​This year I ran over 665 miles (according to Strava). While I did not explicitly set a mileage goal for 2018, I was hoping to get over 500 miles and I sailed clear over that.

So to make 2019 more interesting for me, I’m going to now set a goal to run 1000 miles.

One. Thousand. Miles.

Since I already covered 665 miles this year, I’m sure a bunch of you are thinking, “What are you stressing about? That’s just a little more than what you ran in 2018.”

If you’re thinking that, you would be right. In pure mileage terms, it isn’t that much more. For me, the main block is more mental than anything else. I’ve never run that much in my life and who knows that might happen to me or my body in the coming year. It might be easy for some but to me, it’s still a metaphorical mountain.

On top of the unknowns, I’m trying to balance my time with other training such as swimming, cycling, strength training and plyometrics. More importantly, I’m also first a husband and a father. That’s a lot of balls to juggle in the air and more opportunities to drop something.

But then again...

I never ran 665 miles in a single year and I did it this year.

I never ran a half marathon and I did two of them this year.

I never completed a duathlon and I did two of them this year.

I could not swim the length of a pool and now I can swim over 1000 yards without stopping (albeit poorly).

I did this all while being a husband and a father.

This year has been a year of firsts for me and as long as I keep setting goals like this, I’ll keep pushing myself to be a better me.

Thank you 2018, you made me a better person. Let’s do this 2019.

Right around when my New Balance Zantes started to hit about 300 miles, I figured I should start looking around for a new pair of sneakers since running shoes tend to have a limited lifespan. It had occurred to me that I should just buy another pair of the New Balance and call it a day, but with an almost limitless number of choices and options out there, I figured it would be worth it to try out a different pair.

Oh boy were there a lot of choices...

I decided to narrow down the candidates to shoes that fit (snicker snicker) the following criteria:

1. Lightweight
2. Supportive midsole
3. 4 to 6 mm heel-to-toe drop

So that limited the choices down to about a million pairs of shoes... sigh...

Image courtesy of Boston.com 

I had narrowed the choices down to Brooks or Hoka based on reviews and feedback from other runners and was about to call it until I read an article about Meb Keflezighi who won the 2014 Boston Marathon... in a pair of Skechers...

Whaaaat....?

I never ever associated Skechers with performance of ANY kind. In fact, the only notable thing I recall of Skechers is the company getting sued for false advertising on their shape up shoes. However, after looking into their Performance brand, it sounds like their Skechers Performance department warranted a consideration.

I poked around Amazon (which is something I do 5 times a day) and actually found a pair of GoMeb performance running shoes for $45. This made the decision fairly easy since, if they stunk, I could still use them to mow the lawn and not feel so bad about it (I’m looking at you Under Armour HOVR Sonic).

I have to say, I was very surprised by these shoes. They are extremely lightweight and supportive enough for a half marathon distance. They have a 4 mm drop so it helped me with my heel striking. I was impressed.

It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns though. The laces that came with the shoes were essentially twine, I couldn’t remove the insoles and replace them with my own, and 13 miles is definitely their limit in terms of support and comfort. Those shortcomings though were more nit picky than anything else.

The only knock I have against Skechers as a brand is that their naming for their performance shoes is terrible. It seems like they have two major performance models; GoMeb and GoRun. However, if you look under those models, there are so many sub-models (?) that you can’t really make heads or tails of it. GoMeb Speed 5? Razor 2? GoRun Ride 7? Helicopter turbo jet Optimus Prime 2?

One of those may have been made up...

Naming goofiness aside, I’m sold on Skechers Performance shoes and, as long as I can figure out which pair fit my needs, I will consider them first when I need to buy my next pair.

Although if they did name a pair called “Helicopter turbo jet Optimus Prime 2” I would probably buy those just because...

Viva Las Vegas!

I capped off my year of endurance events with the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas. I was lucky enough to have my mother watch my children, which allowed my wife to join me on this mini vacation.

Do you still consider it a vacation if you have to run 13.1 miles?

This was a very different event from the Martha’s Vineyard half marathon that I ran back in May. The obvious difference being the size difference between the two events. I forgot how many people ran on the vineyard but I’m sure it wasn’t 40,000, which was how many ran in Vegas. Having a race with this many people was extremely intimidating to me. Where do I go? When should I get there? Which color group am I? Which wave in my color group do I belong to? WHERE ARE THE BATHROOMS?

