RunThatByMeAgain.com

Who is RunFasterDaddy?

Hello everyone.  My name is Denis and I’m a running addict.  [chorus responds: "Hello Denis."]

After the New Braintree Road Race

Actually, I’m a later in life running addict.  I have been an on again, off again runner for a good part of my life.  I ran track in high school because I liked hanging out with my friends.  I was your typical lazy sprinter, and I loathed the days that Coach Allen would make us go running with the distance runners.  I ran recreationally through college because I thought I should.  I never ran with any particular goal or focus.  I ran in the Navy because I had to.  Back then I considered the 1.5 mile run for the PRT (Physical Readiness Test) a long distance run.  I reluctantly ran a few 5 and 10Ks, and I even ran a marathon relay, but I never really ran because I WANTED to.

After the Navy I really fell off the fitness wagon.  I could make excuses about returning to college and working full-time, or buying a house, or having kids, etc., etc., ad nauseum, but they are just that - excuses.  When my wife was pregnant with our first child (I have two), I gained 2 pounds less than she did.  Seriously.  I peaked at 192.  Gradually I started to lose the “baby fat” with lots of hiking and a near anorexic diet, but I still didn’t feel any healthier.

So, last year (2008) I started running again.  I have no idea why, but something was different this time.  It might have been my age.  It might have been my desire to lead by example for my two daughters.  It might have been that it was the first time I actually kept a training journal.  I don’t know what is was, but I do know that running didn’t seem like a chore anymore.  Running wasn’t something I HAD to do, it was something I WANTED to do.  And after an initial mis-step that resulted in a serious injury that temporarily side-lined me, I got to the point where I now feel like I can call myself a runner.  I’ve enjoyed a rather steep learning curve, and I’m looking forward to the next step.  I’m getting ready to return to grad school in the Fall for and intense 27 month Master’s program in Anesthesia.  I’m counting on running to be my escape from the daily stress of juggling responsibilities at school and home. By the time 2009 is over, I will have run 26 races ranging from 5Ks to 3 half marathons and one full marathon.

Oh yeah, about my nickname - My oldest daughter thinks she is my running coach.  If you ask her what I need to do, simple, she says, “Run faster Daddy!!!”

Daddy and Coach McKenna

Taking Aubrey for a run on a brisk June morning