Here's why I started this blog...

After just turning 49, I found out that I had a 99% blockage in my left main artery.  The next day, January 26, 2016, I had double bypass surgery.

I'll give you more of the specifics about that another time.  About how statistically I had a 3% chance of developing heart disease at all.

What it did for me was smack me in the face, and realize that we really don't know how many days we have left.  No idea at all.

I was determined not only to not let heart disease run my life, but to see what adventures were out there for me and my family.  To push myself every day as if it were my last.  Because, well, it could be my last.  You never know.

I used to run back in 2008, when I started running specifically to lose weight.  Between January and September of 2008, through a combination of running and diet, I lost 60 lbs.  I went from 250 to 190 in about six months.  Then I got plantar fasciitis, stopped running, and gained most of the weight back.

So I decided to start running again.  My cardiac rehab is almost over, and I need to do something to get exercise.  But more than that, I wanted an adventure.  A challenge, something that I could write to you about other than just running.

Then I remember seeing a good news item about a guy a few years ago who had run at least a mile every day for over 40 years.  I looked it up just now; the longest active streak running is over 47 years:  http://www.runeveryday.com/lists/USRSA-Active-List.html.  I probably have no chance of hitting that, but I've decided to start my own streak anyway.

My rules for myself:

- I will run at least one mile EVERY DAY, no matter what.  Rain, cold, snow, whatever.  I will be out there every morning.

- Since I just started out a few weeks ago, I will run a little farther every day than I did the previous day.  Even if it's a hundredth of a mile or two.  That will last until I get back into higher mileages, when I'll have to cut it back for safety/injury reasons.

- If I get injured/ill to the point where I can't run, I won't.  I'm not looking to get permanently crippled or anything.  Other than that, I see no reason to get out there every day.

Today I ran 1.66 miles, documented by Nike Run app.  Let's see what tomorrow holds.

- Eric J.