Don't Call it a Comeback

So… Where the Hell Have I Been? It's been a long time since I've written anything here. If you followed me back in the day, you probably remember when this blog was actually about running. There was a time when running was a huge part of my life. I wrote about races, training, injuries, stupid decisions, accomplishments, failures and all the other things that come with being a runner. Then life and other shit happened. 

Yes I was still running, if that is what you want to call it, but somewhere along the way, I stopped being that guy. But before I get into where I've been, maybe I should go back to where this whole thing started. The guy who HATED running. When I started running in 2010, I was 42 years old and definitely did not consider myself a runner. I had never been much of an athlete. Running wasn't something I enjoyed. It was something I thought I should do. Then something weird happened. I discovered that I actually liked it. I started with walking and running, gradually increasing the distance. 

Before long, I was running distances I never imagined I could run. I ran my first half marathon in 2011, joined the Dallas Running Club, and suddenly I had a running family. And apparently I also had no idea when to leave well enough alone. 😂 The progression was pretty ridiculous. 8 miles? Sure. 13.1? Why not? Marathon? Well, I guess we're doing this now. By 2012 and 2013, I was running roughly 30-plus miles a week and training seriously. I ran my first Williams Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa in 2013 in 4:14:30. Paced another Marathon that following spring at 4:15:00 and hit it on the mark. And I remember one particular half marathon on my birthday that year. I ran 8:42 pace and remember the race feeling... fairly easy. 

 Looking back at my old Garmin data now, I'm realizing just how much I was actually running. I was putting together 15- and 16-mile long runs, 20-mile training runs, speed work, hills, races and sometimes even trail runs on top of all of it. I was, in retrospect, a pretty damn serious runner. And I didn't fully appreciate it at the time. 

 Then I became the guy who couldn't stop running. At my peak, I was running 50–60 miles a week during some marathon training cycles. I eventually ran a few more marathons, plenty of half marathons and even a few ultras. I got faster. I learned how to train. I became a certified RRCA running coach in 2014! What? Running had gone from something I didn't want to do to something that became a major part of who I was. 

 But eventually, things changed. The mileage came down. The races became less frequent. Life and work got in the way. And little by little, I became less consistent. The Garmin data makes the change pretty obvious. In the years when I was really training, I was routinely averaging somewhere around 25–35 miles a week. Then the mileage started falling. Eventually I was running closer to 10–15 miles a week. And the pace slowed down with it. And the pandemic didn't help. There were years where I was barely recognizable compared with the guy who had once been training for marathons. But, I still ran. I still considered myself a runner. But I wasn't really training anymore. And honestly, I think there was a point where I had accepted that maybe that part of my life was over. Then something started changing... 

Over the past year or so, I've slowly started finding my way back. Not all at once. Not with some dramatic transformation. Just little things. I cut way back on the beer. I started paying more attention to what I was eating. I started lifting consistently. I bought a new bike! "Marley II" and started adding cycling to my regular routine. I went from run/walking to actually running continuously again. I started paying better attention to recovery, fueling, hydration and electrolytes (I haven't Clayed since 2021). And eventually something happened that I hadn't felt in a long time: I started wanting to see what I could still do. Not what I used to be able to do. Not what I did when I was 42 or 45. But what this version of me can do. 

The 58-year-old version. Well, actually I will be 58 next month. I'm a litte lighter than I was a year ago, but I'm also stronger because I've been lifting. My easy running has gotten noticeably faster. I'm running continuously instead of taking walk breaks. I'm cycling for additional aerobic work. I'm doing speed work again. And I'm paying attention to things I never had access to when I didn't have a fancy watch- running dynamics, training load, recovery, VO₂ max, etc. All that. I've basically become a data nerd. 

But I'm not trying to recreate 2013. That's probably the biggest difference. Back then, I was constantly trying to prove something. Now I'm much more interested in the question: How far can I take this body? That's a very different mindset. So here we go again. This past Saturday, I officially started 2026 fall marathon training with the Dallas Running Club and also running with my newest frunners - Plano Running Club whom I ran with most of this past summer. Claiming dual citizenship with the two clubs. 

Yes. Again. Currently training with 4:45 as my goal, for the BMW Dallas Marathon in December. And signed up for the Cowtown Ultra in February 2027. And I'm approaching this one very differently. I'm not going to pretend I'm 45 or train like 45-year-old me. I'm going to run, cycle, lift, recover, eat better, pay attention to what my body is telling me and see how much fitness I can build over the next few months. I've already learned something important during this "comeback": Fitness comes back. Maybe not exactly the way it was. Maybe not at the same speed. But the body remembers. And apparently, so does the brain. 

The funny thing about all of this I recently went back and started reading some of my old blog posts. It's almost like reading about a different person. Except it's not. It's me. The guy who got excited about running an 8-miler. The guy who thought a half marathon was crazy. The guy who ran his first marathon. The guy who made some incredibly questionable decisions on trails. The guy who learned about cramps the hard way. The guy who eventually became an RRCA-certified running coach. And now... The guy who's about to be 58 and apparently crazy enough to try this again. I don't know exactly where this comeback ends. Maybe I run 4:45 in December. Maybe I run faster. Maybe I don't. Maybe I get Clayed again- no... that ain't happening no more lol. But that's not really the point. For the first time in a long time, I'm genuinely curious. What is the best 58-year-old version of me capable of? I guess we're about to find out. Let's get it. Stay tuned.