This was the first stand alone half marathon I have ever done. It’s safe to say that I’m not a huge fan of running, but this past year I’ve been doing more of it. My buddy, Brian Forman, tricked me into doing triathlons by starting me with the gateway sport, the sprint, and promising me free food at the end. I love the swim and the bike, but I dread the run. The last time Brian and I raced was in Hawaii in 2012, where he beat me right at the very end by 30 seconds. Since then, I moved from Saint Louis, to San Diego, to Oregon, and now am in Washington. In that amount of time, I’ve gained back the weight that I had lost since we last raced, so I’ve adopted anew training routine to include more cardio and running. The next time we race, I’m hoping to surprise him on the run. Even though all the running is hard on my joints at this weight, it was worth it to get a starting point for my marathon training.
“It’s time to re-adopt those good habits so when we start our own family, it’s not a struggle for us to both talk the talk and walk the walk”
When I did my Wisconsin Ironman, I had trained myself and neglected the run. The most I did before the race was around 18 miles, but my youthful fitness carried me through. Now I’ll have to work at it if I want to prepare myself for another ironman. I’ll aim at completing a full marathon before attempting the Boulder Ironman in 2017, so the day Casey and I raced at Champoeg, I was surprised at how good I felt in the beginning. Casey was doing the five mile race, and I went at her pace since this was the farthest she had ever run. I was so excited to run next to her, the adrenaline flowing, and when we parted, picked up the pace until I hit mile seven. Then I felt it. My left knee started to have a sharp pain, but depending on how I landed, the pain would come and go. I went as far as I could until I had to slow to a walk. I knew I would make it, but it would just be a matter of time. Testing my steps cautiously, I checked to see if i landed flat, or on my toe or heal, if the pain would go away, and luckily I found a gait with a sweet spot. Slowly, I pushed forward and eventually I had made it. This is only the start of the journey from my heaviest weight of 220 pounds to my goal of 180 pounds, but after I get back there, I intend on never going back. I’ve had my fun, and was fat and happy with my new wife. But now it’s time to re-adopt those good habits so when we start our own family, it’s not a struggle for us to both talk the talk and walk the walk.
