Dean Denning
Dean showed up to practice just over 6 months ago and never had run a step. He wanted to improve his overall health by running. Dean’s first practice was litterally 1 lap on the track of jogging the straights and walking the curve. Dean showed up to practice 2 to 3 times per week. He did not consider himself a runner, yet he surrounded himself with runners of all levels and was not afraid to embrace the challenge. March 25th he ran his first 5K ever without stopping. His blood pressure and all vitals are at a healthy level! He lost over 30lbs and still at it. DEAN IS WITHOUT LIMITS. HE EMBRACED THE CHALLENGE OF STARTING
Travis Lukasik
Just wanted to share a few thoughts on the day after a great marathon.
I was never a runner-never an athlete. I ran my first half marathon at age 25 and didn’t run another for 7 years until I ran the Quintiles Half in 2014. From there I decided I wanted to run the marathon distance “just once” to check that box on my list of goals. So in the fall of 2014 I ran the Chicago Marathon in 3:43:11 and was happy to be done with marathoning…until the next morning.
Being very goal directed and always wanting to do the best I could, I decided I wanted to run another marathon….BOSTON. I mean, if you’re going to run a marathon, why not run THE marathon? I only needed to drop my time by 33 mins 11 seconds to make my 3:10 BQ. Psht! I took some time off then decided if I was going to reach this goal, I needed help.
I was at a Silent Auction when I won a 3 session coaching package with WOL-perfect! I signed up with WOL in July 2015 and after only 4 months knocked almost 18 mins off my Half Marathon PR and got 1st in AG for the Battleship Half. I was knocked down a few months with Achilles tendinitis and missed out on Quintiles Full in 2016. In an 11th hour attempt for a BQ, I ran VIA marathon in Sept of that year but was “de-railed” by a train delay on the course and brutal temperatures.
Building on the fitness I gained in training for VIA, my eyes were set on Quintiles 2017. You came up with a great plan for me and very specific practices and paces. I found a great group of friends for my long runs to push me and keep me in check. Having very little experience in Marathoning, I soaked in all your advice and decided to “Trust The Training”.
The plan worked beautifully. I took the first 3 miles a little easy, found a rhythm in Landfall, saw who was ahead of me on the WB turnaround, and at mile 14 I turned the music on and the game began. One by one I started picking off runners just like you said. I mostly ignored my watch knowing I was banking time and feeling great. I never really understood or believed the concept of “strategy”, starting slow, and letting the pace “find you”…but now it all makes sense. My body just kinda slipped into the race, found a groove, and became a machine.
When I crossed the finish line I knew I had finally done what I set out to do. That in-describable feeling is why we do what we do. It’s why we push our bodies, change how we eat, how we sleep, how we train. It’s all an effort to become the runner you never thought you were, to live a life Without Limits.
In less than 20 months of WOL training, you helped me knock 37 minutes and 38 seconds off my marathon time to bring me almost 5 minutes under my BQ time and 1st in my age group. Thanks so much for what you do. Can’t wait to see what goals we come up with next.
All the best,
Travis
