How to become a sucessful runner

            We spend so much time in our daily routine providing for others.  Our client’s, boss', families’ and friend’s well being often take precedence over our own.  It is not necessarily a bad thing to provide for others in the ways we do, but we often forget to take time for ourselves.  At the end of the day, we end up settling for a well-deserved sweet dessert, a night in, watching American Idol, or some retail therapy.  We neglect to take care of what is important though, our minds, bodies, and souls.  If these go neglected for too long, we lose the energy to adequately provide for others day in and day out.  Running gives us the opportunity to connect and revitalize what is lost in the daily grind.

            Though running has many benefits to physical and mental health, I see far too many people who throw up barriers as soon as the idea is presented. “I was just not born to run.”  “I have bad knees.”  “I get bored.”  All of those are typical responses to the thought of running.   Running successfully isn’t measured by how far or how fast you run, but by the feeling it gives, and the positive energy it creates. With a few minor adjustments, anyone can become a successful runner.

           

Specialty running stores:

            The first step to becoming a successful runner is to stop into a specialty running store.  Typically, the employees in those stores are experts in their field.  They participate in local events, talk about running for eight hours a day, and are runners themselves.  This is the best place to go to be properly measured for shoes, and have your gait analyzed.  Finding the right shoes for your gait can be the difference between a great year of running, or a year of running injures.  Furthermore, this can be your one stop-shop for all your running gear and events.  A Foot Locker is not a specialty running store.  The best way to find a good running store is to look it up online, or ask some running friends. 

Goals:

            I see so many people start their running resolutions without an obtainable goal in mind.  Typically these people want to lose weight or live healthier lives, so they decide to run.  Quickly, they lose the enthusiasm after a few short weeks due to boredom.  The best way to solve this problem is to pick an event and set a goal.  Setting a goal for your running gives you motivation to a finish line, and the chance to celebrate once you have reached it.  Today, running events are easier than ever to find, and are created for all experience types.  If you are a beginner, Pick a 5k that is a couple months away, and then find a beginner’s training plan.  This will give you a goal to reach, and gratification once you have reached it.  You will also notice that you have become a healthier and better person at the end of the training. Don’t stop there though.  Now that you have a 5k down, try to run the next one faster.  Train for a 10k.  Work your way up to a half or full marathon!

Friends:

            Some people deeply enjoy running in solitude.  They can be alone with their thoughts, recharge, and hash out all of life’s problems with a lonely run.  In fact, they don’t feel alone at all when they are out there by themselves.  But this is not for everyone, and not to be done on every run.  Some of the best running experiences are shared with friends or groups.  Finding like-minded people, who will support your goals, give you advice, and help you along the way, is a key element to successful running.  Some of my best friends are people I have met along my running journey.  If you don’t have friends readily available, find a running group.  There are multiple clubs and groups in every city that are dedicated to reaching goals and supporting each other along the way.

Runny happy:

            It took my seven marathons to learn to smile.  My seventh was not my fastest my any means, but it was the most enjoyable so far.  Why? I learned to smile along the way.  I took in all the energy from the people around me, thanked the volunteers, gave high fives to the kids, and I smiled.  Filling yourself with happiness, and enjoying the moment while you’re out there on a run is reason enough to be out there running.  Run during sunset, or sunrise.  Run along the beach, or in the woods.  Take in all the sights and sounds of a city.  Whatever you do, enjoy that moment, and smile.  That positive energy will radiate, it will inspire others, and for that run you’ll be free. 

My favorite View

"The best part of a hill is the view from above"

Where's your favorite view?

+Altra Zero Drop Footwear It is almost impossible to describe one favorite view while running.  Running has taken me to so many beautiful places, and each, individual view or memory has a special place. When I close my eyes though, I see views from when I first found this love of running:

      I was living on the Pacific Coast in Washington State.  It was my first year in the military, and life was brutal.  Days were were long and stress was high, and I was only nineteen years old.  While my friends were off in high school, I was conducting search and rescue missions in some of the world's most dangerous seas, and then strapping on a pistol to board fishing boats.  While friends were gearing up for the weekend after a long week of school, I was boarding a Charter boat to give CPR to an eighty year old man named Howard.  Howard went out with his boots on.

