After dropping more than 100 pounds since retiring from the NFL in 2011, former offensive lineman Alan Faneca ran his first marathon Sunday in 3:56:17.
Faneca, 37, started training for the New Orleans Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon back in October after chatting with his former Pittsburgh Steelers. He followed a training plan made by a friend but said he was still nervous on race day.
“I was very nervous about going from the slow long run pace to all of a sudden running 30-45 seconds faster,” he said. “I got the adrenaline thing but adrenaline doesn’t last for four hours.”
During his training, Faneca focused on running for time instead of distance and incorporated intervals and long runs in order to meet his goal of breaking 4 hours. He said his discipline from his football days helped keep him on track while training for the marathon.
“I was always very strict in my training, taking notes and writing things down,” he said. “I had something to lean on.”
He picked the New Orleans race because it’s close to his home just outside the city limits and his 8-year-old daughter Annabelle, and 2-year-old son Burton could go.
“They made the signs and everything,” he said. “They made it to the finish line five minutes before I came across.”
Faneca celebrated his 26.2-mile accomplishment with an Abita beer at the finish line.
“A lot of people ask me, do I miss football? I don’t miss football but what I do miss is that first beer after a game," he said. "I had the same feeling after the race.”
Faneca was a first round draft pick in 1998 when he was drafted from Louisiana State University to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Faneca, who now lives in Louisiana, also played professionally for the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals, earning nine-time All Pro and Pro Bowl selection as well as a Super Bowl ring in 2006 with the Steelers.
Faneca went from weighing 320 pounds to 215 after his football career ended. He said that by cutting back on his daily calories and sticking to a six-days-a-week cardio plan, he was able to take the weight off easily.
“For athletes, when you stop [playing] you have to realize you can’t keep eating the things you were eating because you’re not doing the things you were doing,” said Faneca, who reduced his calorie intake to 1,800 calories a day after he retired.
Faneca said his family tried the paleo diet for three and a half months and while they don’t eat strictly paleo anymore, they stick to the diet’s principles of clean eating.
“We stay away from heavy carbs and gluten, but we’re heavy on vegetables and protein,” he said.
Faneca said he doesn’t have any other marathons on his schedule soon, but is considering a duathlon.
“I just want to mix it up and have some fun,” he said.
Hannah is a former Social Media Editor for Runner’s World. Hannah started running in February 2012 with a Couch-to-5K program and less than seven months later ran her first half-marathon. You can follow Hannah on Twitter @byHannahMcG.
