New to NERD - Ready to do this!

[Ellestar]

Hey all,

 

I have been lurking in the background of the NERD fitness community for a while now. I love the e-mails and the ethos of the whole NERD fitness idea but I've been a little shy and reluctant to plunge in and get involved.

 

Time to bite the bullet so here I am!

 

My story:

 

For as long as I can remember I have always been at least a little overweight or a little unhappy with my body.

I have however always been reasonably active - fat/fit  if you like.

 

I went through school not really enjoying PE or any imposed activities. I have always loved walking and enjoyed getting out on my bike as a child.

As a teenager I suffered with knee problems - hypermobility and patellar malalignment - which meant I was in constant pain for years and shy-ed away from almost any kind of exercise apart from walking.

 

At Uni i still walked a lot but that was about it, I went through a phase of regular swimming for a while and loved that but towards the end of my Uni career I piled on weight and reached the heaviest I'd ever been. By that point the only sport I was doing was Small-Bore Target Rifle shooting which involved lying as still as possible - so not very active!

 

When I graduated I decided I had to do something about my weight. I stopped eating rubbish -that's honestly all it felt like. I just ate healthy, home-prepared meals every day, took my dog for a couple of miles walk every evening and had a wee abs circuit I'd do in my bedroom every night. Over 3 months I dropped about 20kgs.

I went interrailing around Europe for a month as a precursor to a year travelling the world.

 

All my good habits slid away on my round the world trip - too much boozing and cheap backpacker food meant I put about 10kg back on.

Since I came home from travelling in 2004 I've been yo-yo-ing with my weight.

 

In 2007 some friends asked me if I wanted to run a marathon.

This had always been a lifetime ambition of mine and I realised that saying something was an ambition and actually achieving it were two different things!

I realised that if I wanted to actually run a marathon in my life - then I'd just have to do it.

I started running - literally the first day I ran for about 5 minutes to the end of my street, the next day a little further etc etc I built up slowly and having never been a runner each run was pretty much the longest one I'd ever done. I remember my first run for 1/2 hour, I remember the first time I ran for 10km. I then ran a Half Marathon in March 2007 as training for the full Marathon in May. 

So in May 2007 I ran the Prague Marathon in 4h 40mins.

 

This was a huge turning point in my life. Never before would I have believed that I would have been capable of achieving this.

Now I realised that with a bit of dedication and determination I could do anything I set my mind to.

Since 2007 I have run in 5 Half marathons, 3 Full Marathons, 1 50km Running/Cycling Duathlon

 

The irony is that I've discovered I don't really enjoy running but I DO enjoy a challenge!

 

Throughout this time however my weight has gradually crept up and up and I'm now back at the heaviest I've ever been in my life!

My attitude is different however and even although I'm heavier than I'd like I still believe I can do anything!

 

This year I fulfilled a lifetime dream to cycle the length of the UK. My friend and I cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats :http://readsblogsdreams.wordpress.com/

947 miles in 14 days of cycling - it was amazing!

 

I also completed a Tough Mudder this August and also a Spartan Sprint in Sept (last weekend actually).

So I've discovered I LOVE obstacle racing. 

 

I now need to get my diet in order to drop weight and be more able to do the obstacles for the races I plan to participate in next year!

 

Hopefully my very un-tech-savvy self will be able to navigate these forums and use NERD fitness as the means to be the leanest fittest ever!

 

Thanks!

 

Ellestar

 

 

 

[thepalv]

Good luck on the challenge!!  I love that you cycled LE to JOG, I want to walk from the irish sea to the atlantic, live in Belfast now but originally from dublin.  Am thinking it will take me two weeks, its 200 miles.  Hopefully April 2014 with some training.  Best of luck, I am off to research obstacle races in Northern Ireland after reading your post  

[Ellestar]

Hey there - you should definitely do the walk! That sounds like an awesome idea and I can imagine the scenery would be amazing! To be honest I would have loved to walk Le JoG but couldn't afford enough time off work - I reckon a walk would have taken about 6 weeks.

I'm excited that's your goal - go for it!