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

Running Update

Yesterday I increased my mileage to 2.5 miles. I am going to continue to increase a little each week. This week I will incorporate a second running day, but will keep it a short distance and slowly build up that mileage as well.

The other aspect of running that I tried was to increase speed, but not a whole lot as you can tell. My second mile was under 11 minutes and that was good enough for me!

Foot Massager

Over the last few years, I have accumulated a few items to related to running. One of which, I think you should get (or at least something similar).

This will help to relieve soreness and pain in your foot. I like to use it periodically even on days when I haven't been running.

Avoiding Injury

This post was originally written for Running Towards Home. (You should check out Josh's blog. Definitely an inspiring story.) I thought it would be appropriate to share it here on my blog.

When I began training for a marathon 2 years ago, I did it with my eyes closed. Not literally, obviously. In terms of my knowledge of running technique and knowledge of this wonderful sport, I did it with my eyes closed. The result? I started having pain in my knee. I tried to do too much too fast.

After multiple doctor visits, physical therapy and an MRI, I found that nothing was torn just "overuse" as they described it. Great, I just spent hundreds of dollars to be told "tough it out you panzy". It ended up being my IT Band.

I stopped running for a few months and took up other alternatives (swimming and biking that were much easier on the knees. I still do these on my alternate days to strengthen support muscles.) In the meantime, I talked to a few running friends who I consider to be more of an expert in this field. My desire was to learn how to "run the right way".

Here is what I learned:

1. Running form is not important it is ESSENTIAL When it comes to running form, my biggest pitfall was the heal strike. Avoiding landing on your heal. Landing more on the middle or front of your foot is better for you. Something that I was told to do is to take your shoes off and jog around. Where do your feet land? This is a great indicator of how you should run WITH your shoes on. When I started running again, I started small by only running a mile or two with this knew form. I had sore muscles, but no pain in my knee anymore.

Here is a video that shows proper running form.

2. Follow a training schedule  - I've been using Hal Higdon's training schedule www.halhigdon.com. It does not matter what level of running you are at, there is a training schedule that can help youl. It helps to increase mileage, but at a pace that your body can handle. There are also other great training schedules. Just google “Couch to 5k” if you are looking for something to get you off that couch and running.

3. Pay attention to how you feel (before, during and after a run) - When it comes to running listening to your body will help you develop into a great runner. Your body knows what you can and can’t handle. While you are running, evaluate how you feel. If you need to slow down or walk, do it. It’s okay. Pushing yourself too fast, will only increase your likelihood of injury.

4. Have fun. It is one of the best feelings to get out and run.  It is exhilarating.  I get to see amazing scenery and I’ve never been in better shape. I find joy during the run, but my wife finds the joyful part after the run. It doesn’t matter when you find “fun” during or after, as long as you get out and experience it.

Based on me implementing these four steps, I’ve been able to increase my mileage. I have completed three half marathons. Each time, I have shaved off at least 5 minutes per race. I’m now training again for a marathon and excited to complete it with no injury.