Personal Info:
Name: Mike Burns
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Age: 34
Family:
As you can tell from the picture on the right, my family is a huge part of my life. My wife and I met in the 2nd grade and I then played hard to get for almost 17 years (unless you count the two days we “dated” in 5th grade or our Homecoming date in HS). Our lives crossed paths again in 1998 and that’s when we started to date and we got married shortly after in 2000. In 2002, our family grew with the birth of our son and he was joined by his sisters in 2005 and 2008. Alright, I didn’t play hard to get for 17 years. It just took me that long to get the courage to ask her out!
Work:
I manage a technology team for a global eyeware company. I thoroughly enjoy working in IT and the challenges that come along with the responsibilities.
Running:
So, this is the real focus of my blog. I started the blog in hopes of providing some help to others looking to reach their running goals. Hence, the blog name “Goal Based Running”.
Growing up, I didn’t enjoy running. In fact, I have photos of me as a young child wearing shoes with a bar connecting them together (insert “Run Forrest Run” joke here). Maybe someday I’ll scan them in for a future post. While I wasn’t a runner growing up, I did actively participate in sports. I wrestled and played soccer throughout my childhood. Those activities ended after high school and my exercise during college mostly consisted of walking to class, walking to bars, etc.
In early 2005, I found myself still struggling to find a way to deal with stress from my mom’s death from 2001. At the same time, I realized I had gained a little weight and thought I would try to deal with both issues in the same manner…run. I left our house and ran through a local park. It was around one mile in distance and I just ran to the point of exhaustion.
After several more runs over the next few weeks, that one mile run eventually turned into a two mile run. I remember sitting in our kitchen later that day and I turned to my wife and said, “I just ran two miles. That’s the longest I’ve ever run in my life”. I kept running and eventually put together a plan to register for a half marathon later that year. That’s when I set my first goal: run the 2005 Baltimore Half Marathon in less than 2:00. I ran for several months eventually reaching the point of a 10 mile run. Two weeks later, I ran the Baltimore Half Marathon in 1:46. My first race was complete, but I told myself that was enough and I stopped running for a few months until…
In early 2006, I decided to continue my running hobby and set another goal: run the 2006 Baltimore Marathon in 3:40. How did I determine the goal finishing time? Well, I ran a half marathon in a 8:08 pace and I read somewhere that you should add some time to your half marathon pace to get your marathon pace. So, I added a little bit of time to my pace and thought 3:40 sounded like a nice, even number. That October, I ran the Baltimore Marathon in 3:39. My second race was complete, but I told myself that was enough and I stopped running for a few weeks until…
Are you sensing a trend? I’ll shorten it from here:
2006 Baltimore Marathon in 3:39 (goal was 3:40)
2007 Flying Pig Marathon in 3:28 (goal was 3:30)
2008 Flying Pig Marathon in 3:10 (goal was 3:10)
2008 Columbus Marathon in 3:06 (goal was 3:07)
2009 Boston Marathon in 3:09 (goal was 3:03)
2009 Air Force Marathon in 2:59 (goal was 2:59)
So, that provides a little insight into my running life. I’m hoping my blog will display my admiration for goal setting, pushing the limits of mental/physical toughness, achieving running results through proper training, etc.
