Re: The Welcome Thread: Both old and new

Don S Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:06 pm

Mrs. Schuey wrote:

Ahhh..thanks for the explanation! What about a TRO against you by Shalane? Stud.

Working on it...any day now I expect to get a call from a lawyer at Dewey Cheatum & Howe law firm.

Mrs. Schuey Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:11 pm

Don S wrote:
Mrs. Schuey wrote:

Ahhh..thanks for the explanation! What about a TRO against you by Shalane? Stud.

Working on it...any day now I expect to get a call from a lawyer at Dewey Cheatum & Howe law firm.

Hahaha! Dewey Cheatum & Howe! The Welcome Thread: Both old and new - Page 3 Rolling

Shalane's a stud. Desiree Davila's a stud too!

Vivian Wed Jun 22, 2011 4:02 pm

I'm Vivian and have been around the old V-team since early 2006. I hated sports and any kind of physical exertion growing up. I was forced to run a mile in high school and I think it took 13 + minutes. When I was 29, my husband Brian and I decided to get fit and I tore out a 5k plan from Runners World and posted it on the fridge. Surprisingly, I enjoyed running so much that I took down the 5k plan and replaced it with a marathon plan. Didn't even tell Brian we were now training for a marathon. He eventually noticed, but decided that a marathon would be a worthy goal (perhaps reluctantly). I didn't train all that consistently but managed to finish in 4:53.

Shortly thereafter, I had my first child. I ran the first three months of pregnancy and then switched to swimming right up until she was born. Although I had intentions of going back to running after the birth, it never seemed to work out. I still worked as a lawyer, didn't have many childcare options, and hurt my back whenever I pushed her in a jogging stroller. As quickly as running had come into my life, running (and any exercise) had fallen away. Another child came 2 years later, and more than 7 years passed before I ran another step.

My father-in-law, who is an avid runner, signed Brian and I up for the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler. When I started training for it, I could barely run 2 miles the first time out. Slowly and consistently, however, I ramped it up and found that I really love to run. After the CB10, I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon--8 years since my first. I followed a training plan consistently and ran a 4:28. Now hooked on running, I made it my goal to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I had a huge gap to bridge, but I had a belief that I could do it. I made large improvements by merely training consistently and training smartly. The advice from this group of people and the camaraderie was invaluable to my improvement as a runner. It took nearly 3 years and 6 training cycles, but I finally qualified for Boston in the fall of 2008 (and ran it in 2010 and 2011). After PRing at 3:41, my training suffered a lot from burn-out, but now I am back and fully committed to pursuing a PR this fall in New York City.

Bob Wed Jun 22, 2011 5:37 pm

Not being a big reader of the blogs, I'm really enjoying hearing everyone's stories. And it's great to see some new blood here, too.

Penelope Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:57 pm

I'm Kathy, and have been on the Hal Higdon boards since 2007, but for the past few years have been less and less active on the boards.

My running career has been really intermittent. I started running around age 13 because my whole immediate family and many extended family members ran regularly, so I figured I'd start, too. Although I like running, I can't say I've fallen in love with it. I ran high school cross country and track and never became very fast because I was constantly injured. In college I more or less stopped running regularly. In medical school I started running regularly, joined the v-team forums, and did 3 marathons and a handful of half marathons. I've always had a tendency to be too busy and take on more than I should, and I struggled with consistency, but I did manage to earn several PRs. Then residency happened, and I tried to keep running, but as it turns out, working 80 hours a week and staying up working for 30 hours in a row every 4th night really wreak havoc on life. My first year, I really tried hard to keep up with running; the 2nd year I didn't try nearly as hard, and this past year, I more or less just gave up. For what it's worth, I ended up giving up a bunch of hobbies during these 3 years in addition to running. I've also developed bad eating habits as well, and am 20 lbs heavier now than I was when I was doing marathons.

I'm 8 days away from finishing residency (last day is June 30th!) and starting July 1, 2011, I am claiming my life, time, hobbies, and fitness back. Even though I was never addicted to running, I do miss it. I miss the fitness and physical well-being, the pushing myself through the difficult runs, the goal-setting, and sharing the ups and downs of running with others here. I miss the adrenaline of races as well.

In July I'm moving to Chicago and starting my career there. I'm horrendously out of shape, and my first goal is just to start running regularly again without injuring myself. Once I get my groove back, I plan to start doing my favorite race distances--10 miles and half marathons. Not sure if I want to get back into marathoning again. That'll be a later decision. For now, I'm just really excited to finish residency and start running regularly again.