With over 40,000 participants, you tend to get a different answer from each person you ask these question.

So how did I feel about this race? Well, let’s start with the good.

For an event of this magnitude; it was fairly well organized. I can complain about the size all I want but in the end, I did find out where I was supposed to go. Me feeling intimidated is more of an issue with me rather than an issue with the event itself.

For large sections of the run, it was extremely entertaining. The strip was closed down and runners were able to run right in the middle of the street all the way from the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign to downtown Las Vegas at Fremont Street. The main section of the strip that everyone is familiar with was all lit up.

The run itself was fairly easy. The course only had about 200 feet of elevation total and the roads for the majority of the run were in very good condition.

Now for some of the challenges...

I’m a morning runner so shifting my long run to the evening was a big change. When do I eat? What do I eat during the day of the race? Do I try and sleep before the race or just stay up the whole time? All of this was exasperated by the fact that I was still on Eastern Standard time and Las Vegas is in the Pacific Standard timezone. Although to be fair, this is not the fault of the event either - I could have planned this better.

Another element I did not plan well for; the weather and climate. Running in New England, cold temperatures were something I knew I could run in without an issue. However, what I did not plan and train for was the desert humidity - or extreme lack of humidity. I woke up everyday with a dry and sore throat. My lips were chapped by the end of the trip. This changed my hydration approach the days leading up to the race and during the race. Again, something I should have planned for more.

I should have brought some chapstick…

My last challenge with the Vegas half marathon was gaps of Rock and/or Roll through large parts of the course. Realistically there’s no way the organizers can light and entertain every stretch of the 13.1 mile course but the event certainly tried to make it sound like it was like that. The reality of it was that after you got past the Mandalay Bay hotel heading south, there’s not much after that until you hit the Las Vegas sign and then turn around. The same can be said when heading northbound on the strip too; after Treasure Island it was fairly quiet and dark. In fact, certain parts were so dark that, if you weren’t careful, you could have stepped on another runner.

This blog entry is getting a bit long winded and I don’t want to seem like I’m rambling (even though I am). Despite what it sounds like, I really did have fun. This is not something you can do all the time and I certainly recommend runners to give it a try at least once. If you’re a fan of Sin City, then this may be something you’ll want to do on a regular. For me though? Once is enough. I learned a ton from it, I hit my personal best, and I got a mini vacation with my wife - I’d say that is a good event.

Hi, I’m Pete and I’m an Apple fanboy. Whew. Glad I got that out of the way.

It’s no secret that I love gadgets and when Apple announced their Apple Watch, I jumped right in and got one… and I wasn’t really that impressed.

Wait, is a fanboy even allowed to say that…?

I think my expectations of what the watch could do and what it actually was capable of were a bit too far apart. The apps that were written for it were tethered to the phone and it was extremely laggy and slow. I stuck with it like any good fanboy would and hoped that subsequent software revisions and hardware updates will improve it.

I had been researching for a while on what fitness watch I should get. Fitbit, Garmin, etc - I wasn’t really that impressed with any of them. I had a few requirements that none of them really fit:

1. Wirelessly connect to bluetooth headphones (I hate wires…)

2. Store or stream music

3. GPS

4. Fitness and heart rate tracking

5. Doesn’t need the phone

6. Can place and receive calls

None of the devices I looked at so far could really do any of those things together. Some did some of the things very well, but none of them did them all. The ability to place and receive calls was the toughest feature that very few fitness or smart watches had at the time - so I was ready to resign myself to taking my phone with me on runs.

Fast forward to the Apple Watch Series 3.

This watch pretty much checked all of the boxes so when it was announced, I ordered one right away.

Have I mentioned that I was a fanboy?

Now I won’t get into the nitty gritty details of the watch; you can get much better reviews from professional technology review sites. I will say that I was able to pair my headphones with it, store my music, pair my heart-rate sensor with it and Strava worked on it - done deal.

The killer feature for me though was the ability to un-tether from my phone when I’m out for a run and still be reached. Why would I want someone to get ahold of me? Because with two little children, you never know if or when you need to get your ass back to the house as soon as possible. For example, one time during a run, my wife called me and told me she had a really bad migraine and needed me to get home. I was able to answer the call and turn around and get home in less than 10 minutes. 

Worth every penny.

An added bonus is that my wife could track me if she wanted to in case she was worried about me on my long runs. 

