Amazed by progress

I was thinking on tonight’s run about how far I have come in running. I feel so fortunate to be where I am now. It’s been a long time and I’ve come a long way with the help of some good people….especially over the past year.

I decided to look back at when I started on Strava. My first run was in 2014. I went 2 miles….not bad. I was super slow and couldn’t run the entire time. I would walk every half mile or so. Then two years later I started to be a little more consistent. I would go on a few 1 mile runs per week. It would add up to 5-6 miles per week. Now 6 miles is an everyday easy run.

I don’t say this to brag. If I can do it, anyone can. It just takes consistency and commitment. I used to think running 6 miles was insane. I remember people who ran 6 miles would tell me that 1 to 2 miles was just a warm up. I thought that was nuts. Now I often do 20+ mile runs and people probably think I am crazy. Sometimes it takes me 5-6 miles to get loose and warm up. The point of all this is that you have to start somewhere. Things that may seem crazy today will seem like nothing in the future if you just get started.

I was talking to my buddy Mike (@santa_cruz_mountain_goat) a couple days ago and he said that more than half the challenge is showing up. I like that and agree 100%. Often times all you have to do is show up. Just get to the trail head. Just get your running shoes on. Just get off the couch. Simply show up and you will be surprised what you are capable of.

Here are the details of that first run back in 2014.

P.S. I missed my crown tonight on my run. I thought I had it while I was in the moment. I improved my time from last night by 2 seconds but I missed the crown by 2 seconds. Total sprint was 35 seconds. The record is 34. I honestly don’t know if I can shave another 2 seconds off my time. I’m going to give it another shot though. I have one more of these runs scheduled this week so we will see what I got.