trip down memory lane (ASU XC Archives)

With the Shamrock 4 miler tomorrow, I started wondering what my one and only result was for a 4 mile race. In 2004, my JR. year at AppState, we hosted the last regular season cross country meet our team would race, before going into the Southern Conference Championships down in Greenville, SC.

That season was my last season running for App State. I quit right before Indoor Track started that winter. In Cross Country, the top 9 runners for the team make the squad to run at the Conference Meet, and in my Freshmen and Sophomore year I had just missed the cut, as I was the 10th man on the team. However my JR. year I held on to the 9th spot on the team and ended up representing App. State at the conference meet.

Back to the 4 miler, I was able to uncover a website with the results from that race back in 2004. HERE IS THE LINK. A respectable 5:20 pace.

Of course, I started looking up all these other results from my collegiate cross country days.

+ My 8k Personal Record

+ Freshmen Year (2002) XC

+ Sophomore Year (2003) XC

I don't really know what to expect tomorrow, but it would feel successful if I can get under 23 minutes.

Easy 3 and Easy 9

Appalachian State University taking on University of Florida at "The Swamp

Rough day for the Mountaineers.

Logged 3 easy-paced miles before I set out to tailgate and partake in the festivites Saturday. After flying home Sunday, I rested my tired body and didnt run again until Monday 11/22. Met David at his house and ran down the Greenway to downtown and came back through and ended by way of neighborhood streets in Dilworth. The pace was low 8's, and very casual. Nice to get some decent miles in, and enjoyable given the comfortable weather.

all but invested (financially)

When you hit the muggy trails of mcalpine on a hot summer's early eve, no matter how long it has been since your last visit, for me , I am always brought back to the origins of some of my fondest memories of running, conjuring up that feeling of being home. Highschool was lived out on those trails - and to have an old running buddy from then, and one from App - (but who none the less spent many runs on those trails - as did all highschool runners who ran competively in Charlotte) was pretty cool.

I have been blessed and lucky this week to have gotten to run with Mike Oelz, Mike Mitchell at McAlpine and Bohle and another old familiar face in one such Justin Cross (both of whom actually have a great upstart company in LADC)on the trails around Marymount University in Los Angeles. The latter being a farlek workout -which was one of the runs I can count on one hand with since the June Miles at Myers Park - and the one today with Oelz and Mitchell being an easier paced 5 mi. (Most miles I have done since the Marathon). Speaking of Marathon, that brings me to where I am currently.

I have given a good amount of thought lately as to running another Marathon this December. I probably wouldn't be thinking about this right now, but maybe it's good that I am - Mitchell is thinking about doing Thunder Road and Oelz is thinking about Kiawah. With the ability to run with my buddies, AND being able to knock one out before the baby is born in Jan., all gives me good reason to ponder such a thought. Not to mention, it wouldn't be so horrible to get to see what I can really do in a marathon not getting lost!

In the few runs that I have thought about potentially getting back to another race by year end, I have been upbeat as I am thinking it may not be as ardous to get back into the shape I was at in Feb. Perhaps the remnents of my training are there, just have to wake them up a little bit, and they will ready to serve as a foundation for great endurance and strength.

So it was muggy...and hot...and it felt like I was back in the comforts of home ((even passed old rival coaches and runners from Providence Day (rival school up the road from my CCS)). The closeness of my running buddies from spread across the country, and the great gap in difference of weather experienced on each of those runs, was just enough to decide, "let's go back at it for another 26.2" (exactly that mileage please).

Now just got get signed up - www.runcharlotte.com / www.kiawahresort.com/recreation/marathon/

Hello!!

I guess for my first posting, I will give thought to why I now suddenly am blogging. I think a lot of it has to do with my personality and just how I am. I've never been known to be a real "book-smart" person, a great thinker, or one who writes or does brainy things; but I am someone who does like to dabble in new trends, and is not one to shy away from the latest fads of society. I guess until now I never had an interest in blogging because I never really had an inspiration or a platform that my blog would center around.