It’s not all rainbows and unicorns. The battery life isn’t great (lasts about a day). The notifications during my runs can be distracting. I’m not a huge fan of the interface. Not all of the apps work well on it or can be run without the phone nearby.

At the end of the day, as a workout and fitness companion, it more than gets the job done for me. It worked for me but your mileage may vary - just go with what works for you. In the end, just get out there and have fun, gadget or not.

After the Vineyard half marathon, I took a bit of a break from running. The training did a number on my knees and hips and it probably was a good idea to back off from running for a bit at least. However, the thought of going back to a sedimentary lifestyle was terrifying to me so I decided to fill the running void with biking. I dusted off my old road bike and started focusing on riding for a while.

What I didn’t realize is how much i loved being on the bike. Personally, there is a certain freedom while being on it that I don’t get with running. As I put more and more miles on the bike, the thought of a triathlon kept creeping into my mind, except there was one problem...

I FREAKING HATE SWIMMING

Call it an irrational fear, I don’t care; it’s not my thing. I gave it a try and failed. With practice and training, I’m sure I can get over it but I’m not a fan of it right now. So this basically killed any thoughts of a triathlon until i found out that some triathlons also have a duathlon, which is just the running and cycling portion of a triathlon. 

Perfect.

My first attempt at this was on July 29th at the Whaling City Triathlon/Duathlon and let me tell you, it was a blast. The race itself was a ton of fun and it was a beautiful course that went along the coast of New Bedford centering on Fort Tabor. It was well executed and had a ton of friendly volunteers. My two cents; do this race at least once. It’s just a sprint length so none of the legs of the course was overly long. Heck, I even saw an older lady with a RENTAL bike do this. 

As for my thoughts on my first duathlon; overall I felt less prepared for this than I was for my half marathon. The whole running + cycling thing was really just a recent thing I’ve been doing so diving right into an event felt a bit rushed. 

During my training, I focused on running and I focused on cycling but doing them back to back really only happened about 2 weeks before the race itself. These “brick” workouts should have been more of a focus in my training. During the 5k part of the race, which followed the cycling part, my legs felt like jello for about 1.2 miles until they started to feel normal again.

I was also nervous about the transitions (the staging area between events) but I was prepared for that. I read up on all of the USAT rules so i pretty much had that down.

Overall, it was a great event for my first duathlon and I’m pretty hooked now.

After completing the Martha’s Vineyard half marathon, the question that I was asked the most was…

“What are you going to do next?”

Aside from taking it easy for a bit, the answer was actually pretty easy; the Las Vegas Rock 'n’ Roll Half Marathon.

To be honest, I thought this race was going to be my first half marathon. I didn’t think I would be ready by the time the vineyard half came around. This just goes to show that you never know what you’re capable of until you try.

However, one thing that didn’t sit easy with me about running the Vegas half was that taking the time and money to fly out there just to run a race seemed a bit selfish. This was going to cost a fair bit of money and my wife and I would be leaving our kids at home.

I don’t care what people say - Vegas is not a child-friendly vacation spot.

I was actually going to pass on it until I saw that I could participate in this race raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This was what I was looking for, this was my next goal. This gave me the chance to take something that I enjoyed doing and doing something good with it. 

This made my running more than about me.

So now I’m asking the readers of my blog to take a look at what St Jude has done for countless children and their families and see if there’s any amount you can spare to help me raise money for a worthy cause. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart - http://heroes.stjude.org/runningofthenerd

First and foremost I want to thank the great people working on Martha’s Vineyard during the weekend of the half and full marathon. Everyone I met was so helpful and polite. I understand that this is a tourist spot and their livelihood depends on their hospitality but the people I ran into there genuinely went out of their way to help me when I needed it.

Pre-race day.

I arrived on the island the day before the race to pick up my bib and swag. The tent for this was at Waban park, which was also the finish line of the race. There was a single tent with different sections based on your bib number. You had to find your number by looking at this giant printout sheet on a separate table. My suggestion to the organizers is to email the numbers out beforehand to reduce this overhead for some of the runners. After figuring out your number, getting your bib and swag was easy enough - no drama there.

Morning of the race.

Transportation to the starting line from Oak Bluffs, where I was staying, was easy to get to and there seemed to be more than enough buses to shuttle the runners from Oak Bluffs to the high school. Once at the high school though, things seemed to get a bit chaotic. Everyone was packed into the cafeteria or hallways and there seemed to be people standing in lines but not entirely sure why they were in line. Since this was my first race, I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to go next or do next. Luckily everyone there was very nice and I was able to get some pointers from some more seasoned runners.

