Pam Smith, 53, Legal Assistant, Brandon, Florida
Let’s start with this beautiful finish line picture. You had just completed Disney’s Enchanted 10K during its Princess Half Marathon weekend. About three weeks after having been swept from the Princess Half Marathon in 2013, I had to have emergency abdominal hernia repair. I was out of commission for eight weeks. But I kept looking at videos and training programs and trying to figure out what I could from home. The day I was released from the surgeon, I was excited about starting to get ready for the next race, determined to do the Wine & Dine Half Marathon in November of 2013, the Walt Disney World Half Marathon in January 2014 and the Enchanted 10K this February. So I started working out – seriously this time.
I went to buy a pair of good shoes and by chance met the man who would change my life, he was and still is my running coach and friend. I started working out with him in June of 2013. But at the end of July, the hernia repair failed and I found out that I was going to have to have surgery again. The surgery was scheduled for December 2013, but that didn’t stop me. I kept training (with the help of my coach) almost right up to the surgery. I was out of Wine & Dine and had to pull out of the WDW Half. But the Enchanted 10K was hanging on by a thread. I thought there was no way that it was going to happen, and no way was I going to be ready for it. I am not sure whether it was the fact I was just in better shape than my before my first surgery or the fact that I continued to train, but I felt considerably stronger after the second surgery. I had lost approximately 75 pounds from October 2012 and bounced back from the surgery very quickly. The day I was released from the surgeon (1/22/14) I went back to the gym and started working on the treadmill. I had decided that I was going to give the 10K a shot, realizing that there was a very good chance that I was going to be swept. (FYI – If you move at a pacer slower than a 16 minute mile, race organizers will remove you from the race.)
VIDEO: RUNDISNEY RACE BLANKET FASHIONS
I pushed myself harder than I probably should have in the weeks leading up to the 10K. I managed to do six miles on the treadmill two weeks prior to the race, so my body wouldn’t be too surprised. Also completed five miles the week before on the road. I am still doing very short spurts of running, primarily walking, and my time was still about 18-19 minute/mile. I knew I was in a lot of trouble, and I also knew I would be crushed if I was swept. But it was a real possibility. At one point during the race, a medic on a bike went by me and my heart skipped a beat, because I was sure he was a sweeper.
When I made it into EPCOT at mile 3.5 during the Enchanted 10K, I had a feeling I was free of sweepers. When I got back into EPCOT the second time, I couldn’t stop crying. I had made it – I still had so much work to do, but from where I came from, post-surgery, being swept, having lost so much weight . . . I felt like I accomplished something huge that day, and overcame so much to get there.
Were you always a runner? Not at all. Another life ago (30 years ago or so), I did short distance triathlons. I was always a strong swimmer and could hold my own on the bike. But I would always walk the run and come in dead last, but I would finish. Then when I got married, I stopped. When my mother died in 1989, I put on A LOT of weight.
How’d you get started running and what motivated you to begin? In November 2011, I was at EPCOT after having surgery and I saw all these people walking around with their medals on. I thought it was pretty cool. I found out that the Wine & Dine Half Marathon was the night before and I was curious, so I poked around a little on runDisney.com. I never followed up on it though. In March or April, 2012, I was at EPCOT with my husband and some friends. I was so out of shape I had to stop and rest. I couldn’t do what I loved doing, and that was going to Disney and enjoying myself. I was hindering my husband and his enjoyment as well.
When we got home, I looked at runDisney and looked deeper. I found Jeff Galloway’s training programs and realized that they were meant for humans, not just the super athlete, and people like me. I also found out that Disney had just had the Princess event a month or so earlier. I was determined to do it someday. I registered for and completed my first 5K in Tampa (June 2012), and I stopped so many times that I was completely miserable by the time I finished. This is my first finish line photo.
Pam crossing the finish line her first 5k
I immediately registered for the 2012 Tower of Terror, and I did nothing to get ready for it. I kept putting the training off until it was too late. I wasn’t going to waste my entry fee, so I gave it a shot. I ran across the start line and then walked the rest. I was swept at the end of Mile #1. I got home with the resolve that I was going to work harder and find a way to make it happen.
At the Tower of Terror
I had already registered for the 2013 Princess Half Marathon with Team in Training. I managed to raise $2,300 for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society, but I also managed to get swept at mile 4. Again, I didn’t take the training seriously. I expected to be swept, but I really wanted to make it to the castle.
How many races have you participated in? I have done only 5Ks, the Color Run, Disney’s 5Ks and a couple of other ones.
What have you accomplished since you’ve begun running? I am still walking more than running. I went from being unable to run 10 feet, to maybe running one minute intervals. Still not too many of them, but I am making progress. The very first 5K I did, I stopped probably half a dozen times, and finished in 1:10. In November 2013, I broke the 1 hour mark, and my 5K split in February at the Enchanted 10K was :57 minutes.
Besides fitness, how else has running affected your life? It is starting to give me a belief in myself and I am having the time of my life.
Do you do other workouts besides running? I love swimming, and spin classes.
How much weight have you lost? 65-70 pounds
Favorite training song: “Stronger” and “Let it Go”
Favorite race: Anything Disney
Princess Expo 2013
Favorite healthy food: Chicken and fruit
Favorite indulgent food: Italian, especially pizza
Advice for newbies? I am still a newbie. Don’t give up. Don’t listen to what your brain says, listen to what your heart says. And if your heart believes, you can do it. (I am still struggling with that, but I truly believe it).
**Pam, thank you for sharing your story of training and triumph! You’ve really turned your life around and we are so incredibly happy for you and proud of you! Fitz, Gabriella and the entire Fitzness.com team!
*** Take a closer look at your finish line photo, Pam. You’re AHEAD of lots of people!
