Really It's Been a Year Already?!

I have been running for one whole year. Today marks the day that I officially logged my first tracked run, and to me makes this the anniversary of my running.  When I started out on this journey it was not to become a runner, marathoner, or ultrarunner. It was to because I wanted something more, something better, and I thought that something would be fulfilled in our nations armed services.  You can read about that part of my journey in my first post here and a follow up post here.  Something changed as I started to run and became better, and started to push myself further than I thought. I realized that I already had what I was looking for. I was what I needed and running gave me the confidence I needed to believe in ME again.

When I started out the goal was to lose weight to join the military, and I looked something like this.

 

After a year of running and positive lifestyles changes. I now look like this.

That is around a sixty pound difference, and that isn't the only thing that has changed. My equipment, goals, running, and nutrition have all changed throughout this past year.  I started by just wanting or needing to run a mile straight without  stopping and doing it under 12 minutes. Now I am trying to get my mile to be  7 minutes or less. I started running in what ever I had that would fit and be comfortable, now my gear is taking over many different location in the bedroom and other various locations around the house. The one reason that I know today is my one year of activity is because of  an app for my iPhone. That app is Runkeeper and its corresponding website Runkeeper.com 

As of this mornings run the stats for my first year of my new me are as follows:

349 total activities, the majority being run, along with walking and cycling.

782 miles, I wish it could have been closer to 1000.

118,480 calories burned. which equals approximately 34 pounds lost in just these activities.

Not too bad for my first year considering my first run logged with runkeeper looked something like this. You can click the picture to see it in my runkeeper profile.

 

Today's anniversary  run looks like this. You can click this one too.

 This is quite an improvement over my first one, but this isn't the best that I have got. I know that I can go further and faster. Especially if I am to make my goal of a sub 4hr marathon. Speaking of races, when I started I had no aspirations of racing. I have now done a 10K with a PR of 52:59, a 5K with a PR of 24:02, and am working toward a sub 4 hr marathon. These are just the races I have currently in the works. I am looking at a couple different 50K races along with either a 50M or 100M next year. I was hoping to be able to get my BQ this year, but injuries have set back my training this spring and I don't feel that I am quite ready for a 3hr  marathon, but you never know what will happen on race day. My Boston goal isn't until 2013 but why not try to make it sooner. 

All I know is that this past year has went by so fast, and I can't believe that it really has come and gone. I went from being overweight, out of shape, and dis-connected with my life and family. To being active, a more healthy weight, confidant with me, and enjoying my wife, children, and life again. Running and the obsessive part of my personality has made this possible, along with the support of my beautiful and caring wife Anne. So here's to crushing goals, making new ones, and many more years of the same. You truly can do anything you think that you can do.

- A