The Fat-Man Shuffle, Prologue

I weigh 255 pounds. My blood pressure was through the roof. So I started doing the Fat Man Shuffle. I was able to knock out 2-mile runs that way. Sure, I use to run like the wind. I used to be a RUNNER! Thank you, Army. But now I’m doing the Fat Man Shuffle. How did I fall so far, so fast?

Slowly, I started to “run” further. I made it up to 6-mile runs and decided I needed to set a goal. A goal that would make me feel like a runner again. The Richmond Marathon was a good candidate. Tim, my brother proposed the Marine Corps Marathon. It was only just a change of venue. It sounded good to me. And so I started putting in the miles. Lots of blisters. Lots of bloody nipples. Lots of Powerade. But it worked. I actually convinced myself that I could do it.

There were days when I felt like I could actually run like a RUNNER. Of course, my stopwatch lied and showed that I was only putting in 9-10 minute miles. Still not a RUNNER. Just a really good version of the fat-man shuffle.

Back in my army days, I use to train with a couple of guys getting ready for the Q-course, the first step to being a Green Beret. We would run home from work with 30-40 pound ruck sacks on our backs for 8 miles. Real gung-ho, macho army bullshit. Of course, I now run with more weight than that with no ruck sack. My, how the times change.

The weight started to melt off, but only to about 225. My blood pressure is now almost normal. My pants are loose. I am able to run through the airport to make a tight connection if I need to. And the 18-week program to train for a marathon has flown by. Even the 20-miler wasn’t that bad. I’m sure my co-workers were skeptical about my running a marathon. Time to walk the walk.