    So I would spend my days off running down that beach.  I would run from half moon bay, South, all the way to a group of condos that were miles off in the distance.  On one side of me, I would pass the eight story tall watch tower that I spent twelve hour shifts cramped up in.  Essentially it was a continuously manned, ten foot by ten foot box that overlooked many miles of the coast.  I hated the confines of that box. On my days off, I would fly right by it though, happy to not be inside.  As I ran south, I would look off into the west and notice the bright red sun sinking down over the Pacific Ocean.  On a clear day, the sun would reflect across the ocean, and if I ran close enough to the water, it would be almost as if the sun was washing up against my legs as I ran.  As the sun sank lower into the horizon, I would imagine that I could take my thumb and forefinger, and pick it back up for just a few more moments.  I never wanted those last few moments to end.   Then the twilight would turn to dark, and it would be only me on the beach as I turned back around and headed north.  All I would hear is the crashing of the waves, the barking of sea lions in the distance, and the sounds of my feet thudding against the sand.  I was free, with nothing to think about, but the moment.  It was beautiful.  That's my favorite view. 

The top of Old Rag Mountain in Virginia

One of my favorite Running moments:  Steps Beach in Puerta Rico

The local tack.  Sometimes its a view from ground level that gives me the motivation I need

I took this one the other day in Charleston, SC.  My favorite views, and deepest thoughts come at sunset runs. 

Altra Zero Drop

I would like to sincerely thank Altra for choosing me to be one of their 2014 ambassadors!  I am extremely excited to embark on a running journey with them for the next year.  This will indeed be a wonderful year of running, and a great journey!  I am excited to be a part of the team, and can not wait to get into some more races and represent my favorite running company.  Over the weekend I wore the Altra Provisions, and I have to say, it was quite a shoe! Just the right amount of motion control, and support!

Keep Moving Forward!

Ryan Green

The Road to Boston Stops in Philadelphia

Written in 2012, shortly after the Philadelphia Marathon

The Road to Boston Stops in Philadelphia

So this is it.  The moment I have been waiting for.  I have been training, running, sweating all summer for this day.  I have missed on outing with friends, went to bed early on Friday nights, and obsessed compulsively over the summer, all for this day.  Today is the day I will run a marathon in less than three hours and five minutes.  I have to do this to qualify for the world’s mot prestigious marathon, the Boston Marathon!  It’s my last chance this fall before the long, brutal North Eastern winter. 

            Those are the first thoughts that run though my mind as I roll out of the king sized, way to comfortable for my taste, Hilton Hotel bed.  It’s 4:30 am and I don’t think I slept a wink.    All my clothes and gear are laid out on the floor next to the bed, a ritual I do before every big race-every runner has there own rituals.  Mine are subtle in comparison to the crazy things I see people do the night before or morning of the big race.  I slip on my shirt from a previous marathon-another ritual, some of the shortest shots you’ll ever see a grown man wear, my lucky blue bandana, and some warm gloves just in case.  The shoes, worn out from hundreds of miles of training and a 26.2-mile race just a month before go on, laced tight.  Last to go on is my Garmin GPS watch.  This thing has tracked every mile for the past year and a half. I quickly make a cup of coffee that might as well be brown water.  It will have to work.  It’s the middle of November, and it’s only 5:00 am.  I need to get warm fast and stay warm!

            There’s a sense of chaos and pandemonium around me as a calmly walk to the race area.  The frost is on my breath and my legs are tight.  It’s way too cold to be out here in thin short shorts.  But I am not alone.  Over 50,000 other brave people are out here this very moment warming up, stretching out, and trying to figure out where to start.  Taking their last minute bathroom break.  That reminds me, another ritual, I have to use a Porto Potty and do a number two.   The lines are terribly long and I am always afraid Ill miss the start of the race, but I always have to go as soon as I get out there, it never fails.

            After emptying the bilges, I make my way to the start line.  So calm, so collected, at least that’s what I tell myself.  I impress myself at how confident I am.  I know I got this one in the bag!  It’s time to meet up with my friends who are also running today.  Normally, it would be nearly impossible to find someone in a crowd of over fifty thousand all dressed alike, but I know exactly where to go.  I know because they have they same dreams I have.  They do want to qualify for Boston.  I lightly jog to the start line, warming up and stretching out as I look for them.   Eventually we all find each other and head to our spots, somewhere near the front of the sea of thousands.  There are only a few hundred people up here.  All veterans of the race, or hopeful qualifiers like myself.