Mrs. Schuey Wed Jun 22, 2011 8:06 pm

Kathy, nice to see you around! I remember when you started your residency and it's cool you're done at the end of this month! Where does the time go?? Where will you be in Chicago? Northwestern? Mercy? Rush? Have you found a place up here?

Penelope Wed Jun 22, 2011 8:24 pm

Mrs. Schuey wrote:Kathy, nice to see you around! I remember when you started your residency and it's cool you're done at the end of this month! Where does the time go?? Where will you be in Chicago? Northwestern? Mercy? Rush? Have you found a place up here?

Hey Lisa! It's great to be back! We'll have to catch up.

I don't want to talk too much about work--I'm super excited and want to share everything, but I don't want to leave an internet trail in case patients or employers google me. But I will be at the first hospital of those 3 you listed above. And living in Lincoln Park. I'm a block from the lakefront path and psyched to start running there!

Mark B Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:52 pm

I started running back in high school in the late 1970s, and I've been doing it off and on ever since.

For most of my running life, I just ran without thinking too much about it. About four years ago, I decided to try for a marathon and became a student of running and running physiology. I improved as a runner, thanks in part to following the principles of low heart rate training and weaning myself off hard shell orthotics and stability shoes and learning how to run more naturally. I've even become one of those insufferable Nike Free fans. Wink

I have eight road marathons under my belt, and I think that's enough for now. I'm exploring trail races and would like to work my way up to ultras. I have a trail marathon (Tecumseh) scheduled in December, and that'll be a good start on that path.

Liz R Thu Jun 23, 2011 6:09 am

KMN, maybe you need an alias? Glad to see you back.

Diego Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:03 am

Well, I started running during my sports medicine fellowship because my friend who ran XC for Duke was getting all the attention from my colleagues in LA. So I switched from biking to running. When we moved to Michigan, I needed a goal to keep running. Thus began my marathon career back in 1998. Chicago was my first marathon. Awesome experience!! A few years later I finally BQ'd (the kind of BQ where you have to wait 18 months) but didn't run Boston. Instead, I decided to leave running behind and play 28 and over baseball for 4 years in Vegas. What a blast!

We moved to Tennessee in 2006. I gained way too much weight(15 lbs) and got back into running. I BQ'd again at Rocket City in 2007. The unusual December heat and humidity didn't even bother me. I ran Boston in 2008, but spent too much time having fun with the V-team, the U.S. Oly trials, Fenway, and walked close to 20 miles in two days before the big day. I didn't have a great first Boston Marathon running experience, cruising in with a 3:23 and a nice sunburn on one side of my body.

I spent the next two years running lots, waking up at 4AM to get the runs in, running my first trail race(50K Mountain Mist) in January 2009 without any trail running and then went on to have the best marathon experience ever at Boston in 2009(3:14). I could have run 30 miles that day thanks to the energy of the crowd.

That summer I tried two a day runs at 4AM and lunch several times weekly, pushing my weekly mileage into the 80's and 90's. It worked. My improvement was amazing. On my final 3x1 mile workout before Chicago, I ran 5:45 each mile and knew I was ready. I had the race of my life at Chicago despite the frigid weather and just missed breaking the 3 hour mark. It was a 14 minute PR. Psychologically, however, it was the toughest race I ever ran. Imagine holding 10k effort or being on the redline for the final 24 miles.

I'm just now getting the mental energy back. We also moved to Maine just recently. I will try to break that 3 hour mark sometime in the next year, but Father Time is weighing heavily on me. The broken ankle I suffered last December didn't help much.

The Comrades Marathon is also on the horizon for 2013 or 2014.
I also think I'm going to shoot for running my weight in miles after Boston next year(assuming I re-qualify).

Stay tuned.

Jim(aka Diego)
Year joined the original V-team: 1998

Jeff F Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:01 am

I guess I should post something here. I go by Jeff and began lurking on the V-team boards back in 2006 when I started running. I decided to make a lifestyle change in late 2005 when my father was diagnosed with cancer (thankfully he has fully recovered). I had always rationalized that pushing my lawn mower and walking when I played golf counted as exercise. I decided to buy a pair of running shoes and as they say, the rest is history. I ran my first marathon at Chicago 2006 and to date I have done 14 marathons and 2 ultras. While I have thoroughly enjoyed the road marathons I have completed I am transitioning to more trails and ultras. By starting my running career late in life (I am now 51), I have come to realize the neverending quest for marathon PR's has probably passed and I need to look for other things to keep me motivated. I have found the ultras to be something that provides me with the ultimate mental challenge without having to possess a lot of physical talent.

