My name is Austin, and I'm living in Portland, OR.
I did Track & Field in high school, but stuck to the sprinting and field events. (The thought of running anything more than a mile just seemed like crazy talk.) I retired from Track after my junior year, and took a couple years off from organized athletics before joining my college's crew team. (I know, I know -- how does running more than a mile seem crazy, but waking up at 4:45am seem normal??) One night, one of my friends/teammates was reading about the Philadelphia Distance Run (now the RNR Philly Half-Marathon) in "Runner's World" and said, "I'm thinking about doing this race with a couple friends. You'll be in Philly. You should join us." I agreed, having no idea what I got myself into. Nor did I have any idea how to properly train for a half-marathon. (In my mind, it really seemed as simple as putting one foot in front of the other.) But in any case, I survived, and fared much better than expected.
Fast forward to June 2007. I was perusing the internet, and came across the website for the Philadelphia Marathon (and no, I have no idea what compelled me to go to their site). When reading the registration page, I discovered that the registration fee would be increasing the next day. Thus, if I wanted to run it, I should sign up that day. So I did what any person browsing the internet after 1 am would do: I signed up. Again, I had no idea what I got myself into, nor did I have any clue about proper training. (I thought that training simply meant running a few times a week, gradually increasing the distance of your runs, and running your longest run about two weeks before Race Day.) By some miracle of God, I survived, and managed to finish in under 4 hours (3:40:29, to be exact).
Since then, I've run more marathons and dozens of other road races, and have learned something about proper training along the way. After three attempts, I finally qualified for the Boston Marathon in October 2013. (Third time's the charm, right?) My next goal? The elusive sub-3 hour marathon. Stick around as I share the lessons I've learned from running, and anecdotes from my pursuit of this lofty goal!
I have to comment on this because once I saw 26.2 for 26th birthday... just had to! I ran my first full marathon ON my 26 birthday! I know I'm not the only one out there who's done that obviously, but it's cool to see someone else has the same thought process :-) I was woefully undertrained and it was the most painful birthday ever. I impulsively jumped from the half to the full about 3 months before race day. Oops!? But still, a great way to celebrate!!!
ReplyDeleteHahaha, that's awesome! Which race was it? For me, it was actually an after-thought. I signed up, and then realized, "Heeey...that's right after my birthday!" PS This reminded me that I need to revise this, since that was about the 2012 Eugene Marathon, and now we're on 2013.
DeleteFrom: Darin Armstrong #TeamLIVESTRONG
ReplyDeleteHello Austin,
Just a quick email to ask if you would be interested in a ‘mutual’ following on twitter. (#FYI I do RT’s ‘ANYTIME’ for all #Triathletes #Cyclists #UltraRunners #Marathoners #FitnessProfessionals who follow me on Twitter and have something important they want mentioned for support…Over 41K folks at your access.) I am currently following you now and am awaiting for your follow-back...
All the very best for the rest of 2013 & beyond Austin. Look forward to hearing from you…
(PS. Austin, should you follow back, I'll be mentioning you in my #FollowFriday mentions this Friday...)
Darin
twitter.com/DarinArmstrong
#TeamLIVESTRONG