I am 31 and a full-time working professional working in corporate finance. I do my best to balance my work and running life just like many others across the world. I am also a part-time running coach and assistant coach at Train Pegasus, a Dallas-based running group. As busy as life can get, I continue to enjoy running, coaching, and supporting everyone in the running community.
I wasn’t always a runner. I quit running after my freshman year of high school. I didn’t exactly hate running, but I hated being yelled at constantly during track practice. So why do something I didn’t enjoy right? Fast forward to college and most of us know how this goes. Metabolism slows down and the college “diet” ramps up. I gained nearly 50 pounds after completing my undergraduate degree. Unfortunately, the wake-up call didn’t happen until I started my career in public accounting (assurance/external audit and risk consulting/internal audit).
I gained another 10-15 pounds after my first busy season. I didn’t realize it but I was pretty low on myself. I was always tired and exhausted from the late nights (both work and nightlife). One day I saw myself in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw. What I saw was a 23-year-old who may not make it to 40 if he kept up his old habits. So I decided it was going to be Day 1 instead of saying “One day…”
Day 1 started with trying to run a mile outside. I made it halfway before I had to walk back home. 30 minutes on the elliptical was the alternative until I built up the confidence to run a mile outside. 1 mile became 2 miles and eventually, I would run my first 5K without stopping. After a year I lost 50 pounds from running and having a real diet (shocking what eating vegetables can do haha). Distances further than a 5K were intimidating and daunting. I didn’t let fear win and I challenged myself again. I signed up for the Chicago Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon with a co-worker. After loosely structured training over 3 months, I finished my first half marathon with a 1:48 and a negative split.
That’s when I fell in love with running. The atmosphere in Chicago was electrifying. The other half-marathoners were encouraging. We were strangers the day before. After nearly two hours of running we were high-fiving each other like old friends. In a nutshell, the running bug bit me. After running ten more half marathons over the next year, I felt ready for the next challenge: the full marathon.
It’s funny to look back to my first half marathon and remembering my exhaustion after the race. I told myself “I have no idea how people can do two of these in a row.” Yet here I am fifteen months later ready to run my first full marathon. In December 2017, I ran my first full marathon, the Dallas Marathon (my hometown). I was in tears 3 hours and 21 minutes later. I was beaten down like I’d never been beaten before, but I was overjoyed to have accomplished something so incredible. Despite the pain in the coming weeks, I was eager to tackle the next marathon.
After all of the ups and downs, I finally broke the sub-3-hour barrier in 2020, finishing in 2:58 and second place at the Tupelo Marathon. Breaking through this barrier propelled me to a 2:47 at the Woodlands Marathon in March 2021. I was on top of the world, and I still am in some ways. I’m not as fit right now as I was in the beginning of 2021, but I’m still pushing myself to grow as a runner and supporter of the running community.
Since I started with Train Pegasus in the summer of 2020, they have done so much for me. I am grateful for my friends and the Training Partners who continue to push me every day. I am now an Assistant Coach, assisting Head Coach Alfonzo “Fonz” Gonzalez and Assistant Coach Jill Sweress. We are a group of runners who want to keep improving, regardless of ability or goals.
Although it feels like a long time ago, my running career had just got started. Race results and chasing new PRs will always be part of my goals, but I have learned there is more to seek happiness and fulfillment in other aspects of running. Seeing the athletes I coach and the runners around me (Train Pegasus, Dallas, or anywhere else in the world) improve and reach new heights is just as satisfying as a new PR.
