40 Pounds gone and falling

At the end of August in 2010, I was sitting with Josh and Elicia at Buffalo Wild Wings over a tray of hot wings and a tower of Bug Light when I remembered a promise I had made to myself. I was going to run a marathon at the age of 40. Forty is one of those middle ages where guys like to make all sorts of promises to themselves to prove they're not getting older. Instead of dating young girls twenty years my junior, I decided to chase a different dream. I was going to become a world class athlete.

I blame Dean Karnazes really. A friend gave me a copy of his book, CONFESSIONS of a MIDNIGHT RUNNER and I tore through it in one night. Ironically enough, Dean discovered or rediscovered his love of running after a night of debauchery celebrating his thirtieth birthday, and I discovered mine after a night of debauchery where I just didn't like who was looking back at me from the mirror. Dean introduced me to ultra-running, or running distances longer than a marathon and instantly I was hooked.

So I started running. It wasn't easy. Or was it? I ran my first 5K in October and won my age division. Wow! Maybe all my years of drunken athleticism didn't keep me in too bad of shape. By January I was ready for a marathon so I hit the Disney Marathon weekend. Incredible! I was hooked. In February I ran in a 50K, my first ultra-endurance run and finished number one in my age group.

This challenge gave me a new goal. I set my sites on something that was impossible to most. At the age of 40, I discovered I had the makings of a world class athlete, and so this blog, this dream will be shared as I set my sites on BADWATER, a 135 mile trek across Death Valley in July.

Along the way, I hope to virtually train thousands of people to get fit and healthy through running. It's improved my sex life, my mood, the way I look and feel. Forty pounds gone and I have a thirty two inche waist again. Millions of fat middle aged men could benefit from running and even better, it helps boost testosterone naturally. Running can save marriages, it can save lives and it can save sanity. Trust me, I know.