10 days from Hyannis Year 5 - the beard is in full effect.

I love Hyannis.  Not convincing enough?

I LOVE HYANNIS.  A little better?

2008 - 4:42:35

I mean, that should be the reason I keep coming back year after year.  It shouldn't have nothing to do with the challenge factor of a New England marathon in winter, or the propensity of endurance runners to always take masochism to the next level.  Right?  Anyway.  Here it is, for the fifth time.  It's hard to believe I've already run 11 marathons, 4 of them in the same place.  Hyannis was my first - perhaps that's the biggest reason to run it year after year - and always helps me set myself straight for the rest of the running year.

I've made the odd little tradition of growing a beard for February just for the race at the end of the month.  I suppose it's largely symbolic to the ruggedness and chaos of the winter...because it is far from tame.  At least it doesn't last long after the marathon.  I'm not sure how acceptable looking like a lost band member of ZZ Top would be in the workplace.

2009 - 3:32:03

My weight has stayed down between 185-190 in the months of January and February.  Considering that these are my hibernation months and my metabolism naturally slows down in the winter, holding steady at this weight is a huge sign of progress for me.  Perhaps there's hope for me to to hit 170 again - that hasn't been done since 2008 and that was when I had less muscle mass.  It's exciting and I hope it will really reflect in my spring and summer running.

My running times - including the easy runs - have stayed amazing fast as well.  I've only run one race since the new year (4.5 miler) but it was far faster than any of the previous years (29:12 compared to 31:31 in '11 and 30:03 in '09).  Unfortunately I have not been able to run the other February races that prep me for Hyannis so I don't have much to go on in terms of speed preparation.

2010 - 3:45:34

My weekly mileage has been consistent this year, too, which has always been a struggle.  I have logged at least 35 miles every week so far, only going below 40 twice since the new year began.  I even logged 50+ last week during my final long run.  That will only help me improve my Hyannis time.

Pretty much the only thing left to do is to slowly start tapering and keep my diet and exercise in balance as I head into the final stretch leading to Hyannis 2012.  Weather is the only thing out of my control at this point, but as many of us know, weather could be the huge factor for a Cape Cod February.

2011 - 3:27:04

To Start Things Off...

Well, here we go. My first post on my first dedicated running blog.

To briefly recap my running history, I've been at this for over 37 months. I've taken part in well over 50 road races, 6 of them full Marathons. It's given me a body I never knew existed, a confidence unmatched by anything else in my life, and a hunger that I hope never goes away. The last three years of my life have been beset by many, many changes but one of the few constants in it has been the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other. Faster and faster.

I'm a far cry from the 300-pound dude with persistent knee pain and an unwillingness to put myself in motion for very long. In that alone, I know I've been an inspiration to many. However the greatest person inspired is the one who started this in the first place - me. The fact that I've accomplished a very difficult task in my life allowed me to break through the barriers I used surround myself with.

I can't say that I did it alone, though. There are quite a few people who have put various levels of encouragement in me at the right times to keep me focused and still continue to do so, but one stands out the most. My running coach and mentor (henceforth known in this blog as "RK") was the one that I lay the credit/blame for what I started back in early October 2006. Being a distance and Marathon runner himself, RK made a near-impossible task much easier to deal with by giving me a new focus every time I hit a certain goal. He knew which buttons to push to get me to the next step, even when he wasn't aware of pushing them. RK made it a mental test just as much as a physical one. If I thought I would skip out on a run, he would go anyway and challenge me to keep up with what he did. "Just completed your loop? Good, go sign up for your first race - a 5-miler." "Good time on your race! Now do a half-marathon." "Want to do a full Marathon? How about one on Cape Cod...in the dead of winter." It does help that I rarely back down from a challenge. RK learned that fact pretty quickly, I think. To this day he still makes sure I'm keeping myself up in the running scheme of things - and to this day I still am.

Speaking of keeping myself up on things, I do hope to provide you all with regular running updates on this blog. Everything from my (almost) daily running route results to road races to interesting stuff about running in general - I should have plenty to post about. Thank you for taking the time to read this first post!