There are so many people today that are overweight and want to get into shape. We all need motivation to reach our goals, including losing weight. My motivation and inspiration was crossing the finish line of a marathon.

When I was 25, over ten years ago, I was walking four miles a day for four days a week. With this walking and a half-sensible diet, and I was able to be at the weight that I wanted to be, 175 pounds. However, in studying for the LSAT to get into law school, I got out of that routine. It only got worse in law school. Have you heard of the freshman fifteen? Well there was the first-year fifteen, the second year fifteen and the third year fifteen. When I got back home, I had become a fat blob. I wanted to lose the weight, but I could not motivate myself to do what was necessary to lose it. I got to the point where I had resigned myself to the fact that I was going to be fat for the rest of my life since I could not figure out the motivation or inspiration to lose all this weight.

Eventually, someone reaches “rock bottom” when they have had enough, whether it is an addiction or being fat in my case. You have had enough and you are ready to change your ways for the better. This was my motivation and came on a day was last July when I had to weigh in for a physical for life insurance. I checked in at 231, 56 over my desired weight of 175. I finally said that is enough. I was motivated, but would I do to lose the weight? How would I go about it?

Around that time, I came across two websites and that day changed everything for me and gave my inspiration to match my motivation. The first site was walking.about.com. Wendy Burgamer posts articles there for people who walk for fitness. In this, she includes a training program on how to prepare to walk a marathon. The other site was Kiawah Island’s resort, near to where I live, which talked about their marathon and half-marathon in December. The timing was good. I would walk the half-marathon, 13.1 miles. The “full” was unrealistic and unnecessary at the time. I could still say I “did” a (half)marathon and achieve the main goal of losing weight.

Kiawah’s marathon is very “walker-friendly”. The time limit to complete the full marathon was 8 hours. I knew I could beat that since I walk a mile in no more than 15 minutes. I could finish the half-marathon in 3 hours, 15 minutes or so, less if I jogged just a little.

So in August, 16 weeks out from the big day, I began training in earnest. I registered for the 16 week course where Wendy e-mails the “walking assignments” for each week. I was at the minimum level of competence for Week 1, which was to walk 4 miles a time for 4 days a week. There are three short walks each week which start at 3 miles and work their way up to 4. The one day a week is the long walk. It starts at 4, climbs quickly to 7, then slowly builds up from there to 10. You then go back and forth down and up from 8 (taper weeks) until four weeks before the big day. Four weeks before the event, you do your “trial run” and do the full 13.1. Then you cut back to 6 to rest up for the big day.

I was excited when 16 weeks out arrived and I began the training. My walking week was from Saturday to Friday and I would usually go Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday to conflict little with work and space the walks out over the week. The short walks I would usually do in my subdivision which has sidewalks. Two laps around the street measured to be one mile. The long walks I would go to different places. Sometimes, I would go to the beach or maybe a state park. I settled in on a walking-biking trail close to my home which had mile markers to do my long walks. I purchased a pedometer which kept track of my steps and mileage and that kept me motivated. I was so set on my goal of December that I never missed a walk.

Since I was exercising, I began eating right. As a result, I began to lose the weight, very fast at first, (1/2 a pound a day or so), then much slower. But I kept marching down to my 175. I had not quite reached it by the marathon, but I was surely on the right track.

The big day arrived and I knew I was ready. I bettered my desired time in August by 30 minutes, finishing in 2 hours, 45 minutes. I received my medal and my inspiration was now reality. I knew I could do it and I went out and did it. In middle December, I reached the 175. What a glorious day! After ten years, I was finally back there. I had traveled back in time to a healthier me.

I became so hooked on the walking, I did two more half-marathons in Georgia and Alabama in February. I did a trail half-marathon just last week. I wanted to stay in training and have the inspiration to keep walking when I did not feel like it. The motivation has stuck since I have the inspiration of finishing another half-marathon. After much thinking about it, I am going back to Kiawah in December. This time, I will do the full 26.2 mile marathon. My goal is 6 hours and I know I can make it.

Is walking (half) marathons the thing for you? Maybe, maybe not. You just need to find your motivation and inspiration. I am glad I found mine and I hope my story helps you find yours.