First, yesterday I did get up Mount Tom again for the second time this week despite not really wanting to do so and it being really humid out in the afternoon. However, since I hadn’t run in the morning and I wouldn’t be able to run last night with getting photos at a graduation. So while it wasn’t fun, I went ahead and did it.
Second, I’ve been tagged by Jeff at http://couchtotrails.blogspot.com/ who was first tagged by Anne at http://run-dmz.blogspot.com/ with the following meme.
The rules, copied from Jeff:
Visit 5 blogs and leave invitations to play, referring others back to your blog for more details. On your own blog, list the five questions and your own answers to them. Also, let the person who has tagged you know when you’re done.
Here are the questions and my responses:
1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?
Non-existent: Ten years ago, I don’t even think I was running. After I graduated high school in 1987, I pretty much stopped running. I had run in cross country up until my senior year, but after I grew tired of coming in last all the time, I quit. Into college, I might have ran a few times, but mostly for a gym class my freshman year. Throughout college and then after college, I began a slide that would see me finally hit a top weight of about 290 pounds (5-foot-7) in late 2003. After Weight Watchers only got me so far, I took up running again and lost 100 pounds…where I’m still hovering after many ups and downs, including a bout with acid reflux and now just I guess what might be called lethargy.
2. What is your best and worst run/race experience?
Worst: Combination of any of the aforementioned cross country races in high school.
Best: Running a personal-best 28-something in the Breakaway 5K in Old Orchard Beach, Maine in August 2004. Super flat course, and in the rain, but felt probably in the best shape of my life then.
3. Why do you run?
In April, I posted this entry: Why I run, from a journal entry back in 2004.
4. What is the best or worst piece of advice you’ve been given about running?
From my cousin Walt, who has participated in several duathlons around the world: Go slow. Build up in small steps.Go slow. Build up in small steps. For example, if you are running 10
miles a week now, don’t try 20 the next. That’s an open invitation to
injury. An injury really slows down your training.
I’ve seen so many runners and wanna-be runners, the latter category of which I’m still a member, burn out with injuries because they’ve gone out too quickly. I belong to an online nutrition and fitness program called SparkPeople and I can’t count the number of people that I’ve read messages from who have tried to do too much in too short a time and then ended up injuring themselves…and then wondered what happened.
5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people know.
I have nothing on Jeff, who is descended from the sister of a real-life 18th century pirate who sailed from Rhode Island to Florida and back…That said, the most surprising thing about myself that many people not know is that
I live in a van down by the river…
…with my wife.
Okay, not really, but for some reason, Chris Farley came to mind today. The full skit can be found here.
As for tagging five others, I’ll be honest, I don’t belong to any online running communities at this point and the only two bloggers with which I’m acquainted are Jeff, who sent me this, and he already tagged the other one I know: 6 AM Running. So now here’s back at you, Jeff.
June 14, 2008 at 10:21 pm |
I enjoyed reading your answers. To have accomplished what you have, building up to essentially trail marathon distance (or more given the elevation changes), is very impressive. I have a long way to go but I would love to do an epic run of that scope someday. One step at a time – right now my body has balked at an 11-miler and an 8-miler the same week.
It seems that this meme is really making the rounds – two of the other people I’ve considered tagging had already been tagged, so I haven’t come up with five “taggees” yet myself, either.
By the way – hilarious SNL skit! Thanks for the link!