I have been a runner...more accuratly, was a runner, from the time I was 16 until I was 21. Going to a new school for high school, and not wanting to play soccer anymore in the fall season, I decided to try cross country to keep me occupied and figured it was a good "sport" to get me in shape for my favorite sport basketball. It was fun, and I met some good friends that year which made the transistion to Charlotte Christian in 9th grade easier. After JV basketball I figured I would do track since I enjoyed cross country, and never really got into baseball growing up anyway. As the next year rolled around, I of course did cross country again but this time started having some relative success. I made all conference and all state that year and really started to enjoy running. After the season and about 2 weeks into basketball season, I decided to quit basketball and join the indoor track team for a couple of reasons. Primarily I did not enjoy the coaches for basketball, and I knew that I had more long term potential with running. I regret missing out on a fun year with my good friends who made up the basketball team, as that would have been a fun way to part with basketball, but at the same time indoor track was something in which I went on to be the school's "mvp" that season, and also served as a spring board into my serious running career.

After highschool, I ran cross country, indoor and outdoor track at Appalchian State University for 2 and a half years. (3 cross country seasons and 2 track seasons.) The reason I didn't run the whole time I was at App was simply because I got burned out. I know I probably didn't reach my full potential, (and I never really struggled with injuries) but at the same time I am glad I got to experience the college life aside from the huge commitment that is being part of an NCAA sports team.

Since the day I told my coach I was going to "hang up the spikes", running has predomently become something I have only done from time to time. The fact that I quit running due to being "burnt-out" I haven't considered myself a "runner" since then. That could change.

When Katie and I moved this summer into our first house, one thing that I started doing was jogging around the neighborhood so as to get a feel for the new surroundings. As summer turned to fall I was planning on doing the Turkey Trot again on Thanksgiving so I was running a little bit here and there...probably 10-15 miles a week. While we were at ASU for Homecoming I was talking to Carson Blackwelder - an old teammate of mine at App - catching up like old friends do. He has never become burnt out on running as far as I can tell, and after college has been a coach for Morehead in Kentucky and now currently South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg. Aside from that, he told me he was running a marathon over Thanksgiving in Philly with another one of our old teammates. I told him that was something I definitly wanted to do at some point in my life. (The way I figure, as much running as I have done, I have better at least be able to say that I have run a marathon in my lifetime. ) I saw Carson the next weekend at Brain Deal's wedding in Boone, and he encouraged me, like Nike says, to "just do it. Don't worry about what your time will be - you can do it easier than you think", he said.

I'm not sure why - but I decided to go for it. I started looking at Marathons all around the US. I wanted to pick one that met a few criteria. I wanted to pick one that was not too far off - so I wouldn't loose motivation; and I wanted to pick one that was not too soon, so I would have at least a decent amount of time to train. The other thing I wanted my marathon to accomplish was that it be in a fun location. I ended up finding a couple that might fit the time frames, but the reason I decided on the A1A Marathon in Ft. Lauderdale is because I could also visit my good friend Evan down in Boca Raton like I've said I wanted to do for sometime.

After I picked my marathon, I started googling marathon training one day and found that a standard training calander is 16 weeks. When I did the math, I realized I would only have a few more days of "casual-every-now-and-then" running before I had to get dedicated. With my first marathon on Feb. 21st, my traning started the week of Nov. 2nd.

All that to say, I now have a platform with which to blog. My hopes are that posting and seeing my entries will encourage me to stay motivated and dedicated for ever how long I stay on this running kick, and while doing so will use this as a medium to express myself through ideas, thoughts, and whatever else I feel like sharing. The blog name represent Philippians 4:8, which says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." I chose this because I want this to be positive outlet, and I was trying to think of something cool for a name in general that made people go - what does that mean?!

With that, I close my first ever blog post and sincerely wish thanks to anyone who reads this!

-Daniel Eggers