Running - My New Lifestyle

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If you would have asked me a year ago if I would be running at all a year later, I would have laughed at you. No telling what I would have said if you told me I would be training for and one month away from my first Half Marathon.

One year ago, I was 80 lbs heavier, and getting ready to see one of the most drastic changes in lifestyle that I had ever seen. You can read about and follow my continuing journey at my other blog: blog.2big.org.

While still in high school over 20 years ago, I was an avid runner. I ran and lettered in Cross Country, was a long distance runner in Track, and my neighbor and I would run 6 miles a day for fun over the summer. While still in high school I ran my first 10k, the Rose Run, in Jackson Michigan.

Over the next 20+ years I let life happen and only ran once or twice every few years, only to find that I wasn't physically fit enough, and it was too hard. I could only run about 100 yards before almost collapsing. It usually only took a few days of torturing myself before I would give up again for another few years.

As you can see in my other blog: blog.2big.org I started walking at the beginning of 2007. I decided that if I was going to make this lifestyle change last I needed to start out slow and do what I could actually maintain. I didn't even think about running at all, and really had no hope to. It wasn't till a couple of months into my journey that I even thought about trying to run at all.

My first 5k was the Saratoga 5k Fun Run in May of 2007, where I finished dead last in 36:37, but it was a new race and only about 25 runners with no walkers. From there I kept training and increasing my endurance and was able to finish my first 10k in over 20 years when I ran the Peachtree Road Race on July 4th in 1:03:59.

Shortly after the 10k I hurt my leg so ended up spending the next few months running very little and trying to heal. In October I was able to start turning up the heat a bit and started adding mileage as I continued to lose weight, gain endurance, and speed up.

In the last quarter of 2007 I have made progress that I could only dream of. I have run multiple 5k races which you can see on my running log at www.runningahead.com. I brought that PR of 36:37 in May down to 25:02 by the end of the year in a New Years Eve 5k race. I also set a new PR in an 8k of 40:09 in a December run.

I am currently training for my first Half Marathon, which is just over 1 month away. I will be running the Run The Reagan Half Marathon in Snellville GA, which is just a couple miles from my house. I am confident that I will be able to finish as I have already run a long run of 13.1 miles in training. I am hoping for a time under 2 hours, but am not too concerned about the time right now, but rather just the accomplishment.

As the blog name explains, I am on a Quest to a Marathon. I would have never in a million years guessed I would have been saying that, but I know now, after what I have been through over this past year that I will be able to accomplish that goal.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my story. Please come back often as I continue to blog about my journey and Quest for a Marathon.

The Slow Approach is better than the No Approach!