Allow myself to introduce myself

Welcome to Run, Bigfoot, Run. My attempt to get my thoughts and experiences out about running and whatever else comes up. I thought this would be a good time to introduce me so you're not wondering who this random guy is.

 My name is Ben and I live in Central Virginia. I've been running going on six years now and have tried everything from a 5k up to 50k. Like others I thought running was stupid and pointless but after my first 5k I was hooked with improving and making myself better. The weight loss didn't hurt either.

 I decided on the name Run, Bigfoot, Run as I wear a size 14 shoe and always have a shaggy beard. It actually looks nice for once in the photo above. 

My favorite distance is the marathon even though I have ran more 5k's, but that's probably true of most runners after awhile. I enjoy the pace and seeing what's around when doing a marathon. This year I have 3 marathons, maybe 2 half's, and several 5k's so I will have a lot to talk about, but first up is entering the Marine Corps Marathon lottery and running the Monument Ave 10k. 

I figured entering the lottery and tracking my training if I get in would be a good series of blog posts so we shall see.

Until next time,

Ben

You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @bwachter70

Letter to my team

So this was my week to write something inspirational to the training team I help coach and I drew a complete blank. After several drafts, I cam up with the paragraphs below.
 Every year I told myself I would try to write more but never started so we shall change that starting today.

When Chris asked me to write something for this weeks email, I really drew a blank. I asked several of you on the Novice team what we should discuss and received several suggestions,

but none of them felt right. So maybe this is a good time to reflect on what we are aspiring to and want from our training.

I started running six years ago when a good friend was told to start by his doctor. My friend stopped running but to this day I still do. At first running for me was about just getting out of the house for a bit. When it was cold or rainy I would use the elliptical. It wasn't until I ran my first 5k that it became something more.

About halfway through, I stopped running and had to walk the rest of the way to the finish. That was the day I almost quit, but my wife said something that changed everything.

“You’ll do better next time.”

I had not thought about the next time, up to that point I had quit almost every hobby I had started or picked up. After that 5k I decided to train harder and started reading anything I could. I realized my mistakes and started to correct them. The one constant on this journey has been to be better than I was last time. Many of you I remember from years past and other events around town and whether you notice it yourself I see you getting better and improving every week. To the new members of the team I see you improving every week. I was going to use this email to review some of the tips I have given out over the past few weeks but I can save that for Saturday.

When April 1st comes and you’re in the corral getting ready just remember to enjoy that moment. Hold your head up high, run tall, take full breaths and relish in the fact in what you have accomplished.

This year I will be trying to get into the Marine Corps Marathon and will use this blog to document my journey. The lottery opens on march 22nd, and if I miss that then Richmond is in November so that will be the back up. Or I will do both if I get in.