A bit of a disappointment tonight. After a lazy, restful, food-filled Memorial Day Weekend, my first run of the week felt labored and sluggish. I enjoyed the barbecue yesterday, but I paid for it today! I ran my standard mile, and clocked in at 9:21, eight seconds slower than Saturday's run, and seventeen seconds slower than Friday's run, which was my fastest mile time since I started running again.
I felt sluggish even before I started running, so I figured it was going to be a struggle tonight. It dawned on me that probably the biggest factor in these slow times I've been getting is my weight. As out of shape as I am, to be running miles in the 9 minute range is still surprising to me. But I'm weighing around 180 lbs lately, which is roughly 50 lbs heavier than when I set my PR of 5:28. Those extra 50 lbs are going to come into play. So I've got a couple of challenges ahead of me before I can expect to see significant drops in my mile time: I need to continue to condition myself, and I need to drop some pounds. Obviously those two things will help each other. I'm still struggling with my endurance, though it's getting noticeably better. Right now, breaking out of my old, sedentary lifestyle, is the hardest part. I'm not worried too much about what my times are; I'm just worried about becoming an adequate runner again.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Sunny Saturday
I wanted to try something different today. My initial plan was to head over to Horseman's Center Park, a picturesque park on the far eastern border of the city, and run a couple of miles leisurely without timing myself. My wife and I loaded up the dogs and headed there only to find the whole park swarming with bikers! Apparently there was some sort of biker convention going on, so that plan was out. We went home and I decided to head back out on my own determined to find a place to run. I headed up to Granite Hills High School to see if the track was open, but it wasn't. So, finally, as a last resort I decided just to run around the perimeter of the high school.
The run was rather pleasant. There wasn't a soul around and the day was bright and warm and the temperature was just right. The far-off desert mountains provided me with pleasant distractions. I decided to time myself since I was doing a shorter distance. By the time I finished my loop I clocked in a 9:13. I had a suspicion the distance was a mile, though I wasn't sure. So I went home to check on mapmyrun.com and, sure enough, one lap around the school was one mile exactly! My time was nine seconds slower than last night, but that could be for a few reasons. One, it was a new route; two, it was in the middle of the day with the sun out (all my previous runs have been at night); and three, I had probably tired myself out from my run last night. All things considered, though, I was pleased with today's run. I can now add a new route to my repertoire.
The run was rather pleasant. There wasn't a soul around and the day was bright and warm and the temperature was just right. The far-off desert mountains provided me with pleasant distractions. I decided to time myself since I was doing a shorter distance. By the time I finished my loop I clocked in a 9:13. I had a suspicion the distance was a mile, though I wasn't sure. So I went home to check on mapmyrun.com and, sure enough, one lap around the school was one mile exactly! My time was nine seconds slower than last night, but that could be for a few reasons. One, it was a new route; two, it was in the middle of the day with the sun out (all my previous runs have been at night); and three, I had probably tired myself out from my run last night. All things considered, though, I was pleased with today's run. I can now add a new route to my repertoire.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Droppin' Seconds
I rested yesterday, hoping it would lead to a major drop in my time today. And it helped somewhat, though I would have liked to seen it drop more. My mile time tonight was 9:04, still in the dreaded nines, though close enough to the eights that I feel good about it. Plus I dropped twenty seconds off my time from Tuesday. I probably won't time my mile until Monday and my goal will be to get into the 8 minute range.
As far as strategies went, I stuck to my pacing tactic. I went out on a slow and steady pace, clocking in my split in the 4:30s. After seeing my split time I was worried I would get a record slow time tonight, but to my amazement my pace maintained and I ended with a 9:04, meaning I had near identical half-mile times! I consider tonight's run my biggest leap forward. I could definitely sense an improvement in my breathing. I felt like I could get more oxygen with each breath. Though I'm still a long ways from saying I'm back in shape.
Tonight, before my run, I jogged a half-mile with my wife. This was a perfect warm-up run. It was awesome to see my wife out there running because she is a self-proclaimed non-runner! I think I can get her to change her mind, though. Especially because for a non-runner she did an amazing job!
