Sorry...this turned out to be a long post...
Well...here I go (again?)....
Sunday is the Frederick Marathon. I am running my first 1/2 marathon at this event. Right now...it will be my only 1/2 marathon! I am scheduled for a sprint distance triathalon on June 1st, a 5K over the summer, and the full Baltimore marathon in the fall.
For those of you wondering what you might expect within a year of having this surgery...this is something that you could be doing. Granted...I am not typical...but I do have some other friends on this board that are now running as well. I am hoping to get some company in the next year or two as I run these stupid distances! Any takers should let me know! :-)
I have been fighting some overuse injuries. In just the past 3 months of training, I have strained a calf muscle, quad muscle and hamstring muscle. I have had various knee and hip issues. I have, for the first time since I started running, had some blisters. I have also developed what might be the beginning of a stress fracture in my lower right leg. I am not going for x-rays until after I run on Sunday.
But isn't is fantastic that I am going to see my doctor about quad injuries and blisters instead of chest pains and high blood pressure?
The question I keep getting is why I do this? The answer is complicated...but in a nutshell...the answer is...because I now can. I enjoy the look on people's faces when I tell them that I am going out for my long training run. I explain that it is a long one today...about 12 miles. They usually ask how long I have been running. This is when I get to say"...well...I had surgery last March and starting running in early May". The typical response is..."No...how long before your surgery were you running?". My response is..."I don't think you understand...on March 15th, I weighed 330 pounds and had weight loss surgery. I had not run for exercise in over 20 years. I just started running in May. Period". I just love the look on their face at that point.
It has occured to me that I have an addictive personality. I am also very competitive. So, in 1988 I quit smoking. My first serious habit. I replaced that habit with eating. It took me about 20 years to finally figure out that I needed a tool help me quit the eating habit. WLS was my answer. I have now replaced the eating habit with a running habit. I crave running now as much as I craved chocolate or McDonalds in the past.
It gives me great pride to run past the McDonalds and the icecream stores now. Heck...I even do my telescope work in front of an ice cream shop.
What a difference a year can make!
Dave
Every morning in
Africa , a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in
Africa , a lion wakes up. It knows that it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle when the sun comes up you'd better be running.
I love hearing about your running successes! They motivate me and I need that in the exercise department! Keep the updates coming!
And DON'T injure yourself any more!!!!!!!!!! 
Caryn 