Welcome to all of the new members to this great group! Without the sharing of knowledge and support from this group I would have never been able to accomplish what I have so far in my short running career.

Alex Kubacki Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:42 am

I'm Alex and was fairly new to the other site. Schuey invited me over here and I'm grateful. I've been running for over 20 years but have only been marathon training for about a year. I've run four marathons since last fall and would never have been able to do it without the advice I've gotten from the people here. It's likely I'd be injured, so thanks and I'm glad to be here.

Nick Morris Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:56 am

Alex Kubacki wrote:I'm Alex and was fairly new to the other site. Schuey invited me over here and I'm grateful. I've been running for over 20 years but have only been marathon training for about a year. I've run four marathons since last fall and would never have been able to do it without the advice I've gotten from the people here. It's likely I'd be injured, so thanks and I'm glad to be here.

Glad to see you made it over here...

Schuey Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:57 am

Sweet glad you made your way over Alex. WELCOME!!

stanton Thu Jun 23, 2011 11:35 am

Hi. I'm Mark Stanton. I live in Washington DC. Haven't been running that long. A few months back I started reading the V-boards, but noticed all the people I'd been following weren't posting. Today I figured out that everyone was here. I'm no running expert, but really enjoy running races, learning and getting inspiration from everyone else's posts.
Background: Born in Kansas City. As a kid I played several sports and spent way too much time participating in competitions. After high school I joined the military and did some running, which I really enjoyed. After getting out of the military and going to graduate school I decided that I wanted to get back to running and the excitement of competition. Although, I'm currently very slow and getting into proper physical condition I look forward to becoming at least marginally competitive at some point.
Look forward to reading everyone's posts again!

healdgator Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:12 pm

Ha! I found you people! I come back and everybody leaves. Wow.

My name is Brian, I run off and on. I have largely (though not completely) been off for about 5-6 months, but in the last 6 weeks or so I have finally gotten going again. Ran CC and track when I was younger and regret not keeping up with it when I would have been in my "prime". "Ran" my first marathon last May at the Flying Pig and it was an unmitigated disaster. I'm back at it again and targeting a marathon in January or February of next year, probably Disney.

I live in Orlando and that affects my training and racing plans, but not as much as football season affects my schedule. Most of my posts will involve football and the mighty Gators in some form or fashion. 3 wins from the national title in baseball!

John Kilpatrick Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:04 pm

Hello all,

I'm a fisheries biologist that lives in SW Georgia - married with a wonderful 5-yr old. Among other things, I spent 6 years in the Navy, got a B.S. from Ball State and finished my M.S. in Fisheries from Virginia Tech (and I LOVE the Hokies!!!) I don't think I have an athletic bone in my body and have always been pretty horrible at sports (last one picked, you know the drill), so running definitely does not come naturally. I lost my father a couple of years ago to colon cancer. He had other health concerns as well, many of which were related to inactivity and being overweight. I decided I did not want to follow the footsteps and began this journey in January of 2010. I started running to lose weight in January of 2010 and found I really enjoyed it. I lost 65 pounds fairly quickly and have been running ever since.

Ran my first everything last year (races and one sprint tri) and did OK at some of them, much to my surprise. I didn't even know what the Boston marathon was until I bought and read Hal's book. Basically, a marathon seemed impossible to me but I really wanted to try it - I have always admired the people like the ones here who make it look easy (I know now it is anything but). Trained through a seemingly never ending string of niggles/small injuries, mostly b/c of a banged up hamstring and at least got to the starting line. I wanted to BQ, but blew up and missed by about 10 minutes (3:29:xx). I signed up for the Augusta half ironman race this fall and have been training for it through this summer. I hope I can continue to improve as a runner and one day maybe break 3:15 or even 3:10.

I am truly grateful to all of you and continue to learn a lot. I don't get to travel a whole lot, but I hope I get to meet some of you one day.

Stephanie Fri Jun 24, 2011 10:06 am

Hi everyone!!

