The 10 Percent Rule

Starting from ground zero has taken patience, but it is paying off. (for a review of why I took the break see this blogpost). I took a leap of faith and began to increase my mileage as well as splitting my run to two per week. Here is a snapshot of the previous two weeks for running (only running shown).

I am doing my best to follow the 10 percent rule (Runners's World explains it here).  I don't want to add too many miles too quickly. I am also sticking to a slower pace. For those of you that are looking to start running, you can do it. Take it one step at a time.

Here is an overview of everything I've done over the past 6 weeks. I've continued to do my best to keep things balanced. As I increase in running distance, I want to also keep doing other activities.

My “Babe, I’m gonna…” Goals

The following blogpost was written by Devin Hatch.

5 years ago I was way overweight. I couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without feeling like I’d just hiked through the Amazon jungle or inflated a blimp with a kazoo. I didn’t like it, and one day decided to do something about it. I conjured up some of the most amazing goals to get back into shape and look and feel just like I did in high school. I was riding high on the road to success.

Except I never did anything. All I did was make up some goals, maybe wrote them down, and waited for the results to start rolling in. If only it were that easy.

Here's from my graduation, not too long before I started running.

Then one day I did something that ended up being a game changer for me. While talking with my wife one evening I said three words that ended up being my magic words. Kind of like the old “bippety boppety boo” in Disney’s Cinderella. Looking back over the past few years I realized that every time I’ve set out to do something crazy, challenging, or insane I’ve started my path toward those goals with the same three words. What are those words?

“Babe, I’m gonna…”

I recently dubbed my past achieved goals my “Babe, I’m Gonna…” goals because every time I have said those words and followed them with some goal I’ve found a way to achieve those goals. Way back when, when peeling an orange was my equivalent of an Olympic gymnast doing a routine, I told my wife, “Babe, I’m gonna run a 5k”. Fortunately I have a wonderful wife that didn’t give me a look of, “Oh yeah? Let’s review your life insurance policy,” and instead encouraged me on. I can’t go on any further without giving her credit for helping me achieve all my “Babe, I’m gonna…” goals. She’s been fantastic and I can’t say enough to thank her.

Running my first 5k

As I said, those three words have carried me through a lot. They’ve pushed me to my limits and at times I’ve wanted to quit, but something about giving up just didn’t jive with me because I knew I’d have to face my wife and explain to her why I was quitting…and that would probably be more difficult than whatever I was training for. I’ve endured with each of my “Babe, I’m gonna…” goals and reached heights I never thought possible. And I am happy.

After finishing my first marathon

You can find Devin on twitter: @DevinHatch

A 10 Year Recap

As I approached my 30th birthday, I have been reflecting a lot on the things of this past decade (and my whole life). Some people may get nervous about this "milestone", but thinking about what has transpired over the last 10 years has brought a smile to my face and helped me look forward to the next 10 years. Here are a few of my highlights:

Finished 2 year mission in Taiwan

Found and married my Eternal Companion

We have 2 beautiful children

Started and Finished Bachelor Degree in Finance

Graduated with an MBA

Landed my first full time job

Learned to Slalom ski

Began running for fun

Completed 3 half marathons, 2 Fish Lake Relays, 1 Ragnar (lots of 5ks and a 10k)

traveled to China

Thanks to all of you that have helped make my life amazing! I get a little emotional when I think about all the help I have received over the years in making this possible. My favorite memories are of those when I have been surrounded by family and friends.