Well, here it is

After months of procrastination, I have finally decided to join the blogosphere.  I have always wanted to explore writing as a hobby.  I like to write about sports - the NFL, the NBA, college basketball - and I wanted to start writing about my experiences in distance running.  I don't want this to be exclusively a running blog, but I will predict that most of it will be about running.

I began running when I was fairly young, regularly winning the "endurance run" on physical fitness day at my school.  I did not start training year-round or take it seriously until my junior year of high school, when I decided to go out for the cross-country team at Charlotte Christian in order to get in shape for basketball.  I turned out to be alright, earning all-conference honors, and had so much fun that I decided to give up competitive basketball and make running my full-time sport.  This was not the most popular decision in my house, but everyone calmed down when I started getting letters from college coaches.

However, I didn't run in college, not at first.  I quit.  I went to N.C. State University for a year, hated it, and decided to transfer to UNC Wilmington and compete for the track and cross-country teams.  I was named a captain of the team my second year there and I ran some pretty good races (by my standards) during cross-country season.  I didn't run very well in track, however, and after the 2003 season I quit...again.

For the better part of the next seven years, I would remain a recreational runner, basically doing it just enough to keep off the fat.  I got way out of shape back in 2006-07, then started eating better and running a little more to work my way back, but I never considered competitive running again.

Then, this past spring I experienced a tragedy and decided to re-evaluate things.  One of my closest friends lost his battle with depression, and the only thing I could think to do was to examine my own life and try to fix what needed to be fixed.  The main thing I found was that I was no longer doing a lot of the things I loved.  I couldn't find a great reason why running wasn't a big part of my life anymore, and I also wanted to start writing again.  It took some time, a lot of motivation, and a new pair of Nikes...but it happened.

And......we're off!