I Ran My First Marathon. Now what?!?

I don't want to be James "Buster" Douglas. For those of you unfamiliar, Buster Douglas was the first man to beat "Iron" Mike Tyson in a boxing match. This was back in February of 1990. Up until that time, it was thought that Tyson was unbeatable. Douglas was a 43-1 underdog but did the unbelievable and knocked out Tyson. Later that year he fought Evander Holyfield and lost the title. After losing the title, he lived off his millions and got fat. He retired for six years and briefly returned to the sport. Most people haven't heard much of him since 1990.

Now, believe me, I know I didn't win the Heavyweight boxing championship. But I did do something fairly remarkable. I went from being a morbidly obese human being weighing over 400 pounds to finishing a Marathon. I finished the San Luis Obispo Marathon on April 29, 2018. Pretty good if I do say so myself. In the process, especially over the past few months, I've gained a bit of notoriety. I've been interviewed on a few Podcasts, been featured in the newspaper. And became a bit of a celebrity. Virtually everyone has something nice to say about my accomplishments. I'm very appreciative of all the nice words and try to convey that in my responses. I know that I'm in my "15 minutes" so to speak. I'll never run another "first" Marathon.

What I don't want is for this to be the pinnicle of my running career. I'd like it to be the start of my Marathon career. I don't want to be remembered as "the guy who used to weigh 400lbs that ran a Marathon". Over the next few decades I'd like to be referred to as "the guy who weighed 400lbs that KEEPS RUNNING Marathons". I've grown to love being active and exercising. I embrace all forms of movement. There are things I haven't gotten into yet, but who knows?

But I love the running. I can put on my sneakers and just go. No fancy equipment needed.

So... I ran my first Marathon, now what? Well, I have a 5k scheduled for Memorial day week-end. And a Half-Marathon in July. And a couple more 5k's in August and September. And the City-To-The-Sea Half in October which I hope to break two hours. And then a 20-miler in November. And the California International Marathon in Sacramento on December 2. I hope to break five hours in my second Marathon.

I think those races will keep me busy. Let's keep RUNNING!