ExCouch Potato Samantha Pruitt wants YOU!

Accept a challenge that requires discipline, focus and teamwork because you are worth it

If you do not follow my blogs, you may not have heard what athletic shenanigans I’m up to nowadays. Since April, I’ve been training for a 50-mile trail race to qualify for the Western States100-mile trail race. 

Why, you may ask? Because I’m both lucky enough and crazy enough to be able to try!  

Training at this level, clocking 12 to 16 hours a week for months, I live the joy of trail running, road running, lifting weights and mountain biking all over the Central Coast. In between all of that, I’m self-employed, have a family and a busy schedule filled with volunteering and weekly proactive sports medicine appointments. 

By August, I was tired and stressed when we moved into a new house and I injured my calf muscle so badly that I could no longer run. Instantly, my two-year investment building towards this 50-mile speed race goal, and my ultimate 100-mile finisher’s race goal – I felt like I was hanging on by my fingertips as I fell off of a cliff. 

My story is not meant to intimidate or turn anyone off of setting huge, challenging goals nor is it an avenue to whine about mine. My goal is to use my brutal honesty and humor to help you see that, no matter what road blocks the Universe sends your way – how old, what kind of shape you’re in or how busy your life is – you, too can join my ExCouch Potato Army.

Speaking as a former 60-pounds-overweight, stressed out, train wreck couch potato, I’m here to inspire and empower others to join this transformation Army. Just like I did, you may one day hit the tipping point, totally fed up or so sick and miserable that you can no longer function. 

At 36 years of age, but looking more like 50, I stood at 5 feet, 5 inches and weighed in at 185 when I put on my baggy sweats and did the walk of shame into the local YMCA. Eventually, I crawled my way through my first 5K and went on to run the SLO sprint triathlon. Now, eight years later, I proudly bare the IRONMAN triathlon and UltraWoman tattoo. 

No, this was not an easy transformation, but it was well worth the break up with gluten, Ben & Jerry’s and my beloved old couch. In fact, through this life-changing process, my entire body, career, and all of my relationships have changed. 

Living in San Luis Obispo County, we are fortunate to have unlimited resources to help us achieve any and all of our physical, athletic, health or lifestyle-change goals. 

I learned over time that changing my environment and the people sharing my daily space was key to my long-term success.   

As the Race Director of the SLO Marathon, the Central Coast Cancer Challenge and the upcoming 2014 Race SLO, I spend much of my professional time creating transformation opportunities. The pure power of committing to a goal, and then forming a plan of dedicated execution to its success, is all you need to enlist in my transformation Army. The Universe will then shift your way of thinking and acting to support that goal. Weekly training, new friends, deeper sleep, fully-engaged eating and quality time management become a way of life. Trust me, once you work out a few old habit kinks, this new way of living feels amazing! 

During my last two years of working towards my goal of running in the Western States 100 race, the world’s oldest and most prestigious 100-mile trail race, I have had the honor of working, crewing, and pacing at races while being deep within the belly of raw heroic athletic adventures with some of the most inspiring people. They are not professional high paid athletes, celebrities, rich or gifted individuals – they are simple humans like me. They first dare to dream, and then dare to risk, and finally, courageously dare to attempt and redefine their limits. 

There are no shortcuts for champions; I have built a team to help me achieve my goal.  All of my goals, from business to family, personal or athletic, require high-performance teams to be truly successful. On my Western States 100 Army team, I have Arroyo Grande Health & Wellness for both chiropractic care and acupuncture injury prevention; I get both Leslie Cotham’s sports specific bodywork and Laurie Waller’s relaxation massage; I’m coached by Ryan Joyner at Athlon Elite for running specific strength training; Tara Kulikov for my twisted-gut sports nutrition and Nicole Hagobian for my twisted-mind sports psychology. I surround myself weekly with like-minded people who also inspire and empower each other; I encourage you to do the same because you are worth it. 

I challenge you to think big and dream big so you can live a big life. As a personal trainer, turned coach, turned race director, I have worked with hundreds of people that want to do more than just settle in life. I also work with countless professionals every week that understand the potential for living a healthy and athletic lifestyle in San Luis Obispo County and work relentlessly to provide everyone space and opportunities. Who are we to turn that down? 

As a member of the ExCouch Potato Army, I feel it is my duty to breathe this clean Central Coast air, eat locally-grown food and explore the endless open space of the area. Knowing that others are along with me on this transformation journey fuels my own footsteps through the pain and exhaustion required to run 100 miles without stopping. 

For all the Central Coast Cancer Challenge survivors, challenged athletes, the benched or injured athletes wanting so bad to get back in the game, and for all those couch potatoes who have yet to wake up and decide its time to do this life differently – I run.  

Samantha Pruitt - invested the last several years transforming from a 60 lbs overweight couch potato into an Ironwoman now turned Ultrawoman. Follow her candid transformational journey through her blogs at shareslo.com and livingtherun.com. Contact her directly at excouchpotato@gmail.com

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