Fat and Fit

Lil D at the finish line.   She was a beast!



Yes, it was freezing.  Darcee's advise to shed our warm ups was a terrible idea.



Syd and Lil D early in the race--and still smiling.

Crossing the finish line

I completed my first (and perhaps last) marathon on October 6, 2012.  Now that have checked it off my bucket list I might never run again.  My time was 5:05:30.  Okay, it's out there for all the world to see--I did not beat Oprah's time of 4:29:15.  However, I did best Jared Fogle's (the pitch man for Subway) time of 5:13:28 and Katie Holmes' time of 5:29:58.  I realize that 5:05 is not a very impressive time, but there are certain facts which must be considered before you too enthusiastically jeer my efforts.  First and foremost is that I am fat.  Well, at least according to the notorious height/weight charts for Body Mass Index (BMI), I am officially "obese."  At 5'8" I would have to lose 35 pounds to not be considered "overweight."  What anorexic psychopath designed the BMI?  Regardless of what this chart tells me, my life screams something entirely different--that I am fit.   I don't care that I weighed in at an impressive 200.1 lbs the day before I ran my marathon.  I trained very little and was still able to run the entire race, stopping only for potty breaks.

The second point of consideration is that I didn't train all that hard for this marathon.  I rode my bike, hiked, climbed and trained for Jujitsu as much as I could.  However, every time I tried to run long distances (over 10 miles) my body would break down and I would experience some minor bodily injury. I spoke with my running coach, who also happens to be one of my favorite daughters, Darcee Burnett, who sagely advised me to forget the training regimen and just rest my body.  She further advised that I tamp down my expectations and run slow on the day of the race. Fortunately, and uncharacteristic to my nature, I followed her advice, did exactly that and was able to run the entire 26.2 miles.  While I was hoping to complete the race in less than 5 hours, in the end just being able to run the entire race seemed to be a monumental accomplishment--at least in the moment it felt that way.   I really should have been able to run it well under 5 hours, but I experienced some remarkably painful bodily breakdowns at mile 23 and felt lucky to just finish.  My last mile was an impressive 15:57 minutes--you can almost walk a mile in 16 minutes.  Miles 24 and 25 were equally painful and slow.  Regardless, I ran the entire race and was close to my goal of 5 hours. 

Now getting back to my place on the BMI charts. My normal weight is around 190 lbs.  (I gained a little weight this past fall for various reasons) While 190 lbs may seem like a lot for someone who is 5'8", I don't feel uncomfortable at this weight.   My guess is that my ideal weight is between 180-185lbs.    At this weight, I can bike, climb, wrestle, grapple and run in a manner than brings me great joy.  Is there any medical reason to lose an additional 25 lbs?  Would I be any sexier to the Shewolf if I shed this weight?  What would be the point of correcting my place on the BMI chart?  Who would I impress?  Would I look better if I lost 25 lbs?   When I was in my prime I weighed 175 lbs.  At this weight I ran the mile in 5:20 and the 3 mile in 18:20.  Despite my genuine dislike of running, my guess is that I will, in fact, run more marathons in the future.  I am hopeful that my body will toughen up and that I will be able to more consistently train for long races. Who knows I might even lose a few pounds.  In the interim, I will continue to be an overweight, middle-aged man who feels fortunate to have the health and athleticism to be actively engaged in fairly rigorous activities. I admit that I am fat, but I hope that it's also clear that I am fit.  

*Above are some pictures of our family participants in the Leavenworth Marathon.  Kudos to Sydney for promoting this event and encouraging us all to challenge ourselves.  Running a marathon is in fact a big deal and I am proud of my kids for setting goals to do hard things.