As far as strategies went, I stuck to my pacing tactic. I went out on a slow and steady pace, clocking in my split in the 4:30s. After seeing my split time I was worried I would get a record slow time tonight, but to my amazement my pace maintained and I ended with a 9:04, meaning I had near identical half-mile times! I consider tonight's run my biggest leap forward. I could definitely sense an improvement in my breathing. I felt like I could get more oxygen with each breath. Though I'm still a long ways from saying I'm back in shape.
Tonight, before my run, I jogged a half-mile with my wife. This was a perfect warm-up run. It was awesome to see my wife out there running because she is a self-proclaimed non-runner! I think I can get her to change her mind, though. Especially because for a non-runner she did an amazing job!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Promising
I decided to try out the half-mile tonight. I figured I needed a little break from running the same mile-long route each day, plus I wanted to gauge my speed. I used to love to run the 800 in high school. To me it was a perfect combination of speed and endurance. My half-mile PR is 2:23, and though competitively speaking that's not a great time, it's going to be tough to beat today, mainly because it's going to take more than simply conditioning. Well, my half-mile time tonight, surprisingly, was 3:39. Considering I've been running miles over 9 minutes long, I figured my half-mile would be in the 4 or 5 minute range. So I was very delighted to get a 3:39. It means that I should be running 7 minute miles, but obviously it's the second half of the mile when I'm tanking out.
I'll keep working at these distances. I'm definitely not ready for heavy mileage yet. I'd like to get my mile time into the 7 minute range before I consider timing my two and three-mile. And I'll keep working at that half-mile. Hopefully after a couple more weeks of training I can drop into the 2 minute range. And from there my PR will be in sight!
I'll keep working at these distances. I'm definitely not ready for heavy mileage yet. I'd like to get my mile time into the 7 minute range before I consider timing my two and three-mile. And I'll keep working at that half-mile. Hopefully after a couple more weeks of training I can drop into the 2 minute range. And from there my PR will be in sight!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
One Step Forward
In a near perfect prediction, my mile time tonight was 9:24, 12 seconds better than yesterday's dismal time. These times I've been running have been so bad that I'm happy with whatever progress I'm able to make. As bad as a 9:24 mile is, it's not as bad as yesterday's 9:36, and so as far as I'm concerned, I'm happy.
I felt much better tonight. My legs stayed strong and I even felt that my breathing improved. I was quite winded, no doubt, but I was able to push through it. I tried more of a slow and steady approach tonight. Yesterday I tried alternating quarters, running the first and third quarters slow and the second and fourth quarters "fast." Well, that strategy didn't quite work. So tonight I simply stuck to a pace (albeit a slow one) and did my best not to slow down. It resulted in a better time, so I think I'll stick with this method and just increase my pace little by little.
Tomorrow I think I'll take a break from the mile and time my half-mile. We'll see if I have any speed in me. :)
I felt much better tonight. My legs stayed strong and I even felt that my breathing improved. I was quite winded, no doubt, but I was able to push through it. I tried more of a slow and steady approach tonight. Yesterday I tried alternating quarters, running the first and third quarters slow and the second and fourth quarters "fast." Well, that strategy didn't quite work. So tonight I simply stuck to a pace (albeit a slow one) and did my best not to slow down. It resulted in a better time, so I think I'll stick with this method and just increase my pace little by little.
