It wasn't always so ... My journey in the fitness world started the day the dreaded scale read 205 pounds. I had been as low as 160 leaving the military and here I was ten years later, passed the 200 pounds, on my way to three hundred I was sure ...
The year was 2005. I started a simple diet that cut calorie rich sodas, reduced portion sizes significantly, and started exercising following a very simple program: swimming laps in the pool. About six months later I had dropped 50 pounds and was swimming over a mile every other day. In 2009, I started going to gym, and got some personal training sessions. Through those sessions I learned the tenants of exercise, I learned about good nutrition, proper form, strength training, cardio ... basis that I use to this day in my training.
One day, my crazy ex-marine trainer Ro told me "man you are built for running ... We should run a marathon together" ... At that moment I though to myself "yeah right, I can barely run the three miles on the treadmill, and you wanna run a marathon together? What is that? Like 26 miles or something?" ... We talked more about it, Ro said we could train for it in just three months. It was March, by June we would be in shape to run the Rock and Roll Seattle marathon. I was intrigued. And although we didn't get to run the 2009 marathon together, I had started incorporating running in my routines.
In March 2011, I ran my first 5k at the Saint Patrick dash. I went on to train for and complete my first marathon, Bellingham Bay Marathon in September 2011. Bellingham Bay was the first time that I followed a structured training plan for a running event. During the rigorous training I rediscovered my love of running. I remember how I enjoyed running in the military. In fact I was one of the few recruits in my bootcamp platoon that actually enjoyed running.
I love running. Nothing can touch me when I am running ... I run, because I can. I hope that you enjoy reading about my excellent running adventures. Thanks for visiting!
