Relationships

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Thank you note to my family, friends, bloggers, runners, etc…

Yesterday was my off day, so I just walked 2 miles and went home to rest.

I thought I would take a moment to say some things about my gratefulness to my family, friends and fellow bloggers who read this blog.  So this isn’t a running blog post for the most part.

I so appreciate the support of my family; my Lovely Wife, kids, mother and brothers.  They are all supportive and caring.

My Lovely Wife, as I have mentioned, has lost a lot of weight and is still working diligently to keep it off.  I know it is a constant battle that I don’t have to face as I can run and keep my weight down most of the time, but with her back problems, she has to do it all through diet and will power!  She has always been supportive of my running.  Even now that it takes about two hours a day to get ready to run, do my run and then cool down outside with the dog, she never complains or makes me feel like I am taking too much time away (I hope that is a good thing :)).  She always tells me to run fast, don’t get hurt and have a good run before I leave.  She comes to most of our races and sits and waits patiently as we prepare, then run and then cool down.  I can’t say enough how much she means to me and how much I appreciate her and her support.  I couldn’t get to where I am today without her.

My kids have been great also.  The ones who run, TJ and RS are always asking me how my runs go and how I am doing.  I really enjoy when we can run together, even though it isn’t often because we all run at different paces, but it is a great time when we can.  My kids who don’t run (yet) BL, JR and HM are also supportive and come to my races and ask me how my running is going.  I am so appreciative of them and their encouragement.

I also appreciate my Mom and brothers who read my blog and are excited as I pass new milestones.  Both my brothers run and though my mother can’t, she is familiar with the sacrifice as my late father and sister were both runners back years ago.  I guess I owe my running to my late father who started it all in his mid 50s.  He just one day got out there in his running shoes and started running.  My siblings followed after and they all ran the Marine Corps Marathon in DC each year.  I do wish my dad and sister could be here to see me run, but they do see I believe.  I couldn’t do it without their inspiration.

Finally, thank you to the blogging / tweeting community of runners and dieters and friends who follow my blog and twitter and encourage me.  I don’t have a Facebook and frankly didn’t tell many people about my blog.  I now have over 70 followers and have had views from over 45 countries.  Quite amazing to me.  I know I can get repetitive with my posts at times, but that is what running is about.  Doing the same thing day after day after day.  Anyway, thank you to all who read my blog, comment and like my posts.  It is very encouraging and give me motivation to improve and move forward.

Okay that is all for today.  I just wanted to take a post and give my gratitude and appreciation for all the support.  I could not be more thankful to have this blog.

Thank you!!!

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Honored to be the First Guest Blogger!

First let me say that I am honored to be the first guest blogger for 278toBoston. Tom’s story is an inspiring one especially since I have been honored to be such a huge part of it. And no, I’m not trying to take credit for his amazing accomplishments. My involvement has strictly been as a spectator for over 50 years, for you see, I’m Tom’s oldest brother.

So let me tell you how Tom’s story has inspired me. I have a long running history having completed 12 marathons between 1988 and 2001. Then life took over, and I didn’t run a step for 10 years. Of course as you can imagine, the lack of exercise along with creeping old age had me also well on the way to obesity, (morbid by some standards).

One day, on one of our weekly telephone conversations, Tom mentioned that he had decided that being old, fat, and tired was no longer going to be an option in his life. While we had all heard this many times before, this time seemed different, and we all know the story from here …. 100 pounds lighter and well on his way to the Boston.

Now why has Tom been such an inspiration to me and hopefully many others?  Well you see if Tom could do it, I figured why couldn’t I. Since Tom started his journey, I’ve lost 50 pounds and am running 4 to 5 times a week. While another marathon may not be in my future, (been there done that), there is one that I will be attending. It’s in Boston, and I won’t even have to qualify. You see I plan to be at the finish line when 278toBoston crosses and completes the first leg of this amazing journey.

Good luck and God’s speed baby brother!

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Keeping a positive attitude after a negative run

Yesterday was another rough run!

It was hot, humid and I was tired.  But rather than going on and on about how difficult my run was, I decided to look to the positive and think of why I am thankful.  I learned from my mom over the years that being positive is always better than being negative.

