Running Marathons

I miss running. Which is sort of weird because I wasn't into running that much when I was a kid. I was into soccer way more. Now, a big part of soccer is running around and chasing the ball and people around but it's not that you are just running. Well, later in life though, after I had moved to the U.S. I stopped playing soccer and needed to do something to stay in shape. One New Year's even party I talked to Jeff's sister and her then-boyfriend who had just run a marathon. I decided that night, that I want to do one too. And I did, 4 to be precise. It's not easy, it's even painful at times during training and the race itself and you are questioning your sanity but once you cross the finish-line you forget about that. What I liked the most about the whole process is that I was in such good condition that I could easily run a 10 miler at any time of the day and feel great afterwards. The 4 marathons I did were:

1. 1999, Silicon Valley Marathon, San Jose, CA; 4 hours 13 minutes (boring course, it's better these days, very hot, bonked super hard)
   


2. 2000, Rock'n Roll Marathon, San Diego, CA; 4 hours 18 minutes (very hot, bonked even harder)
   


3. 2001, Big Sur Marathon, Carmel, CA (my favorite, can't beat the views); 3 hours, 54 minutes
   


4. 2002, SF Chronicle Marathon, San Francisco, CA; 3 hours, 51 minutes
   

The first two were painful and I did not reach my goal to stay under 4 hours. The next two, I ran all the way through without walking. And even though the course profiles for those two are much harder, I managed to get under 4 hours. Not great times, but I am 6'1" and 200 lbs, so not too bad for a clydesdale ... And then, after those 4 I didn't do any more. Why? Well, my wife Sonja and I started having children, we bought a house and work took over a little more than it should have. Whenever I now see an ad for a marathon I get this urge to sign up and train again but I am not quite sure where to find the time without neglecting my wife, the kids and the dog ... I guess I miss running. I am going to have to settle for something less than a marathon. But I should really go running again. If I were to run one again, I would want to break 3 hours 30 minutes.