Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
I wasn’t born a distance runner. Running a fast break or scoring from second base on a two-out single? Sure.
Distance running for enjoyment or exercise? I’m sorry...I’m busy that day.
I ran my first 5K at age 25. I struggled to keep up with this cute blonde who asked if I’d like to run with her.
That race ignited a 15 year on-again/off-again relationship with a sport that I equally enjoy and dread.
(Unlike the relationship with that cute runner who I somehow convinced to marry me.)
“I’m a 5K specialist,” I confidently tell people who ask if I’m training for a longer race. “I have no desire to run any longer than three miles.”
I exercise, bike ride, and mix in an occasional running race or duathlon (run, bike, run). Five miles is the most I’ve ever run consecutively.
10 miles? “There’s no point,” I told myself for years. “I can get plenty of exercise from my regular 2-3 mile runs.”
Break a sweat. Get the heart-rate up. Call it a day.
I’m comfortable with that distance, I’d say, not realizing what I truly meant is I’m complacent with that distance.
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
Living in Philadelphia, it seems like every other person you know has run Broad Street.
Always the first Sunday in May, the Blue Cross Broad Street Run is Philadelphia’s race.
Born in 1980, the Broad Street Run bisects the city from north to south like an exclamation point down one of the longest and busiest corridors in the city.
Unpretentious and uncomplicated, the race is a reflection of my hometown. Straight forward, no-frills, and completely under appreciated by the uninitiated.
Recognized as one of the fastest 10-mile courses in the country by Runner's World, it is not only the largest race in the city but with over 35,000 finishers in 2015 is now the eighth largest running race of any distance in the country.
I’ve admired this race from afar for too long...wondering if I’d ever have the guts to try it.
I’m ready to get uncomfortable.
The 37th annual Blue Cross Broad Street Run is Sunday, May 1, 2016.
“I’m running Broad Street.”
There...I said it. I’m a bit uneasy about this but then again…
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
I welcome your thoughts and encouragement as I train. Let me know what you think @DadBurbia
For more info on the 2016 Blue Cross Broad Street Run visit http://www.broadstreetrun.com/