How I went from coach potato to running my first Half-Marathon
Until I was 31 years old, I was completely content sitting on my couch playing Call of Duty. Although video games can be entertaining and stress relivers for some, I was abusing the privilege of free time I had. I was out of shape, very unmotivated, and truth be told not being a good husband or step father to my wife’s 2 boys. I would go to work and come home to basically do nothing with my life, feeling very unmotivated. If I am being honest drinking alcohol every night probably was not helping my cause.
There was always something in my heart that wanted to get back into physical shape, when I was a teenager I played varsity sports and loved being competitive, loved physical challenges, and was always fond of the way I felt after a hard grueling training session. So I eventually knew at 31 I needed a different venture. I decided to go to the gym, and loved it for about 6 months. Although I didn’t feel truly challenged in what I was doing. So I got a pair of cheap running shoes, Brooks Ricochets to be exact. The journey has officially began.
The gym was exactly .6 miles from my home. I decided to make the truck to and from the gym instead of driving myself. I was attending about 5-6 days a week. It took roughly about 1 month before I saw a change in my attitude, my weight, and my overall energy level as well. I could not retain muscle like I did the previous few months, but the satisfaction about knowing I could bust out a mile run at 5:00 am, made me feel very confident. 6 months into this routine, and it slowly built up to about 2-3 miles at a time. Making serious strides, I realized…I really love this. Clarity began to show itself, no headphones, no voices, just me and the sound of my cadence of strides hitting the pavement. It became a time of solitude for me. Along with all the benefits i felt from just the amount of clarity I seemed to be giving myself, it was for sure uncomfortable. If anyone has tried running for the first time, starting a new job, going on your first date, basically anything that does not seem easy to do. Maybe for some being uncomfortable is a skill that possess. I did not. For 15 years I had never pushed myself to be anything or do anything I did not want to.
However the alone time allowed my thoughts to stream through clearly. No longer did my mind feel like a dense morning fog. I now felt like a clear summer day with not a cloud in sight. I now had glimpses of what my future needed to look like being a present husband and step-father. I implemented the things that were put on my heart and my family saw amazing strides in who I was becoming. So now that my personal life was getting in order, I needed a challenge. I ran track for a season in High School, and I ran the 55 meters. A total of about 10 seconds of running at once. I knew I needed an uncomfortable challenge. So I signed myself up for a 5K which is 3.1 miles. Loved every second of it, how difficult it was, how much fun it was, how accomplished I felt when I completed the race.
So I spent the next year continuing to hit the gym, and build up miles on my legs. Got confident enough to proceed with a 10K which is 6.2 miles. I was fortunate enough to finish 46 minutes and 56 Seconds (7:34 per mile). 20th place out of 146 overall runners. 3rd place in the 30-34 men’s age division. Just finishing was an accomplishment, but I had a goal to give it everything I had and I did. No less then 3 months later, I was signed up for the Huntersville Half-Marathon in Charlotte, NC. This would be the biggest and most grueling race, hardest challenge mentally, possibly most physical pain, and most challenging endeavor I have put myself through to this point in my life.
I am proud to announce that I was able to run that race, and not only finish but place 61st place out of 668 overall runners. Completed in a time of 1:36:57 (7:24 per mile). 3rd place in the 30-34 men’s age division. My whole family was there at the finish when I was done. My legs hurt, my lungs hurt, I nearly puked at mile 11, It was up hill most of the way, but I was so glad when it was over not because it was over. Because I was so thrilled that I had pushed myself and challenged myself to go beyond what I ever could have imagined 2 years prior. I look forward to continuing to share my uncomfortable journey. I will be keeping constant record of what I’m doing and how I am feeling. Not for me, for those who need to know they are not alone in trying to push themselves beyond there limits. My limitations may not seem as far or difficult as a famous David Goggins, Cameron Hanes, Tom Brady, or any other famous just seemingly ridiculously mentally tough person in the limelight. My limits were mine, and they were mountains I was terrified to climb, but I did. I know you can too!
God Bless, until the next post. Don’t forget Jesus loves you.
