The Swole Monster

You've stumbled onto another blog about running. 🏃 So here's the obligatory intro post.

I'm an average guy in his 40s. I'm married to my high school sweetheart & have two beautiful daughters. My friends & family have called me E since 5th grade. When people call me Eric I typically say, it's just E. So there you have it, Just_ee.

I started running in Sep 2013 to lose weight. In March 2014 I ran my first Half Marathon. My time was 2:00:53. Which is still my PR (personal record) 🥇. I've ran 15+ so far without really training. I would just run. I started a weight training regimen in 2014 to help me with running. It didn't take long for me to see results physically. Then what I call the Swole Monster 💪 took over. I just wanted to be bigger. Until I missed running then I would work on running again. Then I would lose my Gainz. It was an exhausting cycle. I have jumped back & forth from running to weightlifting for the last several years. Run training 6-10 weeks prior to a half would get me in enough shape to finish.

Then in 2016 I tweaked my shoulder bench pressing 300lbs ❗. It has bothered me since. Even though I tried multiple times to get back to the weights, that pretty much ended the battle between the 2 sports.

Runner me (170lbs) v. Weightlifting me (215lbs)

I realize now that the weightlifting did keep me running injury free. In 2019 I had less than 40 total miles through August. I pushed myself hard running with no cross training at all. Logging a 106.2 mile November training for a December Half. I tore my meniscus in that race.👎 I have since recovered & started running again in April. I signed up for the Frisco Running Company half training program. (May 2020) I started a real training program. I love running & needed to get back in shape safely. I've grown tired of starting over every year. My goal is to run a sub 2:00 half marathon one day soon!

I have been doing weekly cross training with the program. Using mostly bodyweight exercises My next step is to try and incorporate some weights into my routine while trying to keep the Swole Monster in check. Stay tuned...