Thanks to my readers

I started this running blog in November of 2008 mostly for me as a way to track my progress and chronicle my recovery from adrenal fatigue. I've kept logs off and on in the past but they were usually not very detailed and I did not share them with anyone except for my coach. My only regret is that I did not start it sooner. I'm sure that a lot of beginners would have liked to have read about my progress from a walk/jog program similar to a Couch 2 5K in late October 2006 to my first half marathon only 5 months later. Similarly, I'm sure many would have liked to have known more about my training for my first marathon and how and when I made the decision to run it.
I'm just shy of 5,000 page views since Blogger began tracking it in June 2010. There are a few elite runners that I know that get tens of thousands of views per year and upwards of 10 comments on every post. Because I am not an elite athlete, I don't expect that this blog will ever generate that number of fans and I'm okay with that. Earning the praise of others is not my highest aim in this life. That said, there's still a lot that I can be proud of with this blog.
True, at times I have let my negative emotions come out in some of my posts, which is something that I do not do on my main website, which contains a section of Scripture and commentary. I know that I have frightened some people with a few of my more negative posts but this blog is intended to be a more accurate picture of living day to day with chemical imbalances and instability. When these symptoms flare up, anyone would be in a foul mood no matter how great their attitude but to my credit, I have yet to throw in the towel. Before starting this blog, many people did not truly understand how important a role running plays as a barometer of my condition. Now, they do.
Maybe some of you are anonymous readers who have had adrenal fatigue or some other chronic illness and wonder if it will ever be possible to get back to competitive or serious running again. My answer to that question is an unequivical YES and despite that slumps that I have endured, anyone who reads regularly should know that it is true.
Maybe some of you are good runners with PRs in the mid-high 1:30s for a half marathon and 20-21 minutes for 5K with aspirations of taking your running to the next level. I've been there and believe that in most cases, you can get to my level of performance or faster. With my training log, you know now exactly what I did to improve my times. My lifetime goals are listed on the side and after my latest breakthrough, I believe that I could beat those times right now given the perfect conditions (fast course, close competiton, good weather, A+ stuff).
Whatever your reason for reading this blog, I want to say thank you. I also want to recognize a few of my friends who have been especially supportive. Thanks to the 2 Prestons (PrestonAL and DaWeekend Warrior). Thanks to ScreaminZab and the Puerto Rican Kenyan for listing this blog on your roll. Thanks to my buddies on RWOL from the 1:30 half thread. Extra special thanks to LA Runner for strong and consistent support.
Here are some fun facts from the stat page:
-Approximately 70% of the page views came from the U.S. but the 2nd highest number surprisingly came from the Netherlands. Other countries with over 100 views are Canada, Germany and Russia with Australia the U.K and several eastern European countries close behind.
-My most popular post has been my endorsement of prolotherapy and I was very pleased to see that as my stated goal was "one small attempt to get the word out about it" and I've done that.
-My second most popular post was my Eugene marathon report (my first marathon). This RR was written several months after the actual race and thus much less detailed than some of my others.
-My Mercedes half report is 3rd, which is not a surprise and likely came from local runners who had heard about my blog from others.
-My training posts for the period (9/20-26/10 and 5/2-5/8/11) have also generated a lot of views. At the end of September 2010, I declared my long shot BQ attempt to be over and was injured 2 weeks later. In early May of this year, I was struggling with a chromium issue that turned out to be related to my infected root canal.
This blog will continue until further notice.