Intro

This is my second attempt at blogging.  The first time lasted about one post, which I deleted.  But since then, I've undergone a transformation that might be more fun to write about and read about.  In 2011, I turned 31 and was a proud parent of two beautiful children.  Hanging out with them and my amazing wife was all I did.  My daughter was born in 2008, and since then I started to pack on the pounds.  I graduated from high school at 185 pounds in 1998, but by the time I was turning 31, I was tipping the scales at nearly 270 pounds.  I think 268 is the highest number I ever saw on the scale, which actually didn't alarm me.  I took pride in being a great dad and thought I was just like all of the other dads out there, getting a beer gut along the way. 

I guess it was time to make a change, but I didn't know it at the time.  It was 2011 and for years my wife had been running.  She started like many, entering 5K and 10K races.  In 2007, she ran her first half marathon - The Flying Pig.  In 2010, I started a new job and one of the guys there was a hardcore runner, often telling me how much he loved it.  I guess I was listening to him subconsciously, and watching my wife run day after day.  But the final blow to my couch potato days was a little fun run in Loveland, Ohio, called the Loveland Amazing Race.

My wife entered the race in 2010 with a co-worker, and raved about it.  The race is a mix of running and biking with Amazing Race (TV show) like challenges scattered throughout.  For 2011, they registered to be a team again, but the co-worker could not make it and my wife needed a new teammate.  Without much thought, I agreed.  But I didn't change anything and continued to "couch".

My wife can be competitive at times, one day told me that if I wanted to be her partner I needed to start training.  That was it.  That is the thing that got me off the "couch", that one moment.  For some reason, she got my attention.  I didn't want to disappoint her.  I started small, barely able to run half a mile, but over time it got easier.  I eventually got up to about a 5K by the time the Loveland Amazing Race 2011 came around.  We actually did pretty well, though I had to walk often.  Not only did we do fairly well, but I absolutely loved it.  I hung around some of her earlier races, so I'd seen it before in passing.  But there is a camaraderie before, during, and after these kinds of races that I'd never been a part of before.  Now I was part of it, and I was hooked.  I kept running and never looked back.

Fast forward to today, December 2012, and I've come pretty far.  I'm down about 40 to 45 pounds, depending on the day.  My legs have never been so muscular, and I feel fantastic.  In the last year and a half, we've run the Loveland Amazing Race twice (finishing in the top 10% in 2012 and we're registered for 2013), I ran the 2011 Bohlke 5K in Hyde Park, I've raced Morgan's Little Miami Triathlon three times (canoe or kayak 6 miles, then run 5.5 miles, climb "Killer Hill", then bike 18 miles - my favorite race of any I've done, put on each spring and fall near Lebanon, Ohio, I love it!), I ran the 2012 Mini Heart Half Marathon, a Tap'n'Run 4K, a Warrior Dash, the 2012 Air Force Half Marathon, the 2012 Flying Pig Half Marathon, and my most recent race was the 2012 Columbus Full Marathon.  I think that's all of them.  I finished 9 races in 2012, and 3 in 2011.  I'm already registered for three races in 2013 (Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash, and Amazing Race - which is moving from Loveland to Milford for 2013). 

This blog will focus on my exercise and racing mostly.  But I think diet and nutrition is just as important, so I'll include it briefly as well.  I track all of my exercise and race results in Excel, but this blog might be a fun way to expand on that and look back at my progress.  So, if this blog goes unread by everyone, that's fine because I'll enjoy reliving the early morning runs or weekend races.  And if someone reads this and it helps get them "off the couch", then this is the least I can do.  I think this will be fun to do.  I hope you enjoy it.

Above photo: Jan 2010 when my son was born

Below photo: After finishing the Columbus Marathon Oct 2012