I headed outside about 20 minutes before the race to warm up and get ready. I wasn’t really sure where the gear drop off was - cue me asking around some more. After finding the truck and dropping off my bag - I was good to go.

The race was broken up into 3 waves; fast runners up front, medium paced runners in wave 2, and yours truly in wave 3. The waves and their pace range were clearly marked so you knew somewhat where you were supposed to be. There were also a ton of pacers with signs there too so you could just find the one with roughly your time and hang out there.

The issue I had with the waves was that it really wasn’t a wave. It seemed as though once the race started it was just a slow push forward to the starting line. It felt a bit like cattle being herded towards an opening in the fence.

Moo….

The race itself.

The race itself was pretty straight forward. Aside from some initial confusion of where to actually run (jogging path or the actual street) everything was clearly marked. There were a ton of water stations staged throughout the course and some of them gave out some gels too. I did notice only one first aid station though but maybe there were more and I just didn’t notice any other ones.

One major annoyance that I found out after the race was over was that the tracking for the runners was not working. I don't know what was wrong but my wife and family weren't able to track me at the designated checkpoints.

At the finish, everything again was clearly marked and there was a ton of food, drinks, and first aid at Waban park. No complaints there. All in all, it was a fairly well organized race.

So would I run it again?

I thought about this long and hard and decided that I would not run this again if the logistics remained the same.

Don’t get me wrong - this is a great race and I would recommend it at least once to other runners because running on the vineyard and along the coast is breathtakingly gorgeous. However, the race is scheduled very early in the tourist season and the weather is likely going to be a game of chance every year. Also, from what everyone tells me, the island doesn’t get to 100% operational capacity until memorial day weekend. At least half of the stores or restaurants had signs saying that they won’t be open until late May.

Now if you’re there to just run the course and go home, then this will probably be fine for you. However, I wanted to make a weekend out of it so I left the island feeling a bit disappointed. I get it though, at the height of tourist season, the cost to block off hotel rooms and other logistics will probably be prohibitively expensive for many people so they had to get in early, which is why I don’t fault the organizers.

However, for me, I ran it and checked off a bucket list item. I don’t think I have a need to run it again myself.

If you haven’t subscribed to my instagram account yet, please check it out to see some of the sights and food I had while there.

Places I would recommend on the vineyard if you do go:

• Martha’s Vineyard Surfside Hotel (Melissa there is awesome)
• The Cardboard Box (amazing dinner and drinks)
• Martha's Vineyard Gourmet Café & Bakery (late night donuts and giant apple fritters)
• Slice of Life (great food and awesome desserts)

Since this blog is called runningofthenerd - I decided it’s finally time to turn the nerd dial up to 11. It’s time to use my agile certifications and hold a retrospective on my first race. Oh yeah - it's about to get nerdy up in this joint.

(cue action music)

In all seriousness, I thought about how I should approach talking about the Martha’s Vineyard Half Marathon and ultimately decided that really there are two topics; my first race and the marathon itself. I felt the best way to go over my first race is to do what I do at work, which is to hold a retrospective on it. 

If you don’t know what this means - consider yourself lucky…

What went well?

I think the easiest thing I can say went well for me was the Hal Higdon training I followed for the past 12+ weeks. I can honestly say that, while the run was tough, I didn’t feel like I couldn’t do it at any point. My body was use to this and fell into a rhythm as soon as the race started for me.

I also felt like I dialed in my nutrition correctly for the race too. I woke up early and had some chia seeds soaked in water, a banana, some pecans, and (of course) a cup of coffee. I didn’t feel hungry or tired at all during the race and I also didn’t feel bloated or uncomfortable either. I’m sure if I had to run more than the 13 miles, I would have had to refuel but I got by without any issues.

Lastly, I felt that my practice run the week before was key in figuring out the logistics for race day. What to wear, which pair of shoes to run with, what to eat, when to eat and other minor details were all ironed out before the day of the race.

I could go on and on about other minor things that worked but these were the major ones I wanted to hit.

What could have gone better?

Right out of the gate, I should have made a list for packing after my practice run. Work got the better of my time and I packed on the fly. This resulted in me forgetting a bunch of stuff and left me feeling a bit grumpy. Luckily, I was able to find the things I forgot to pack at a grocery store, but it was some unnecessary stress that could have been avoided.

