As we crossed Lovers Lane, looking down Dickens to the turn to Sausage Mountain, I uttered the words: “I made a huge mistake.”
A decision I’d made on Saturday was coming back to haunt me. Continue reading “Mistake: the dumbest bright ideas”
The race for redemption
I was unprepared for Oklahoma City.
Not for the race, but for the atmosphere of the city, and everything surrounding the race. For an event born out of tragedy, it is so moving to see a city come together to heal those wounds. Until you experience the redemption first hand, you can never be prepared. Continue reading “The race for redemption”
If you are going through hell, keep going
This is it. This is the week that has been circled on the calendar since that first group run in December. And over the last month, as we’ve adjusted the schedule for goal races, this week took on renewed intensity. That’s right, it is Hell week. Continue reading “If you are going through hell, keep going”
Today we escape
If you want to see a steady progress to grow as a runner, it takes a bit of being smart, brave and cautious. Last posting I was in ‘the suck’ and I have just about moved past it. There is daylight at the end of the tunnel as we near our respective races. The grind is starting to be replaced by determination and focus at what lies ahead in a few weeks. Mentally my thoughts are turning towards the preparations for part two of my Spring redemption. Continue reading “Today we escape”
Meet your new bestie, ‘The Suck’
Right now I am fully immersed in what soldiers call ‘The Suck.’
While we like to pretend every run is a magical, fun-filled extravaganza of adventure, the truth is that there are times when you begin to question your sanity for even taking up running.
It takes a lot of work to run a marathon. It isn’t just those 2 (I wish) to 6 hours it takes people to run 26.2 miles. What most in those cheering crowds don’t see is the months of toiling away every runner endures just to reach the starting corrals. Continue reading “Meet your new bestie, ‘The Suck’”
Taking stock and looking forward
February always feels like the transition into the new year. We spend January shaking off the holidays (and accompanying illnesses) while gaining our bearings. It is the cold winter days of February where we start looking forward to the year. Well, I’m assuming that it was winter somewhere this month, for it certainly was not the case here in Texas. Continue reading “Taking stock and looking forward”
Finding the inspiration to be bold
Since my weight loss and running journeys began, there has been a constant, pushing myself to limits I’d previously deigned to approach. Tapping into hidden desire for achievement. What can I do today that I would not try yesterday.
And I am still somewhat too reserved at times. Sometimes too reticent to take steps to be bold and push myself forward.
It has been through running where I’ve begun to find that drive. Continue reading “Finding the inspiration to be bold”
I Am Back And I Am A Marathoner
I did it. I am a marathoner.
I’m now one of those annoying people with the 26.2 sticker emblazoned on the back of their vehicle. I used to mock them, but now I feel like it was a well-earned badge of honor.
Life takes priority
I had fully intended to keep up the blogging through the full course of training. Unfortunately life had some other plans. Between the demands of training, work and some ancillary items, blogging fell way down on my list of priorities. Continue reading “I Am Back And I Am A Marathoner”
A Year On The Run (and how it applies to life)
This is a cross-post of a post I wrote for my company website
In 2014, one year into my weight-loss journey, I took my first steps towards becoming a runner. Using a C25K (Couch to 5K) app on my phone, I hit the streets and slowly transitioned from walking to running. After some trial and error, and some minor injuries, I finally felt comfortable enough to start to enter local 5k races in January 2015.
After the first few races, I was only able to make it through those first couple miles before I was gassed. I’d end up doing a walk/run over the last mile. While the C25K training got me going, it was apparent that I had a number of lessons left to learn, and looked to local coaching programs to get me through a race.
Continue reading “A Year On The Run (and how it applies to life)”
A Respite From The Insanity
One of the aspects of running that I’ve come to love the most is the respite from the insanity of the daily grind.
I wake up 5 times a week, stumble dress into some running clothes, and head out into that early morning to meet other like minded souls. We jokingly talk about how early it is and how we’d rather be back in bed. Every one of us knows that at that moment, we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, even back in bed.
Of course, that opinion is likely to change if it was raining. Then it would be a coin flip over a run or going back to bed.
For those 60 minutes (and 2+ hours on Sundays), all our other worries are shoved aside. It’s just myself, and a 5+ mile run in the pre-dawn Dallas roads. Some days I’ll eagerly join in the conversation, sometimes I’ll just listen to the tales and stories others share, some times I’m in my own head working through my own mental demons.
The latter was the case for most of this week.