It started with a picture
We were almost 6 months into our family growing from three to four, and in the midst of multiple moves before landing into a new home. The first full month after our son Kairos was born was very stressful. My wife had a challenging pregnancy with pre-eclampsia (among a few other things) and despite having a due date of June 1st, we were rushed to do an emergency c-section on the night of April 20th. A full six weeks premature, and Kai being very underweight.
The next 32 days, our (very) little son lived in the Special Care Nursery (also referred to as the NICU), while they ran a battery of tests and worked around the clock to make sure he gained enough weight and was stable enough to come home with us. Prior to this experience, it felt unimaginable to leave one of our children alone in the hospital for any amount of time, but the nurses at Newton-Wellesley were a dream team and we were able to grind it out. Every weekday after work, the three of us would saddle up and come to hug, hold and be with Kai for as long as we could. It was scary at times, and there were lots of unknowns that fluctuated during his time there.
As a result of his early and complicated birth, and us needing to move three times in about 5 months, I was far from my peak athletic physique – to say the least. This picture above was taken a few weeks before we moved to a hotel for a week and then officially into our new home. Despite there being an absolutely adorable baby (I know I’m biased), all I see is how out of shape I am when I see this picture. To be honest, I can’t look at this picture for more than a few seconds without being a bit ashamed. I say that from my relative experience as a former division 1 track and field athlete (hence the decathlete website…) who maintained a very high level of fitness for much longer than virtually all of my non-teammate peers.
Something had to change
Despite my feeling (read: knowing) that I needed to make some changes to my diet and exercise habits, it truthfully did not come for a while. It wasn’t until the winter of 2018 that I started doing anything that resembled running. The real turning point in my motivation came after a group of us at work decided to take part in this “crazy” challenge (dubbed the Frozen Yeti) of running as a team for 30 hours straight… in the WOODS… in FEBRUARY!!! It sounded like imminent death, but at least we would die together.
What made it manageable is that we had a fantastic homebase cabin on the property, it was where we worked (and I lived) and we only had to do ~5 mile loops at a time. We did have to run alone for each loop, and many of those loops were run in the dark in the middle of the night, with snow/ice on the trails. As impressed as I’m sure you are with all of us, we were the only team that was taking part in the event put on by the Trail Animal Running Club (TARC). Every one else was doing this by THEMSELVES…. (insert mind blown emoji here). Side note – if you click the link for TARC’s website I’m actually pictured on the homepage!!! (insert a second mind blown emoji here)
The experience ended up being a bit up and down for me. It was mostly awesome and a total excuse remover for not going for a run ever again, but my knees and conditioning couldn’t hang and I ended up only completing 2/3 of the 5-mile loops I was supposed to do. I was also involved in a highly-debated scenario where I was in hot pursuit of a car in the middle of the night because I got off trail and thought I was following a runner with a headlamp (who was running 30+ mph). I was able to get back on track later, but as all good teammates do… they crucified me after explaining the reason behind my tardiness to the checkpoint.
Ultimately it was the kick in the butt that I needed to get back into shape and return the next time like a phoenix rising from the ashes… (wildly poetic)
So now I’m a trail runner?
Following the Frozen Yeti, I felt fully introduced to running the trails at Hale and started regularly going on 4 and 5 mile runs, getting my legs back and enjoying the “speed hikes”. Growing up my family and I hiked in the White Mountains each summer and I had always liked the physical challenge and the incredible views along the way. At some point after college I had forgotten about how enjoyable hiking and being in the woods could be. It wasn’t until around this time that I was reminded of the joys and beauty of being immersed in nature. Trail running was a great way to spend more time in the natural world and start to feel better about my conditioning.
For years, I had played pickup basketball 2-3 times per week year round, so was in decent shape from that, but running is a different level of conditioning. After graduating college I wanted to continue running but I had consistent knee pains, and had been a sprinter/jumper/hurdler so going for jogs just wasn’t the same. My doctor at the time (note the specific words used…) told me that I should give up on running and switch to a non-impact activity like cycling. I had never had any injury and was in my early to mid 20’s at the time, and immediately realized how unacceptable that response was… on many levels. Fast forward a few years and I was back giving this running thing another go.
To race or not to race
Racing had never been a goal of mine, but the idea of trying new things with running was becoming appealing. A few of us mega-athletes at work decided to try a group lottery to the Falmouth Road Race, and were fortunate enough to get in! I had heard about Falmouth for years, and knew it was a popular race, but as I found out, I had no idea how big it was.
We opted to drive down from Boston the morning of, and come back the same day – which I completely do not recommend. The traffic was horrific in the last few miles getting down there and again afterwards, which left me vowing never to do the race again (very dramatic of me). Because we got there late, and our bus broke down on the way to the starting line, we began in the waaaaaay back of the pack of thousands of runners (11,404 to be exact). To make a long story short, it was a 90 degree day, and I had to zig-zag for virtually all of the 7 miles. For reference they tell you how many people you passed compared to how many passed you and my stats were 3,234 and 103, respectively. It was not very pretty. I was VERY close to passing out after I finished, but I did see Tedy Bruschi so that was cool.
After Falmouth I decided it was time for the big leagues. Since I had excelled so much in my first solo race (mild sarcasm) I thought “why not sign up for a half marathon?” I indeed did that and decided to take on the BAA 1/2 marathon in mid-October with zero experience, plan or really anything. I did exactly three training runs to “build-up” for the race, with a 10+ miler the week before (a distance record for me at the time). I felt ok, so knew I was ready…
I actually ended up doing decent for my expectations, and hit my goal of finishing in under 2 hours (I finished in 1:55:41). What felt like a solid accomplishment turned into a very angry IT band that prevented me from running comfortably for about four months. The most humbling experience was a December run in DC that forced me to take a scooter back for 2 miles, freezing the entire way because I was dressed for a run.
A marathoner is born? Not quite…
Never once during my life did I have a desire to run a marathon. It wasn’t on any dream boards, bucket lists, or anything other than firmly planted in a total lack of interest for me. In all my years of running on track teams from middle school through college, the longest I remembered running at one time was 3 miles – and that felt excessive. I don’t remember exactly what prompted it, but in late 2019 I decided (or maybe was asked) to run the marathon as a fundraiser for the organization I had worked.
I have long been a fan of books about/by Navy Seals and at the time had quickly finished “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins. I’m fairly certain the mindset that I read about so frequently helped me come to the conclusion that I was going to run the marathon specifically because I didn’t want to. It was a bit of a backwards motivation, but also laced with the mentality of a mentor of mine that spoke often about the importance of your children seeing you committed to something and getting after it no matter what. That drive has always resonated with me, and with the blessing of my amazing wife, I was excited to set a lofty public goal and commit to achieving it. As a non-qualifier I had to not only have to train for a marathon (for the first time ever) but also need raise over $8,000 (some organizations require much more). It definitely put my back against the wall, and if you’re interested in that first experience I encourage you to read my post about it.
And now here we are today
It’s taken the completion of 5 marathons (1 being virtual) and almost a year-long running streak to get me to the point were I feel like a runner. Despite my many years of competing in track and field, I never felt like I was a runner – kind of strange, I know…
I know enough wildly talented runners and see minor snapshots of what their training looks like to know that will never be me, or the overwhelming majority of other runners. My aim is to push myself out of my comfort zone each day, each week, each month, each year and do the best I can while also doing the same in my personal and professional lives (life?). I know there are a lot of others like me out there who maybe haven’t taken a leap yet, so just know I’m with you, whenever you are ready.
