Seven months ago, I hung out with some Marine friends who had just finished running the Marine Corps. After a few hours of listening to their stories, I decided that next year, I would join them.
Six months ago, I “ran” my first competitive race since my senior year of high school. I completed three miles in thirty eight minutes. One of the people I finished behind was a forty-something year old mother who ran the race in a denim jacket, sweater, and a shin-length denim skirt and boots.
Over two months ago, I signed up for the lottery for the Marine Corps Marathon, paying the entry fee and registering on the next-to-last day of registration. On the next Wednesday, I got the email from the MCM committee: I won the lottery for a place in the Marathon.
This year’s Marine Corps Marathon is going to be run on October 26, 2014. Yesterday marks six months until the race.
Yesterday also marks the first day I started a six-month training regimen for the MCM.
“Please allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man with wealth and taste…” from Sympathy for the Devil, by the Rolling Stones
Okay…not really a man of wealth anyway. But a little about myself: I am a 44-year old retired Marine living in Lexington Park, MD. After twenty-two years working in aviation electronics, I retired and settled here, where I currently work as a government contractor for Naval Aviation.
Over the past two years, I have seen a few fellow Marines that I used to work with catch the running bug. They have all become a lot healthier, and they have all found a deeper meaning in their lives and found a band of friends who have also taken up running.
Since I retired in 2010, I have made a few fits and starts at getting back into shape. I could never gain any traction, due to apathy, laziness, stress, and not really making time for it. Eventually, that came back to haunt me; in August 2012, while vacationing in Las Vegas, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Without this turning into too much of a sob-story (and it’s also past midnight as I write this, and I’ve got to get up and run in the morning) I am starting this blog and running the MCM for these reasons:
1) Regaining my health, losing as much weight as possible, and getting the diabetes under control
2) Making time for physical training and enjoying the associated benefits
3) Getting rid of the apathy and laziness that has dogged my personal and professional life as of late
4) Re-discovering everything the Marine Corps taught me about time amazement, physical fitness, etc.
5) Fitting into my old Dress Blues for the local Marine Corps Ball
6) Completing the MCM
Training Day One was a ceremonial two mile trot. No time, no pressure, just a good-old fashioned Marine Corps shuffle. That’s the good news. The bad news? I was supposed to start on MONDAY. So, instead of tomorrow (actually today) being a rest day, I have to put in two miles. And, as a self-imposed punishment for not reading the schedule, I get to run Tuesday and Wednesday. I take Thursday off and run Friday, and that’s it for Week One.
Okay, it’s ten after midnight, and I gotta run in the morning. Next post tomorrow.
From Zero to Marine Corps Marathon 