Marshall Ramsey

Goal Weight: 195 lbs.

This morning’s weight: 205

It was dark, rainy this morning and we were at Madison Central High School instead of Jackson State.  The crowd was thinner but still healthy.  Paul Lacoste put us through one more workout. It was tough but even with a bad leg, it was fun. And I can’t believe I am saying this but I will miss it.

But I’ll really miss the people.

Over the past 12 weeks, I developed four things: Muscles, endurance, friendships and memories.  Here are a few of my favorite memories:

1. Falling off the back of a treadmill.  Not that it was that much fun, but the mental image of me flying off like whale off a catapult makes me laugh.

2. Running with a parachute. That was just cool to me.

3. Conquering the towel.  I will never again look at a folded towel on a gym floor the same way.

4. Michael Guarino’s 100-pound weight loss day.  Seeing his son’s look of respect as his dad was being cheered was priceless.  Running with the 35-pound plate he had to carry was an honor.

5. The coaches. I know it was their job to push me — and I am thankful they did.

6. Clark Bruce. He’s done fat to fit and therefore, cut us no slack.  Conquering his core workout was the sign that I had finally truly gone from fit-to-fat-to-fit.

7. Line Two (my group).  Being moved up to their group pushed me hard.  They challenged me and I respect each and every person in my group.

8. Exile. I felt like a hamster, running in circles around the track. But I had great results the weeks I was out there.  And I developed a taste for JTRAN bus exhaust.

9. The Nipple drill.  Not that I liked the drill, but the name made me chuckle.  Kind of like “Titty Twister”.

10. Going from size 40 to 36-inch waist pants.

11. Writing this blog. I loved the comments and feedback I have gotten.  It was good therapy for me to jot down my thoughts every day.

12. Watching my teammates achieve their goals.  Seeing them excited about weight loss and improved fitness was inspiring.

13. My original line.  I’ve never met a more supportive group of ladies in my life.  I’m proud of them for finishing the program.

14. Running in the rain.

15. Inch-worms, burpees, crab walks, mountain climbers, wall sits, suicides, etc.  No, I don’t fondly remember them. But they tried to break me and failed.

16. Working through injury.  I rolled my ankle on a weight after two weeks and fought the pain for weeks. I developed a problem with my right leg (might be a relation) and managed to still run the 5K in 29 minutes.  Life throws you curves sometimes. You still have to keep swinging.

17. Being able to run with my sons. Fitness is a gift.  Being present for my boys is a bigger gift.

18. Getting up at 3:45 a.m.  Um, no.

19. The days when I gave my all and left it on the court.  Those where the days when I truly improved and learned something.

20. Paul Lacoste.  His training is hard on the body but I have the numbers to prove you get results. I’m in better shape than I was before the marathon (I can’t run as far, but my numbers are better.) He’s dedicated to improving the fitness level of the people in Mississippi and is on his way to bigger things.  He’s tough, but does it because he wants people to succeed. And outside of the gym, I think he’s a great guy.  I appreciate him for allowing me to tag along in Fit4Change. He gave me the opportunity to change my life.  And on this last day, I can truly say I’ve gone from Fit-to-Fat-to-Fit.

Good morning! Last time I will be up at 3:30 a.m. for a few weeks. I’m actually kind of sad. Kind of…

Team Ramsey had a good night. My sons finished the race at 27 and 29 minutes. Thanks to ibuprofen and the Rocky soundtrack booming through my headphones, I plowed through some pain and finished strong, too.  (It’s time to rest my legs now).  I weighed in at 36 pounds lost over the past 12 weeks.  That meant I was #9 overall in the total amount of weight lost. (14% of my total bodyweight!) My wife and four-year-old cheered us on as we crossed the finish line. After lots of sweaty hugs, I watched as my old teammates headed toward their cars.  I was so proud of all of them. The amount of commitment is nothing short of amazing.  And I can’t tell you how inspirational it has been working out with them over the past 12 weeks.

I ate a salad tonight for dinner.  It seemed to be the right way to celebrate.

Goal weight: 195 lbs

This morning’s weight: 206 lbs.

On the day when I was supposed to come roaring across the finish line of a 5K, I’ll be like the NASCAR car that has run out of gas.  And I’ll be disappointed.  The past 12 weeks has been an amazing transition of mind, body and spirit. It has been a journey of pain, effort, discipline and reward. I was soaring high — I don’t want to end like this. But I’m now exhausted and frustrated.  My right leg is injured and I am struggling with what’s next.  I don’t have a pool to swim laps in.  I guess I could ride my spin bike.  But whatever the case, to get back to this level of fitness and to be able to run with my boys again and have it taken away from me for up to two months is depressing.

I got in from Oxford last night after 11 p.m.  I fell asleep three times during the last 20 miles of the drive.  If not for the rough strip that roars when you start to run off the road, I would be a cross on the side of the highway.   Needless to say, it scared the living crap out of me.  I burned the candle at both ends (and in the middle) and almost got burned myself.

My fitness is like my career and my life.  I’ve reached success, but things have changed. I can’t dwell on the change. I have to regroup and figure out what is next.

Goal Weight: 195 lbs.

On the first day of Fit4Change training, we went through a series of physical tests to obtain a benchmark for our fitness.  Some of the tests included how many push-ups and sit-ups we could do at once and how fast we could run the mile.  Here’s how I did:  Seven pushups. Ten sit-ups. And I “ran” the mile in 12:14.  Pretty piss-poor if you ask me. Today we retested (there were a few more categories, but I can’t remember my results).  Here’s my improvement: Fifty-five pushups. Sixty-nine sit-ups and I ran the mile in 8:29 (and that’s with a bum leg and having to tie my shoe.)

That, folks, is change I can live with.

Yes, my leg is still sore.  Yes, I will have to get it checked to know for sure if it is a stress fracture or some kind of muscular problem like shin-splints.  Someone told me yesterday that I was working too hard.  That the bootcamp was too hard on me. Maybe. But I’m not going to argue with the positive changes in my life.

I face an injury. It’s not the end of the world. It just means I adjust and continue to make good choices.  It’s called life. You react to it and change your course to keep moving ahead. Because this isn’t a sprint. This is a life-long marathon. And I’m in it to win.

I’ve gone from fit-to-fat-back-to-fit. And I ain’t going back to fat ever again.

P.S. I’m exhausted from my trip to Columbus and I have a busy day today.  I’ll be on Fox 40 in a few minutes promoting my race, Run from the Sun 5K which will be April 7.  Then it’s off to Oxford for the show and then a speech.  I’m glad I’m in shape so I can handle this schedule!

Goal Weight: 195

The good news: In 12 weeks, my cholesterol has dropped from 162 to 152, my waist from 41 inches to 36, my blood pressure from 140/80 to 112/70 & HR from 71 to 52.

The bad news? It is that it’s looking more likely I have a stress fracture in my lower leg (I won’t know for sure unless I get a bone scan).  So, it will be time to alter my workouts a bit after the program is over. And I’m sick about it, to be honest.  But being sick about something that has happened is no way to make progress. So I have a plan.  I’ll run the 5K and then retire from running temporarily.  Then I’ll hit my spin bike that sits in my bedroom.  I own a road bike, but will look at used mountain bikes so I can ride some with my sons. I want to have that time with them.