            As soon as the national anthem has been sung, the gun goes off!  It’s time to go!  Time to reach my goal!  Time for all the hard work to pay off!  The few friends and I pack into a tight group and begin to pick up the pace. It’s almost impossible to get to your race pace right off the start line; there are just too many people.  We dart in and out, pass, the slower ones; avoid getting run over by the faster ones.  It is inevitable that someone will trip over me, or kick me in the back of the legs.  Imagine all of that a stadium can running down a street wide enough for only two cars!  Now imagine trying to make your way through all of those people, all with one goal in mind, keep moving forward at all costs.

            One of the best runners I know keeps the pace strong and steady.  She’s petite, maybe 130 pounds, dark chocolate hair pulled tight into a bun, and even darker eyes.  Her eyes show that determination that many of us have, but she has something that others lack.  She has this bright, perfect smile that spreads across her sun kissed, freckled face.  She’s more excited and determined than all of us.  There’s no doubt she will get her personal goal.  I hope I can keep her pace for at least half the race, but I also know she will eventually pull away.  She’s just so fast, like a gazelle, she seems to stride across the asphalt with perfect form.  I’ve ran with her in many races, that is to say, she’s passed me in many races, but every time she slows down for a brief moment to say hi and flash that bright smile of hers.   This time I will match her step for step.  Maybe I’m being a little too ambitious.

            With the exception of the starting line and finish line, the first ten miles are the best.  The sidewalks are usually littered with cheering family, friends, and fans.   Some people bang drums or play instruments, some yell motivating phrases.  I have even seen a couple dressed like bride and groom zombies holding signs that read, “run faster or I’ll eat your brains!” the signs are the best.  “Pain is temporary, Pride is forever.” “26.2,because 26.3 is just insane!”  I feed off all of this energy as I complete miles eight, nine, and ten.  It’s almost like gasoline keeping the fire in my heart burning.  I store as much of this as I can because I know I will need it later, when the crowds thin out and the streets grow quiet.  I’ll need those signs to keep moving forward when the pain sets in.

            It takes a little over an hour to finish off the first ten or so miles.  They go by lightning fast.  I’m on a real good pace.  My trusty GPS watch beeps and vibrates every mile, as it should, notifying e of my pace, and prompting me to take a sip from my neoprene covered water bottle.  Every mile is another body system check.  My breathing is good, no pain in my feet, and no pain in my legs (well slight pain, but I can handle it).  “A couple more hours to go,” I say to myself as I keep up with the pace group.

            It’s not the being out of breath that slows me down anymore.  I’ve beaten that.  It’s the muscle pain that slowly sets in after 12 or more miles.  Lack of nutrition, hydration, training, whatever it is, it can be completely disabling, and gets the best of us.   “A little early this time” The sharp pains, and dull aches begin to spread through me leg muscles.  Every mile now, I notice that I slow down a couple seconds “That’s ok tough, I’m five minutes ahead of schedule, I made room for this as planned.”   

            My group is now far ahead of me, and it’s mile 16.  “Only ten to go. Just like the first ten….. only not.”  I do my body system checks.  Water, none left.  I’ve been drinking at water stops, slowing my pace even more.  Legs are on fire, but I’ve felt worse.  “just keep moving.  Pain in temporary, Pride is forever.”  The 3:05 pace group is right behind me, and if I let them pass, I will not qualify.

            Mile 20.  I know this because of the sign.  My “trusty” GPS watch lost connection in a tunnel and for miles after that, and is now no longer accurate or useful.  The crowds are sparse, and the other runners have thinned out.  It’s lonely across the bridge and painful.  The 3:05 pace group passed me soon after mile 16.   “I guess this wasn’t your race Ryan, but don’t give up!”   My stride has gone from a clean, efficient one, to the stride that resembles one that an 80-year-old man would have.  I know the last 5 miles are going to be hell.  “Why do you do this to yourself? Just stop and get a burger.” “I don’t know just keep moving. You can at least finish this with a personal record” My mind is starting to go to war with it’s self.   As I hit “the wall”, I become my own worst enemy. 

            This is when I need that energy that stored fuel the most.  The last, hellish five miles.  I am in the most pain of my life.  For some reason, I haven’t grasped “that second wind” yet.  It takes all of my will and energy to throw one leg in front of the other. “ I don’t know how I got like this.  What happened?”  I try to imagine that my legs are the ones of a robot and my torso is sitting on top.  “Maybe these robot legs will get me to the finish line, and there will be no pain” I’m delirious. All I can think about is getting to the finish line now. Or just quitting.  Who cares about Boston?  I just want this to be over with. “Just don’t quit Ryan.  The pain will be worse if you quit.  You don’t know how to quit. Just keep moving forward.”   Every once in a while a person from the street calls out the number pinned to my shorts, and shouts “Don’t give up! You got this!”  Thank you random person.  You have no idea how much you are helping.

