On a Little Run, Now...

So about two months ago, I began this unnatural movement of the human body called "running."

For a guy like me, it's always been hard for me to run..... mainly because I felt so damn awkward. I really only ran while I was in junior high and high school while I played various sports (football, baseball, wrestling).... so, for the most part, I was fine with it because it was only for conditioning and typically only lasted for around 20 minutes.





Upon preparing for the state Law Enforcement Training Academy, and ultimately a career to follow, I decided to get my butt into shape, suck it up, and RUN.

I started out only being able to run about a half-mile, and even then, it was more of a slow jog/fast-walk type of thing. After about a month of pushing myself harder on the road coupled with vigorous training in the gym, I began to actually enjoy this activity. Who'da thunk it?

Two months into it and I'm now running about 2 miles per day, 4 days/wk for a total of 8 miles a week. I never would have thought this was possible.... but I've done it. I've been through a variety of minor injuries since I started, but everything has healed up and lately I've been feeling fantastic. I've found that a guy really needs to spend the dough on a good pair of running shoes.... there's just no way around it. I've learned that if the feet aren't happy, there's no part of your body that is happy.

I take inpiration for running from many aspects in my life. I work with a marathon runner, my two brothers (Marines) are both runners. One of the Marine brothers, Kurt (you can read his blog here) just ran in the Boston Marathon in April and has done two (I believe) Marine Corps Marathons. I'm quite sure I'll never accomplish something on that level, but it still motivates me to get out and push myself. I also find new music and military cadences which help motivate me, keep a good pace, and control my breathing.

My 1-mile time is now at 8:40 (an improvement of 36 seconds in a month)
My 1.5 mile time is about 12:00

I usually kick it up for the last half-mile, but it's so "all over the map" that I haven't been able to get any concrete times out of it. It has ranged from 17:10 to 18:25 .... still working on it. For a guy my size, it's a good pace. Looking forward to losing more weight and trimming those times down..

I'll be posting updates with regards to this newly-turned corner in my life.