Running as a lifestyle

From an ever-improving sub-3-hour marathon runner in his 40s (me!)

I’m bragging a bit. I’m good at running but I’m not that special. There are folks who’ve run many fast marathons. I only ran two sub-3-hour marathons so far. Last year I ran 2.57 and in May of this year, I improved to 2.49. I also ran a 79 minutes half marathon.

All this improvement happened in the last two years. I had always enjoyed running, but when the pandemic started I began to run more. I started 2020 weighing close to 190 pounds. By the end of the year, I was 155 pounds. At the start of that year, I could run a sub-seven-minute mile but I’d be gassed out. Less than a year and half later I ran 26 miles at 6.25 min/mile pace, winning my age group in a local marathon in Southern California.

Now, a year and a half later I still weigh 155 pounds. I’m forty-two. I think I can run a sub 2.40 marathon within a year. I hope to stay healthy and run for decades.

I do write frequently about the details of my training. In this story though, I wanted to look at my passion for running from a slightly different perspective — that of a lifestyle. Perhaps, some aspiring runners will it find motivating. I’m not claiming by the way that my journey is exemplary. It worked for me but every runner’s journey is unique.

So:

• I run every day. It’s that simple. I do take some rest days (usually Mondays) but the overall habit of running every day is uncompromisable. Nothing can affect my daily runs…