            It’s now mile 24.  Just two miles left.  Well, one really.  The last mile doesn’t count because for some reason, the crowds, cheering, and signs all come back it goes by so quick.  I can hear them now and my pace begins to pick up.   I am at a brisk walk now, but with a runner’s form.  It’s all I can muster out of this carcass I call an athlete’s body. I pass a man handing out cups of beer and grab two.  Some of it actually makes it into my mouth.  “Delicious, cold beer-   can’t wait to taste you when I get back home.” “Let’s finish this Ryan” Like shackles breaking off my legs, my stride begins to open up.

            Mile 26, finally! Thousands of people are now pushing me that last .2 miles, I can hear the announcer and see the finish line.  I just want to reach out and grab it!  I raise my head up, squint my eyes, and pump my arms.  “My legs are robots!” Tears well up in my eyes as I spread my arms out and cross the timed finish line.  Three hours and seventeen minutes, and fifty-nine seconds.  Just 12 minutes from qualifying from Boston, but five minutes faster than the marathon I ran last month.

 My lucky, blue bandana is sopping wet, and salt is encrusted to my face.  I look like one of those people dressed like zombies as I stumble pass the volunteers handing out medals.  As I grab my complimentary bottle of water and banana, I slowly make my way back to the hotel. My mind becomes cluttered with anger, and disappointment.  “There’s always the next marathon. Maybe next time Ryan.  At least you didn’t give up.”  I try to cheer myself up.   As the pain begins to subside, it is replaced with that pride.  I didn’t give up.  I know it’s going to be a long, quiet, thought filled drive back home to Baltimore. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRYGeoOusE



My video I submitted for the Altra Ambassadorship.  A little embarrassing in the monologue, but I think it captures how much running has influenced my life pretty well.

My life thus far..And how running has changed it.

 

19January2014

            I can't help but to reflect on my short running career, and how it has affected my very short life thus far.  Running has taken me to new places, built relationships that I will never lose, and inspired me to be a better person.  It has given me so much, and I have neglected to give credit to what has become a passion of mine.

    I have been seriously running since 2010, though I was never really supposed to run at all!  In elementary school the doctor told me that I should not run due to a heart condition.  Can you imagine the embarrassment as I handed the Phys ED teacher the doctor’s note?  In junior high, I was cut from the baseball team, and was told I should try track (apparently wearing converse all stars to try outs was unacceptable).   By the time I hit my junior year in high school, I finally worked up the courage to join a sports team again.  Cross Country.  I was not very good, but the an interest for running had sparked.  In my senior year, my brother passed away.  Depression had gotten the best of him.  I began to run a lot more.  It was a way to vent, and a way to think more clearly. I had made the varsity team, and joined track as well.  I was never really that fast in either sport though.  I made many amazing friends who I still talk to, and a spark of interest for running ignited into something much more.

    Though I wasn't great, I never gave up.  I kept running.  Usually just logging in some miles here and there.  Often times, after a stressful week in the Coast Guard, I would really appreciate a long run down the Washington State beach, while the sun was setting.  I began to connect with the world around me during these runs, and took it all in while running across the Golden Gate Bridge. In 2010, I went through a divorce.  Long story short, we were 22 years old, married for less than a year, living across the country from any of our family, had a newborn, and military life had put a strain on our relationship.  Looking back at it, I realize that I was doing to her, what Megan is now doing to me.  So she left. And I started running... I didn't stop.  

    In 2010 I also met a wonderful group called Back on My Feet.  Their mission was to use running to create self-sufficiency in the lives of those experiencing homelessness.  I began to volunteer with this group, and quickly stepped up to become a team coach for one of the Baltimore based teams.  I can honestly credit my love for running to this group.  Without them, I would never have been so inspired to run, and I would never have run my first marathon.  I have made life long friends while volunteering for back on my feet, and am so grateful for everything they have done.  I think, at the time I began volunteering I needed them just as much as they needed a volunteer.  I ran my first marathon with one of the residents, who at the time was homeless.  Halfway though, he told me, "This is a better high than any drug!" We finished our marathon, and he has been one of my best friends since.  

