DWRunning Tenure:
Joined in April 2024
PRs:
1M: 5:36, 5k: 19:02, 10k: 40:44, 10M: 1:07:57, Half Marathon: 1:26:40, Marathon: 3:02:30
Social Handles:
IG: @nilaynilaynilay
Long-Term Running Goals:
When I'm 60, my son will be 25, my daughter turning 21. Chicago 2042: Here we come.
Running Start:
I started smoking when I was 15 and by the time I got to college I was addicted to two packs a day. I'd had a blast, but by the end of my 20s, I was exhausted. I've had high blood pressure my whole life -- it runs in my family along with heart disease and stroke. Rail thin growing up, my weight was suddenly ballooning. And, more than anything, I just felt like I didn't have control over anything anymore. I had to make a change, so after a long New Years Eve out at Jake's Pub, I woke up and decided to quit smoking. After many failed attempts and excuses, it stuck. But I had an itch to replace it with something.
My wife had started working out with regularity at XSport and was encouraging me to join her. My first real memory of her is just after we'd met in college. I was high on acid convinced I was being stalked by a squirrel and bumped into her while she was on a late fall jog. That's really my first running memory, come to think of it. Anyway, a few months before I quit smoking, I'd put on my jeans, did a few minutes on the elliptical with her, and vowed to never exercise again. But the New Years of it all had me commit to try new things. Take some chances because whatever I'd been doing wasn't working. I got a watch and an app and started jogging around the block. Goals ticked off like flicks of ash. How long could I run for? Could I make the watch say 8:00? Could I run 5 miles in 40:00 (even today I get a such a pure satisfaction over 5 in 40). What was this marathon thing I saw on Twitter...? I was hooked.
Fun Facts:
I can't drive.
I can't swim.
And, you guessed it, I can't dance.
Track or Trails?:
Track
Morning or Afternoon?:
Afternoon
Solo or With Friends?:
Solo
Summer or Winter?:
Summer
Bolded PRs are PRs run while training with DWRunning.