RUNNING FOR MY LIFE

Recently, I was asked, multiple times, about my running and if I have been doing it long.

Each time, I have to go back and tell the story.  

I am fairly new to running.  I did a charity 5k (3.1 miles) in the fall of 2012, followed by a 10k (6.2 miles) a week later.  I then went on and trained over the Winter of 2012/2013 and ran my first Half Marathon in February 2013....followed by another Half in the Fall of 2013.  It was at the time of the Half Marathon in the Fall of 2013 that I decided to challenge myself for a full marathon, which I ran in April of 2014.  Since then, I have ran a total of 8 full marathons, and I am currently training for my 9th.  I will be running the NEBRASKA MARATHON on October 15, 2017, here in Omaha.

But let's go back to the pic on the left above.  Actually, I'll go back a year from then to May of 2008.  I had a knee injury that resulted in surgery to remove 75% of meniscus in my right knee.  My doctor told me that I would/should never run again, since it was basically "bone-on-bone" in my right knee.  So for the next year (and actually before the injury) I was virtually "activity-less."

Back to the picture above.  May 2009.  This was the picture that did it for me.  It was THE MOMENT that I decided something needed to be done.  As you can see, I was overweight. I am all of 5' 8" and at that time weighed in at 215.  Pretty good if you are a world class athlete....but I wasn't.

I went on a quest to lose weight and recapture my health.  My father died in his 50s....his father (who I never knew) died in his 50s....mostly due to things they could control (eating choices; lifestyle; etc).  So, in 2009, at 43 years of age, I decided that I wasn't going to die in my 50s by something I could control.

In less than a year, I dropped 50 lbs due to a new lifestyle of eating healthier and exercising.

Now, back to 2012.  When I was challenged to run that charity 5k, I had never run over 3 miles...maybe never ran over 2 miles in my life.  I was in good shape, so I was pretty confident I could do it.

Today, I run because it helps to keep me healthy.  I also like the challenge of the marathon and doing what I can to better myself each time I'm out.

I have written, here in this BEST YEAR YET blog, about my health challenges last year (we'll talk more about that tomorrow) and I'm convinced my running has helped me to recoup faster.

I want to encourage you to get up...out...and active.  That could mean walking, riding a bike (stationary or outside), going to a fitness class....SOMETHING!  Do something that yourself 3-6-9 months from now will look back and thank you for.

Find something that will help you RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! (or walk; bike; etc)

It's been a long road...whether it was from the start in 2012, or in the recovery of the past year...I know that now, I AM RUNNING FOR MY LIFE!