So here I go…

  • I am thankful that I am able to run.
  • I am thankful that even on hot days, I can come home from work, put on my running shoes and head out the door.
  • I am thankful that my lovely wife and kids encourage me on this journey, even though it takes up more and more time.
  • I am thankful for my mother and brothers and friends who are excited to see my progress with my running and weight loss.
  • I am thankful that I have kids who also run and are excited about it with me.
  • I am thankful for TJ running who runs with me at times.  Without him today, I would have given up much earlier.
  • I am thankful that I have been running for over a year and never gotten hurt.
  • I am thankful that I have gotten a lot of people from work (with family and friends) to run the 5K with me in May.
  • I am thankful that I have lost 100 lbs since the height of my weight gain (and kept it off).
  • I am thankful that I am alive and healthier than I’ve been for most of my life.
  • I am thankful that I have gone from obese to (soon) running marathons in just a couple of years.

Yesterday’s run was hard.  In fact this week has been one hard run after another.  But looking beyond a difficult week,  I am thankful that I can run.  It has been a dream since I was 18 and now 32 years later it is a reality.  I am also thankful for this blog and the people who read it each day.  It has been so rewarding and has helped inspire me to run harder and work to excel in this sport.  I may or may not ever be known to the running community as anyone, but for now, I am thankful that I am a part of this community and for the support of my family, friends, and fellow bloggers and Tweeters.

What are you thankful for?

Think about it the next time you have a rough day at the very thing to which you look forward.  Running has taught me that every up hill I face, there is a down hill coming soon.  Don’t give up.  Just be thankful.

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A new blog name to reflect my story and a thank you!

You may have noticed that I now have a domain name, 278toBoston.com. Of course you can still get to me via runat49.wordpress.com.

Those who follow this blog know that less than two years ago I weighed 278 lbs. I was pre diabetic and on a CPAP. My breathing was so bad while I slept that my oxygen level got down to 60% and I had over 100 times an hour that I would stop breathing for at least 10 seconds. Let’s just say, my life wasn’t going is a good direction health wise. According to my mom, my grandfather died in his mid 50’s from a heart attack and was my same stature and weight.

One day back then I decided to try running which I had tried in the past but always stopped after a month or two. I ran a quarter mile and had to turn around and limp home.

It was truly the grace of God that brought me from there to here. I met the right doctor, I went on the right diet, I started running at the right time, I never had an injury that took more than a day or so to get over. Everything fell into place. Why now? I don’t know. I think it was so that I could appreciate where I came from, the journey to where I am and also look forward to where I am going.

I want to help inspire people with the fact that if I can do this, so can they. I haven’t excelled at much in life. I am average, ordinary and very fortunate to have found the perfect wife for me and to have raised great kids. Their support and, as I said earlier, the grace of God, brought me here.

Where is here? 95 lbs lighter and I run 35 – 45 miles a week. My ultimate goal is to qualify this fall for the Boston Marathon and to one day run the Boston Marathon. All this within just a few years.

I have changed my blog name to “278 to Boston” because that is my journey, vision and goal summed up in 3 words (I guess I should say 3 numbers and two words :)). I want everyone who comes to this blog to know that it is possible in just a few years to go from being obese to running marathons. They can look in the mirror and be thankful. They can get beyond high blood pressure, pre diabetes and high cholesterol and can succeed in becoming a healthy person once again.

If I can do it, anyone can do it!

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog and gives me encouragement. I have only been blogging for a few months, but it has added a whole new level of support to my life.

Finally, I am an IT guy who doesn’t do much social media. I have my reasons. However yesterday I did sign up for a twitter account where I will post articles that I find helpful, inspiring quotes and my daily run log. I hope to link it to my blog when I get a chance, but you can find it at @278toBoston. Catch, huh!

I hope I have encouraged some who read this as I have been encouraged by the blogs I follow and read.

Thank you!

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I’m philosophical about running today

I run because I want to run, not because anyone is making me or because it gives me a great “high”.  I run because my family needs me to live longer than a few more years.  I run because it makes me feel better about myself.  I run because it gets me away for a few minutes with few distractions beyond the neighborhood kids playing football in the yard or the cars that move over to give me room.

I choose to run.

A few days ago I learned that a colleague I had met with several times in another state passed away.  He was much younger than me and probably much smarter than me.  It was a shock, even though I didn’t know him well.  That has made me a bit more philosophical lately.  He was young and very successful in his line of work.  He had a wife.  He was a nice guy, at least from my interactions with him.  What does this have to do with running?

No one knows what will happen tomorrow, today or even in the next minute.  Life is what I make it by the grace and provision of God.

