Running History

A little background on my running history, just so you can get to know me. :)

First, I am not, and never have been an athlete, at least as far I'm concerned. And once I looked it up on dictionary.com and got "a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill. " as a definition, I still think that.

One reason I took AF JROTC in High School was so I could get away from gym class, and my previous negative experiences in gym. I ended up spending class half of the year out in the parking lot marching around in circles doing Drill and Ceremonies, but I still think it was a win. :)

Despite not being an athlete, I have done a fair amount of 'formal' running. I ran for a year when I was 10 because it was the only way I could spend time with my Dad (who was in Air Command and Staff College at the time) and to get out of the house. I ran on and off after that up to and through high school, especially when I enlisted in the Army Reserves my Junior year of HS. After that all my running was for the Army.

I ran my only race, a 10k, the Combat Medic Run, at Ft. Sam Houston in TX while I was in Medic school. I was 18 and finished between 44 and 48. Just before I went on Active Duty I ran my best 2 mile PT test ever, 12:30. I normally averaged about a 13:30.

I transferred to the Active Duty Army as an MLRS Fire Direction Specialist and ended up in Kansas with 1st Infantry Division. Our MLRS Battery was the only one in the division, and thus had something to prove. :) Every one of our Battery Commanders was one of those god like marathoners, as well as being over 6'3". We ran like gazelles while I was assigned to 1ID. I walked like mad too. No car meant weekly 5 mile round each leg walks into town to kill some time.

I was transferred to Ft Sill, OK and we ran, but not as far and not as fast. For whatever reason it wasn't as prestigious to be a running unit there. I got out of the Army from Ft. Sill 10 years ago, right on the edge of passing Army PT tests and about to start getting taped because I had broken the upper limit for weight (180 or so). I just didn't care by that point.

I haven't done anything but gradually add weight over the last 10 years. We got a dog 2 years ago and I started walking regularly for the first year, and then my daughter arrived last year, and my walking gradually tapered off too. :(


Kaitlyn has started to walk, and I can barely keep up. It's time to start running again!

Bruce at work is working to start a Marathon Club, and I've always wanted to do one. It provides me with a long term goal to work towards for motivation. So, November 30, 2008. Seattle Marathon