March 20, 2015
Back to running on the track is awesome. The prison will only open the track for inmates when the temperature is so many degrees above freezing. We continue to have a lot of cold days here in Ohio, especially in the mornings when I run. I can’t run in the afternoons because of horticulture, but even when I don’t have class in the afternoon it can still be difficult to run. There are many inmates walking the track and standing around in the afternoon, making it difficult to maneuver around them, often having to make sudden, sharp movements to get around the men. This can be dangerous for a runner, increasing the likeliness of twisting an ankle or possibly injuring some other part of the body. With an injury running is impossible, so I do my best to practice safety. Last year I was running long distances on a daily basis, at an average of 5-10 miles each morning. This year I’ll be approaching my running habits differently, dialing back my long distances for the weekends, running only around 2-3 miles each day during the week and giving it all I’ve got on the weekends. It’s come to my attention that I was running so much last year that I was very likely burning off muscle tissue that I’ve also been working very hard to improve. My goal is to be healthy and to look healthy as well. I get a monthly subscription to Runners magazine, and each month, the more I read and look at pictures of runners, the more I continue to see a pattern of both men and woman runners having a T-rex type of body figure. Seeing all of these runners with extremely small upper bodies, skinny arms, looking malnourished as if someone from a third world country with little food to eat would look, I find myself compelled to change my routine, focusing more on strength training. Now that I’ve lost every bit of the 100 pounds of excess weight I used to carry around, I can focus more on
building up muscle rather than trimming off fat. Since I started working out with my good friend, Kurt each morning, I’ve already noticed a major increase in strength and stamina with myself. With health, exercise and living centered and balanced ethically and morally, I can finally look at myself in the mirror and be happy with who I’m looking at. This is something I haven’t been able to do in countless years of my life, sickened with guilt for all of my sinful betrayals committed to feed the unfulfilling hunger that is substance addiction. I see the world through new eyes, in a new light. Sobriety, health, fitness and accountability to myself and my loved ones have helped me reach this new and lasting phase of my life.
Steven Dybvad
