I'm Nathan

Hello world, my name is Nathan and I have been suckered into this running thing by the other three clowns who own and operate this blog. Do I run, yes. Do I like to, yes. Do I have time to tell you about it, yes, but I don't really want to, but I will for the good of the order.

I have been a runner since about 12th grade. I started running because when I looked at my stomach it reminded me of the wave pool at Waterland and I didn't like that. So, one day I went outside and ran about 1/2 a mile. I hated it, and vowed to never do it again, but since I have an addictive personality, I went out the next day and ran another 1/2 mile. This would continue for the better part of the semester. Before I knew it, I had shed approximately 50 pounds and decided it was something I not only enjoyed, but was addicted to.

Addicted you ask, yes, addicted. A true addiction too. It was so bad that I would actually turn down going out to run if I hadn't had the opportunity to get one in yet. Yea, I was a gigantic loser, although not literally gigantic anymore...since I started running.

My competitive running career is not great, or illustrious like some others on this blog, however I have competed in 4 1/2 marathons, and several 5 & 10k's. No records have been broken or anything like that, but I've maintained an average pace in the 1/2 marathons of about 7:30/mile on all but one. On that one, I ran with my current girlfriend who was participating in her first ever race. Not her first ever half, her first ever race. Before we trained together for the St. Jude 1/2 marathon she had never run, so I promised I would run this one with her all the way until the finish. We actually did better than I expected and ran the 1/2 at about a 9 minute pace throughout. In my opinion, not too bad of a pace for someone who had never run a competitive race and who had run 13.1 miles just once...race day.

I'm excited about the adventure ahead in training for Chicago and I plan to take it very serious. I'm working toward running a 1/2 marathon in Jackson during December or January and an additional 1/2 in Nashville this coming April. I'd love to throw in a few more races as time goes on.

I'm going to lean heavily on Hendy for advice on training and preparation as he is the seasoned veteran of the group, but will also look toward Taxi and Garett for additional motivation as we look to conquer this beast together.

The road will be long, but fun, and I'm glad to be a part of this group.