Idea that sparked this blog

A quick background for this blog. I thought it would be interesting to document my training for the TC Marathon this fall. I am far from your typical distance runner. You simply do not see a a lot of 235lb+ former o-linemen pounding the pavement.

Every sport I played growing up used running as punishment and if you asked me 5 years ago if I would consider running a marathon, let alone run a block, I would have asked you to stop talking crazy. The only running I would consider doing a year ago was to grab another beer or to the can in emergency situations.

My running history up to this point is as follows: Kelly and I ran a couple of 5k's, a 10k, a 10 mile and a half marathon last summer. With intermittent training, we did okay for rookie runners. Every race was gratifying, but each run caused some internal issues. During each run, Kelly and I would swap complaints about running in general and fatigue which caused some tension between us during the runs. When the race was over, all was good and we had something to share in the accomplishment of completion. Last summer was also a humbling experience during our runs. There is nothing quite like have a 7 year old beat you in a 5k by over 5 minutes or having a 75-year old guy pass you around mile 5 in a 10k. If those two things aren't enough to make you want to throw up, how about having a 70+ year old little old lady keep pace with a couple of former college athletes for an entire 10-mile run? If you know me, you would probably guess what was going through my mind as I hear the PA guy at Canterbury congratulate 7-year old Kyle from Bloomington for finishing the run as I knew we were a good half mile back. Upsetting and humbling all in the same feeling.

Who knows, maybe this summer we can beat most of the Buick driving, hearing impaired, gray haired senior crowd along with the occasional second-grader. Time will only tell.

So, Kelly and I will be paying over $200 to run for 4+ hours this coming October. Seems logical.....