ABOUT ME

This is the photo that sparked me to finally lose weight. This was taken Jan. 1, 2004 on a hike to Crabtree Falls in Nelson County, Va.

Here’s the simple story – in 2004 I was preparing to get married. I weighed 220 pounds. I started running. I lost weight. I started a blog in 2007 to detail my journey to completing my first marathon.

The longer story is I grew up being “naturally” athletic. I was “naturally” in shape because I was always on the move. I spent my childhood and teenage summers playing baseball, football and basketball literally on the streets of the neighborhood I grew up in. I played rec league basketball from third grade through my senior year of high school. I ran track in high school (one full season and parts of two indoor track seasons), once logging a 5:45 mile (but still finishing in the back).

Then in my four years of college, I gained a little bit of weight every year. And four years after graduating college I weighed in at 220 pounds — way more than my general average of 160 pounds or so during high school.

This is me after my first half marathon in 2006 in Lynchburg, Va., which was my longest run ever at the time.

So, I lost weight in 2004 and eventually got down to just under 180 pounds — a very healthy weight. In the past six years I have generally stayed under 190, although as you can discover in the “weight” tag, I started off 2010 way too close to 200 pounds, but have gotten things back under control.

Anyway, welcome to my site … this is as much as a running blog as it is my ongoing struggles with weight, or at least that’s what I’m trying to make it.

I often shy away from writing about my weight, but it’s something that’s always in the back of my mind. It’s up to you, my readers, to ask about it and hold me accountable.

I hope you enjoy this site! If you have additional questions or comments, or if you’re interesting in being a guest blogger and doing a Q&A, fill out my Contact form and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

And, lastly, you can follow my regular everyday progress at Daily Mile.

Last updated November 2010

This is one of my favorite post-race photos ever, which was after the 2007 Richmond Marathon.