10K 

Kieran (right), James (on floor) and I stretch before a run from Mum and Dad's

Me (complete with Movember tache) at the end of Market Rasen 10K (PB : 45:03)