the introduction

in 2005 i began playing roller derby.  i played on a league called the brewcity bruisers.  i played for 3.5 years before retiring in 2008 for a variety of reasons.  one of which was that the joints in my knees and elbows were getting wrecked.  after all, i was in my 30's and all that wear and tear was taking it's toll.  after derby i tried outside roller skating for awhile but that wasn't really filling the void that derby left.  I gave rock climbing a shot.  i loved that but the whole process of driving 20 minutes to the climbing gym, being there for 3-4 hours, and losing all that time several times a week losts it's luster after about a year.  then i decided to give running a shot.

i started running in march of 2012 at 39 years old (almost 40, september birthday).  however, i didn't consistently run until june of 2012... i consider this when i really began running because all the running i did before that was sporadic at best.  i originally began running to feel closer to my best friend who lives 3,000 miles away and is also a runner.  in time i began to really enjoy the time alone with myself.  i began to enjoy how my body and mind felt after a run.  i came to rely on my runs to create a certain peace that i was unable to replicate in any other way.

when i started running it was really really hard.  i could barely complete the .78 of a mile loop near my house without walking.  i'm competitive by nature so i had no choice but to press on.  i ran that loop nearly every day until i could do it AND breathe at the same time.  i will tell you that i HATED every moment of it.  even tho' i hated it i had to do it.  i had to do it to prove to myself that i could.  then one day it wasn't hard anymore.  i finished that loop and realized that i could keep going if i wanted to... so i did.  i ran 2 miles that day, and every run after that for a long time.  that's when i realized that i liked to run.  i liked how my legs felt and how my mind cleared.  i liked that i could do it and that it was easy.  i liked that my body felt better after i was done and i felt happier.  i liked that i felt stronger and more me.  i liked that there wasn't anything i could think of that was negative about my running experience after i got over the breathing hump.  once the cardio portion fell into place all was well in my running world.  after that i started working on setting goals.

running fulfills me in a way that is immeasurable, undeniable, and necessary for my mental and physical health.  i am passionate about it, and mostly i use this space to record my races, my thoughts on my races, keep track of injuries, as well as anything else that might pop into my head.

two months after i began running i had my first race.

2013 total miles = 1060.58
2014 total miles = 1229.12
2015 total miles = 1029.20
2016 total miles = 752.34 (injured for 8 months of the year)
2017 total miles = 603.3 (still injured)
2018 total miles = 423.3 (still injured)


welcome.