Race update

Before the race updates, I just heard that a BUNCH of twitter faves are coming to Memphis for CLE. How cool is that?

With everything I’ve got coming up this summer (My daughter, Caitlin, is getting married in June, my law partner is getting married in May, we’re travelling to Phoenix for Pat’s Run in April and back to Birmingham in July, along with a first degree murder trial on the horizon) I’ll absolutely make time to meet up.

Local runners, if you have any suggestions, let me know!

Italicized runs are completed. Bold face are paid for.

The Hill and Dale 8 Miler (1/5)

Race 1, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/6)   *

Race 2, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/20)   *

Race 3, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/27)   * If I need to, I can consolidate these three and call them 1 race

Cardinal Run, Brighton, TN (3/16)

5k for Freedom, Arlington, TN (3/30)  Had to skip this one. Too much rain, too much work.

Junior Auxiliary 5k, Atoka, TN (4/6)

Race Judicata, Memphis, TN (4/6) Doubles!!! to top it off, ran the second race with @MissAttyMaam–a nice pace with good company.

Pat’s Run, Tempe, AZ (4/20)

Homewood City Schools Spirit Scamper, Homewood AL  (5/4) ** We’re going to Birmingham for a wedding! Race-based tourism.

Memphis in May 10k (5/17)

Navy 10 Nautical Miler, Millington, TN (6/2)  DAMN THAT SEQUESTRATION They’ve cancelled this run. Kind of leaves me in a bind.

Breakaway Bardog 5k (8/18)

Memphis St. Jude Half Marathon (12/7) ***There’s a big gap between this and the Navy 10 Nautical Miler.

13 in 2013 wont be enough.

I figured I should update.  Italicized races are already done. Bold face races are paid for.

The Hill and Dale 8 Miler (1/5)

Race 1, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/6)   *

Race 2, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/20)   *

Race 3, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/27)   * If I need to, I can consolidate these three and call them 1 race

Cardinal Run, Brighton, TN (3/16)

5k for Freedom, Arlington, TN (3/30)

Junior Auxiliary 5k, Atoka, TN (4/6)

Race Judicata, Memphis, TN (4/6) Yes, I’m running a double. Atoka in the AM, Race Judicata that evening.

Pat’s Run, Tempe, AZ (4/20)

Homewood City Schools Spirit Scamper, Homewood AL  (5/4) ** We’re going to Birmingham for a wedding! Race-based tourism.

Memphis in May 10k (5/17)

Navy 10 Nautical Miler, Millington, TN (6/2)

Breakaway Bardog 5k (8/18)

Memphis St. Jude Half Marathon (12/7) ***There’s a big gap between this and the Navy 10 Nautical Miler.

I’ve paid for a few more, and added 1, but there are still some big gaps. I don’t have anything set for the months of July, September, October or November. I bet I’ll find something.

How I became a Runner

I’ve been running all my life, it seems.  I joined the Marine Corps right out of high school, and the Marines put a pretty high premium on running. We were knocking out at least 3 miles every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. After I left active duty to go to college, I kept up running, just to stay in shape. But I wasn’t a runner.

I developed what I thought were “bad knees.” Running was painful. During my 2005 deployment, I ran, but after I came back, and retired in 2006, I quit running. 5 years passed, and as I mentioned in a previous post, I got fat. I vowed to take up running again, and started the couch to 5k program. But I still wasn’t a runner.

I ran the Grizzly House 5k in December of 2011. But I wasn’t a runner.

I ran the Run Run Reindeer in January of 2012. But I still wasn’t a runner.

In February of 2012, I went to Fort Lauderdale for CLE. Since I was running, I thought it would be fun to sign up for a 5k while I was there. I was feeling pretty proud of myself, and my dedication to running. I had dropped 10 lbs, was feeling cocky, and my family was impressed that I was running and losing weight. Signing up for a race while I was out of town seemed the thing to do to impress them further. But I still wasn’t a runner.

I was going to meet up with some friends from Twitter. @gideonstrumpet and @kreyes were both going to be there, and we made arrangements to get together. Come to find out that Karla was running the Half Marathon the day after my 5k. The evening stretched on.  I walked to the 6:00 AM start line, still carrying the heavy night before. Maybe even just a little queasy. But then, the starting siren. About 1/4 mile into the race, I started feeling “different.” I felt good. I felt light. I felt like I could run forever. I felt like a young Marine pounding out three on Monday morning.

That was the day that I became a runner. I wasn’t running to lose weight. I wasn’t running to impress my family. I wasn’t running for cardio fitness. I was running to run. As bad as I felt walking to the start line, I felt 100 times better crossing the finish line. It wasn’t a pretty race, but I was a runner.

13 in 2013 continued

I’m already off to a good start for my 13 races in 2013. For one thing, I’ve already got a couple of nice ones under my belt. For another, there’s no way this year doesn’t wrap up with the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend.  That race is now an annual event for me.

Here’s what I’ve come up with so far.

The Hill and Dale 8 Miler (1/5)

Race 1, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/6)   *

Race 2, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/20)   *

Race 3, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/27)   * If I need to, I consolidate these three and call them 1 race 🙂

5k for Freedom, Arlington, TN (3/30)

Junior Auxiliary 5k, Atoka, TN (4/6)

Race Judicata, Memphis, TN (4/6) Yes, I’m running a double. Atoka in the AM, Race Judicata that evening.

Pat’s Run, Tempe, AZ (4/20)

Homewood City Schools Spirit Scamper, Homewood AL  (5/4) ** We’re going to Birmingham for a wedding! Race-based tourism.

Memphis in May 10k (5/17)

Navy 10 Nautical Miler, Millington, TN (6/2)

Breakaway Bardog 5k (8/18)

Memphis St. Jude Half Marathon (12/7) ***There’s a big gap between this and the Navy 10 Nautical Miler.

There’s 13 races. But you know, I don’t think it’s going to be enough.  Anyone want to come run with us in the MidSouth?

13 in 2013

SnarkyAtLaw on twitter unwittingly tossed a gauntlet. While she wasn’t throwing it at me, I’ve decided to pick it up and run with it. http://snarkylawyer.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/13-in-2013/

I started running (again) after seeing a picture of myself on Facebook. I was FAT. I had run most all of my adult life, until I just got too busy, too old, too fat, whatever. Anyway, after seeing the picture, back in March of 2011, I decided I was going to get moving again.

I went home, downloaded the couch to 5k app, and signed up for the Grizzly House 5k–Part of the Memphis St. Jude Marathon Weekend. My goal? to finish without having to walk.

That was December, 2011. December, 2012 included finishing (without walking) the St. Jude 1/2 marathon. 13.1 miles. It hasn’t been an easy journey. I’ll update more on that in another post.

Subsequent posts? We’ll see. A list of races for 2013, certainly. A post about how I became a “runner” instead of just running is certainly on tap.