Running Right At It

by Mike on 5/3/2008

in Left Foot, Right Foot, Repeat

At 7:30 this morning I did something I haven’t done since I was in high school, and as far as I can remember, I’ve never done before breakfast.

I ran four miles. In a row. Without stopping.

On purpose.

No, there was no one chasing me. Near the end of February, I had taken the boys to watch a wrestling tournament at Brandon High School. (Yes, the same fateful tournament featured in The Streak.) Watching those matches, I felt some of the old competitive juices flowing again. What if I got back in shape? Could I maybe step back on the mat, reclaim a little bit of what I once had?

The first step was the hardest. I got on my running shoes, went out the door, and ran about two hundred yards before I stopped, wheezing and spent. But somehow, I kept going.

Week after week, I kept going out, building my endurance and distance. I’ve run in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening; in town and on the road; once, I even ran with a hangover. As of today I’ve run more than seventy-five miles in about ten weeks.

What does the future hold? Next week I run my first race, a 5K, with my dad. The week after that, another 5K race.

After that, who knows? More miles.

{ 6 comments }

TheBrad May 3, 2008 at 10:19 pm

What the hell? Sweetie, really, track and field at our age?

*sigh*

Well, have fun. And do let me know when you slip into a singlet and hit the mat.

Krempasky May 3, 2008 at 11:11 pm

That’s awesome, Mike. Good on you.

Mike May 4, 2008 at 1:13 pm

Brad: There will be pictures for high-level donors to the site.

Mike: Thanks!

Dineen May 5, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Who are you and what have you done to my husband? Oh wait, you *are* my husband, just a healthier, fitter, going-to-be-around-a-heckuva lot-longer version. Hot!

George May 6, 2008 at 3:30 am

Prefer running to biking, or are you exercise-platform-agnostic?

Mike May 6, 2008 at 11:13 am

George: I don’t own a bike right now but I do own shoes.

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