     They say that once you run a marathon, you become addicted.  I would say that is absolutely true.  In the three years after my first marathon, I ran six more.  I immersed myself into the running world, completing mud runs, 5ks, and half marathons.  I would even run in some glow in the dark, dance 5Ks! Any new place I traveled to, I made sure got a run in, just to experience and appreciate the new atmosphere.  I had connected with so many wonderful people through running.   In 2012 I propose to a lovely lady at the Baltimore Running Festival.  I carried the engagement ring for 26.2 miles, and managed to get down on a knee and hand it to her in front of 50,000 people.  Short shorts and all!  Luckily my dream woman said yes (although she may have been delirious from her half marathon).  All was right in the world!  Sure, there were times that I didn't reach a goal, or PR, and there were times where I didn't feel like running, but I never gave up, and kept moving forward.  It had brought me so much happiness, and now I had a beautiful faience to share this happiness with!

   As 2013 rolled in, my father almost died, and underwent heart surgery.  After a cross-country flight on a Air force cargo jet, I rushed to hospital to see him.  I am an EMT and have served in the Coast Guard for six years.  I have seen death, and I have saved lives.  I consider myself a pretty emotionally strong man, but walking into that hospital room and seeing the strongest man I knew helplessly laying on a bed, unconscious, with tubes keeping him alive, made me lose it.  That day changed me in many ways.  Days after his surgery, I ran into some trouble with the law, and spent a night behind bars.  I began to hate my job in the military, and I began to take out my frustrations on the woman I loved the most.  I kept running, but no longer appreciated it anymore.  I just did it to get away.  To make matters worse, my wife got orders to move to Charleston, South Carolina.  We now had less than six months to buy a house, get married, move to another state, but in order to do this, I had to make a difficult decision.  I had to leave the military after just six years of actively serving.  I decided that my wife's love is more important than a career, and made the leap.  It was probably the best decision I have ever made, but I did not see it at the time.

    But I was still entering the darkest times I have ever been in.  By June, the wedding had come and gone, and I had built up mountains of resentment for having to leave a career, and moving away from all my friends, and running community.  I spent so much energy focusing my frustrations towards my new wife, who was trying everything she could to make the transition as smooth as possible.  I was so cold and mean to her.  I remember making her cry not once, but many times.  I look back now and ask myself, "How could I do that?!"  I was so selfish.  My heart was filled with anger, and my runs had become just a means of escape.  I had stopped moving forward.  

    In August we had made our move to Charleston, and I was now in the civilian work force. The work was less stressful, but the pay was less.  Far less.   I had to depend on my wife for money.  Something that made matters worse.  Then she got deployed for three months.  We had never been apart for this long, and I had been consumed with jealousy, fear, and resentment.  Not even married for half a year, and now I have to lose my wife for three months.  Some how I had made everything about myself.  I never took her feelings into consideration.  I never appreciated any attempt she made to make things better.

   I took this opportunity to train for a Boston Qualifying time at the Philadelphia Marathon.  I ran hard every day, but I didn't enjoy one second of it.  Training had turned into work.  A task.  I no longer loved running, or anything for that matter.  The only way to describe how I had become was trapped.  I was trapped under a thick cloud of darkness, and there was not a speck of light.  I would win races, break running goals, and I even qualified for Boston at the Philadelphia Marathon (only with the encouragement and training from a good friend of mine in Baltimore), but I would not see the these accomplishments.  I only saw my deficiencies, where I have failed, and I slipped further into the dark cloud.  I came dangerously close to understanding my brother's suffering.  After the Philadelphia marathon, running was no longer interesting to me.  When I did try to run, I spent the whole time thinking of every negative thing I could think about.  I began to despise running.  I avoided it at all costs.  Being alone with my thoughts was just too difficult to do.

    After my wife had come home from the deployment, things were different.  I had depended on my wife for happiness for so long, that without her, I was (for a lack of better words) nothing, and she had seen how dependent on her I had become.  I had also drained her of her own happiness.  I had forced that dark cloud on her through emails while she was away, and a year of resentment had taken its toll.. and things were different.  We had grown apart.  When I realized what I had done, it was to late.  What do you do in a situation like this?    I would like to think that life is a romantic movie, where all that it takes is a gesture of love, some flowers, and everything is O.K. again.  But the cold truth is, life is not like "The Notebook," and a passionate kiss will not solve all problems.

