Thursday, August 10, 2006
Who Am I?
I find myself as a runner constantly being asked some odd questions when the topic of me being a runner comes up, especially when meeting new people. Some of my personal favorites are the ones like: "Don't you get bored?" or "You run how far? At once??" Even better are their reactions after you reply to them. Usually after I tell them how far I run in an average day, I'll get the jaw-dropped, wide-eyed, are you insane? look, followed by a response like, "I don't think I could run 10 steps without getting tired." To be totally honest, these do get a little annoying, especially from those who are trying to make a joke out of it. But when I think about it, it's amusing to me as well. I've just added another person to my list of those who think I am completely nuts.
To an extent, I consider myself nuts as well. But I like it that way and would never want to change that about myself.
Okay, I'll give you a little history into my life as a runner. I began running in the spring of 1999 when I was in 8th grade. I joined the school's track team to stay in shape for basketball. I got addicted quickly and joined the high school cross country team that fall. I ran cross country and track all 4 years of high school (I quit basketball after my sophomore year). I decided to continue running in college and attempted to run cross country at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND. I was certainly in shape for it but injured my hip only a week into practice. It was an injury that kept me from competing for the entire school year. I finally got healthy thanks to a cortisone shot (it was a lifesaver for me) and decided to start training for my first marathon. I transferred schools and began attending the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and joined the cross country team there but ran my first marathon in the middle of the season. I ran 3:10:47 at the 2004 Twin Cities Marathon which qualified me for the Boston Marathon. I decided to go for it and ran the 2005 Boston Marathon. It was not a good race for me, but the great part was that I qualified for it and finished it. I then ran the 2005 Twin Cities Marathon in 3:15:06, a decent time coming off of a tough injury again. I then ran track for UWRF that winter and spring, focusing on the 5K and 10K. It was a lot of fun to be back on a team again and I PRed in 3 different distances over the season. Over this summer, I ran my fourth marathon, Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. Despite the humid conditions I ran a new P.R. of 2:59:01 to finish 128th out of almost 7,000 finishers. It was a great race and it set me up well for the remainder of the summer, in which I am now training for the upcoming fall cross country season.
Of course, my life as a runner isn't just about the races and times I've run. More than anything it's about doing something I love. My life wouldn't be the same without running. When I take a week off of running, I just about lose my mind. There is order in my life when I am running and there is pure joy. Even if I have a bad day, knowing that I am able to run and that God has blessed me to do this each day always puts a smile on my face.
As I post on this blog, I will let you know how my training and racing is going. I will give you insight into my running and just why I do it and why I can't live without it. I will share stories of running memories from over the years and from memories that are created with each new workout that comes along. I tend to be nostalgic at times, so I hope you enjoy a few good stories now and then!
God Bless,
Brandon
To an extent, I consider myself nuts as well. But I like it that way and would never want to change that about myself.
Okay, I'll give you a little history into my life as a runner. I began running in the spring of 1999 when I was in 8th grade. I joined the school's track team to stay in shape for basketball. I got addicted quickly and joined the high school cross country team that fall. I ran cross country and track all 4 years of high school (I quit basketball after my sophomore year). I decided to continue running in college and attempted to run cross country at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND. I was certainly in shape for it but injured my hip only a week into practice. It was an injury that kept me from competing for the entire school year. I finally got healthy thanks to a cortisone shot (it was a lifesaver for me) and decided to start training for my first marathon. I transferred schools and began attending the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and joined the cross country team there but ran my first marathon in the middle of the season. I ran 3:10:47 at the 2004 Twin Cities Marathon which qualified me for the Boston Marathon. I decided to go for it and ran the 2005 Boston Marathon. It was not a good race for me, but the great part was that I qualified for it and finished it. I then ran the 2005 Twin Cities Marathon in 3:15:06, a decent time coming off of a tough injury again. I then ran track for UWRF that winter and spring, focusing on the 5K and 10K. It was a lot of fun to be back on a team again and I PRed in 3 different distances over the season. Over this summer, I ran my fourth marathon, Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. Despite the humid conditions I ran a new P.R. of 2:59:01 to finish 128th out of almost 7,000 finishers. It was a great race and it set me up well for the remainder of the summer, in which I am now training for the upcoming fall cross country season.
Of course, my life as a runner isn't just about the races and times I've run. More than anything it's about doing something I love. My life wouldn't be the same without running. When I take a week off of running, I just about lose my mind. There is order in my life when I am running and there is pure joy. Even if I have a bad day, knowing that I am able to run and that God has blessed me to do this each day always puts a smile on my face.
As I post on this blog, I will let you know how my training and racing is going. I will give you insight into my running and just why I do it and why I can't live without it. I will share stories of running memories from over the years and from memories that are created with each new workout that comes along. I tend to be nostalgic at times, so I hope you enjoy a few good stories now and then!
God Bless,
Brandon
# posted by Brandon @ 12:38 PM 
