Runstrong

I never did like running. It always seemed boring. I tried to do it in college. I felt like I looked stupid and couldn't run for more than about ten minutes. I ran about 2 years ago and actually lasted almost 6 months before it got cold and I stopped. Even then I never really loved it. Last Spring I was in kind of a funk and couldn't really figure out what to do with my newly found free time and Katie suggested that I start running again. She thought that I always seemed happy when I was running last.

So I did start running again and this time I haven't stopped. And I finally love it. I really, really enjoy it. I look forward to my runs and I feel bad if I miss one. You may see me running down the road with a goofy smile on my face. All because I never thought I could run and now I am. I never thought I could run for 30 or 40 or 50 minutes, but I have. I never thought I could run 2 miles, but I've run more than 6. The runs that were my long and hard runs two years ago are now my light and easy runs. Plus I have a lot of motivation. I use my experience with cancer, my mom's, and other patients that I've had. Any time I think I can't do it or don't want to do it I think about how blessed I am to have the physical ability to do it.

About one month ago, March 10, 2013 marked my 13th anniversary of cancer survivorship. It was a great day that I capped off with a great run. It's amazing to think of all this extra time I've had and all that I've been blessed with since that day. It was great to push myself and to be active as part of my celebration.

About 2 weeks ago I ran my first 5k since last fall. It was a rather small one out here in Arlington called the 5k for Freedom. It was put on by the University of Memphis Naval ROTC program. I only signed up for it the night before the race because I didn't even know about it. However, I not only set my personal best time, but I also finished first in my age group. My official time was 22:34, although the course measured a little short according to my GPS. Either way I was still first among males aged 31-40 years! I got dog tags as my medal, which you can see down below along with the shirt and my bib number. It was a great day and a great culmination of everything I've been doing. Now that it's spring I'll probably do a couple more races and maybe even move up to a 10k or half marathon in the future!