Forums >Running 101>From a slug to a runner - your story!
Prophet!
I'll give you the short version. I never ran competitively in high school, college or at any other time. Prior to 2006, I had run exactly one organized race -- a 5K -- and I had to take walk breaks to get through it. So I think I certainly qualify as "just anybody."
September 2005: At age 38 (semi-late in the game ), height 5'9", I weigh 200 pounds. I'm wearing size 38 jeans and I'm at least 40 pounds overweight. I'm so out of shape that I don't even bother running for the first few weeks and ride the stationary bike instead. When I do run, I'm running maybe 15-20 miles per week, and I'm taking walk breaks every 6-7 minutes. My early running paces are in the 12:00/m to 13:00/m range.
October 2006 (13 months later): At age 39, height 5'9", I weigh 156 pounds. I'm wearing size 32 jeans and my weight has been steady for over eight months. My recent training has been in the 50-60 miles per week range. On 10/22/06, I run my first marathon (Chicago) in a time of 3:29:40 and an average pace of 8:00/m.
Admittedly, I'm no prodigy; there aren't any trophies or ribbons in my running future. I'm just an average joe who one day decided to get off the couch ... and ended up running a sub-3:30 marathon.
----------------------------------------------------------
Seeing as this thread gets bumped from time-to-time, I figured I would update my slug-to-runner tale...
October 2008 (3 years later): At age 41, I'm healthier and fitter than I've been in my life. I have run over 2000 miles/year the last two years. In Summer 2008, I've been training an average of 80 miles/week, peaking at over 100 miles/week. On 10/4/2008, I run my fourth marathon in a time of 3:14:37 and an average pace of 7:26/m. I have qualified for the Boston Marathon (with a six minute cushion).
Its important to note that even though my first marathon was only 10 minutes away from a BQ, it took me two years and three more tries before I finally got it done. Progress comes in fits and starts, but it does eventually come if you stay persistent.
Oh, and that part I wrote above in 2007 about "no trophies or ribbons in my running future"? A bit pessimistic, as it turns out. I've actually won two age-group medals, one in a race with over 1000 runners, the other in a race with over 500 runners.
How To Run a Marathon: Step 1 - start running. There is no Step 2.
Derek
Professional Noob
Roads were made for journeys...
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Slow-smooth-fast
"I've been following Eddy's improvement over the last two years on this site, and it's been pretty dang solid. Sure the weekly mileage has been up and down, but over the long haul he's getting out the door and has turned himself into quite a runner. He's only now just figuring out his potential. Consistency in running is measured in years, not weeks. And over the last couple of years, Eddy's made great strides" Jeff 14 Jan 2009
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away...(unkown) • Go With The Flow • Thyroid Support Group
To paraphrase an old poster: Today is the first day of the rest of your training. It doesn’t matter where you started or how far you’ve come. Today is the day. Your training didn’t start 6 weeks ago. Your training started the last time you hit the road. John “the Penguin” Bingham Life is not tried, it is merely survived if you're standing outside the fire