    It took several weeks of reflecting and an 18-mile run to during a beautiful Charleston sunset to make some conclusions.  I have come so far in twenty-five years.  People who have been in darker situations have inspired me.  I have moved forward, and overcome obstacles before.  One thing that I have learned from marathon running, is that there is no better feeling than overcoming the most challenging parts, pushing yourself past that wall, and spreading your arms open as you cross the finish line.  Even if you don't hit that goal, or get a personal record, knowing that you did not give up and kept moving forward makes the entire struggle worth it.

   So yesterday, I ran a marathon.  I didn't have a goal time.  I didn't go out to compete. I didn't even train.  I just went out and had fun.  I enjoyed the sun, I smiled as often as possible, I thought about the people I love, I encouraged people to keep moving forward, and I kept moving forward.  I thanked the police officers for volunteering, and gave high fives to the crowd.  For the first time in seven marathons, I took some time to enjoy the beauty of the marathon and the magnificence of thousands of people moving forward together.  Thirty feet from the finish line, there was my wife.  She was so beautiful, with sparkling eyes, and the loveliest dimples.  She was standing out there in 40-degree weather just to watch me cross that finish line.  And so I did, with my arms spread open and a smile across my face.

I have miles left to go in this journey.   Running has given me the strength to not give up, no matter how dark the clouds become, and no matter how painful it gets.  Just keep moving forward. 

Why I Run

    Runners are often asked why they run.   Then they are asked to define their reason in a short idea, or even just one word!  The truth is, for many runners, there are no words that can define the reasons why they continue to push themselves forward day in and day out.  We put so much effort, sweat, and even tears into these goals for months, and sometimes years.  It is difficult for others to understand the feelings that flow through us when we cross that finish line after months of training.   Perhaps it is that feeling of achievement, of reaching that goal.  I can tell you that the feeling of finishing a marathon, or nailing a personal record is unmatched.  

Though, I cannot describe why I run in a simple sentence, I have  looked back through my social media sites to find out what keeps me moving forward.  Often times I will post some thoughs after a run.  Below are a few of them that I found:
   

Some people say life is not a race...I say its the toughest race you'll ever run..as soon as you start, there will be hills, obstacles, and even a few walls. You never know when the finish line is, but you know you have to keep moving forward. The losers are those who stop moving forward.. the ones who give up, never try, or drop out of the race early.. The winners are those who put their shoes on, take a deep breath, look up, open their stride, and move forward at all costs...keep moving forward my friends....I hear they have beer at the finish line.

Today I came across this medical note from when I was 11 years old. It stated that I couldn't run long distances! I remember the day I handed my 7th grade gym teachers a note saying I wasn't allowed to run. I was pretty embarrassed when they looked at it and chuckled. I was so embarrassed, that I ran anyways despite what people told me I couldn't do. I ran hard, and I never gave up. Five marathons and a couple thousand miles of running later, my heart is still ticking! Sometimes people ask me why I run so much...All I need to say is, "because I can!"

"Most people never get there. They're afraid or unwilling to demand enough of themselves and take the easy road, the path of least resistance. But struggling and suffering, as I now saw it, were the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not constantly demanding more from yourself, expanding and learning as you go - you're choosing a numb existence. You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip."

I am constantly evaluating and re-evaluating my runs and asking myself what compels me to run five to 20 miles a day. While running my favorite path through Baltimore’s Inner Harbor I came to a new conclusion:
There is this energy I get from running that I cannot find anywhere else. Whether I am running through the forest, the city, in a 5K, or a marathon, I take in so much wonderful and positive energy from my surroundings. It can be a cheering crowd, a happy couple taking pictures, The Sun rising on the Atlantic, or the Sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. Whatever this positive energy is- it is taken in through all of my senses and converted into this kinetic energy that powers my legs to keep moving. With each step I take, I hope to leave shock waves of even more positive energy behind me. I am a firm believer that the positive energy that we create can last forever. The more I run, and the more I inspire others to run, the more positive energy I create. The more I create, the further it will go, and the more people are inspired to run. It becomes a perpetual cycle of positive vibes through running. Incredible.

There's something about running through the sunset, and into the night. All you're worries and stress just seem to go away with the sun. As darkness sets in you're left with the sounds of your breath and the quiet pound of you're shoes on the pavement. And for that short time, that's all that matters.