Running....

In August of 2007, my dad told me that he had started to walk (exercise walk). He told me about how great he felt. His cholesterol was pretty bad prior to this, and it just made sense to him. My dad smoked for years, so to hear him say this was quite amazing. You know how when you are a kid and you don't listen to a single thing your parents say? And then, when you get older, you listen and actually hear? (crap I must be getting old). Not sure what it is, but I heard and felt what he was saying and soon after decided to get my fat ass off the couch and start running. It was Labor Day weekend,2007. My first run was a 3 miler along Lakeshore Blvd. in Euclid. It hurt and at the same time, felt good.

You know how people tell you they used to be runners, but their knees or back or something gave? I figured if I was going to pursue this, I better figure out what works and what not to do. I looked up running on line. There is a ton of information out there about it. Half of it, I am not sure I believe. However, my son Tommy's friend's mom, Kathy Gulla and my co-worker/friend Cheryl Link were the ones who pretty much coached me and frankly, gave me some really good advice. They talke about things like the importance of good shoes, stretching, how to run, where to look on the net and in magazines for information, etc., how to increase your runs so as not to hurt oneself, and how to increase speed. Those two gals gave me a wealth of knowledge in the first year.

In September of 2007, I started to run 5 days a week. For the first three months or so, it was about 3 - 3.5 per day. My pace was about a 9 minute mile. Kathy told me several times, that I could do the Columbus Half Marathon with no problem. There wasn't a lot of time to train, so I put my heart into it and ran my ass off until it hurt... but felt really good.

By October 2007, I was running an 8:15 mile on short runs and closer to 8:45 on longer ones.

A little bit about where we live:
Columbus, Ohio is a great place to live and raise a family (not much to see as far as visiting goes, though). It's flat as it comes and there are a HUGE number of runners here. I am not sure how it came to be, but Columbus has many bike paths, but there is one in particular that is just amazing. It runs along the Olentangy River from Delaware County to some place well south of the city for miles and miles. The river is a bit more then a stones throw from our house so it's easy to take advantage of it ( about 200 hundred yards behind us).

One other thing about Columbus. In the third week of October every year, there is the Columbus Marathon. If you have never run a marathon or even a half, then I would HIGHLY advise running Columbus. The Columbus Marathon is Great. It's very flat, but more importantly, there are THOUSANDS of volunteers manning water stations just about ever mile. There are 50 some bands lining the streets (keeping you motivated). The Army National Guard flew over head in 2007 with three Huey's. There are so many people cheering you on. There are volunteers who will actually take your bags (and stuff) from the starting line to the finish line, so you can pick it up after you are done running.

When I started running, I was, 5'9 and almost 200 lbs. (50% of the 200lbs was Great Lakes Brewing Company Beer). While I was running, (on a summer weekend, I easily pass 1000 people on the path) people would run up along side of you and just start talking to you. They would talk about how many races they have been in or how they started running, or the running club they are in. At first, it was kind of weird. I felt like I was being indoctrinated into some kind of cult, but nobody but me was egging me on to join. Getting your fat ass off the couch, feeling good about yourself, really thinking about your life, enjoying the outside, etc. was what pushed me. By the way, one other thing to mention, I love beer. Even after I became a runner, I refused to stop drinking beer (if you want to give me a gift, give me a jug of Barley's Brewing Company Pale Ale or Great Lakes Brewing Companies Burning River). Remember: 1. Everything in moderation, and 2. Beer is good.

While running here in Columbus, there were folks (total strangers) on the bike path who were very encouraging. You want to stop to rest, but they were like "Keep going, just a little bit longer", "Keep up the good work"... so you just continued to run...sucking up the pain and going..maybe just another mile before you rest.
In the third week of October 2007, only 12 weeks after I started to run daily, I ran the half marathon (13.1 miles). I remember thinking about all the people that encouraged me to just keep going, especially all those I encountered on the bike path. The half was awfully difficult; by mile 12, my legs were hurting so bad, but I pushed on.
By the end of the race, I was tearful because I could not believe I did it.

I never noticed runners before I became one. Now that I am one, well, it's extremely difficult not to notice them. There is an indian/asian fellow who lives a few streets away. I noticed that he was pretty heavy when he first started to run and furthermore, was running at a snails pace. But it's amazing to see the same guy a year later, because he has definitely took off a minute per mile since then and he is about 3/4 the size.
Also, there is a tall gal who runs with a doberman pincher past my house almost daily. When I first noticed her running, she was probably running a 14 minute mile and was pear shaped. She was overweight and was working hard at it. I have no idea who she is or where she lives in our area but I know one thing, it's amazing to watch her transformation'; she isn't skinny, but she definitely lost an enormous amount of weight and today probably does a 10 minute mile.

I guess my point in this blog entry is that if you are a runner, a walker, a bicyclist then when you are out on the road doing your thing and see others doing the same, then say hello, even it's a simple wave. It's a good way to encourage others to keep moving forward.
If you are thinking about running, then do it, and don't give up. Get a really GOOD pair of shoes from a running store (where someone will actually fit you with a special shoe). Go to places like www.mapmyrun.com to get distances of your run. If you have kids and no time, then make it while they are sleeping or at school. Running is a great feeling and one that I hope many will experience.

happy running:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6Crvc-dE9rklBbYokdJGHXCkxoXwmxNkUq0iMQzfbPn17aCTjIX-19XRtPIYWHP4AzKoBhHFPU-0tWWCv4HjlL48IRUOCLZhcAzJT8xQzYdOJoRnp1ww1RlUzlJskmn4UEPmePoxq50/s1600-h/papamarathon.jpg

Chuck Kozak