HISTORY OF THE RUN (Part 1)

I started to run competitively in 1996.  Prior to that, I truly disliked running.  I gave it a try several times; I just couldn’t embrace it.  I found it boring and time consuming, and since I was in great shape (in a cardiovascular sense), I didn’t see the point.

I’ve played sports my whole life and there has never been a point in time where I have been out of shape.  I began playing basketball when I was 14, and immediately became a “legend in my own mind.”  I picked up tennis when I was 16, and played a good bit with my father, my brother and our next door neighbor (she was number two on the high school tennis team).  After I graduated college, I joined several softball leagues.  I was a terrific pitcher, but I was target practice as a fielder.  It was around 1985 that I joined a gym with the fellas at work, and I began to “hang and bang” at least three times a week.

 It was around 1990 when I started to phase out the organized sports and commit myself exclusively to the gym.  Cardio became a big part of my workout routine, since I was no longer playing hoops, tennis or softball on a regular basis.  I couldn’t handle the treadmill, so I turned my attention to the elliptical machine.  I started out doing 30 minutes; then one hour.  Eventually, I was able to complete two full hours, and that was after a complete workout!

During my time at the Bally’s close to my house, I became friends with Doug Hinsey.  He was a runner and did his best to convince me to run with him.  I resisted at first, but the pressure eventually wore me down.  He had entered a 5K race (3.1 miles) and asked me to run with him.  Since I was doing two hours of cardio in the gym, I wasn’t that intimidated and accepted his invitation.

 The race was the Turkey Trot, which takes place every year on Thanksgiving Day.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, races take place über early in the morning; Doug was at my doorstep to pick me up at 6:15 am.  When we arrived, I was shocked how many people were there to torture themselves before the sun came up.

 I don’t really remember too much about the race itself, except it was way harder than I could have ever imagined.  I might have been in great shape, but I was not in race shape.  I loved the experience and wanted to try it again.  Doug and I entered a 5K the very next weekend (The Jingle Bell Jog), and I was now hooked.  I began to visit the gym less frequently, and started to pound the pavement on a regular basis.  When my membership at Bally’s expired, I decided not to renew it, and thus I made a total commitment to the sport of running.