Tomorrow I think I'll take a break from the mile and time my half-mile. We'll see if I have any speed in me. :)
Monday, May 24, 2010
Record Low
After two days off, I thought tonight's run would be much better. I learned that I need to be much more patient. While the soreness has more or less worn off, and my legs did feel stronger, I was still horribly out of breath and far too winded. Probably getting ahead of myself, I decided to go ahead and time my mile. As I said in my last post, my first task is to run the same mile-long route over and over until it gets easy. I figured by the third run it would start to get easy. And I was wrong. My wife was my official timer, and she clocked my mile at 9:36. Ouch! I've never had a slower mile on record. It was a giant wake-up call. I now know just how high the mountain I'm trying to climb is. One of my goals is to break my mile PR set fifteen years ago of 5:28. I've essentially got to shave over four minutes off my mile! As discouraging as tonight's run was, I'm simultaneously determined to repair the damage my years of inactivity have caused. If I can get that 9:36 down to a 9:26 by tomorrow, then I'm making progress and I'll be content.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Staggering Out the Gate
Tonight I ran my identical run from last night: one mile, out and back down my street. I've decided that my first task will be to run this very same run until it gets easy. It's only one mile and so I figure after a week or two it should start to become relatively effortless.
Tonight was a slight improvement over last night. My legs were sore, but they felt a bit stronger. My breathing was still labored, and thus I felt tired quickly and ran on fumes for the last half. It was a pleasant night, though. The street was quiet, the moon was out, and a soft breeze provided the ambiance. It was nice just to be out there.
Tonight was a slight improvement over last night. My legs were sore, but they felt a bit stronger. My breathing was still labored, and thus I felt tired quickly and ran on fumes for the last half. It was a pleasant night, though. The street was quiet, the moon was out, and a soft breeze provided the ambiance. It was nice just to be out there.
Goals Atop Skyscrapers
I have two goals.
Goal 1: Run a marathon.
Goal 2: Set new PRs in the half-mile, mile, two-mile, and three-mile distances.
I really have no idea how attainable these goals are. For all I know I could be setting myself up for utter failure. Though I know if I put in enough time and effort I can run a marathon, for I'm not setting any time goals there -- my only concern would be finishing it. But for the second goal of breaking my personal records, I may be shooting too high. The only reason I think I may have a shot at accomplishing goal #2 is that none of my PRs are that fantastic. They are as follows:
1/2 mile - 2:23 (1/28/95 @ Mt. SAC, Walnut, CA)
1 mile - 5:28 (3/28/95 @ Rancho Cucamonga High School)
2 mile - 12:53 (9/13/95 @ Rim of the World High School, Lake Arrowhead, CA)
3 mile - 19:52 (10/12/95 @ Chaffey High School, Ontario, CA)
As you can see, these times are not exactly stellar. I've always held the belief that I could have run faster in high school, that my PRs were not representative of my potential. I know I didn't apply myself like I should have, and had I trained harder and been more motivated, I truly believe those times would be lower. Or perhaps I'm wrong. It could be that those times are about as fast as my body was ever meant to go. What I now want to do is find out once and for all which case is true. All of those times were set in 1995 when I was 16 and 17. Fifteen years have passed and I am now 31. This is obviously the biggest obstacle. Will the increase in age be too much to overcome? Or (as I'd like to believe) will I be able to run smarter now and use other means to beat those times? Whatever happens, it starts now.
I'll be documenting my progress. I'll be virtually starting from scratch, since I haven't really been in complete shape in about six years. After a few weeks of running in the summer of 2009, I didn't run at all until April of 2010. That April run was torture. It was so discouraging that I didn't follow it with another run for a whole month. That run was last night -- a simple mile down the street I live on. It felt a little better than the April run, but I know I still have mountains to climb before I reach either of my goals. But all that matters is that I have embarked and I am on my way, marching towards my goals.
Goal 1: Run a marathon.
Goal 2: Set new PRs in the half-mile, mile, two-mile, and three-mile distances.