I don’t want to die saying I had no goals.  I don’t want to leave this world at 278 lbs and having a heart attack because I couldn’t spare the time to work out.  A lot of people plan on working out, running, walking or just getting into shape.  I planned on it every day as I approached the 300 lbs mark.  I never knew my grandfather because he died, overweight and in his 50’s.  I don’t want to be that person.  So I run.

Maybe I am a bit introspective today.  I thank God everyday that I get to live and make the choice to stay home, love my lovely wife and be with my kids.  I thank God that I am a 100 lbs lighter today than I was 18 months ago.  I thank God that I can get out each day and run 5-10 miles.  I really don’t enjoy the run, but that isn’t the reason I love running.

I love running because I can run. I have the freedom to run.  I have the health to run.  I can have the freedom and heath to believe that I can qualify for the Boston Marathon next year.

Who knows their future.  I don’t.  I don’t know if I will even be able to write this blog tomorrow.  I THANK GOD that I am able to write this and didn’t pass away this past week.  My colleague probably would have appreciated the same opportunities.  He didn’t get them.

I run for Him.  Good or bad, I am going to make the most of every opportunity.

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Finish Strong

I have written in the past that with running, “The journey is the destination”. That is very true for me. When I run each day, I try to enjoy the journey to keep me from being bored or giving up.

However, in a race the finish line is the destination. During my first half marathon I ran last week, I remember thinking to myself, “pace yourself, but remember that the time you finish with will be what you look back on”. I wanted to “finish strong” and know that I did my best. I did. I look back on my hour and 44 minute finish and think, “wow, how did I do that?” It has been a week and I still am excited about it and it motivates me to go on.

Now however I am in the middle of a two week hiatus from running. I am resting my body and dieting to help get my weight to a place that will make my running easier and less painful. When I ran the half marathon I weighed 195 lbs. That was up from my average of 190 over the past six months. Don’t get me wrong, the run was great and better than I ever imagined I could have done. Just 2 weeks earlier I did a 13 mile run in my neighborhood and was thrilled with a sub 9:00 pace and last week I finished with a sub 8:00 pace. That still amazes me.

Now I am looking at a different finish line. Not a physical race, but a diet race. I don’t want to hurt myself obviously, but I want to loose as much as I can so I can look back and say, “wow, I really stuck to that diet and now I feel so much better”.

Life is a journey and the finish line is death. I want to always improve, grow, mature and finish this race with the grace God has given me since the day I was born. Just like a first half marathon, I only get one chance to live a life that I can look back on as I see the finish line approaching and say, “I have run well. I have helped others. I have accomplished everything I was put here to do”. As I cross the finish line I don’t want any regrets.

I run because my dad ran and my siblings ran and I was lazy and got fat. I run with my dad looking down on me cheering me on. He died almost 8 years ago, but he still influences my life in a positive way. Today is his birthday. Happy birthday dad. My running is my present to you. I hope I will make you proud!

I love my dad even more 8 years after his death. Now you know why I love running.

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Running and marriage

Yesterday I got home late…  Well, later than usual.  I left for work at 5:00 and got home at 5:00.  It was a long day.

I didn’t want to run.

I don’t talk much about my lovely wife on this blog.  She probably wouldn’t want me to and it is about running after all.  She doesn’t run.  Well, she can’t run as she has two ruptured disks in her back.  She finds it hard to walk without pain, let alone run.  Let me say this in regard to her – she is an amazing woman.

We have been married for over 25 years.  We’ve had our ups and downs.  We’ve lived through new life and through the death of a sibling and parent.  But through everything she has always supported my decisions.  What does this have to do with running you ask?

Everything.

My running takes a lot of time.  I guess if I could get faster, it would help, but then I would probably just run further.  Anyway, as I mentioned in the beginning of this post, yesterday was a long day.  I got home and dutifully put on my running clothes and shoes and said goodbye as I headed out the door.  I was so focused on getting my run in before it got too late, I didn’t say much to my lovely wife.  I didn’t kiss her hello.  I came in, got changed and left for an hour run.  However as I left, as she always does, she said, “Have a good run.  Run fast”.

I started running last March and my runs took about 24 minutes a day.  Now they take between 1 – 2 hours.  She could rightfully be upset that it is taking too much time.  She could be upset that I don’t say much between coming home and leaving for my run.  She doesn’t.  She just supports me and makes sure I don’t feel badly for taking the time to run.  She knows it is important to me physically and because of my late father.

I really can’t say more.

I love my wife.