An Invitation to Runners Everywhere

Dear Readers (all two of you),

I hope you are enjoying success in your running goals for the year. Slowly but surely I am getting back on track toward my goal of balancing my new(ish) full time job and half marathon training. I still have my sights set on that evasive 1:30:00.

So, getting back to my two whole readers. I’d like to up that number. When I started this blog, I intended it to be a forum for people to share their stories of new encounters and experiences on the road. I’ve done little to promote this. That’s my fault.

Yet this is a new year and a new attempt at making this goal a reality. As I said in my last post: it is all about baby steps. Consider this a baby step. And how appropriate, for what running goal can ever be accomplished without mustering the courage to take that first step?

 

^Zen moment of the day

 

I digress. Here is my invitation to you, loyal readers. As a comment to this post share with me your “firsts” as a runner. This could be the first time you laced up and hit the road or tackled a treadmill (sidenote: my running anniversary is in three days!). You could share the emotions you felt the first time you crossed the finish line in a race, or that sense of accomplishment that accompanied setting a new PR or taming a new distance you once believed was unreachable. Have you used running as a means to raise funds for a charity you care about? Great! Tell me about that experience. One day I want to do that same. If you give me permission to use your comments, I would like to re-post them in the near future.

Lastly, help spread the word on this little venture of mine. Running is truly a community sport. You might run alone, but the weight and support of runners everywhere is behind you. Help me share this little part of my running journey with others. Ok, shameless begging is over now.

Thanks, in advance, for your help. Happy running.

 

Adam

Starting small

I ran through the most beautiful sunset tonight. A picture accompanies this post, though it sadly fails to fully capture the intensity of the red sky and the thrill of having that orange fireball coasting next to me, pacing my run.

I am taking a few minutes out of my grading to write this because I must. If my first year of teaching has taught me anything it is that while air might be necessary for me to survive, running and writing are necessary for me to live. Sadly, I’ve let the former get away from me as I adjust to the gauntlet of full time teaching work. And the latter, well, check out the number of posts I’ve made on this blog in the last year and the latter speaks for itself. I simply have not been writing.

So I am starting small. Just look at that sunset. Trust me: the picture does not do it justice. It was a pleasure to take in that beauty, fill my lungs with the cold air and enjoy the ache that accompanies a good workout.

Starting things small is all about getting the blog back up to a slow crawl. And in a way that is fitting. I started this blog and chose the name with the idea of recording all those first strides I was taking as a runner. Here I am, in my third year hitting the road and the “firsts” just keep on coming. I’m not just talking about first races and first PRs. Each run itself is a first. I can tell you that running with this full time teaching job is a totally new experience. Making time to do the sort of training that was commonplace this time last year is now difficult. In many ways it is like I am learning how to run all over again.

So I’m starting here, writing small, taking it one post at a time, like I was taking it one mile at a time two years ago when I started this crazy sport of distance running. More to come, sooner, rather than later.

I took this the evening of January 16, 2013. The picture does not fully capture the verve of the colors.