I probably wasn’t all that well known over on the other forum, but I’m glad to have the opportunity to reconnect with so many of you over here. I’m relatively new to running – I got back into it a few years ago after a decade long break from triathlons, and I have been in love ever since. I encountered a major setback last year when I severely injured both of my tibialis anterior muscles – basically made every newbie/training error one could make, but I have come out the other end much, much wiser. Many of you provided me with guidance & support through the very long rehab process I went through and I am grateful for each and every one of you!!

Right now I still tread lightly because of my injury, and I am sooooo much slower than I used to be but 99% of the time I don’t care how slow I have to go now, I’m just thankful I am running again. I nearly went crazy last year and it was Kenny Baldo who reached out to me during the darkest of those days. I even printed out emails from him so I could re-read them whenever I needed to so I could get through those months of pain & no running. This group is wonderful!!

So now I am back and I have registered for a 10k at the end out August and I am crazy pumped for it. My main goal is to run it and not race it… and if I can accomplish that that will be huge for me because I have always prided myself on how I can push myself to the next level and what is better than a race for doing so? Nothing in moderation as they say. Razz

LOL!

I hope to meet many of you one day at a marathon somewhere, maybe Twin Cities or Chicago.

Now I’m off for a run…

Stephanie

Nick Morris Fri Jun 24, 2011 10:48 am

Stephanie O wrote:Hi everyone!!

I probably wasn’t all that well known over on the other forum, but I’m glad to have the opportunity to reconnect with so many of you over here. I’m relatively new to running – I got back into it a few years ago after a decade long break from triathlons, and I have been in love ever since. I encountered a major setback last year when I severely injured both of my tibialis anterior muscles – basically made every newbie/training error one could make, but I have come out the other end much, much wiser. Many of you provided me with guidance & support through the very long rehab process I went through and I am grateful for each and every one of you!!

Right now I still tread lightly because of my injury, and I am sooooo much slower than I used to be but 99% of the time I don’t care how slow I have to go now, I’m just thankful I am running again. I nearly went crazy last year and it was Kenny Baldo who reached out to me during the darkest of those days. I even printed out emails from him so I could re-read them whenever I needed to so I could get through those months of pain & no running. This group is wonderful!!

So now I am back and I have registered for a 10k at the end out August and I am crazy pumped for it. My main goal is to run it and not race it… and if I can accomplish that that will be huge for me because I have always prided myself on how I can push myself to the next level and what is better than a race for doing so? Nothing in moderation as they say. LOL!

I hope to meet many of you one day at a marathon somewhere, maybe Twin Cities or Chicago.

Now I’m off for a run…

Stephanie

Welcome back Stephanie...I am glad to hear that you are getting past the injury(ies) and were able to find us all again. Good luck on your trek back to form!!

gvey Fri Jun 24, 2011 10:56 am

John Kilpatrick wrote:Hello all,

I'm a fisheries biologist that lives in SW Georgia -

Where in SW Georgia? Albany is my hometown.

Jerry Fri Jun 24, 2011 11:12 am

Hello, this is Jerry:

Date	Age	Event Name	Time
12/12/2004	36	Dallas White Rock Marathon	4:15:35
12/11/2005	37	Dallas White Rock Marathon	3:57:30
4/30/2006	38	Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon	3:58:56
1/14/2007	38	Houston Marathon	3:38:35
2/24/2007	39	Fort Worth Cowtown Half Marathon	1:33:25
10/7/2007	39	Chicago Marathon	4:00:30
12/9/2007	39	Dallas White Rock Marathon	3:41:37
2/23/2008	40	Fort Worth Cowtown Half Marathon	1:28:25
11/2/2008	40	New York Marathon	3:32:59
1/18/2009	40	Houston Marathon	3:19:41
4/20/2009	41	Boston Marathon	3:39:12
12/13/2009	41	Dallas White Rock Half Marathon	1:22:17
1/17/2010	41	Houston Marathon	2:58:35
10/10/2010	42	Chicago Marathon	3:06:49
12/4/2010	42	Dallas White Rock Marathon	3:02:22
3/27/2011	43	Rock n Roll Dallas Half Marathon	1:21:43

gvey Fri Jun 24, 2011 11:15 am

I'm Gene. I started running in 2004 and joined Hal's boards shortly thereafter. I haven't been active over there for a couple years, though. I ran a few half and three stand alone marathons, but then drifted into triathlons in 2007. Since then, I've knocked off three full Ironmans and four half Ironmans, along with bunches of sprints and Olympic distance races.

