Dear God Why

First, some background to justify this abomination of a blog:

Awhile back, my younger brother started racing. He started with a half marathon in 2007 and then just went bonkers with this stuff, eventually doing triathlons and full marathons and then last summer he went completely apeshit and did a full Ironman triathlon and then multiple ultra-marathon trail races. Last winter, I got sick of Danny's recent accomplishments threatening what I had thought to be my position as top-dog/most-loved son among my brothers. This is largely a delusion as my older brother Mike has provided three grandkids, so the actual score is Mike: 3, Chris:0, Danny:0. I decided that I was gonna give this racing nonsense a shot, and maybe eventually beat my brother head-to-head in an event. We have yet to compete against each other, but will this summer.

Really, this competitiveness with my brother isn't real, it's more a mile-marker by which I can pace myself, Danny's athletic accomplishments always inspiring me to try something different, longer, faster, etc. Danny has been a massive source of inspiration and confidence for me... his motto is "What One Man Can Do, Another Can Do", while mine is "Well, Shit, if DANNY Can Do It..."

Previously, I had never been a runner, outside of running at the gym on a treadmill here and there. And until just a few years ago, I was in pretty horrible shape. I'd been a semi-active weekend warrior cyclist on and off but I spent most of my twenties working, drinking, smoking, clubbing and playing in bands. I had a great time and wouldn't trade any of those experiences for all the gold in Little John's grill, but when I moved to SF in late 2007, I started to feel the effects of my lifestyle on, well... my life. Even though I was still "having a blast", I also felt shitty all the time, and fell into a pretty serious mental funk. I started slowly cutting back on on my debauchery, signed up for a gym and randomly went to a yoga class. I absolutely loved it, and went again and again, and soon enough, I was at the gym 4+ times a week for yoga, climbing and treadmill and felt great. Who knew?!? It sounds funny, right, but I actually I had that thought. "Whoooooaaaah, taking care of yourself feels good and is FUN too!"

So. In the Spring of 2010, at the tender age of 31, I signed up for the San Francisco Half Marathon, my very first race. While training for the race over the summer, I went to Idaho to watch my brother race in Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Watching him cross the finish line, I silently decided that right after my half marathon, I was going sign up for a triathlon. In less than a year, I have competed in 7 races. In order:

San Francisco Half Marathon - 1:52

Marin County Triathlon (Olympic Distance) - 2:47

Stinson Beach 12K Trail Race

Rodeo Beach 20K Trail Race

Angel Island 16K Trail Race

Kaiser SF Half Marathon - 1:40

Wildflower Long-Course Triathlon (Half-Ironman Distance) - 6:39

I'm 32, a 100% non-smoker (no more "social smoking") and in the best shape of my life. I'm also getting completely addicted to endurance racing. For both of my triathlons, I've trained with Team in Training, an endurance sport-training program which raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The money raised goes to financially assisting those suffering from blood cancers and well as funding research into new treatments. My personal "honoree" whom I fundraise and race in on honor of is Shane Asbery, a friend from high school who, in 2007, died from Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Last fall, I raised over three-thousand dollars! I've also met some really wonderful people in the process.

Upcoming Races:

Big Basin Redwoods 25K Trail Race

Pacifica 30K Trail Race

Run Toto Run (Kansas City,MO) 20-mile Trail Race, running against Danny!

After that? Maybe the SF Full Marathon in late July, maybe Big Kahuna 70.3 Tri in the fall. Maybe I get an injury, maybe I completely burn out, maybe I find something new to obsess about. Who knows?

So, great, I used to party a bunch, and now I'm in shape and stuff. Why the blog?

Well, Danny writes these really entertaining and insightful race reports over here:

http://kill-the-bear.blogspot.com/

And "Well, shit, if DANNY can do it...". I suspect I will fail miserably at providing any humor/inspiration/etc with this blog. It's more for me, than anyone else. Reading Danny's race summaries, I'm somewhat jealous of his writing ability, but more jealous that he has recorded these brief and intense slices of his life. I now wish I had written at least a paragraph on each of my races, just to jot down my thoughts and feelings before they faded, even if they were trivial.

Coming up next: Wildflower 70.3 Race Report