Avenue of the Giants Marathon

In December 2019, I threw a rock into the lake and signed up for a marathon in the spring of 2020. 

Then the world went to hell. 

Then my health went to hell.

I have been a runner since 2014. I have signed up for more than 100 races of various lengths between 2014 to 2019. When the coronavirus shut down the world in the spring of 2020, months of training for the Avenue of Giants Marathon in May 2020 was wasted. Instead of going for a personal record in the marathon, which I was convinced would have happened, my physical and mental state took a dive. It started with an injury in late May and then me in a weird stagnant state for the next five months. When I learned I had not one, but two hernias in November, my running days were put on permanent hold. I was devastated. After surgery in January, I took my time getting back. I started running in March and spent the next year running short distances. I was overweight, slow and unmotivated. I decided in December, I would train for the 2021 Avenue of the Giants. I am four weeks in currently and each week I feel stronger, faster and slimmer. Instead of going for a PR, I want to simply finish. No expectations other than crossing the finish line. I have bounced back from injuries in the past. I had knee surgery in May 1997 that ended my college football days. It took nearly three years before I could run consistently again. I still feel my hernia, but each day it gets better. I am not putting any pressure on myself and the objective is to simply enjoy running again. So far, so good.