When I first started triathlons, running was my strong point, but it fell behind my biking the last couple of years. This year, though, I've fallen back in love with running and I'm running faster than ever...at 50. I've had two back surgeries and my doctors want me to quit or dramatically reduce my running (even though the injuries were completely unrelated to running), so I'm limiting the amount of long races that I'll do. Maybe a couple stand alone half marys and one or two half Ironmans each year.

I'm glad Mark steered me here, it's good to see a bunch of familiar names/faces.

Mrs. Schuey Fri Jun 24, 2011 12:39 pm

Jerry wrote:Hello, this is Jerry:

Date Age Event Name Time
12/12/2004 36 Dallas White Rock Marathon 4:15:35
12/11/2005 37 Dallas White Rock Marathon 3:57:30
4/30/2006 38 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon 3:58:56
1/14/2007 38 Houston Marathon 3:38:35
2/24/2007 39 Fort Worth Cowtown Half Marathon 1:33:25
10/7/2007 39 Chicago Marathon 4:00:30
12/9/2007 39 Dallas White Rock Marathon 3:41:37
2/23/2008 40 Fort Worth Cowtown Half Marathon 1:28:25
11/2/2008 40 New York Marathon 3:32:59
1/18/2009 40 Houston Marathon 3:19:41
4/20/2009 41 Boston Marathon 3:39:12
12/13/2009 41 Dallas White Rock Half Marathon 1:22:17
1/17/2010 41 Houston Marathon 2:58:35
10/10/2010 42 Chicago Marathon 3:06:49
12/4/2010 42 Dallas White Rock Marathon 3:02:22
3/27/2011 43 Rock n Roll Dallas Half Marathon 1:21:43

Jerry, that was simply awesome. afro

Nick Morris Fri Jun 24, 2011 12:41 pm

Mrs. Schuey wrote:
Jerry wrote:Hello, this is Jerry:

Date Age Event Name Time
12/12/2004 36 Dallas White Rock Marathon 4:15:35
12/11/2005 37 Dallas White Rock Marathon 3:57:30
4/30/2006 38 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon 3:58:56
1/14/2007 38 Houston Marathon 3:38:35
2/24/2007 39 Fort Worth Cowtown Half Marathon 1:33:25
10/7/2007 39 Chicago Marathon 4:00:30
12/9/2007 39 Dallas White Rock Marathon 3:41:37
2/23/2008 40 Fort Worth Cowtown Half Marathon 1:28:25
11/2/2008 40 New York Marathon 3:32:59
1/18/2009 40 Houston Marathon 3:19:41
4/20/2009 41 Boston Marathon 3:39:12
12/13/2009 41 Dallas White Rock Half Marathon 1:22:17
1/17/2010 41 Houston Marathon 2:58:35
10/10/2010 42 Chicago Marathon 3:06:49
12/4/2010 42 Dallas White Rock Marathon 3:02:22
3/27/2011 43 Rock n Roll Dallas Half Marathon 1:21:43

Jerry, that was simply awesome.

It's just Jerry being Jerry... Very Happy

Colleen Fri Jun 24, 2011 3:27 pm

Well gee, I go away for a week and look at how the forum has grown! Awesome!

So, my turn to introduce myself...I'm Colleen, started running back in 2005, ran my first marathon in 2006 (New Jersey) and have been hooked ever since. I was only going to do one marathon and call myself done, but clearly that didn't work out...I've run 10 marathons and probably 20 half marathons since that first one. I still don't feel like I've ever had a really "good" marathon experience. Probably has something to do with the fact that I'm not great about consistently training Embarassed

My first marathon was with Team in Training, and I've now done 6 seasons with that program and will be starting my 7th later this summer. I love my team and no one will ever convince me that charity runners are bad for the sport. I still do a run/walk, although it's got a lot more running now than it did when I started running.

Oh, and I will fight Chas for the title of slowest runner here. As I recall, Chas, the last race we ran together you finished way before me tongue

Outside of running, I used to live in New York City, but now live in Monterey, CA. I love where I live (great weather for running year-round!) but I really do miss having major seasons. I work at a small software company and love my job/company. I'm also an amateur genealogist and when not traveling for marathons, I spend a lot of time traveling around visiting far-flung family members and local archives.

So yeah, that's me...

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