NSV - Running, One Year Later

After I started eating better last September, I read a book called Younger Next Year on the suggestion of a friend. The one thing that I took away from the book is that you should exercise at least six days a week. So, at 280+ lbs I decided that I should take up running (probably not the smartest thing I have done). One year ago this week, I "ran" my first 5km on a treadmill. It was the first time I had run anywhere since high school. I figured 5kms didn't seem that far so why should I start at a shorter distance. It wasn't pretty. It took me 50 minutes, 51 seconds to complete the distance, but I was proud of the fact that I "ran" the whole time.

Fast forward one year, during which time I have kept the running up (and lost about 100lbs in the process), I decided to see how much my running had improved. I put on my iPod and set out to see how fast I could run 5kms. It turns out I have improved a fair bit. I did that 5kms in 22 minutes, 49 seconds. A year ago, I would never have guessed that I would get to where I am or even have the determination to try. In between those two 5km runs, I have run 6 half marathons, and three sprint triathlons and logged about 1,500kms running.

I can't say that the running caused me to lose the weight because you (or at least I) can eat back all the calories burned in minutes, but it has helped. I went from hating running, to tolerating running to actually enjoying running. For those of you at the beginning of your journey, keep it up, it does get better!

Now, I can't wait to see what the next year brings, My new goals include a full marathon and a 70.3 Ironman. After that, who knows...