Staying fit, living long.

As I sit here in my back yard watching the kids jump on the trampoline, laughing their heads off under one of the most amazing sunsets Utah has to offer, I am reminded of one of my main motivations to take up running nearly 7 years ago.

Back then, I was married, two kids, and a whopping 210. Ten years earlier, at age 21, I was eating a horse a day and couldn’t break 160. My friends occasionally called me toothpick.

Now 210′s not really all that heavy for my 6′ 1″ frame, but it wasn’t just the weight, it was how I felt. My youngest had just turned one and my oldest was pushing 3 and I realized I wanted to make the most of my life with them and my wife, and being inactive was not a part of that plan.

I began the quest for health with a quick, one week cabbage soup diet you’ve probably all heard of. It got me down to 199.5 and cleaned out the system. I began with three miles a day and a goal to run a marathon as soon as I could get myself up to that kind of mileage. That was November 2003 and I crossed the finish line of the Richmond (Va.) Marathon almost exactly a year later.

More importantly was my outlook on the rest of my life. I wanted to do all I could to live healthy so my kids and I could go out for a run and I’d be able to keep up. I wanted to take them mountain biking and not pass out. I thought it would be cool to teach them to dig, bump, set and spike without them having to dig me a grave.

Last of all, I wanted to do all I could to ensure that I lived a long, healthy, productive life so I could enjoy more of theirs.

Now seven years and thousands of miles later, here I am with enough energy to manage four kids, take them running, biking and swimming, and look forward to years more of the same.