My last half was in December 2017. I was 32 years old and did it in 2:30. I ran this weekend’s race at 40 years old in 2:03.
Dads, let your kids see you do hard things. Let them see you train, prep, sacrifice. And most importantly show them what being healthy for them means to you!
Over the weekend, I ran my first half marathon in nine years. When I was 31 years old, I ran the San Antonio Rock n Roll Half in about 2.5 hours. But on Saturday, I ran a local half marathon race in 2:03, crossing the finish line hand-in-hand with my 5yo daughter. I shaved off 30 minutes from my previous time at 40 years old. And I believe rucking is one of the biggest reasons for that.
Now, I know this is a rucking community so I'm sort of preaching to the choir, but I just wanted to share my own experience. Over the last 15 months, I've taken my personal health and wellness seriously. After putting my father in a nursing home (he's 62 years old but looks 80 due to years of sedentary lifestyle/smoking/alcohol abuse) I realized pretty hard that I DON'T want that for myself. I want to be around for my wife and daughter for as long as possible. I used to be fit. In my late-20s and early-30s, I ran a couple of half marathons. I played soccer. I wasn't elite by any sense, but I was active. But then we had a baby, and then a COVID pandemic, and then all of a sudden I was 40 years old with a dad bod.
Over the last year, I’ve used rucking as one of my main tools for rebuilding my fitness. Some weeks it was a dedicated session with a 35lb plate in my GR1. Other weeks it was a short 2 mile neighborhood ruck between runs. Sometimes it was just a way to get moving when my body didn’t need another hard workout. But those miles added up! Rucking gave me time on my feet without the same impact as running. It strengthened my legs, hips, back, and core. It helped me practice steady effort. It let me build endurance on days when another run would have been too much. And that absolutely mattered during half marathon training.
Don't get me wrong, the half marathon still hurt. But I didn't blow up, I didn't collapse. I felt durable, and that's because of all the time I've spent walking under load, with a weighted backpack for miles and miles.
So, yeah. Rucking isn't flashy, but when I ran the race this past weekend, it was THE thing that put my fitness over the edge.