Wow, how time flies! It’s been just over 5 months since my journey started. My life changed for the better on May 22nd of this year. That’s 158 days from today, or 22 weeks and 4 days! My original goal was to reach 315 pounds by the date of this event, a few months back I realized that goal was going to be to easy and I wanted to set a challenge that I knew was attainable, but would require a significant effort on my part. I set that goal to weigh in at 299 pounds the day of the event! Today, I stepped on the scale and realized that even at 301 pounds, I failed no one! I might have come up two pounds short, but the goal here was less about the scale and more about my desire to work hard and cross a finish line that only a five months back I could have only dreamt of!
The day started great, I had a rough time getting to sleep the night before, as I was anxious, excited and even a bit nervous. I showered and quickly jumped into my clothes that I had carefully picked out the night before. We headed out the door and arrived at Warrior Dash with time to spare before our heat. It was nice to catch up with old friends that decided to make this journey with me. We spent the time chatting, laughing and talking about what was to come. All the while I could not help but think of the last five months! I have come so far in such a short amount of time. It all seemed surreal as the day was here, this day that I have been so eagerly awaiting and training for. I took some time to thank God for giving me strength to be in the place I am in now and made sure to ask for more because I knew I needed it over the course of the next hour and as my journey continued. We gathered like hoarded cattle at the starting line and anxiously awaited the sound of the 10:30 shot gun and flames, BOOM sounded the gun and we were off to the races…
There I was jogging a steady pace in the middle of the pack and not looking back! I ran the race, completed every obstacle and finished in just under an hour, with a time of 56 minutes. My goal was to simply have fun, and finish. But the competitive side of me set the benchmark at one hour and I look forward to cracking the 45-minute mark next year! I completed the race with the help of many friends and of course my wife who was there along side me covered in mud for the whole thing!
I would like to take a quick minute to thank each of my friends for taking their time to support me and run this race as well as those who made the journey and didn’t run but wanted to watch and cheer us on! While I tried not to make this race all about me, my wife and I choose to give it our best effort and raise funds for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and with the support of friends, family and even complete strangers our effort raised $2005 to help those beautiful deserving children and for that I cant thank you enough!
So… Warrior Dash is now complete and I have crossed the line and went from a Warrior in Training to a stand alone Warrior! Where does this leave me now? Where does this leave my blog? I can tell you this; my story is not stopping here! I still have a ways to go to meet the 225 pound Mario that exist under all of this! Warrior Dash was a motivational tool to keep me on track and it worked, in fact I would say it worked very well!
Today I weighed in at 301 pounds, I have a significant milestone that any body in my shoes would be looking forward to. I plan on reaching that 2XX club in one of my next two weigh ins. I cant wait to see a number that doesn’t start with “3” on the scale! Just the emotion alone will be overwhelming! This is not the end of my story by a long shot, but rather an end to a chapter and the beginning of a new one. What’s next? You might have to wait and see! I imagine that Tough Mudder Lake Tahoe is on my calendar for July 13thof next year and what lies between now and then might surprise you as well!
A Moment of Reflection:
5/22/2012:
Weighed in at 452 pounds
158 days later
10/27/2012:
Weighed in at 301 pounds
Total weight loss of 151 pounds, with 76 pounds to go to meet my goal! My original goal was to hit that mark by 5/22/13! I have a lot of work ahead of me, I plan on becoming faster, stronger and leaner than I could have ever imagined and I hope you continue to follow me here!
Until Next Time – Warrior
Mario
EPIC.
No other words, man.
-Mike C
indeed EPIC. love the picture of you and your wife, covered in mud, holding hands and running! Congrats! Antimony26
Thank you!
You are awesome. Very happy and proud of your accomplishment(s). I have trained next to you for the past couple of weeks and you definitely have heart, and you are focused as well. You have pushed me…on those nights of doing an hour of cardio (lol). You have taken on the other side of the gym and started pushing weights. It has and will continue to be amazing to get in there and put in the sweat equity at the gym,and to see the payoff in the end. I know how much hard work you put in at the gym, and just want to say well done.
Thanks William!