Another thing I didn’t plan for was running on anything OTHER than pavement. There was a stretch of the course (about 1/3 of a mile) that was completely sand. I managed to muddle through it but it was something that should have planned for - I mean it’s the vineyard for crying out loud.

Finally, for my next race, I want to look into training programs that incorporate speed and hill training. While my pace was steady, I would have liked it to finished a bit faster. I think I handled hills well but I’m sure I could still use some work in that area too.

What I learned.

A lot of brides to be decide that they want to spend some part of their bachelorette party running a half (or full) marathon. More power to you ladies - I certainly would not have been able to focus on the running with a wedding looming over the horizon but for at least 3 bachelorettes that were there, they were able to knock it out of the park. 

While I didn’t use pacers, I did find the pacer that was roughly my time so I could at least start off with the right tempo. When the race starts off, my adrenaline was naturally trying to push me into sprinting mode and I found that uses the pacers to gauge where I am useful. After the first mile (probably even before then) the crowds start to separate and I was able to start running at my own tempo.

Not everyone tackles hills the same way so if you’re pretty close behind someone, make sure to give yourself some room when a hill comes up. Some people can maintain their tempo but the majority of the people I was behind slowed down significantly and I found myself almost stepping on them. Give yourself some room to pass if necessary.

Drink if you need it. Just become there’s a water stop doesn’t mean you need to get something. Grabbing the water and trying to drink it will likely interrupt your momentum so make sure to use those water stops wisely. During my training I would only stop to get water once and I should have done that too rather than the multiple stops I did during the race. Trust your training young padawan. 

Conclusion

For my first race since the fall of 1999, I have to say it wasn’t bad. I definitely felt like I could have done better but at least I was able to finish, which in the end was my ultimate goal. 

Now, on to the next…

No, it wasn’t the Martha’s Vineyard half marathon that I signed up for - that’s next week.

No, it was my own half marathon. Today I ran 13.1 miles to prove to myself, and my body, that I could.

No cheering spectators on the side of the road.

No closed off roads; I had to share it with cars.

No other runners with the same goal.

No finish line.

No medal at the end.

Just me.

I did this because my nearly year long training has taken me from couch potato to running the longest distance I have ever ran in my life.

I did this because who knows what might happen between now and 5/19 (the date of the vineyard half).

I did this because who knows that might happen during the actual race on the vineyard itself.

My body wanted to quit at mile 10. My mind started to quit at mile 11. But my heart pushed forward.

And I finished. In my mind, I won and nothing can defeat me today.

Except going up and down stairs... stairs are evil...

Man, 13.1 miles is far...

We’ve certainly come a long way in shoe technology compared to the old sandals they wore in Ancient Greece. At least I think they wore sandals... movies are historically accurate right?

I have been trying to find my perfect pair of running shoes and, while nothing I have tried so far has been perfect, they’re still worth taking a look at.

Brooks Men's Ghost 10

This was my first pair of running shoes that I bought when I started to take running more seriously. It’s a neutral shoe with a 12 mm heel-to-toe drop. Overall, I think it’s a really good shoe for the casual runner. It’s very cushiony, which I personally like a lot, and the upper is very breathable. I especially love the roomy toe box which gives my feet a ton of room to spread out.

The reason this pair is no longer part of my everyday running gear is because it’s a bit too heavy for me now and I’m used to running with slightly less of a drop. Again, if I were a bit more of a casual runner, I would think these would be a great pair of shoes. Definitely worth a consideration if you’re looking for a new pair.

Under Armour Men's HOVR Sonic

When the HOVR line first came out, my YouTube feed blew up with reviews of this shoe. At $100 (at the time of this post) it was definitely worth taking a look. It’s a neutral shoe with a 8 mm heal-to-toe drop and was relatively light (compared to my Brooks). I, personally, loved the design of the Sonic and the upper was extremely breathable. In fact, there were days when my feet were a bit too cold because this shoe let in so much air. UA’s big marketing push for this shoe was the energy return and I will admit that it lives up to the claim - it’s definitely very springy.

I’ve put about 120 miles on my pair so far and I really want to like this shoe but the biggest drawback for me is its width. For some reason, the shoe is just really tight on my feet. I’ve played around with the laces and used alternative laces but it feels like my feet sometimes goes off the sole a bit. The toe box is cramped compared to the Brooks (although to be fair you can park a Buick in the Brooks) and has led to some very uncomfortable distance runs. I’ve checked the website and have not (at the posting of this blog entry) seen an option for a wide. My verdict; if you have narrow feet, go for it but otherwise it might be a bit too uncomfortable on longer runs.