I really have no idea how attainable these goals are. For all I know I could be setting myself up for utter failure. Though I know if I put in enough time and effort I can run a marathon, for I'm not setting any time goals there -- my only concern would be finishing it. But for the second goal of breaking my personal records, I may be shooting too high. The only reason I think I may have a shot at accomplishing goal #2 is that none of my PRs are that fantastic. They are as follows:
1/2 mile - 2:23 (1/28/95 @ Mt. SAC, Walnut, CA)
1 mile - 5:28 (3/28/95 @ Rancho Cucamonga High School)
2 mile - 12:53 (9/13/95 @ Rim of the World High School, Lake Arrowhead, CA)
3 mile - 19:52 (10/12/95 @ Chaffey High School, Ontario, CA)
As you can see, these times are not exactly stellar. I've always held the belief that I could have run faster in high school, that my PRs were not representative of my potential. I know I didn't apply myself like I should have, and had I trained harder and been more motivated, I truly believe those times would be lower. Or perhaps I'm wrong. It could be that those times are about as fast as my body was ever meant to go. What I now want to do is find out once and for all which case is true. All of those times were set in 1995 when I was 16 and 17. Fifteen years have passed and I am now 31. This is obviously the biggest obstacle. Will the increase in age be too much to overcome? Or (as I'd like to believe) will I be able to run smarter now and use other means to beat those times? Whatever happens, it starts now.
I'll be documenting my progress. I'll be virtually starting from scratch, since I haven't really been in complete shape in about six years. After a few weeks of running in the summer of 2009, I didn't run at all until April of 2010. That April run was torture. It was so discouraging that I didn't follow it with another run for a whole month. That run was last night -- a simple mile down the street I live on. It felt a little better than the April run, but I know I still have mountains to climb before I reach either of my goals. But all that matters is that I have embarked and I am on my way, marching towards my goals.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
A History
I first realized one could be a "runner" in the late 1980s when I was in the 5th grade. For P.E. we had to run laps around the park next to our school and I suddenly found myself finishing before nearly all my classmates (I remember there was one 6th grader who I could never beat). As this continued, I began enjoying the feeling of beating people in races. At the suggestion of a teacher I joined our school's small track team and was able to compete against other kids at an annual meet at Chaffey College. The next year (when that pesky 6th grader had moved on to junior high) I moved into the top spot. I had fallen in love with running, and I was only 11. I ran again at the track meet at Chaffey College that year and was poised to continue to improve as a runner.
However, upon entering junior high I began to develop other interests. I started to favor basketball over running and I joined the school's team my 7th and 8th grade years. I no longer ran consistently, and thus I fell out of shape. By the time I entered high school in 1992 running was a long forgotten pastime. But, fortunately, I would be led back to the pure sport once again.
I unsuccessfully tried out for the high school basketball team my freshman year. Though this event had me down and out at the time, in hindsight I consider it quite fortuitous. I knew I wanted to be a part of some sport during high school, and so I began weighing my options. It wasn't until my sophomore year that I finally realized that I could return to my running roots. Since I wasn't aware of the sport of cross-country at the time, my first thought was track. It was early 1994 when I approached the track coach about joining the team. I hadn't run competitively in about four years. I knew I wanted to run the mile, since that's what I had been running back in 5th and 6th grade (my mile PR, set when I was in 6th grade, was 6:09.) The coach welcomed me onto the team, and so my new running career began.
It was disheartening at first. At our first meet I ran a 6:40 mile. I couldn't believe that at the age of 15 I was running slower than when I was 11! But I kept working. My endurance slowly increased and by the third meet of the season I had set a new mile PR (6:07). I also began running the half-mile. Running distance events naturally put me in the company of other distance runners and the distance coach. And I very soon felt at home. It wasn't long before I learned of cross-country. I found out that for true distance runners, cross-country was the glory sport, and track was something to use just to stay in shape in the off-season. I knew that I would need to become a cross-country runner.
I finished off my track season with some personal (albeit minuscule) accomplishments. I finally broke the 6 minute mile mark at Alta Loma High School on 31 March 1994 (running a 5:58), and on the very last meet of the season at our home track at Rancho Cucamonga High School I set a PR in both my events, running a 5:54 mile and a 2:40 half-mile.
So I went into cross-country season completely obsessed with running. Summer practices were a blast. We had quite a lot of fun as a team out on those distance runs (sometimes too much fun). Back then, Rancho Cucamonga still had a lot of undeveloped land, and many of our runs would take us through wild fields along the San Gabriel foothills. I developed a love of running through such beautiful, wide-open terrain. I had been bitten bad by the running bug!
