GOING THE DISTANCE
Zak Lyles
Thinking about my childhood and growing up, I remember one thing clearly: I
absolutely hated running. Since my late teens, I have remained quite active, pushing the
limits of my body with activities such as weight training and inline speed skating. One
day, while on duty with my Army reserve unit, when another solider asked me if I would
run in the Houston Marathon with her, I said, “Yes.” When I broke the news to my
friends and co-workers, most of them laughed and said, “There is no way in hell you
could finish a marathon.” Looking back at the way they responded makes me think of
the proverb “Many say I am just one more to try. I say I am one less to quit.”
When I first made the decision to run a marathon, I thought to myself, “Running
sucks. Why would you ever want to run 26 miles?” While growing up, I did anything I
could do to get out of running. If I had to run, I would do the bare minimum. When I
entered high school, I was presented with the opportunity to take Junior Reserve Officer
Training Corps instead of physical education, so I jumped at the opportunity and took the
course throughout high school to avoid running. After I completed school, I decided to
join the United States Army. While there, if there was ever a chance to skip a morning
run, I was first in line to volunteer. Despite my obvious dislike of running, I decided the
marathon was a challenge I wanted to complete.
At the time of deciding to run the marathon, I was close to 50 pounds overweight,
which was an impediment because every pound of weight one has makes it more difficult
to run long distances. Knowing this, it was clear to me that I had to lose the weight if I
was going to complete my goal. When I heard about a workout and diet system called
P90X from one of my cousins, I decided to buy it, hoping to lose weight. The results
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were amazing. In 13 weeks’ time, I had lost 40 pounds, down to an acceptable weight for
my marathon training.
I remember when I arrived at work one morning, and our Chief Executive Officer
said, “Zach, if you keep losing weight, you’re gonna blow away!”
Now it was time to get down to business.
In preparation for my marathon training, I had been doing much research, reading
websites, and developing a schedule and diet plan. The schedule was to be a rigorous
one: running four days a week, resistance training two days a week, and resting on
Sunday. In the early weeks, I was averaging six to eight miles per week, but this grew
rapidly, as the goal was to run 13.1 miles in two hours. Within a few short weeks, the
average distance of my runs had grown from one or two miles per run to three to four
miles, with a six-mile long run on Saturday. I was averaging 17 miles per week. As the
marathon race approached, the training became more extreme. My short runs were eight
to nine miles per day but 13-15 miles on Saturday. At this point, I was averaging 35
miles or more per week and loving it!
I remember telling my family members I was running 15 miles without stopping
and their saying, “So you’re telling me you can run for 1-1/2 hours without walking?
There is no way.”
When I invited them to come out to run with me, sadly, they declined.
After months of rigorous training and running nonstop for hours at a time, it was
time for the race, which was unbelievable. With sixteen thousand participants, it was
quite a sight. I was amazed when the race started but stunned when I looked out over the
bridge by the starting area. All I could see was a sea of people running in front of me.
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Spectators lined the streets and cheered for us by name. The first time, I thought, “How
did that lady know my name? Then I realized our race bibs had our names printed on
them. Bands had placed themselves at various mile markers, playing music for the
runners. Residents in the area were handing runners sliced oranges and bananas to help
fuel us. As I closed in on the finish line, there were thousands of spectators cheering for
the runners as they completed the race, which was exhilarating.
Because the half-marathon was quite an experience, I have those who doubted me
to thank for my accomplishment. While I would have done it either way, their words
were like fuel to the fire. It has been nine months since the 2010 half-marathon, and I am
back in training, this time with my goal set on the full marathon. My training will be
nearly 20 weeks long, with some weeks of running 45-50 miles per week. Now, more
than ever before, I stand by the proverb, “Many say I am just one to try. I say I am one
less to quit!”
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