2016 - A Season In Review

With my last race of the year less then 2 days away, it is time to begin reflecting on the past racing season. As you may recall, my focus this year was to lose weight and build my fitness base to better prepare to run a marathon. I did lose a significant amount of weight, about 50 lbs, and I greatly increased my running endurance, but I accomplished so much more then that. 

Usually for a post like this, I would head on over to my Garmin Connect account and pull a bunch of numbers out to post, but I decided to make this post more about the intangibles instead of the tangibles. By this point, you all are aware that I have run, biked, and swam a ridiculous number of miles this year. However, I haven't always done a great job of sharing how I have felt along the way.

Last year I would have described running as a hobby, but this year I would say that it has become a lifestyle. Although I truly believe that anyone who runs can consider themselves a runner, I don't think that I really felt like a runner until this year. From the day my official training started for the year, on February 29, this year just felt different. The prior 2 years I eased into the sport and still had a lot of doubts in my training and preparation for races. This year, my confidence was high and I never once questioned my ability to do it.

Although I'm still not sure if it is a good or bad thing, another difference this year was how much my training and races impacted the rest of my life. From what and when I ate each day, to when we took family trips and visited family, nearly everything was scheduled around training and races. Another change is that it became a family affair as my wife, Erin, trained for and ran her first half marathon. My oldest daughter, Abigail, also ran in her first race at 5 years old.

This year I also completed my first triathlon and loved it. Running will always be my main passion, but the added challenge of working towards mastering 3 disciplines really hooked me. It also helps to take the monotony out of training. As I work on forming my long term goals, my focus has started to shift from road races to triathlons and that has me even more excited.

Another big development of the year is that I started to realize how my story and journey can serve (and for some has already served) as an inspiration to others. From family and friends (both old and new), to coworkers and complete strangers, I have heard from countless people how much they get out of hearing or reading about my story. In fact, I have had 5 individuals ask for my help in getting them started. For something that started out as a very personal and individual journey, it has been very rewarding to both directly and indirectly be helping others. In fact, this is an area that I hope to build on next year. I find that helping others start or work on their journey is something that I am good at and really enjoy doing. Not only that, but working with other people really inspires me to keep working hard myself.

If you would have asked me 5 years ago where I would be today, I probably would have jokingly said "dead". However, with the path I was on, that wouldn't have been far from the truth. I certainly don't have life figured out, but I do feel that I have discovered a big piece of what had been missing from my life and am excited every day for what my future holds. I have some big goals, but am confident that I will meet and exceed every one of them.

This off season I plan to focus heavily on my diet and nutrition as well as strength training while maintaining a fitness base in running, swimming and biking. I have a goal to lose 20 lbs by the time I start training for my next race next winter/spring. I am no different then anyone else in that the holidays and winter make it more difficult to reach these goals, but right now, with what I have accomplished, I feel like anything is possible.

For now though, I have a race on Sunday. It is a marathon relay with 4 other individuals. It may not come with the accolades of some of my other races, but I am really excited for it. It should be a blast and the perfect way to end my racing season.

To everyone out there that is still reading, I want to say thank you. Thank you for taking an interest in my journey and encouraging me along the way. Although this season is ending, there is a new season just around the corner with another set of challenges.