I find it a fitting coincidence
that I am sitting here writing the first post of this blog on the 6th
anniversary of my first half marathon; and the eve of my moonshot attempt of
running a Boston Qualifier, a Sub 3:07 finish, at the New Jersey Marathon. In
those past 6 years I have ran 12 half marathons in three different countries, 1
full marathon, and many other mid distance races. As I prepared to write this
post I started reflecting on why I started running and what has kept me going
on the years.
I have
always been a fan of running and was the kid in gym that after running the mile
would ask if I could run more while I waited for the other kids to finish. I
had tried to join the track team my Freshman year but was turned off by the
coach and I had other commitments at the school. Running then became a thing
for myself and I became pretty good at it, running my fastest mile at 5:04 my
Junior year of high school, the only time I threw up after a run.
The end of
my senior year started my decline in running, I was diagnosed with mono and
could not participate in physical activity. It took some time to start gaining
my strength back and by that time I was starting college. In college, and after
college I was sporadically most active by participating in pick games of touch
football. Luckily, I was still in decent shape and maintained my weight. Oh my
early twenties, when I could eat 20 tacos and not worry about weight gain.
Fast forward
several years to 2011 when I was 27 years old. I had been working a job where I
was in an office or car most of the time and did not realize that my sedentary
life style and slowing metabolism was catching up to me. I am fortunate that I
know the exact date that I became serious about running, mostly due to knowing
the wedding anniversary of my good friends John and Deb. You see on October 22,
2011 I was a groomsman in my friends’ wedding. A joyous fun occasion but I
realized that the tux just didn’t feel like it was fitting right and that I was
getting easily tired on the dance floor. The next morning at the post wedding
brunch I saw photos of myself and it was like getting punched in the face. I
realized that I had put on a lot of weight. I had not stepped on a scale in a
few years, so when I got home I weighed myself and the scale read 210lbs! I am
5’7” and my weight has always, up until that point hovered between 160 to 175
lbs. I made the decision right then and there to do something about it and decided,
well I’m going to go for a run.
That first
run on October 23, 2011 was the most humbling experience of my running life.
Here I am, the guy who used to run extra in gym, for fun, barely able to run 0.25
mile at a 11-minute pace. I knew that this was something I needed to keep
working at and as the weeks went on I started running further and increasing my
pace. I started reading about running and one day decided, I’m going to register
for a half marathon. I investigated Half Marathons in New Jersey and found the
Runapoloza Half Marathon in Asbury Park, which was raising money for Special
Olympics New Jersey. After a few days of hesitation, I decided to sign up.
By the time
I toed the starting line of that race on April 28, 2012 I had lost 35lbs through
running and better food choices. It was an intense first race with fog,
humidity and high temperatures. I had watched fellow runners pass out during
the race and I myself suffered a knee injury that landed me in physical therapy
for 3 months. I had learned that I had not trained well, but even ending the
race injured, I was hooked and decided that running was going to be a big part
of my life.
Over the
last 6 years I have learned how to train better, the importance of cross
training, listening to your body, good nutrition and rest. I have learned that
not every run has to be a good run and that sometimes cutting a run short or
extending a run is necessary for your own health. I have gone through periods
where it has been hard to find the motivation to lace up my running shoes, and
times when the only thing that made sense was running.
Running has
allowed me to meet amazing people, raise money for charities, see different parts
of the world, helped figure out a major health issue and set me on adventures.
In future posts I will discuss many of these things, recap races, provide my insight
into running, conduct interviews, and discuss running news. I am excited to
have you all read along.
