After yesterday’s funeral, which was beautiful, I decided that I would go and visit my Dad. The relationship with him had been off and on rocky over for a long time, and we actually hadn’t talked much, or seen each other, in about three years. Given recent events though, I wanted to try to close the rifts and reestablish some of the family connections that had been ignored.
My Dad (holding me, rocking porn 'stache), circa 1986-7
One of the first things I noticed was that my dad lost a TON of weight. He was thin in his younger years, but he had been really heavy for as long as I can remember. I knew he lost weight, about 100 pounds or so, but I was shocked (and impressed) to find that he had kept it off.
The thing that shocked me most though, was his shoes.
He was wearing Brooks. And he didn’t just own one pair, there were several laying around his house. I asked him about it, because I’ve only known Brooks as a running shoe, and I had never known him to be a runner, and I know it’s not a shoe you can just pick up at a department store.
Apparently…my dad is a runner, or a jogger as he puts it, because he isn’t very fast. Like me, he started out on treadmill, and had a tough time transitioning to road running. He tries to do about 3-4 miles a day after work. We talked a lot about running, the shoes, and the like.
I thought this was pretty incredible, as I have never known him to really be one for physical activity. In fact, most of his waking time was spent sitting in front of a computer. But he made a change, got healthier, and is keeping it up. Shit, if he can do it, I know I can 
MARATHON WEEK: DAY 2!!!!!!
I had to go back to work today, so didn’t knock out any mileage in the morning. I have my eyes on a lunchtime walk/run though, as well as one after work!
How’s your mileage going? Have you been surprised by any family members becoming physically active?