My first cross-country season started with an invitational at Cal Poly Pomona. I remember being quite nervous seeing the thousands of runners from schools across Southern California. I didn't know what to expect. Would I get lost? Would I even make it? Would I come in dead last? I soon learned that these were pretty common first-time runner concerns. When the gun sounded and we were off, though, all my worries faded. And even though I ran the slowest three-mile time I would ever run (23:05), I had had a great time and I felt a sense of accomplishment I had never felt before. I couldn't wait till our next meet to try to lower my time.
Little by little I got better. I grew in confidence. My PR that season ended up being 20:03, set at Red Hill Park in Rancho Cucamonga on 6 October 1994. I got to experience the infamous Mt. SAC course, with its three killer hills. I developed tight bonds with my fellow runners, and my only regret was that I hadn't joined cross-country sooner.
After getting one track season and one cross-country season under my belt, I went into my second track season with a sense of sureness. I knew what I wanted to accomplish, and I felt sure I could. Right away I realized that by spending the fall running cross-country, I had already guaranteed new PRs in track. Some fellow runners and I decided to start our track season early by running at an All Comers meet at Mt. SAC on 28 January 1995. I ran the 800 and surprised myself by getting a 2:23. I had beat my previous PR by 17 seconds! At our first meet of the season I ran the mile in 5:40, beating that PR by 14 seconds. I kept my 800 times that season close to my Mt. SAC time, but I never actually beat it. While my mile time continued to drop little by little. On 28 March 1995, on our home track, I ran a 5:28 mile, which would go on to become my yet-to-be-broken PR. What I didn't know then was that my second season of track would become my best one. I had hit a plateau of sorts, and to take my running to the next level would have required a level of dedication and hard work that I never allowed myself to give.
I went into my second cross-country season with much anticipation, but also with new priorities in my life. I had begun surfing, I had a car, and I was a senior. Running began to take a backseat to other things. Overall, my times for my second cross-country season were better, but not by that much. I finally broke the 20 minute barrier on 12 October 1995 at Chaffey High School in Ontario by running a 19:52. Little did I know then that that would become my official cross-country PR. I had envisioned one day getting down into the 18 minute range, but to no avail. I simply wasn't applying myself anymore. Practices became purely about having fun, and I became distracted by other things in my life. My very last cross-country race ever, at Mt. SAC, I ran a disappointing 21:36.
My last season of track pretty much continued what I had begun during cross-country. I didn't set any PRs. My fastest mile was a 5:41 and my fastest half-mile a 2:26. I "went through the motions" that season, thinking only of graduating and my life after high school, which I wasn't even sure would involve running. Back then I had thought I was "burnt out." I was a little tired of the routine of practice every day, running long distances, the ordeal of meets. I wanted a break. It wasn't that I suddenly disliked running, but I began to take it for granted.
So when I graduated from high school, I gave myself the break from running I desired. For a whole year after, I ran maybe a handful of times. Soon another year went by, and another, and before I knew it I had fallen out of shape, going from a skinny 130 lbs in high school to 165 lbs. By 1999, three years out of high school, I finally saw the error of my ways. I began going for leisurely runs, enjoying the non-competitive nature of these jaunts. My weight slowly began coming down. In 2000 I moved to Fullerton to be closer to school, and the combination of running more and eating less (now that I had to buy my own food) caused my weight to drop down to the 140s. I saw running now for the first time as a beneficial activity for my body. In high school it was more about the friends I ran with and the competition I ran against, but now, at the age of 21, I saw running as something I needed to do to increase the quality of my life. It was a profound realization.
The entire time I lived in Fullerton, from 2000-2002, I ran frequently. My weight stayed around 145 lbs. But when I graduated college I moved back home to Rancho Cucamonga and my running became less frequent. Weight started to creep on again. Like before, it was "busy-ness" that caused my running to take a backseat. I devoted myself to my band (so much so that I moved to Lincoln, Nebraska for a short time to keep the band together). I became busy with work. By 2004 my weight had begun to approach 160 lbs. I knew I had to re-introduce running once again.
