More Than Just Determination

    My husband discovered his passion for running back in the spring of 2005. He started running as a way to lose weight but it ended up being so much more than that. Chris has never been into sports. He was raised by his Mother and Grandmother and didn’t have very many male role models in his early life. He’s always been a somewhat solitary person and team sports never excited him. After we married he took an interest in computers and he also became an expert in salt water aquariums- neither of which requires a lot of physical exertion. When we met in 1989, Chris was 20 years old and had a 30 inch waist. He was at a period in his life where he could eat anything he wanted and not gain weight. Over the years though, his sedentary life took a toll on his waist line and his health. At one point he did go on a diet, but didn’t stick to it for long and went back to eating not so great and still not exercising. Then the picture came along.

         We had gone on a mystery dinner train for my parent’s anniversary. Of course there were lots of pictures taken. When my sister-in-law finally sent some to us, my husband was horrified at how fat he thought he looked. I’ll grant you that he was no longer the skinny, young thing that I married, but he also wasn’t the 500 lb. monster that he envisioned. He was 5’10”, weighed around 220 lbs. and was in a size 36 jeans, which were starting to get tight. After seeing the picture and not willing to go to a 38, he got serious about losing weight and getting fit. A friend of his at work used to be a trainer and put him on a strict diet of mostly grilled chicken, tuna, peas and lots and lots of water. Also, for the first time in his life he joined a gym. Although the gym and the dieting were working, he wanted to see results faster and decided to start running. At first he could only jog one block before needing to stop to catch his breath.  Soon though he was able to go around the neighborhood before needing to stop and it wasn’t too much longer that he ran his first mile without stopping.  The running was working on his weight too as he got down to 172 lbs and a 32 waist.

      After he started running longer distances he thought about entering a race. He didn’t expect to win or even to place well. His goal was just to finish and not in last place. Here in Tampa we have a race called the Gasparilla Classic held in February.  There are several races to enter, including a 5K (3.1 mi), 15K(9.3 mi), half-marathon (13.1 mi) and a full marathon (26.2 mi). For his first race he chose the 15K. Race day was a beautiful, sunny, cool Saturday morning and Chris took off for his run. He did great and came in 842 out 3560 people. This was a huge accomplishment for him and did a lot to boost his self esteem. He was encouraged and after the 15K he ran several more races during the year, including a half marathon. Toward the end of the year he decided he was going to train for the marathon. This was a man who could barely jog a block 18 months ago. In the weeks leading up to the 2007 Gasparilla marathon, he ran a test race and was able to complete 26.2 miles in about 4 hours and 30 minutes. He was so excited and I was so proud of him. He was finally ready to run a real, timed marathon.

      The marathon and half marathon are run on Sunday, and this time the weather was cold (at least what we Floridians think of as cold) and drizzly, but he was pumped up to go. Our daughter, Brynn, and I were there to see him off and show our support and my parents were going to be there at the end to help celebrate. About an hour after the race began, I got a text on my phone that he had twisted his knee at the six mile marker, where they separated the half-marathoners from the full-marathoners. I knew he would be so upset if he dropped out because he had trained so hard for this and he is one of the most self critical people I know. He told me that he was going to keep going though. Over the next several hours he texted me periodically to let me know his progress. He was in a lot of pain, and no one even had an ibuprofen or an aspirin to give him. I let him know that I was proud of him even if he didn’t finish, but he wouldn’t think about quitting. At times he stopped, hobbled and walked, but he never gave up. Finally after 5 hours and 28 minutes, he crossed the finish line after running on an injured knee for 20.2 miles. He was dazed and in a lot of pain and I have never been more proud of anyone in my entire life. He continues to run, but he’s not sure about doing another marathon. He did just complete the 2008 Gasparilla half-marathon and this time he carried some aspirin with him, but happily he didn’t need it.