What's it all about?

"I'm Rich, and I'm a runner."

I say that, not as someone who's trying to quit running, but as someone who's having too much fun to want to quit running. But is that accurate? I mean, am I really a runner? I guess I am, but it still comes as a bit of a surprise. Since this is a new blog, I'll start at the beginning. We can write about the present when it becomes the past. Or something.

First, I was born.

Okay, that's too far back. Let's skip forward 40 years. I'd never run any appreciable distance until 2009. I'd been biking to work (13 miles) most days for several years, so I was in reasonably good shape. Still, I was carrying a fair amount of weight around my gut, and I liked to eat and drink. For those reasons, I never stepped on a scale. But I'd suspect I weighed between 180-185. Not awful for a man in his early 40s. But far from svelte.

At Christmas 2008 I found myself on the beach in Florida craving a bit of exercise. They have handy half-mile markers there, and I decided one day to "run" from our basecamp at marker 2.5 to the next marker. It didn't feel so bad. So the next day I did it again.

Now, I don't believe in making New Year's resolutions, because I don't enjoy breaking New Year's resolutions and, let's face it, that's what happens to 'em. But I decided: In 2009, I'd accomplish one thing I'd never done before. Running qualified, so I decided to vow to run a 10K.

Why that distance? No idea. I'd heard of it, I guess, and knew it would be far enough to be challenging, but not so far that I'd collapse and die halfway there. Or, worse perhaps, get frustrated during training and give up.

And training was part of the point. About a month into my preparations, one friend said, "10K? You could run that right now!" And I probably could have, even after very little training. Yet I'd have been forced to walk a lot, and I'd have ached for days, and I'd probably never run again. That wasn't the point. The point was to step up to the start KNOWING I could run a 10K, and then to start out and RUN a 10K.

I worked my way up, adding miles slowly, week by week, until I could run five or six without stopping. I'd selected a race in May (right after my birthday). I knew nothing about the race except that it happened to be near my office, so I knew the neighborhood a bit. That was reason enough. By the time the day arrived, I was confident I could pull the entire 10K -- even the climb (it's called Capitol HILL for a reason) in the final mile. (Final mile? Who laid that course out, anyway?)

And I did it. 10K, 51:50, 8:21 per mile. Like everything else that matters (and much that doesn't) it will live on the Internet forever. http://www.capitolhillclassic.com/old/2009/Results-Men.html

My family gave me a mousepad with photos from the race and a 5K I did a few weeks earlier as a test run, the inaugural W&OD 5K near my house. I'd finished that in 24:46, just under 8 minute pace. http://www.mc-coop.org/wod/20090328.html The mousepad announced "my daddy is a runner," although I wasn't really certain I was.

Still, I kept at it. At some point I noticed that when my hands touched my ribcage, they bumped into bone instead of fat. That was new. I noticed that I was hungrier, but found myself craving oatmeal, chicken and salad greens instead of junk food. On a morning run, I could actually taste how good the oatmeal was going to be. And it never seemed to let me down. Without meaning to, I basically gave up alcohol. There didn't seem to be any point; if I wanted to feel good or relax, all I had to do was run a few miles. It was cheaper, easier and healthier.

So I ran. A 10K in August (was I crazy?). 50:58. That was faster, but still above 8 minuet pace. At some point I started wearing a real runner's watch and clocking my miles. That helped bring my pace up as well. I could tell when I was lagging and when I was pushing it.

By the time I ran the Jingle all the Way 10K in December I not only knew I would finish, I actually set a deadline: finish in less than 50 mins. Running in a cold, damp race was all the encouragement I needed, I guess, as I crossed in 48:10, easily a personal record. The fact there were no hills helped. But so did the fact that I'd been running for a year, and finally felt like a runner.

I've been pushing my times down ever since. 47:10 for the next Capital Hill Classic. 46:46 for the next (and apparently final) Jingle 10K (it's becoming an 8K). I faded to 47:59 in the first annual "Run for the Children" (my wife thinks the shirt says "Run FROM the Children.") But that was a hilly, winding course, so it's a respectable time. Plus my GPS watch (I bought one when I had some extra $ along the way) says I ran 6.4 miles that day. Hum. So that would really be 7:30 pace.

In 2011 I've added more distance without dropping much speed. I ran the Army 10-miler (under an assumed name) in 1:21:03 and the Hershey half marathon (the farthest I've ever run) in 1:43:45 -- under 8 minuet pace http://www.midatlantictiming.com/resultsdetail.php?did=144

And we're up to date.

So why start a blog now? Well, I love to write, and haven't done enough of that lately. Maybe this'll energize me. And I love to run, and maybe this'll help me get through the upcoming winter without losing my edge. If I'm going to write about running, I'll have to be running, no matter how chilly the weather gets. So we'll see.