Aside from my high school years, 2004 would become my most devoted running year ever. I began with easy runs in April and by June I was running six days a week, putting in about 3-4 miles a day. My weight dropped to about 150 lbs. In August I introduced mountain biking into my training regimen. I began trail running as well. And by September I had amazingly returned to my high school weight of 135 lbs! I was in the best shape of my life, and it was at this very moment in my life that I met my future wife.
As soon as Deborah and I began seeing each other, my running was on the decline. I had something new to be obsessed with. All the time I had spent working out was now spent hanging out with Deborah. By the time 2005 rolled around I had added about 10 lbs, and this was just the beginning. Over the next few years I ran seldom. I'd usually put in a few weeks of running during the summer and that was about it. Deborah and I got married in July of 2008, and I had a somewhat strong running comeback in the months before the wedding. I managed to drop from 175 lbs to 165 lbs, but it was short-lived. My intense workouts pre-wedding went completely MIA post-wedding. Next came a period of stress and worry as Deborah and I worked on stabilizing ourselves financially. And as Falstaff says in Shakespeare's Henry IV, "A plague of sighing and grief! It blows a man up like a bladder." Running was the last thing I was thinking about. I got a job teaching in Redondo Beach that required about 120 miles of commuting each day. Following this I got a job teaching in Barstow, which required us to relocate to the desert. Life became so busy I, again, forgot all about running. Before I knew it I had reached the 180 lb mark -- a milestone I'd sooner take back.
Which brings me to today. I wrote in my last post that I need to make a "now-or-never" decision. I can continue to become less of a runner each day, or I can become more of a runner than I've ever been. The choice was kind of a no-brainer.
However, upon entering junior high I began to develop other interests. I started to favor basketball over running and I joined the school's team my 7th and 8th grade years. I no longer ran consistently, and thus I fell out of shape. By the time I entered high school in 1992 running was a long forgotten pastime. But, fortunately, I would be led back to the pure sport once again.
I unsuccessfully tried out for the high school basketball team my freshman year. Though this event had me down and out at the time, in hindsight I consider it quite fortuitous. I knew I wanted to be a part of some sport during high school, and so I began weighing my options. It wasn't until my sophomore year that I finally realized that I could return to my running roots. Since I wasn't aware of the sport of cross-country at the time, my first thought was track. It was early 1994 when I approached the track coach about joining the team. I hadn't run competitively in about four years. I knew I wanted to run the mile, since that's what I had been running back in 5th and 6th grade (my mile PR, set when I was in 6th grade, was 6:09.) The coach welcomed me onto the team, and so my new running career began.
It was disheartening at first. At our first meet I ran a 6:40 mile. I couldn't believe that at the age of 15 I was running slower than when I was 11! But I kept working. My endurance slowly increased and by the third meet of the season I had set a new mile PR (6:07). I also began running the half-mile. Running distance events naturally put me in the company of other distance runners and the distance coach. And I very soon felt at home. It wasn't long before I learned of cross-country. I found out that for true distance runners, cross-country was the glory sport, and track was something to use just to stay in shape in the off-season. I knew that I would need to become a cross-country runner.
I finished off my track season with some personal (albeit minuscule) accomplishments. I finally broke the 6 minute mile mark at Alta Loma High School on 31 March 1994 (running a 5:58), and on the very last meet of the season at our home track at Rancho Cucamonga High School I set a PR in both my events, running a 5:54 mile and a 2:40 half-mile.
So I went into cross-country season completely obsessed with running. Summer practices were a blast. We had quite a lot of fun as a team out on those distance runs (sometimes too much fun). Back then, Rancho Cucamonga still had a lot of undeveloped land, and many of our runs would take us through wild fields along the San Gabriel foothills. I developed a love of running through such beautiful, wide-open terrain. I had been bitten bad by the running bug!
