Running Towards Fitness

Personal Awareness
The ancient Greeks used to believe that a healthy mind and a healthy body not only went together, but were both critical for happiness and a successful life. They were also intertwined, meaning that a weakness in either area would affect the other. When I started this transformation I was overweight and full of excuses. And by overweight I don't mean just a few pounds - I weighed over 70 pounds more than I do now. I finally took my life into my own hands and started exercising. At the time, I had no idea where it would lead - to a stronger body, a happier, more nimble mind, and a chest full of race medals. Healthy mind, healthy body, indeed! It hasn't been easy, or without issues, but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

Jack’s Generic Triathlon

I’m not sure if this is a good motivation or a sign of lingering pain medication, but a buddy of mine just called me and asked me how I was doing in the gym (among other things).  The answer?  Well, pretty much nothing.  For some reason, got us talking about other activities and this then inspired me to register for my first tri, Jack’s Generic on 9/4.  So its official, I guess.  Now all I have to do is figure out how I’m going to survive the swim.  The good news is that its only 500M, pretty much the shortest tri-swim ever.  The bad news is that I don’t think I’ve swum more than 120M consecutively, ever.

Shrug.  I’ll figure it out.  Or drown.  My money’s on the former, though, and I do have about six weeks to get my non-swimming-self into the pool…  Maybe now that there’s cash paid out for registration I’ll actually do it.

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About

I'm Richard Stanford, a fit, happy runner. Of course, that wasn't always the case. Dip into the archives to follow my progress from couch potato to sub-four hour marathoner.

I also like to cook, write, code, and play with power tools...

Personal Records

DistanceRaceTimePace
Marathon2006 Freescale3:54:078:56
20 Miles2006 RunTex3:00:089:00
30K2005 RunTex2:42:448:45
Half M2006 3M1:42:577:51
20K2005 Decker1:40:428:06
10 Miles2005 Pervasive1:20:138:01
10K2005 Dublin Dr Pepper48:437:51
5 Miles2005 Turkey Trot37:017:24
5K2005 Margarita Run22:327:15
4K2006 Fila Relays17:247:15
1 Mile2006 Congress Ave6:236:23

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2 total comments, leave your comment.
  1. Jay
    Jul 23rd 2006
    5:52 PM

    No problem. You’ve got six whole weeks to start riding your bike again, relearn how to swim, and fit in your running. Should be a snap, eh? :-)

    I’d start sooner rather than later on the whole swimming/cycling issue, though.

    I dig the Generic race t-shirt, by the way. Way cool.

  2. Best of Luck! I’m looking forward to reading about your training.


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Famous Marathon Times

RunnerTimePace
Al Gore4:58:2511:23
Oprah4:29:3010:17
P. Diddy4:14:549:43
Will Ferrell3:56:129:01
George W. Bush3:44:528:35
John Edwards3:30:188:01
Carrie Sapp3:29:067:59
Boston Qualifier3:10:597:17
Lance Armstrong2:59:366:51
Gilbert Tuhabonye2:23:075:28
Paula Radcliffe2:15:255:10
Paul Tegat2:04:554:46

People I Train With

Alex - Addicted to Exercise
Carrie - Tri to be Funny
Erine - Thousand Miles
Frank - Running Blog
Gilbert - Gilbert's Gazelles
Jay - Leotian Blog
Mike - BROTH