About
See? No other runners around during my finish at the Palm Springs half marathon Feb. 15, 2009.
I am the only runner I know.
I know of other runners. With all the other runners who show up to races and my lack of winning results, obviously there are other runners out there. But by choice or by ignorance, running is a solo activity for me. I couldn’t tell you an instance when I ran with someone else.
I’m not a great runner, either. If you don’t believe me, check out these race times:
- Nov. 15, 2008 – Get Your Kicks on Route 66 half marathon, Barstow, CA: 1:44:40
- Feb. 7, 2009 – Run for Russ 5K, Chino, CA: 0:19:40
- Feb. 15, 2009 – Palm Springs half marathon, Palm Springs, CA: 1:37:22
- April 19, 2009 – Run through Redlands half marathon, Redlands, CA: 1:49:04
- May 31, 2009 – Rock ‘N’ Roll marathon, San Diego, CA: 4:36:46 (I had some problems there!)
- July 4, 2009 – Claremont Freedom 5K, Claremont, CA: 0:20:04
To be fair, I probably haven’t been doing it long enough. I was a soccer player for 18 years. I still play soccer, but my brain has made that shift to think of its body as a runner.
I got this crazy idea to run a marathon and started training for it in 2005, but when it became unfeasible I let running go altogether. That was a bad idea. Now, it’s been just over a year since I began running consistently again.
After a few races, I’m hooked. I can’t not run anymore, it seems. My wife got upset when my planned month off after my first marathon turned into a week and a half off, but she knew it was bound to happen. So now I’m a full-fledged runner, planning my schedule for the year and surfing the Internet for training tips, throwing out words like “Fartlek” and “lactate threshold.”
Recently, I decided to start writing about my experiences, hence the blog. It’s been neglected for my other blog, The Computer Wore Menace Shoes, but it gets some love every once in awhile. I’m sure there will be things you identify with and things you don’t, but we’re all runners here. OK, it’s not a requirement to be a runner to read this, but it would probably help you enjoy it more.