My first cross-country season started with an invitational at Cal Poly Pomona. I remember being quite nervous seeing the thousands of runners from schools across Southern California. I didn't know what to expect. Would I get lost? Would I even make it? Would I come in dead last? I soon learned that these were pretty common first-time runner concerns. When the gun sounded and we were off, though, all my worries faded. And even though I ran the slowest three-mile time I would ever run (23:05), I had had a great time and I felt a sense of accomplishment I had never felt before. I couldn't wait till our next meet to try to lower my time.
Little by little I got better. I grew in confidence. My PR that season ended up being 20:03, set at Red Hill Park in Rancho Cucamonga on 6 October 1994. I got to experience the infamous Mt. SAC course, with its three killer hills. I developed tight bonds with my fellow runners, and my only regret was that I hadn't joined cross-country sooner.
After getting one track season and one cross-country season under my belt, I went into my second track season with a sense of sureness. I knew what I wanted to accomplish, and I felt sure I could. Right away I realized that by spending the fall running cross-country, I had already guaranteed new PRs in track. Some fellow runners and I decided to start our track season early by running at an All Comers meet at Mt. SAC on 28 January 1995. I ran the 800 and surprised myself by getting a 2:23. I had beat my previous PR by 17 seconds! At our first meet of the season I ran the mile in 5:40, beating that PR by 14 seconds. I kept my 800 times that season close to my Mt. SAC time, but I never actually beat it. While my mile time continued to drop little by little. On 28 March 1995, on our home track, I ran a 5:28 mile, which would go on to become my yet-to-be-broken PR. What I didn't know then was that my second season of track would become my best one. I had hit a plateau of sorts, and to take my running to the next level would have required a level of dedication and hard work that I never allowed myself to give.
I went into my second cross-country season with much anticipation, but also with new priorities in my life. I had begun surfing, I had a car, and I was a senior. Running began to take a backseat to other things. Overall, my times for my second cross-country season were better, but not by that much. I finally broke the 20 minute barrier on 12 October 1995 at Chaffey High School in Ontario by running a 19:52. Little did I know then that that would become my official cross-country PR. I had envisioned one day getting down into the 18 minute range, but to no avail. I simply wasn't applying myself anymore. Practices became purely about having fun, and I became distracted by other things in my life. My very last cross-country race ever, at Mt. SAC, I ran a disappointing 21:36.
My last season of track pretty much continued what I had begun during cross-country. I didn't set any PRs. My fastest mile was a 5:41 and my fastest half-mile a 2:26. I "went through the motions" that season, thinking only of graduating and my life after high school, which I wasn't even sure would involve running. Back then I had thought I was "burnt out." I was a little tired of the routine of practice every day, running long distances, the ordeal of meets. I wanted a break. It wasn't that I suddenly disliked running, but I began to take it for granted.
So when I graduated from high school, I gave myself the break from running I desired. For a whole year after, I ran maybe a handful of times. Soon another year went by, and another, and before I knew it I had fallen out of shape, going from a skinny 130 lbs in high school to 165 lbs. By 1999, three years out of high school, I finally saw the error of my ways. I began going for leisurely runs, enjoying the non-competitive nature of these jaunts. My weight slowly began coming down. In 2000 I moved to Fullerton to be closer to school, and the combination of running more and eating less (now that I had to buy my own food) caused my weight to drop down to the 140s. I saw running now for the first time as a beneficial activity for my body. In high school it was more about the friends I ran with and the competition I ran against, but now, at the age of 21, I saw running as something I needed to do to increase the quality of my life. It was a profound realization.
The entire time I lived in Fullerton, from 2000-2002, I ran frequently. My weight stayed around 145 lbs. But when I graduated college I moved back home to Rancho Cucamonga and my running became less frequent. Weight started to creep on again. Like before, it was "busy-ness" that caused my running to take a backseat. I devoted myself to my band (so much so that I moved to Lincoln, Nebraska for a short time to keep the band together). I became busy with work. By 2004 my weight had begun to approach 160 lbs. I knew I had to re-introduce running once again.
