My Story:

(Me and Ryan Hall)

I've finally given in completely to the social media lifestyle and have decided to start my own blog, more specifically a running blog.  I started running cross country during my last two years in high school and let's face it; I wasn't very good at it.  I actually started off in high school playing football but was just a little under-sized (under 5 feet tall until sophomore year).  For some unknown reason I took up running and worked tirelessly at it.  My very first 5k in high school was run in just over 24 minutes.  I improved with each race and brought it close to 20 minutes as a senior.  This put me in the "middle of the pack" as a runner.  I couldn't run with the top guys, but wasn't at the bottom either.  Then, I went off to college, and (mostly) stopped running altogether.  I had no motivation to continue running on my own.  I can attribute my resurgence into running to my best friend's (Alex) dad, Serge.  He urged me to run a 5k during Halloween weekend of my Freshman year. A 5k? Please.  I ran the race, with very little training (and mostly treadmill training), and finished just over 22 minutes.  Eh, it could have been worse but the race left me unsatisfied.  My friend's dad beat me and this drove me to schedule a rematch.  During Thanksgiving break we ran a local turkey trot.  I trained for this race and got a PR at the time of 20:32 and barely held off Serge.  During the winter that year, I did very little training but still knew I wanted to return to running in the Spring.  I honestly just wanted do something at the very least to stay in shape.  I think running has always been something I drive myself to do to keep me in shape.  It was that way in high school and early on in college.  After talking with my friend's dad, I agreed to begin training for my 1st half marathon.  He was training for Boston in 2011 and the New Bedford Half Marathon is one of the traditional tune-up races.  I signed up and began training.  Looking back on my training, I could have done better.  I took some days off, missed a long run here and there, but did make it to the start line healthy.  When the gun went off, I cruised to a 6:40 first mile.  It felt easy, almost.  Then 12.1 more miles came after that.  The early hills of the course tore me up and my pace dropped immensely.  I was beaten by a kid that must've been 10 and chased by a vicious dog too (but who hasn't).  I did, however, finish without stopping and was given a shiny medal to show off to all the cool kids.  This helped a little.  It was at this point that running began to take over; it became a lifestyle.  I went to the Boston Marathon expo with my friend's dad and met Ryan Hall! NBD, 2:04 marathoner, top American, etc.    I was hooked.  I ran my next half in May of 2011 and did much better, 1:35. shaving 10 minutes off my time.  I also did the quick math and realized this was exactly half of what I needed to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  My new goal was set: get to Boston in 2012.  To qualify, I needed to run a marathon before the fall and found one at the end of July, the Run Around the Lake Marathon in Lakeville, MA.  Never run a summer marathon, EVER.  This is an experience I do not like to talk about but it has helped me grow and develop as a runner.  I was once told to enjoy your first marathon because you will always remember it.  What a terrible job I did with this one.  I ran 5:06, only 2 hours off my BQ time!  All of my training was wasted, or was it?  Maybe it was the heat on that day (80-90 degrees plus the 100% humidity), I know I started off way too fast, but for some reason it just wasn't my day.  I've always felt that I go through life with my back up against the wall, like I have to prove myself.  This race didn't help this feeling.  I regrouped over the summer and targeted a marathon in the fall, the Bay State Marathon. Do: run fall and spring marathons.  I put all of my efforts into this fall marathon.  I spent less time enjoying life with my friends, doing anything people consider to be "fun" and focused every day on how I could be a better runner.  My training paces got quicker and my confidence built.  I finished the Bay State Marathon in 3:24, earning a 1st place finish in my age group (because people don't run marathons under the age of 19).  I was not aiming for a BQ at Baystate and paced myself very evenly.  I ran negative splits in the race and was quite happy about that!  Fast forward to the present: I now have a number for the Boston Marathon in April.  I often feel terrible about it because I know I did not earn it.  I got in through my running club (shout out to OSAC).  I tell people, when they ask, that I hope to qualify for Boston at Boston.  I don't think they realize how tough a 3:05 marathon is and how close I am or think that I am to getting it.  My next tune-up race is the New Bedford Half Marathon on March 18th.  I'm coming off an injury (IT Band), but would still like to dip under the 1:30 mark and get down into the 1:27-28 range.  I have become obsessed with running.  My dorm room is littered with shoe boxes, runners world magazines, training logs, and laundry nobody wants to go near.  My internet browser's history is filled by flotrack, runnerspace, the baa homepage, and runningwarehouse.  I have learned a few pieces of advice that I wish to share.  #1- People who don't believe in you (doubters), suck.  They're also motivation.  Anyone who has ever told me what I can't do has surfaced in so many of the difficult miles that I have put in.  With this goes all of the old training  advice: strength is a product of struggle (insert any running quote you want here- "Passion is pushing myself when there is no one else around, just me & the road." -Ryan Shay).  #2- Find a good balance.  I know at times that I must be a lot to put up with.  I only talk about running and I know that I talk about my own running way too much with my friends (thanks everyone).  I might not be the best example of finding balance but I have found that I'm at my best when I feel good.  This includes when I spend time with my close friends, when I pass by my family at races, and I hear their encouragement.  I can never thank my sponsors enough: my family and friends.  I really do need your support and encouragement because without it I don't think I could put myself through this every day.  #3- If you want something, go and get it.  If I had listened to anyone who has told me to stop running (shout out to my facebook group), I would not toe the line in Hopkinton come April.  I have big goals for my running future.  After this build-up to Boston, with the logging of 80 mile weeks, with workouts and tempos in the middle of them, I know I'm in the best shape of my life.  I do need to run some shorter races because lately I've grabbed PR's at the 5k, 10k and half while on training runs.  Once I hit the spring and summer I have already set some major goals to reach: 5k- sub 18, 5 miles- under 30, 10k- 37-38 minutes, 10 miles- 1:02, half- 1:23.  As for the marathon, I plan on targeting a fall race and crush the PR I want to set at Boston.  I have a lot of ambition right now and hope I'm into running for the right reasons.  When I run, which is mostly done on my own, I feel a kind of freedom that I experience nowhere else.  It's a feeling that there is nothing else going on in life except for you and the road.  Well, that's enough about me.  I encourage anyone to help me along my way and with my training.  No other blog post will ever be this long so please continue this journey with me.

Run Happy!
David