New Balance Men's Fresh Foam Zantev2

I actually picked up the Zantes on a whim because I was looking into a pair of shoes with a lower heel-to-toe drop. I swung by my local running store and they had this on sale because it was last year’s model. At first, when I tried to run in them, my reaction was that I didn’t like them because I felt it lacked the cushioning that I’ve grown accustomed to with the Brooks. However, now that I’ve put about 200+ miles on them, I have to say they’re probably closest to being perfect (for me of course). 

They’re light and the upper is very breathable. There’s a lot of flex in the sole when compared to the other two pairs and the toe box didn’t feel as cramped as the HOVR. The foam in the sole could use a bit more energy return but that is probably more of a personal preference than anything else. With a 6 mm heel-to-toe drop, this is the most aggressive offset pair I have to date.  I don’t have an issue using these for long distances so I’m likely going to use this pair for my 1/2 marathon in May.

All products in this review were purchased with my own money and no one has approached me to do a review for them. My thoughts on the products are my own and do not reflect the thoughts or opinions of anyone else.

Links to products may be associated with an affiliate link.

I'm sorry Dave Pete. I'm afraid I can't do that...

I found the best way to motivate me to keep going and stay in shape is to set goals. So in a moment of weakness I decided to sign up for a half marathon in May. 

What did I do…?

At this point, the most I’ve ran in one session is about 5 miles so the thought of running 13 seems borderline impossible. But I’m signed up… they already charged my credit card… no turning back now.

After the reality of the situation set in, I realized I needed to get on a running plan to build up my stamina and run longer distances. I asked around and the common running plan that kept coming up was the Hal Higdon marathon training plan (http://halhigdon.com).

The thing I liked the most about Hal’s training plan is that there are a series of different training options for both a half and full marathon. The plans range from novice to expert.

Available training plans from http://halhigdon.com

I originally thought about using one of the novice plans but since I was able to run 5-ish miles already, I thought those options might be a bit slow for me. Another concern I had for the novice plans is that it had fairly low miles for the majority of the 12 weeks and then in the last few weeks of the plan, I would suddenly be hit by 10+ mile runs. I eventually went with the “Intermediate 1”, which seemed to fit me the best.

Now, this may be just my personality, but once I was on this plan I became a bit obsessed with following it. On days when I wasn’t able to complete the distances or if I didn’t have the best times to run, such as late at night, would end up causing me anxiety - which is the opposite of what I needed out of running.

It wasn’t until about 2/3 through the plan when I realized that it’s okay to miss a day here or there or to replace running with something else like riding my bike. Every once in a while, my body needed a break and I had to listen to it rather than blindly following a training plan.

I think these kinds of plans, whether it is Hal Higdon or any other plan, are great guidelines but they cannot be your only plan. You need to listen to your own body.

Pete, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

The Hal Higdon program was recommended to me by several runner friends. They are not a paid sponsor and my thoughts on his program are my own and do not reflect the thoughts of opinions of anyone else.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first - fitness does not equal athleticism. Someone who is fit does not mean that they’re great at throwing a ball.

Running, in my opinion, was the simplest of my choices.

Note that I said “simplest”. I would never ever say that running was simple. While the barrier to entry could just be a pair of running shoes, in the end, if you want to get serious about it then there is a lot to running that makes it far from being simple.

I actually ran cross country in high school so this contributed to my decision (some may say delusion) to try and challenge myself with running again. I mean, how hard could it be? Hard… really really hard (and pretty ugly too).

Yeah you read that right; 12:37 mile. I’m pretty sure there are many people out there that could walk that pace... on their hands... 

My chest was burning, my stomach had cramps, and I stopped several times. But I finished.

1 mile done.

I wish I could say it got easier the next day but it didn’t. It took a while but eventually did get easier. The more I ran, the easier it got and eventually it got to the point where I know I had to upgrade my gear and, while runnings shoes aren’t cheap exactly, it’s still cheaper than the other things I could have decided to challenge myself with..

So, why running? Because in the end, it’s just me and the road. I can listen to music or just be lost in my thoughts. It gives me an escape from my hectic life.

I think we all need something like that in our lives.