Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Welcome to 45!



Tomorrow I turn 45 years young. A semi-milestone year. I think I am officially middle aged. But lets see how old age has treated me.

I began this running thing 5 years ago (2002) when I was approaching my 40th birthday. My goal was to run my first 5K. I had never run anything more than a mile or two. A 5K seemed quite daunting. And I even read rumors of people who could run non-stop for an entire hour! Unbelieveable? Seemed so back then. I trained and ran that 5K about a week after my 40th birthday - 3.1 miles non-stop in about 37 minutes.

Fast forward to today. Today I completed two runs - a 4 mile run this morning and a 5.5 miler this evening. Since I was on a treadmill, these were run non-stop. My second run was over an hour long.

When I completed that first 5K, I was asked if a marathon was next. I thought, I don't know, that is really far. Maybe I should try a HALF marathon first (which I then did in Jan 2004 in 3hrs and 11 min). 2 more half marathons, 2 10K's and numerous 5K's later, I ran my first marathon in January this year in 5 hrs 47 min. And if that wasn't enough, I am training for two marathons....Marine Corps at the end of October and Disney in mid January.

So as a runner, I am way better at 45 than I was at 40. And of course, I was better at 40 than I was at 30 or even 20. You know what...at 45 I am better than at 40 in many other ways as well :-)

Watch out world....50 is coming! :-)

14 comments:

ShirleyPerly said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I know exactly what you mean about being able to do more now than when you were younger. Bring on those birthdays :-)

Susan said...

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY FRIEND!!!!

I agree; each year running is better than the last.

Kevin said...

Chris,
45 is the new 25!! And of course, I can tell you that 50 is the new 30!! Rock on Chris!!!

Marathon Maritza said...

Happy birthday!!!

Love the blog, love the podcasts!

lizzie lee said...

HAVE A SUPER HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Remember that we, as wine, get better with age.

Also remember that "Age Gets Better with Wine"

Salud to CHRIS!!!!!!

MarathonChris said...

I like that...age gets better with wine!

Two glasses of pinot tonight :-)

Thanks for the happy wishes everyone!! :-)

Unknown said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Mike said...

Happy Birthday!!!

That's so awesome that you have improved with age... I know I sure have!

Congrats on 45, and here's to another great year of running!

Maddy said...

w00t! w00t!

Happy Birthday! I hope it was a great one.

Some people dread adding another number. I love that you embrace it.

Cheers to you!

Cory said...

Happy Birthday!!!

Petraruns said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS - sorry to be so late about this - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And what a great post as well - what a great attitude and you are so right - you're just getting better and better!

Irish Blue said...

50 isn't old, just look at Kevin and Charlie. They're still kicking butt!

Congrats! Hey, I started running at 40 too. You've given me hope. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday young lady. Sounds like age is just in the mind, especially in your case. You sound more like a 25 year old, rather than a 45 year old. I sure hope I can run like you when I turn 45....which in reality is not that far off. Thanks for the inspiration.

Nicole said...

happy birthday! :)