Junior high gym class gave me so much anxiety. The days when I had to run the mile, still haunts me. Here was the kid that “ran” the mile in just over 18 minutes. Never did I think running was going to be in my future, but its crazy the things you can push yourself to do.
After running my first marathon I realized that I really enjoyed running. Loved being out on the open roads, music giving me a beat to run to and the amazing things to see around me just made it so gratifying. Because of this, I ran many half marathons. I knew I could run 13.1 miles and not feel miserable after.
Disneyland quickly became a favorite race because, well, it’s Disneyland. The OC half marathon was great because I basically ran from one mall to the other, making motivation to get there so much better. Running became a part of me.
Nine years ago I moved back to Utah and it was hard. After nine years I still feel like I can’t breath as I am trying to run, but I can. Living here I kept the running bug going: SLC Half, many triathlons and of course the Taylorsville Dayzz 5k. What happened?
Having kids you tend to lose yourself and become solely focused on them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but when you decide you want to get back into the mix it’s a little harder. Age has a factor too. I wasn’t this young twenty-something that could just put on my running shoes and get back on the road.
This week became eye opening at my running ability, like I was back to junior high track days. The mile became an obstacle again. Really, I am just trying to lose weight at this point. Running with all this extra weight is hard on my body. Being active with my kids and not feeling winded from just walking next door to the park is my ultimate goal.
Every morning I am at the gym (you can see it all on my Snapchat: doingitagain) running and working out. But this first mile was difficult. For me, the hard part is just pushing myself through. Thankfully there are apps to help and for me, new workout gear is always effective.
Treadmill running isn’t ideal and I feel the mile has become so much harder to get to than ever before. I will not let it stop me. I have plenty of time to get to my goal, but it’s time to the lifestyle change that my body and family need.
For this next week I plan on:
- Getting to the two mile mark without stopping
- Outside running once a week
- Exercises for muscle tone
- Find better running shoes
Follow along on and show your support with #FitFriday and #ModernDadMarathon on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Let’s support one another and show kids that dads can get off the couch and do hard things. Oh and for the record, I got over that mile mark and pushing myself to the next week goal of two miles a day.
