9/16/2015 - My 58th birthday ... why I blog

9/16/2015

Today is my 58th birthday. I thought I would step out of my blogging only about running and expand on why I blog.

Why? I have thought about that. I realize that blogging and posting on Facebook are largely "Yay me" types of activities. Many times I allude to the negative in my posts but I try to stick to the positive. Running helps me keep to the positive. I can't control the world but I can control my running.

Anyway, I blog to put down what I did, how I felt and what ran through my head when I run, how a race felt, what the course was like. I am competitive in my age group and just plain like to run a race as fast as I can. I have met some readers of this blog ... which always surprises me. Some found it when they researched a local race and read to think out what I thought of it. So that is why I make an effort to tell more about any particular race.

Why do I run? Well, I have been running for about 11 years now. I remember gasping during my first attempt at running. Someone actually stopped their car at the end of Wood Lane in Newark and asked me if I was OK. I kept at it. I remember losing weight from 195 to 170 pounds. How? I don't know ... it just happened. My runs got longer. I ran my first race, the Newark Turkey Day 5 mile Run on Thanksgiving 2005. I can't find the time on the internet but I bet it wasn't fast.  I ran some local races. Not many but enough to get the bug. I started keeping a spreadsheet of my running in September 2006 ... now it has just over 10,400 miles. Fast forward ... now I have run 349 races (186 road, 160 trail and 3 Duathlons). I have run any distance between 5K (64) and 50K (1). My yearly race schedule has expanded over the years with 57 races in 2014 and 45 races so far in 2015 with at last count 15 more scheduled. One goal I have for 2016 is to qualify for the Boston Marathon when I turn 59. So my long runs will be getting longer next year.

Stuff has happened during these years. I got divorced, was single for a while and got married on 11/30/2012 to my college sweetheart, Christine, who found me on Facebook back in August 2009. I moved from Newark up to Rochester in 2008. Christine and I just moved again to a two bedroom townhouse which is a 1/2 mile from Lake Ontario. I have helped all my kids move at least once. I have gotten injured (cracked rib during Segahunda 2010, hospitalized for overhydration after Sehgahunda 2011, tweaked my left Achilles tendon in July 2012) or had minor medical issues (hernia repair in 2009). Running has been a constant through all of this. I don't have a scientific plan ... I just get out there and run on road or on trail about 4 days a week about 25 to 30 miles a week. I run without music ... I would rather listen to my breathing and be aware of my surroundings.

If anyone sees me limp or grimace in pain after a run or race ... well that is what I do. I usually stop limping after 100 yards or so. I put it out there and sometimes my body complains about it. I would rather my muscles ache afterward than try to get through life without aches.

If this blog inspires anyone to increase their level of physical activity be it walking, running, biking, swimming or getting to the gym then my ramblings have served a purpose. One thing I really should do is cross train. I have tried to bike more this year. I really should get to the gym to work on my core and upper body strength. Well enough of this ... it's time for another run. There is another race to prep for ... see you there!