"Gearing Up for Your Goals" posts are reader testimonies on their goals and the gear they're using to achieve said goals. Special thanks to Jered Ratliff for letting us run with him.
by Jered Ratliff
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| J-Rad went from "Fat Jesus" to a 20-mile-a-week runner |
It was mid-January.
My brother-in-law sent me an email about a race in the tiny town where I
live. It wasn't so much that he
sent an email to me about it, but the tenor he took in the email that got me
off my butt.
"Which one are you going to train for?" he
asked. My options: a 5K, a 10K, or
a half-marathon.
"Who do you think you are, trying to get me off my duff
and into racing?" I said to myself.
"After all, you're running nearly 100 miles per month."
Naturally, then, I chose the 10K. I had just under 4 months to train. Simple for some, ridiculous to others
("how much is a 'k,' like a few miles?"). I was closer to the latter.
I'd run before -
I participated in my first 5K (37 minutes and change) after a structured
10-week training program, and continued running until a 5-mile race about 2
months later. That was 2008. I had another short stint in 2009, but
life got me distracted, and apparently I felt better getting less thin and not
pushing myself.
When I got Matt's email, I weighed 283 pounds. I lost my breath when playtime with the
kids (then 5, 3, and 4 months) exceeded a few minutes. It was the dead of winter in the
mountains. By the time I got home
and had time to lace up my shoes for a run, I'd be lucky to see anything above
40º. But - thinking this might
happen someday - I'd spent Christmas money the year before on a Garmin 205, and
Christmas money weeks earlier on running gloves and a neoprene face mask. "There is no such thing as bad
running weather," I read soon after, "only weak people." Over 50 pounds later, I’ve successfully
tested this quote many times.
With this in mind I began a fitness journey for the last
time in my life. My first running
journal entry was on January 24:
what a wonderful feeling. 30º outside currently, 25 minutes under a
cloudless starry night. Feels awesome to have finally gotten a workout under my
belt.
1.91 miles (a 13:04 pace), and I couldn't have been prouder.
Four months and about 150 miles later, my make-shift
Starters ($25 at Wal-Mart) clearly were not cutting it anymore. And the good folks at Fleet Feet in
Redding could not agree more.
After spending some time with me, and conducting one of their famous
gait analyses by having me run back and forth in the store a few times, I
became the proud new owner of ASICS GT-2150 ($74 at EasternMountainSports.com) running shoes. My very first pair of real running
shoes.
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| Jered's weapon of choice: Asics GT-2150 |
The first time I strapped them on, I felt like my feet were
getting a custom-made bear hug.
The difference between running in any old shoe and running in shoes made
for my feet made me feel like I might as well have been running in socks.
Turns out that the real difference for me was ASICS's DuoMax
support system. When I brought in
the shoes I'd been wearing, the helpful shoe lady expert took the shoe and bent
it in half. "Your shoe,"
she explained, "should not do this."
"This shoe," she said, while trying to duplicate
the trick on the 2150's, "does not."
Because ASICS had modified the model slightly and moved to
the 2160 at this point, the 2150's were a steal at $70 (plus tax). I was assured that the 2160 model has
all the midfoot support I need to assist my running gait and keep me on the
move.
And I had every intention of testing this theory by making
the 2160's my following purchase.
There was no reason to back away from ASICS - especially once I learned
that Ryan Hall is a sponsored athlete.
The only problem with this plan was that I found a near-clearance priced
pair of 2150's at Big 5 in Medford in August for under $60 (no tax). So now two identical pairs of shoes
rest in my closet. The way I
currently tell them apart is that the part of the shoe that rests against the
ankle has started to wear on the older pair (affectionately referred to as
"#1", with nearly 300 miles on them). The newer pair ("#2," just topped 40 miles) gets
use about 2 out of every 5 runs at this point, and I will use the next couple
months to gradually phase the original pair out.
However,
a look at the sole of the older pair shows no balding, no unevenness in wear,
and no ripping or tearing (yes, all similar litmus tests as an automobile
tire). And just like my personal
goals in my newfound fitness journey, I will also set no specific boundaries on
my 2150's. So far they've given me
no reason to.
After being dubbed "Fat Jesus" by his high school students, teacher Jered Ratliff began running in 2008. He redoubled his efforts after topping out at 303 pounds
in the late summer of 2010. Through a combination of exercise and proper nutrition, Jered has shed 70 (and the Jesus beard). He
has also transformed from couch potato extraordinaire to high school
cross country coach.
Jered is currently running 15-25 miles per week, which he plans to
increase at the end of the cross country season. After participating
this year in two 5K's and two 10K's (his first) in 2011, as well as the
6.3-mile anchor leg of the Whiskeytown Relays, he will begin ratcheting
up training in December for a marathon relay in Redding (January 2012), a
half-marathon in Chico (March), culminating in the Avenue of the Giants
Marathon in May. After that, he hopes to pursue other varied events as
he continues his fitness journey. He entered 2011 with a lifetime
running odometer of 165. He will easily hit 600 miles this year and
plans to surpass 1,000 in 2012.
