Inspired by The Biggest Loser

Meet Jane Fox, a Flourish Over 50 member who is pursuing a major goal—running a marathon before she turns 62 on her next birthday. She draws her inspiration from The Biggest Loser. I’m sure she will inspire you to get moving, too.

I turned 61 on last birthday and as I was watching the last episode of The Biggest Loser, I decided to run a marathon before I turned 62.

I love the “Biggest Loser.” I love the challenges they make the contestants endure. I love the interaction between the contestants and how the format of the show pits one against the other. I love the workouts (I have picked up many ideas for my own workouts). I love to see the transformations. But most of all I love how it motivates me.

After I watch the show I have no trouble getting my butt off the sofa and off to the gym so when I saw four of the finalists run a marathon last season, I thought I should be able to do that as well. The women start the show well over 200 lbs and some over 300. One lady was over 400 lbs last season, the heaviest contestant in the history of the show. The men are all over 300 lbs and none of them have ever seen the inside of a gym. At the end of the show there are four people left and they are all required to run a marathon. These people go from obese, couch potatoes to running a marathon. How can that not motivate you?

One lady last session was 49 years old, started the show well over 200 lbs and finished the marathon in something like 6 hours. I know that is a long time but she did it. I am not a runner and never been a runner even though I spend a lot of time at the gym but I have always admired anyone who has the mental attitude and physical ability to actually run 26.2 miles.

Now I am 2 months into my training, I would love to have more than just my family and friends read my blog but, more than anything, I would love to meet others who have undertaken a challenge like this to see how they handle the ups and downs.

The best part of this whole “project” is how I am getting stronger. The first 3 miles I ran on the ‘mill took me 33 minutes. I now run 3 miles on the ‘mill in 28:30. The first time I ran 7 miles I had the stuffing knocked out of me, now I do 7 miles relatively easily (emphasis on relatively) and last Saturday actually ran my first 1/2 marathon.

If you need a little motivation to get moving, read Jane’s blog at The biggest loser and my first marathon. As she says,  I have written about what kind of running shoes I should buy. I’ve always had problems with shoes hurting so this was a biggie for me. I have written about running outside instead of the comfort of the treadmill. I couldn’t figure out why it was so much harder outside than on the treadmill. I injured my knee and had to figure out how to handle that and not lose any of the ground I had gained. I have researched, and continue to research, what I should be eating or if I need to change how I eat (I eat pretty healthfully anyway).  I have written about gaining weight even though I was running 20+ miles a week. I have written about stressing when I need push the mileage to the next level. I have written about hitting a wall, a wall I have never hit before and it was not fun.

Stop by her blog to cheer her on!

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