It all has to start somewhere...

Let me start off by saying that this is a beginning. Not the beginning of my life as a runner, but the beginning of it becoming a lifestyle. I have always been able to run and it has been a large part of my life, but it has never been something that defines me. I am determined to change that.

I am choosing to do this for multiple reasons. First and foremost because from my current position I continually watch people waste away from a lack of caring about their health and a lifetime of making poor choices. All around me are people who are suffering at the end of their lives because they didn't choose to change their lives earlier.

The final stages for somebody suffering from renal disease or diabetes are ugly. It is literally a progressive "wasting away" that the person has to endure and the family has to suffer through. What if they would have made different choices along the way? Now I know that there are circumstances beyond our control, and some people are afflicted by things outside of their ability to change, but it can't hurt to attempt to control things; can it?

Secondly, my decision to make running a lifestyle is that I want a release, a place where it can just be me and my thoughts. As I continue to strive to make personal changes and grow closer to my God, I find that I need time to just be left to my thoughts. I hope that running can become that for me.

Finally, I love the rush of competition. The opportunity to be good at something and be able to show it off in front of other people energizes me. I hope to become a good runner and win some races, but I guess that can all come later.

Please feel free to follow this blog and offer suggestions or advice where you feel lead to. More than anything, I hope that I can be an inspiration or an influence to my family and you people out there that will read this. I hope to focus on running techniques, encouragements, as well as healthy food choice material.

So please join my on this winding path through life...