In the immortal words of C.S. Lewis:
It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.
Sooner or later, you have to shake up your life.
With running, it means making the decision to train seriously so you can have a breakthrough race. After a giant PR, everything changes: your new workload baseline, workout paces, and expectations for yourself.
Just like in 2005 when I changed how I approached summer training before cross country (and had my best season ever), there’s always something you can do differently:
- Higher mileage
- Longer (or faster) workouts
- Consistency over a long period of time
- Re-dedication to strength workouts
- and a lot more…
And just like running, life is much the same.
Want a promotion? Start performing at a higher level and results will naturally come.
Want to meet the love of your life? Stop staying in every weekend and go meet people that share your interests.
Want to make more money? Start working the street corner for fast cash. (<– not good advice)
Whatever your goal or ambition, change is necessary. Without change, there will never be progress.
So with that said, I’m thrilled to announce the next chapter for me: a cross country move from Washington, DC to Denver, Colorado. For the last few days, I’ve been furiously unpacking and setting my family up in our new house in the heart of Denver.
It’s exciting. It’s scary. It’s just a little bit crazy. But it feels right.
Why Move to Denver?
Morning walk for a cup of coffee!
Before this year, I hadn’t been to Denver for more than a few days. The city brought up images of mountains, skiing, and good beer. But when my wife and I had a daughter last year, we started thinking about where we wanted to live long-term. DC is great, but it’s not the lifestyle that we were truly looking for.
So we spent three weeks in Denver last May, exploring the city and we fell in love with it. The mountains are gorgeous (trail running here I come!), the craft beer scene is mouthwatering, the outdoorsy vibe of the city is palpable, and the weather makes it possible to be outside most days.
Then there’s the running scene: the Denver / Boulder area is a distance running mecca. With fantastic weather and easy access to altitude and trails, Denver is a hub for runners who are passionate about their sport.
Whenever I’m confronted with a difficult life decision, I think about what I value most and that always leads me to the right answer. Reflecting on what’s most important to me – and what I want to avoid – is my standard decision-making framework.
DC is one of the worst traffic cities in the country and has a hectic, “work at all costs” mentality because of politics that never resonated with me. Plus, the cost of living nearly rivals New York or San Francisco. Why stay?
While losing Rock Creek Park stings, knowing that I can drive 20 minutes to some of the best trails in the country makes that an acceptable loss.
People are friendlier. Traffic is virtually non-existent. I now have a formal office! The drier climate will make running in the heat of summer a lot easier. And the beer sure is good 🙂
Change is Brewing for Running, too!
Moving to Denver isn’t just about the benefits of the city. It also marks a big transitional time in my running career: after 16 years of training competitively, I’m now more interested than ever in different running goals than just trying to get faster.
Speed, personal bests, and racing the clock dominated my approach to running for the majority of the last two decades. After any race, I was most interested in the time next to my name in the results. If it wasn’t a PR, it didn’t interest me.
But as I get older and grow my family, other types of running achievements are more attractive. There’s just so much more to running than getting faster.
I’d love to seriously get into trail and mountain running. Maybe even take a shot at ultra running!
Instead of traditional road races, I want to test myself at more obstacle races like Warrior Dash.
I also want to accomplish a few training records in the process, like finally running 100 miles in one week and 400 miles in one month (pro tip: attempt this during a 31-day month).
With the natural landscape and running scene in the Denver area, I know I’m in the right place.
What does this mean for you?
And as I write the next chapter of my life and running career, I’m thrilled to have you along for the ride. Strength Running provides me accountability to practice what I preach (how can I skip a core routine now?!), share the lessons I learn along the way, and better help runners of all levels achieve their goals.
SR is about so much more than just getting faster. Of course, you can get a helluva lot faster with the advice and resources here. But what if you want to…
- prevent injuries?
- crush an obstacle race?
- run an ultramarathon?
- lose weight for good?
- just get started with running?
- live a healthier, more active life?
Strength Running has helped with some of these so far – and it will continue to help you use running to accomplish all of your goals, whether that’s a PR, a 100-mile ultra, or simply to lose 10 pounds. And there are many new projects on the horizon that I’m incredibly excited to share with you. Stay tuned!
Change is the only constant and I’m already feeling more inspired and fulfilled by helping runners reach new levels.
Thank you for being part of this special community of runners! SR has big things in its future 🙂
