Where do you live?
NY, NY
How old are you?
37
How long have you been running for?
Just over one year.
What do you hope to achieve through RunnersConnect?
RunnersConnect is my tool to help achieve my goals in running. Those goals are evolving as I improve and figure out how seriously I want to pursue them. Currently I’m trying to drop my half marathon pace by ten minutes from my first one last year in May by my next one this coming May.
How has RunnersConnect helped you deal with the rigors of a half marathon?
It takes the stress out of preparation and brings me to the start line confident that I’m ready to give it my best.
What’s the big difference in the way you approach a race now compared to a year ago?
I’ve never been a runner before, but I have pursued two sports at a high level in my life. In High School I went to a ski academy (basically a sports school) where I competed on a national level but wasn’t able to make the jump to international competition. During high school I took up mountain biking as a form of cross training and to help overcome some skiing injuries. I started to compete in mountain bike races over the summer and by the time I graduated from high school I was already competing at a higher level in bike racing than in ski racing so in college I decided to pursue bike racing.
Over the next four years I moved up to the highest amateur category in mountain biking (now called CAT 1) and for a brief period of time considered trying to pursue bike racing professionally after college. So my approach to a race (15 years ago now actually) then was pretty different. Quite often I’d be in contention to podium or win and at that level it was much more about racing my peers. Now when I line up for a race just as a weekend warrior I’m interested in putting in my own best performance as I’m really just competing with myself. That’s really a big difference. Mentally when I was trying to win I had to approach a race ready to go to battle with my competitors now I just have to be ready to push myself to my maxim and ignore what’s going on around me. Mentally that’s a very different challenge.
What prompted you to take a ten year break in between competition of any kind?
Coming out of college I was lucky enough to get some good job offers in careers where I was highly confident I could be really successful. While I loved bike racing when I was honest with myself I felt I was probably good enough to turn pro but that I would never challenge to be anything other than a pack filler in a race. It was a hard decision but I decided that I didn’t want the first career I pursued in my life to be one where I was striving to be average.
So in leaving bike racing behind I had to really make a full break with athletics. I didn’t want to tease myself with some occasional good performances and make myself question my decision. I also wanted to commit myself 100% to my new career. Then as I gradually got more and more out of shape over the last 15 years it became harder and harder to see myself returning to sports to compete in anything. My weight went from 135 when I was competing to just over 210 at one point a year and a half ago. Of course I wouldn’t say I was living a healthy lifestyle at all… although I was really enjoying myself.
What brought me back to sports was a confluence of events. I became a father and wanted to set a good example for my kids from an activity and health perspective; I was getting a little concerned about how overweight I was and I’d reached a point in my professional career where I was senior enough to take some time for myself here and there. Running has been an awesome solution. I don’t have to chase any ghosts or previous performance metrics as I was never a runner and the time commitment is really manageable at about five hours a week.
How has interacting with the team helped you in your training?
The community is fantastic. Whether or not someone has a ton of experience or is new to the sport like myself we all have to deal with the same mental and physical issues. Most people don’t understand why it’s frustrating to miss your pace for a couple miles in a workout but with the community you have a group to vent to, get support from or get some kudos from. Without the community I’d probably really be boring my wife and friends talking about the idiosyncrasies of my training and racing.
