Engineered to Run

When I posted the introduction to this series of posts a little over 4 weeks ago, I made two statements that I knew even as I wrote them might turn out to be contradictory: that I was hoping to publish a post every few days, and that I was going to talk about some personal things that would be uncomfortable to write. I posted part 1 a few days after the introduction, and I actually wrote a decent chunk of part 2 just a couple of days later. Then the timeline came to the part of the story where it got uncomfortable for me, and things ground to a halt. I've really struggled with exactly how to write the second half of this post for weeks now, and even as I finish it off today it is extremely difficult for me to actually post it. Ultimately, this is the story that I want to tell. Not because it's overly unique or special, but for exactly the opposite reason. While my struggle is my own, the truth is that we all have our own personal battles. I am a strong believer that the more we...

When non-runners hear that I spend much of my leisure time running for hours and hours on end, the responses typically fall into one of two general categories: "That's really amazing!", or "Why in the world would you do that?" In this post, I'm going to examine that question in two different ways. The first angle pertains to the internal factors that provide my drive and motivation towards running in general. As I move through that idea, the focus will eventually shift to the specifics that contributed to me choosing this particular challenge. The answer to the question, "Why do I run?",  is one I have spent a lot of time thinking about, and even after many hours of contemplation, I'm still not 100% sure of the answer. At the most basic level, I can certainly give some obvious answers. It keeps me in shape and boosts my energy levels, which in turn makes me feel better about myself. It forces me to get outside and enjoy the fresh air, something...

Often when I sit down to write, the hardest part is figuring out exactly where to begin. My last blog post was written almost 11 months ago, and it was part 2 of an intended 3 part series documenting my experience around the 2019 Chicago Marathon. I acknowledged then that I had no idea when part 3 would come, and it turns out that it never did. I sat down and tried to write it on a few occasions, but the words never quite flowed the way I wanted them to. After completing my 100k run this past weekend, I think I understand better why that is: the conclusion to that chapter was really the beginning of this next story, and I wasn't ready to write it partway through the journey. Now that this goal has been completed, I think I'm in the right place for the story to flow. The title I've chosen, "From 0 to 100k", has multiple meanings. At the most basic level, it neatly summarizes the distance that was covered this past Saturday. Taking it a step further, it references t...

I certainly did not intend for there to be three weeks between the posting of Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog, but sometimes life gets in the way. Even with that time gap, this is still a mess and could use some serious editing, so consider yourself warned! If you are seeing this post and haven't read part 1 and would like to, it can be found here: https://engineeredtorun.blogspot.com/2019/10/2019-chicago-marathon-triprace-recap.html Part 2 will now look at the day of the race in detail, as well as a brief recap of the completion of my trip after that. As I mentioned in part 1, I also plan to write a third part at some point that will look at the entire marathon process, from training through the race and lessons learned. At the rate it took to write these first two parts, that one should be done sometime around Christmas! Sunday, October 13, 2019 After getting in bed around 8:00 pm Saturday night, Kiley and I had two totally different sleep experiences. He drifted off almost ...

As I sit down and attempt to recap my experience at the 2019 Chicago Marathon, I find that I have more thoughts in my head than I can reasonably expect to convey in a single post. The build up to this race has been a defining feature of my life for 6 months, and the takeaways from it will influence me well into the future. So, in order to try to make this post somewhat manageable, I'm going to split it into three parts. The first will cover my travel to Chicago and the day before the race. The second will feature the race itself and the day after. Then, at some future time, I will hopefully sit down and take a further dive into my thoughts and feelings on the entire process from start to finish. I will add one warning: this is as much a journal for me as a blog for anyone else. So the level of detail may be a little much at times, especially in discussing the mundane aspects of my travel. So if you only want to read about the race, feel free to skip part 1 and wait for part 2. ...