Aside from my high school years, 2004 would become my most devoted running year ever. I began with easy runs in April and by June I was running six days a week, putting in about 3-4 miles a day. My weight dropped to about 150 lbs. In August I introduced mountain biking into my training regimen. I began trail running as well. And by September I had amazingly returned to my high school weight of 135 lbs! I was in the best shape of my life, and it was at this very moment in my life that I met my future wife.
As soon as Deborah and I began seeing each other, my running was on the decline. I had something new to be obsessed with. All the time I had spent working out was now spent hanging out with Deborah. By the time 2005 rolled around I had added about 10 lbs, and this was just the beginning. Over the next few years I ran seldom. I'd usually put in a few weeks of running during the summer and that was about it. Deborah and I got married in July of 2008, and I had a somewhat strong running comeback in the months before the wedding. I managed to drop from 175 lbs to 165 lbs, but it was short-lived. My intense workouts pre-wedding went completely MIA post-wedding. Next came a period of stress and worry as Deborah and I worked on stabilizing ourselves financially. And as Falstaff says in Shakespeare's Henry IV, "A plague of sighing and grief! It blows a man up like a bladder." Running was the last thing I was thinking about. I got a job teaching in Redondo Beach that required about 120 miles of commuting each day. Following this I got a job teaching in Barstow, which required us to relocate to the desert. Life became so busy I, again, forgot all about running. Before I knew it I had reached the 180 lb mark -- a milestone I'd sooner take back.
Which brings me to today. I wrote in my last post that I need to make a "now-or-never" decision. I can continue to become less of a runner each day, or I can become more of a runner than I've ever been. The choice was kind of a no-brainer.
Monday, May 17, 2010
A Long Time Coming
I'm overdue. My absence from the world of running has gone on for far too long. I've reached a point where a "now-or-never" decision must be made: do I give it up for good, or do I make one last defiant stand? Well I've made my choice, and whatever comes of it, I've decided to thrust myself back into the purest sport known to mankind.
I aim to "run and not be weary" (though I'll be taking this quote from Isaiah 40:31 a bit more literally than it was intended.) I never planned on relinquishing my status as a runner, but it sort of "came in the night," as they say. It always seems like "busy-ness" is the culprit for so much that brings us disappointment. A year ago I set out to once-and-for-all read the entire Bible. I had had this goal for years, though "busy-ness" had prevented me from doing it. I'm glad to say that one year later I'm still going at it, and though the pace has been quite slow I can gratefully say I have not had one urge to stop. So now I will be applying the same attitude, mindset, and "strategies" to my running. Hopefully with the same results.
I have a few goals, which I'll get to later, but I have no tightly structured plan. I simply want to be a runner again. And there's only one way to do that. I'll be documenting my progress, as slow and tortured as it may be. I'm not concerned if no people read this, or if one hundred people read this. My documentation has more to do with personal motivation (just as with the Bible blog). My only hope is that one year from now I'll be able to say what I can say about my Bible reading: that I'm still going at it with no signs of stopping.
I aim to "run and not be weary" (though I'll be taking this quote from Isaiah 40:31 a bit more literally than it was intended.) I never planned on relinquishing my status as a runner, but it sort of "came in the night," as they say. It always seems like "busy-ness" is the culprit for so much that brings us disappointment. A year ago I set out to once-and-for-all read the entire Bible. I had had this goal for years, though "busy-ness" had prevented me from doing it. I'm glad to say that one year later I'm still going at it, and though the pace has been quite slow I can gratefully say I have not had one urge to stop. So now I will be applying the same attitude, mindset, and "strategies" to my running. Hopefully with the same results.
I have a few goals, which I'll get to later, but I have no tightly structured plan. I simply want to be a runner again. And there's only one way to do that. I'll be documenting my progress, as slow and tortured as it may be. I'm not concerned if no people read this, or if one hundred people read this. My documentation has more to do with personal motivation (just as with the Bible blog). My only hope is that one year from now I'll be able to say what I can say about my Bible reading: that I'm still going at it with no signs of stopping.
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