I'm your basic guy with a family and good job just trying to enjoy this screwy world. About a year ago I began the adventure to healthize my life. The last 5 years or so I hadn't been very healthy. A lack of exercise, unchecked eating habits, and a general lazy attitude had caused some health concerns. High blood pressure, gout, and other issues had crept up. Through the last half of 2009 I'd suffered several rough bouts of gout. If you're not familiar with it, you can go to bed fine and wake up unable to walk because of excruciating pain. That was me. I felt like I'd never regain full use of my legs. I started eating healthier, and my feet recovered enough to start thinking about running.
I'd been a cross country runner in high school and loved it. Since then, I'd been an on again off again runner. Maybe it was the lack of a team, life getting in the way, or some other excuse, but I'd get a running bug every few years, do it for a month or so, possibly run a 5K then I'd slack off and quit.
In January 2010, I decided to do something about my health, and was feeling nostalgic about running. I knew that if I did as usual, I would run for a few months and give out. Not this time! I decided on a plan. I wanted to make it a lifestyle change. To make it permanent.
I began running in the dead of winter. Very slow and short at first. But I kept at it. One way was to regain that sense of "team". I wanted a way to connect with other runners. I started reading blogs and decided that would be a good fit. I could connect with others and yet be accountable for myself. So I started this blog with my first entry (link). I wasn't sure how it would go, but here I am, a year later and still going strong.
Thanks to everyone that reads and comments. I appreciate all comments and of course welcome more. Thanks to my friends and family that have encouraged me and helped keep me motivated, and especially my wife Jen, and kids Paige and Connor. Ya'll have been wonderful at accepting my running with its highs and lows, it's exciting events, and absences. Without you I wouldn't have made it.
Thanks and Best Wishes!
James
