I used to hate/despise running and anything to do with running for as long as I can remember. I ran only when my baseball or football coach told me to. The bad thing was, at the time, I was actually good at it. I was a sprinter. I could steal bases in baseball or run routes in football with the best of them, but an endurance athlete I was not. In 2004 I found myself living without my now wife, away while I was working to start a new business venture. Overcome with boredom I made the bold statement "I think I will run a marathon". Little did I know that would be the turning point to take me down the road for one of biggest passions of my life.
I now absolutely love to run. I love the endorphins that make my body tingle with the good fatigue that comes from cranking out 26.2. I love the burning lungs that come with a ferocious speed work session. I love the people that running seems to attract. I love the races and the atmosphere of the environment. I love the solitude and personal challenge that running can present. It is a great sport indeed. I am no longer the speedster with short distances nor the great endurance athlete that I hope to be, but I love the sport. I am 36 years old (almost 37), married with 2 cats. I thought that I might blog a bit about running to hopefully share my races reports, training, trials and tribulations so that I might inspire or bring the enthusiasm that I feel for the sport to others. I have completed 5 marathons (Chicago, The Palm Beaches Marathon, A1A Marathon, Disney Marathon, and the Green Bay Marathon), lots of half marathons, and more 10k/5k's that I could hope to count. My PR (personal record) for the marathon is 4:23 (Green Bay marathon) and my PR for Half Marathon is 1:51 (Seaside Half Marathon). I am just above average for my age group based on those time (approximately average). My next race of any consequence is the OUC Half marathon which is in December and then the ING Miami Marathon in January. After that I am not sure. I have great aspirations to start into triathlons and ultras, but we shall see what my mind is like.
I run and have run with only ASICS shoes and I currently have 7 pairs (some are worn beyond belief) of the same shoes in my closet. I do not listen to iPods or music typically in races, as I love to soak in the environment and listen to the cheers,chants, and the pulse of the surroundings. I am not against them, I just think that you are missing out if you are not taking in the environment. This is especially true at destination races. I use Body Glide for chaffing, band-aids on my nipples to prevent the horrible bloody nipple syndrome, and change into Crocs immediately after each race or long run (like little clouds for your sore feet).
Anyway, that is about me, about my blog. I hope to post 4-5 times per week with various topics that I hope are of interest. Anyway, I had better run to bed here soon....got a 10 miler in the AM.
Weekly Mileage Thru today 12
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